Ubuntu irritation
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I installed Ubuntu (Dapper Drake) onto my old laptop to see what it was like. It has no network connections built in so I wanted to use a Wireless PCMCIA card to communicate with the outside world. Ubuntu does not recognise the card natively, but I found some instructions of how to get it to work.... However, to follow the instructions you need an internet connection because it uses some commands that download and install things before installing the driver. When I did this under windows it just WORKED! Plug card in - Found new hardware - Installing driver - Set wireless password - Working internet connection! No faffing about on forums, no worrying about if the card is a V2 made in China or the V2 made in Taiwan model (because they actually use different chip sets, so you need to install different things). "Linux for humans!" they call it! This human is pissed off at the amount of work required just to get a damned network card to work. If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play. No messing around with command line rubbish and updating config files manually to get a network card to work. Rant over - normal service is resumed....
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
I reckon better support from hardware manufacturers would improve the situation.
"Walking on water and developing software from a specification are easy if both are frozen."
- Edward V. Berard -
I installed Ubuntu (Dapper Drake) onto my old laptop to see what it was like. It has no network connections built in so I wanted to use a Wireless PCMCIA card to communicate with the outside world. Ubuntu does not recognise the card natively, but I found some instructions of how to get it to work.... However, to follow the instructions you need an internet connection because it uses some commands that download and install things before installing the driver. When I did this under windows it just WORKED! Plug card in - Found new hardware - Installing driver - Set wireless password - Working internet connection! No faffing about on forums, no worrying about if the card is a V2 made in China or the V2 made in Taiwan model (because they actually use different chip sets, so you need to install different things). "Linux for humans!" they call it! This human is pissed off at the amount of work required just to get a damned network card to work. If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play. No messing around with command line rubbish and updating config files manually to get a network card to work. Rant over - normal service is resumed....
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play.
Go tell the hardware manufacturers. On my laptop everything works out of the box except my infrared port, it's a pain in the ass, too. But hardware, graphics, sound, touchpad, pcmcia, usb, tft -> fine. You might also try Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft, beta right now), it might support more hardware. regards
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I installed Ubuntu (Dapper Drake) onto my old laptop to see what it was like. It has no network connections built in so I wanted to use a Wireless PCMCIA card to communicate with the outside world. Ubuntu does not recognise the card natively, but I found some instructions of how to get it to work.... However, to follow the instructions you need an internet connection because it uses some commands that download and install things before installing the driver. When I did this under windows it just WORKED! Plug card in - Found new hardware - Installing driver - Set wireless password - Working internet connection! No faffing about on forums, no worrying about if the card is a V2 made in China or the V2 made in Taiwan model (because they actually use different chip sets, so you need to install different things). "Linux for humans!" they call it! This human is pissed off at the amount of work required just to get a damned network card to work. If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play. No messing around with command line rubbish and updating config files manually to get a network card to work. Rant over - normal service is resumed....
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
Looks like you got a 1 for telling the truth. I just saw the ad for the cancer place again. You can also buy a home heart start machine. I'm watching a doco on life within some prison. History and Discovery play extended ads for exercise machines at this time of the morning, apparently.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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Looks like you got a 1 for telling the truth. I just saw the ad for the cancer place again. You can also buy a home heart start machine. I'm watching a doco on life within some prison. History and Discovery play extended ads for exercise machines at this time of the morning, apparently.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
Yep, the wee hours of the morning on weekends is all infomercials, all the time! If you're lucky, you'll see Leaping Lanny Poffo in an infomercial for workout equipment.
--Mike-- Visual C++ MVP :cool: LINKS~! Ericahist | PimpFish | CP SearchBar v3.0 | C++ Forum FAQ
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I reckon better support from hardware manufacturers would improve the situation.
"Walking on water and developing software from a specification are easy if both are frozen."
- Edward V. BerardWith the attitude of the kernel developers towards binary-only, no-source drivers, this will simply not happen. I believe the hardware manufacturers have every right to keep their source private. The kernel developers consider the kernel 'tainted' if there is any non-GPL (or non-GPL-compatible) code loaded into the kernel, and will not investigate crashes - see here[^]. Of course the manufacturers have a general problem towards any 'minority' platform - see the continued poor state of Windows x64 drivers, where if they're actually coding the 32-bit driver correctly, a 64-bit driver should be mostly just a recompile.
Stability. What an interesting concept. -- Chris Maunder
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Yep, the wee hours of the morning on weekends is all infomercials, all the time! If you're lucky, you'll see Leaping Lanny Poffo in an infomercial for workout equipment.
--Mike-- Visual C++ MVP :cool: LINKS~! Ericahist | PimpFish | CP SearchBar v3.0 | C++ Forum FAQ
I did better - I saw the guy who sells guitars with lessons and has his students play with him in the show. I'm watching a doco now on that woman who killed her kids by drowning them in their car. Much better than sleeping.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play.
Go tell the hardware manufacturers. On my laptop everything works out of the box except my infrared port, it's a pain in the ass, too. But hardware, graphics, sound, touchpad, pcmcia, usb, tft -> fine. You might also try Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft, beta right now), it might support more hardware. regards
Greeeg wrote:
You might also try
That's the point - with Windows you don't have to. Elaine :rose:
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I did better - I saw the guy who sells guitars with lessons and has his students play with him in the show. I'm watching a doco now on that woman who killed her kids by drowning them in their car. Much better than sleeping.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
:omg: Are you late to bed or early to rise? or Are you still on Aussie time?
Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it. -Brian Kernighan
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I installed Ubuntu (Dapper Drake) onto my old laptop to see what it was like. It has no network connections built in so I wanted to use a Wireless PCMCIA card to communicate with the outside world. Ubuntu does not recognise the card natively, but I found some instructions of how to get it to work.... However, to follow the instructions you need an internet connection because it uses some commands that download and install things before installing the driver. When I did this under windows it just WORKED! Plug card in - Found new hardware - Installing driver - Set wireless password - Working internet connection! No faffing about on forums, no worrying about if the card is a V2 made in China or the V2 made in Taiwan model (because they actually use different chip sets, so you need to install different things). "Linux for humans!" they call it! This human is pissed off at the amount of work required just to get a damned network card to work. If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play. No messing around with command line rubbish and updating config files manually to get a network card to work. Rant over - normal service is resumed....
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
I gave your post a 2 - wanted to vote 3 but missed ;-) I have Ubuntu 6 running on my desktop and was pretty impressed with it - it recognized everything out of the box and even works with my strange USB-port cable modem (after shutting off IPv6 support). So thats pretty nice - and install was really fast compared with my previous Debian endeavour. So I was pretty impressed - BUT only because I didn't expect it from Linux. Same thing on a windows box and I would probably have complained - which already tells a lot IMHO :rolleyes: But I still don't think its really desktop ready. Its all those little things. Like shutting off IPv6 to get the modem to work - I had to read through three instruction sets because the way to do it changed from release to release (the name of the file I had to created simply changed between kernel versions - now how stupid is that???). Ohh, and why, oh why are all updates that are available selected by default and can only be deselected one by one - which means a lot of work considering how, ugh, dispersed linux is. Ahh and why exactly is my network interface sometimes named eth1 and then suddenly eth2 making firestarter (the firewall monitor I use) completely break down? Is that really necessary - considering that I only have two adapters (eth0 and eth1)?? Well thats just my 2 cents cheers Martin
"When your own heart asks - how will you respond?" Gosen waka shū "Situation normal - all fu***d up" Illuminatus! My photos on flickr
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I installed Ubuntu (Dapper Drake) onto my old laptop to see what it was like. It has no network connections built in so I wanted to use a Wireless PCMCIA card to communicate with the outside world. Ubuntu does not recognise the card natively, but I found some instructions of how to get it to work.... However, to follow the instructions you need an internet connection because it uses some commands that download and install things before installing the driver. When I did this under windows it just WORKED! Plug card in - Found new hardware - Installing driver - Set wireless password - Working internet connection! No faffing about on forums, no worrying about if the card is a V2 made in China or the V2 made in Taiwan model (because they actually use different chip sets, so you need to install different things). "Linux for humans!" they call it! This human is pissed off at the amount of work required just to get a damned network card to work. If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play. No messing around with command line rubbish and updating config files manually to get a network card to work. Rant over - normal service is resumed....
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
"Linux for humans!" they call it! This human is pissed off at the amount of work required just to get a damned network card to work. If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play. No messing around with command line rubbish and updating config files manually to get a network card to work.
Hi, how's the weather in Redmond? So, you seriously compare the pre-installed product of the Billion Dollar company to the free software given gratis to you from volunteers? Unbelievable! :suss:
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:omg: Are you late to bed or early to rise? or Are you still on Aussie time?
Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it. -Brian Kernighan
A have a wake up call for 4 am, flying to Toronto today. My sleep patterns so far: on the plane I took a sleeping pill and slept 4 hours the next night I got about 5 hours, with a pill the next night I saw Def Leppard and slept from 2 am to 10 am this morning and tonight, I just couldn't sleep. I got to bed at 11:30, and gave up at 2 am. Tonight I hope I'll sleep well, as tomorrow night is Iron Maiden with Nish
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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Greeeg wrote:
You might also try
That's the point - with Windows you don't have to. Elaine :rose:
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With the attitude of the kernel developers towards binary-only, no-source drivers, this will simply not happen. I believe the hardware manufacturers have every right to keep their source private. The kernel developers consider the kernel 'tainted' if there is any non-GPL (or non-GPL-compatible) code loaded into the kernel, and will not investigate crashes - see here[^]. Of course the manufacturers have a general problem towards any 'minority' platform - see the continued poor state of Windows x64 drivers, where if they're actually coding the 32-bit driver correctly, a 64-bit driver should be mostly just a recompile.
Stability. What an interesting concept. -- Chris Maunder
Mike Dimmick wrote:
Windows x64 drivers, where if they're actually coding the 32-bit driver correctly, a 64-bit driver should be mostly just a recompile
Actually, it is. We have a 32-bit driver that took less than a day to get working as 64-bit. Most of it was involved in modifying some IOCTL parameters to be 64 bits wide. The end result compiles either as 32-bit or 64-bit with a command line
#define.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
"Linux for humans!" they call it! This human is pissed off at the amount of work required just to get a damned network card to work. If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play. No messing around with command line rubbish and updating config files manually to get a network card to work.
Hi, how's the weather in Redmond? So, you seriously compare the pre-installed product of the Billion Dollar company to the free software given gratis to you from volunteers? Unbelievable! :suss:
In other words, what do you expect, of course it sucks ? Is your point meant to be pro Linux, or pro Microsoft ?
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
"Linux for humans!" they call it! This human is pissed off at the amount of work required just to get a damned network card to work. If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play. No messing around with command line rubbish and updating config files manually to get a network card to work.
Hi, how's the weather in Redmond? So, you seriously compare the pre-installed product of the Billion Dollar company to the free software given gratis to you from volunteers? Unbelievable! :suss:
Sceptic Mole wrote:
So, you seriously compare the pre-installed product of the Billion Dollar company to the free software given gratis to you from volunteers? Unbelievable!
Sounds unbelievable, but there there are also lots of Linux developers who get paid work developing for linux (Novell, Redhat, Suse, Ubuntu/Canonical)
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Looks like you got a 1 for telling the truth. I just saw the ad for the cancer place again. You can also buy a home heart start machine. I'm watching a doco on life within some prison. History and Discovery play extended ads for exercise machines at this time of the morning, apparently.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
Christian Graus wrote:
Looks like you got a 1 for telling the truth.
There's always some idiot like that.
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
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Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
"Linux for humans!" they call it! This human is pissed off at the amount of work required just to get a damned network card to work. If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play. No messing around with command line rubbish and updating config files manually to get a network card to work.
Hi, how's the weather in Redmond? So, you seriously compare the pre-installed product of the Billion Dollar company to the free software given gratis to you from volunteers? Unbelievable! :suss:
Sceptic Mole wrote:
how's the weather in Redmond?
Don't know - never been there.
Sceptic Mole wrote:
you seriously compare the pre-installed product of the Billion Dollar company to the free software given gratis to you from volunteers?
I don't have Windows pre-installed - the pre-installed version is full of pish which (if I don't have a choice and have to take) I get rid of by installing a clean build as soon as I get a new PC, and Windows installs drivers fine without hassle.
Sceptic Mole wrote:
Unbelievable!
Your incredulity does not alter the facts that Ubuntu is a lot more hassle to set up than it should be. Why should I need to be concerned that my Wireless card was manufactured in Taiwan or China and then have to take different steps to install it. I have never ever needed to know a piece of hardware's country of manufacture in order to get it to work before now. And if there is a way to get something as basic as a network card to work I shouldn't have to follow instructions spread across a wiki, 2 forums and 3 blogs that demand I have an intenet connection because it wants to run some command that needs an internet connection. What if I don't have an internet connection because until I get the card set up I cannot access the intenet. Did they never think of that? In fact they did, and their solution is to get a wired connection that works first! :wtf: The crazy thing is that once I get some bit of stuff done, I should be able to plug in the Windows XP driver and it will work. I just need some sort of NDIS wrapper first, which I cannot get unless Ubuntu is connected to the internet.
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
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Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
"Linux for humans!" they call it! This human is pissed off at the amount of work required just to get a damned network card to work. If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play. No messing around with command line rubbish and updating config files manually to get a network card to work.
Hi, how's the weather in Redmond? So, you seriously compare the pre-installed product of the Billion Dollar company to the free software given gratis to you from volunteers? Unbelievable! :suss:
Well, if Linux wants to be taken seriously as a viable alternative to Windows then it has to be compared. It's just too bad that MS has billions to play with vs. the volunteers. If Linux doesn't like this then maybe it should just give up the ghost or concentrate on the commecial Unixes or go work for Apple.
Kevin
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I installed Ubuntu (Dapper Drake) onto my old laptop to see what it was like. It has no network connections built in so I wanted to use a Wireless PCMCIA card to communicate with the outside world. Ubuntu does not recognise the card natively, but I found some instructions of how to get it to work.... However, to follow the instructions you need an internet connection because it uses some commands that download and install things before installing the driver. When I did this under windows it just WORKED! Plug card in - Found new hardware - Installing driver - Set wireless password - Working internet connection! No faffing about on forums, no worrying about if the card is a V2 made in China or the V2 made in Taiwan model (because they actually use different chip sets, so you need to install different things). "Linux for humans!" they call it! This human is pissed off at the amount of work required just to get a damned network card to work. If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play. No messing around with command line rubbish and updating config files manually to get a network card to work. Rant over - normal service is resumed....
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
Well, I got an internet connection - but it is a wired connection so I am currently typing this from Ubuntu at a very odd angle because the length of cable I found wasn't very long (thank goodness I'm a hoarder when it comes to computer equipment) and I found an old PCMCIA ethernet card that worked as soon as it was plugged in. Now, lets see if I can follow all those instructions so I can get my wireless card to work. It looks like I'm going to have to set up the Wireless USB device (which is also not recognised) first, then switch to the Wireless PCMCIA device because I can't fit two PCMCIA devices in at the same time.
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
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I installed Ubuntu (Dapper Drake) onto my old laptop to see what it was like. It has no network connections built in so I wanted to use a Wireless PCMCIA card to communicate with the outside world. Ubuntu does not recognise the card natively, but I found some instructions of how to get it to work.... However, to follow the instructions you need an internet connection because it uses some commands that download and install things before installing the driver. When I did this under windows it just WORKED! Plug card in - Found new hardware - Installing driver - Set wireless password - Working internet connection! No faffing about on forums, no worrying about if the card is a V2 made in China or the V2 made in Taiwan model (because they actually use different chip sets, so you need to install different things). "Linux for humans!" they call it! This human is pissed off at the amount of work required just to get a damned network card to work. If Linux really is to take over from windows it needs to be plug-and-play. No messing around with command line rubbish and updating config files manually to get a network card to work. Rant over - normal service is resumed....
Upcoming Scottish Developers events: * UK Security Evangelists On Tour (2nd November, Edinburgh) * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
The wireless chipset/card manufacturers are not open about their specifications to the open source world. It is not just Ubuntu, most likely you are going to have to get your hands dirty with Fedora too. You cant really blame Linux for that. Most likely your card (if it is Netgear) will not work with Mac OSX either (without paying $15 to Orangeware). So OSX is as guilty as Ubuntu on that front. Linux actually has better wireless support once you get it up and running. It can put a wireless card in RFMON mode. This is why you dont find software like Kismet for windows. This is why most wardrivers run Linux. BTW: Are you talking about an Atheros card ?