[Bug 30557] cpu idle time in /proc/stat wrong

[James Andrewartha]

Public bug reported:
https://launchpad.net/malone/bugs/30557

Affects: linux-source-2.6.15 (Ubuntu)
       Severity: Normal
       Priority: (none set)
         Status: Unconfirmed

Description:
The cpu idle time (4th number) in /proc/stat only increases by a few
counts per second when the system is idle. In 2.6.12, and using a Debian
2.6.15 kernel package, it increases by about 100 per second. This
confuses applications such as multiload-applet, and the ondemand cpufreq
governor, into thinking the cpu is much more highly loaded than it
actually is. In the case of cpufreq, this then leads into worse battery
life as the cpu is kept throttled up as it appears to not be idle.