Anyone know about Linux ?

[BigBen]

Hello,

I have just got a Dell Mini 10 netbook and have installed Ubuntu Netbook Remix without any problems however I can't get WiFi to work.

Any suggestions / pointers ?

Cheers

Ben

[james_gt3rs]

Ask here:

http://ubuntuforums.org/

Pretty common problem IIRC.

[Timsta]

It should work on that machine. Probably just needs configuring.

Go to: System>Preferences>Network Connections

Alternatively, click on the network icon in the top right of the screen and enable wireless. Then left click it and select your network.

ETA: if it's a 1012 then see here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupport/Machines/N...

Edited by Timsta on Wednesday 17th February 23:02

[bitwrx]

A quick google.com/linux search shows you may not be the only one.

When I first switched to buntu on my laptop, I couldn't get the Network Manager (nm-applet) to automatically connect to my BT home hub. I had to use the Network Manager to set up a static IP for the laptop. Obviously, this isn't all that good for a netbook which is used for roaming around getting wi-fi in a cafe or wherever! No DHCP = No interweb in Starbucks.

After a while, an updated driver for the onboard wireless chip came out, and all was sorted.

It's this kind of st that makes me think that despite massive advances, even in the few years I've been playing with Linux, it really is going to struggle as a Desktop OS. Don't get me wrong, when you get it working it's bloody marvellous. But unless little niggles like this are ironed out completely, it'll never be anything more than a hobbyist's OS.

Having said that, I just installed 9.10 this eve. Started manual partitioning at 9. Had dinner for an hour or so. The updates have just finished downloading, and I'm now posting on PH, so it's not all bad.

Sorry I can't be much help on this one, with no direct experience n'all.

[pbirkett]

Wifi has always been a crock of st on Linux. Nice to see it hasn't been sorted properly after all these years. As such as said above it will remain a hobbyists (geeks) operating system unless it can work properly out of the box.

[cs02rm0]

pbirkett said:

Wifi has always been a crock of st on Linux.

Wifi works fine, it's just the drivers for certain cards.

[BigBen]

Thanks all. Will have another go this evening.

I should point out that I am a complete Linux virgin so even though many web sites have suggested fixes I am not entierly sure WTF they are talking about!

Cheers

Ben

[bitwrx]

BigBen said:

Thanks all. Will have another go this evening.

I should point out that I am a complete Linux virgin so even though many web sites have suggested fixes I am not entierly sure WTF they are talking about!

Cheers

Ben

Yeh if you find something you think is useful, but don't understand, post it up here. I'll try and decipher it if I can.

[BigBen]

OK I can goto the 'hardware drivers' screen in Ubuntu and it says there is a Broadcom STA proprietary wireless driver which is not activated.

-I click activate then type my password to autorise installation.
-Following this it says it is downloading and installing driver.
-Then it goes back to the menu and shows the same screen and the driver still shows that it is not activated.

I suspect the problem is when it says downloading it does not have a network connection so can't be downloading anything.

Suggestions ?

Ben

[BigBen]

Got it to work by trying everything suggested on loads of forums and randomly it worked in the end. Was missing a 'patch' that I was supposed to magically know about it seems. I see a long road ahead with Linux !

Ben

[Timsta]

Hang in there, it's worth it.

[Blue Meanie]

BigBen said:

OK I can goto the 'hardware drivers' screen in Ubuntu and it says there is a Broadcom STA proprietary wireless driver which is not activated.

-I click activate then type my password to autorise installation.
-Following this it says it is downloading and installing driver.
-Then it goes back to the menu and shows the same screen and the driver still shows that it is not activated.

I suspect the problem is when it says downloading it does not have a network connection so can't be downloading anything.

Suggestions ?

Ben

Can't you physically plug in in order to get the updates/drivers?

[BigBen]

Blue Meanie said:

BigBen said:

OK I can goto the 'hardware drivers' screen in Ubuntu and it says there is a Broadcom STA proprietary wireless driver which is not activated.

-I click activate then type my password to autorise installation.
-Following this it says it is downloading and installing driver.
-Then it goes back to the menu and shows the same screen and the driver still shows that it is not activated.

I suspect the problem is when it says downloading it does not have a network connection so can't be downloading anything.

Suggestions ?

Ben

Can't you physically plug in in order to get the updates/drivers?

Yes that is what I did, this was part of the typing in random stuff found on the web solution outlined above.

[bitwrx]

BigBen said:

OK I can goto the 'hardware drivers' screen in Ubuntu and it says there is a Broadcom STA proprietary wireless driver which is not activated.

-I click activate then type my password to autorise installation.
-Following this it says it is downloading and installing driver.
-Then it goes back to the menu and shows the same screen and the driver still shows that it is not activated.

I suspect the problem is when it says downloading it does not have a network connection so can't be downloading anything.

Suggestions ?

Ben

Same thing with my wireless drivers. Intel wouldn't release the source code so Ubuntu didn't include it by default. It's all to do with Ubuntu being free-as-in-speech - they aim to have the whole distro open source, so proprietary drivers are seen as a necessary evil.

In the end, with mine, someone reverse engineered an open source driver which is now included by default. So yeh, Intel won the battle, but Open Source won the war, as it were.

Glad to hear it's working now. How are you getting along with it?

[BigBen]

bitwrx said:

BigBen said:

OK I can goto the 'hardware drivers' screen in Ubuntu and it says there is a Broadcom STA proprietary wireless driver which is not activated.

-I click activate then type my password to autorise installation.
-Following this it says it is downloading and installing driver.
-Then it goes back to the menu and shows the same screen and the driver still shows that it is not activated.

I suspect the problem is when it says downloading it does not have a network connection so can't be downloading anything.

Suggestions ?

Ben

Same thing with my wireless drivers. Intel wouldn't release the source code so Ubuntu didn't include it by default. It's all to do with Ubuntu being free-as-in-speech - they aim to have the whole distro open source, so proprietary drivers are seen as a necessary evil.

In the end, with mine, someone reverse engineered an open source driver which is now included by default. So yeh, Intel won the battle, but Open Source won the war, as it were.

Glad to hear it's working now. How are you getting along with it?

So far so good, I think. I managed to install a C compiler without any problems. Still might have to cheat and buy a book to learn a bit more about what is going on rather than blindly copying lines from web sites.

[Zumbruk]

pbirkett said:

Wifi has always been a crock of st on Linux. Nice to see it hasn't been sorted properly after all these years. As such as said above it will remain a hobbyists (geeks) operating system unless it can work properly out of the box.

You'd be better addressing your comments to the hardware manufacturers who won't write drivers for Linux, or release documentation to allow them to be written, rather than at Linux 'per se'.

[bitwrx]

Zumbruk said:

pbirkett said:

Wifi has always been a crock of st on Linux. Nice to see it hasn't been sorted properly after all these years. As such as said above it will remain a hobbyists (geeks) operating system unless it can work properly out of the box.

You'd be better addressing your comments to the hardware manufacturers who won't write drivers for Linux, or release documentation to allow them to be written, rather than at Linux 'per se'.

Yeh. In this case, as in mine, a driver did exist. But it wasn't included by default because it's not open source.

So it's not Linux's fault, just Ubuntu for having a philosophy and sticking to it. Good on them I say, but it is frustrating for first time users who don't necessarily know what to expect.

BigBen said:

bitwrx said:

Glad to hear it's working now. How are you getting along with it?

So far so good, I think. I managed to install a C compiler without any problems. Still might have to cheat and buy a book to learn a bit more about what is going on rather than blindly copying lines from web sites.

It is a little unnerving just copying stuff onto the command line sometimes. But at least the Linux middle mouse button copying thing makes it easy (highlight text, go to command line, click middle mouse button (or both buttons on a laptop/two button mouse), behold freshly pasted text). Also, unless you're a fiddler like me, your use of the command line will drop off sharply once it's all set up.

Your next hurdle is likely to be proprietary media formats. You'll have to enable the Medibuntu software repository and install as required. Command line or GUI methods available. Google is your friend.

If you're writing some code, install Vim, the best text editor ever. With a massive barrier to entry. But very good once you've learned a few commands.