Re: Slightly OT, seeking advice on Linux for a laptop

On 2008-05-30, Raúl Muñiz <slarti@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Fri, 30 May 2008 06:27:34 GMT, andrew <andrew@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
proffered, in : news:20080530161936.179@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

So I personally would advise one of the less 'technical'
distros for a laptop unless you are prepared to put a lot of time and
effort into it.

Only potential problem I can see is the wireless. The page you gave
does not mention the chip and this will be crucial in deciding if
wireless 'just works' or you will be wrestling with windows drivers
and ndiswrapper.


Thanks for the heads-up about the wireless. We are currently a one-PC
household, so easy wireless is a very big part of the whole raisin debt
for the laptop. As for the distro, I’m very biased toward OpenSuse. On
my current desktop, 10.3 really did “just work”, and I’m hoping that
11.0 might be similarly efficacious on the laptop. Of course, that
might be as likely as Hillary taking the VP slot on the McCain ticket.
:)

According to
<http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=2093&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en
&product=3708298&lang=en> or <http://tiny.cc/2ipPb> that model uses either
Intel or Broadcom WiFi NIC. The machine I'm using at present is an HP
Pavilion laptop with a Broadcom wireless NIC (BCM4306) which works
perfectly with a native Linux driver plus a little 'proprietary' code
snipped from the Windows driver using a simple Linux tool built for the
job (as Broadcom don't want to release an official Linux driver, for some
reason). That's a darned nuisance, but not difficult - I just followed
the instructions from the Mandriva web site, as far as I can remember.
I've also sucessfully used that NIC with the Windows driver and
ndiswrapper - Mandriva has a good GUI for either approach, I didn't need
to delve into text config files at all, although a little command-line
work is involved.

I don't know anything about Intel wireless NICs. Another machine I have
uses an Atheros wireless NIC, and that was recognised and configured
automatically by the Mandriva installation routine using a 'pure' Linux
driver ("madwifi").

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~
.

Relevant Pages

  • [NT] Microsoft Windows Wireless Exposure on Laptops
    ... Microsoft Windows Wireless Exposure on Laptops ... If a Windows based laptop connects to an ad-hoc network it can later start ... * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Gold Wireless Network Connection ...
    (Securiteam)
  • Re: One Users My Documents no longer redirected.
    ... to auto-magically update everything without them needing to find a network ... So I would think that a wireless 54 mbps connection would be ... and one laptop, and try it for a day or two to see what happens. ... should have guidelines for the number of simultaneous client connections ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: One Users My Documents no longer redirected.
    ... even connect to the network at all because it's a PITA. ... So I would think that a wireless 54 mbps connection would be ... one laptop, and try it for a day or two to see what happens. ... active directory OU as the other users whose redirection works? ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: One Users My Documents no longer redirected.
    ... a network jack etc etc. ... So I would think that a wireless 54 mbps connection ... and one laptop, and try it for a day or two to see what happens. ... client connections their device supports. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: One Users My Documents no longer redirected.
    ... So I would think that a wireless 54 mbps connection would be good ... laptop, and try it for a day or two to see what happens. ... client PCs will log into the network without a user login. ... active directory OU as the other users whose redirection works? ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)