Simply add this to /etc/sysctl.conf:

# Unlock the CDROM eject button
dev.cdrom.lock=0

You have to restart for it to take effect.

To enable the finger print reader on a Dell XPS M1530 in Ubuntu 8.10 follow these steps:

After installing from the normal repositories coming with Ubuntu 8.10, you would have to press enter after sweeping finger. (This bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/thinkfinger/+bug/256429) Therefore Jon Oberheide made an update that can be found here: https://launchpad.net/~jon-oberheide/+archive

Add the PPA repositories to your source.list (/etc/apt/source.list):

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/jon-oberheide/ubuntu intrepid main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/jon-oberheide/ubuntu intrepid main

Update installer:

$ sudo apt-get update

And install:

$ sudo apt-get install thinkfinger-tools

Now the driver is installed and should be working. You can try it with

tf-tool --acquire
tf-tool --verify

This will ask you to swipe your finger three times and save the fingerprint to ~/.thinkfinger.bir

Now we need to configure PAM to use finger print reader to authenticate.
Open /etc/pam.d/common-auth:

sudo /etc/pam.d/common-auth

On Ubuntu 8.10 - Intrepid Ibex you should just edit the section of the file that contains the pam_unix.so line so it looks like this:

....
# here are the per-package modules (the "Primary" block)
auth	sufficient	pam_thinkfinger.so
auth	[success=1 default=ignore]	pam_unix.so try_first_pass nullok_secure
# here's the fallback if no module succeeds
....

Save the file and reboot. You should now see the option to “Swipe your finger” at login and when issuing sudo commands.

Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex

New Xserver in Ubuntu 8.10 requires changing settings via HAL instead of xorg.conf file. To change touchpad’s settings in HAL you have to create new .fdi file:

gksudo gedit /etc/hal/fdi/policy/xps-touchpad.fdi

and fill it with:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<deviceinfo version="0.2">
 <device>
  <match key="input.x11_driver" string="synaptics">
   <merge key="input.x11_options.LeftEdge" type="string">120</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.RightEdge" type="string">830</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.TopEdge" type="string">120</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.BottomEdge" type="string">650</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.FingerLow" type="string">14</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.FingerHigh" type="string">15</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.MaxTapTime" type="string">180</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.MaxTapMove" type="string">110</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.ClickTime" type="string">0</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.EmulateMidButtonTime" type="string">75</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.VertScrollDelta" type="string">10</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.HorizScrollDelta" type="string">0</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.MinSpeed" type="string">0.45</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.MaxSpeed" type="string">0.95</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.AccelFactor" type="string">0.06</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.EdgeMotionMinSpeed" type="string">200</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.EdgeMotionMaxSpeed" type="string">200</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.UpDownScrolling" type="string">1</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.CircularScrolling" type="string">0</merge>
   <merge key="input.x11_options.SHMConfig" type="string">true</merge>
  </match>
 </device>
</deviceinfo>

then:

sudo /etc/init.d/hal restart

and restart Xserver (Ctrl+Alt+Backspace)

via Installing Ubuntu on a Dell XPS M1530 - Ubuntu Wiki.