Marco Ceppi's answer to a tangentially related question set me to wondering about the destination of all the tests that users run from the LiveCD menu. There's a fairly comprehensive hardware compatibility test, at least as of 10.10, that seems geared towards accumulating a database of ubuntu-friendly models, components, and peripherals.
I must apologize for my vague description of this app; if someone knows what I am talking about and can provide the actual name of the menu item, that would be wonderful. I just recall running it from the LiveCD before installation, after which point I switched over to OpenBox from gnome and haven't looked at the menu system since.
Marco's answer mentions the laptop testing tracker, which seems like it could be a front end to this hypothetical DB. However, there are currently only a few reports on that page.
Is this something we can expect to see made available in the near future? Are collected test results available at a different page/site? It would be a tremendously beneficial resource for the community.
Best Answer
The tool is called Checkbox. A new crowd-sourced "Ubuntu Friendly Hardware" program was recently announced, but I don't know if it will integrate with Checkbox.
http://victorpalau.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/introducing-ubuntu-friendly/