Comments on: Non-Geeks Installing Ubuntu: Why Linux Needs Better Wireless Support

By: Toby Deemer

Toby Deemer — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:59:55 +0000

I agree. The entire “Linux isn’t ready” argument is hollow precisely because any shortcoming of a particular implementation lays solely on the shoulders of whichever manufacturer installed it. Because any maker is free to take the building blocks and do with it what they choose doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll build a nice house, per se.

MSI saw “four times as many returned units of Linux” because they used a bad implementation. (Nevermind the lack of numbers attached to that fact. They don’t say anything about actual percentages.)

By: Aubrey

Aubrey — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:45:39 +0000

“Wondering why Ubuntu was installed on the MSI Wind? Does it not already come with Linux? Wikipedia says it has SUSE Linux. Does that distro allow the wireless to operate?”

The modified distros that come on several netbooks do have the wireless drivers installed. But some of the other “tweaks” to make the distro more “friendly” are actually very annoying and they usually are provided without documentation or even recovery media. I had the same experience with an Acer Aspire One. I removed the “crippled” version of Xandros that came with it and installed Xubuntu – then had to go through the whole process of finding a new MADwifi driver and loading it. Lots of other tweaks too – but many have become reduntant with kernel updates.

I actually don’t think the manufacturers have done Linux a great favor with some of the bizarre and half-baked implementations they are delivering. Let’s hope Dell and HP, working with the Ubuntu Mobile people, pay more attention.

By: Vadim P.

Vadim P. — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:50:38 +0000

My current laptop came with a “Powered by Ubuntu Linux” sticker. From manufacturer.

So yes, I am enjoying the bliss of everything working. Intel wireless, nvidia graphics, mmm…

By: Wesley

Wesley — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:28:19 +0000

Chris, Exactly. I think that is why it is great to see Ubuntu being installed on new hardware people don’t have to go through that if they are not the most technically minded.

I recently installed Ubuntu and Vista on the same system the difference was amazing. The Ubuntu install took about 30 minutes and I was up and running, the Vista install even with “Vista Ready” hardware took me 2-3 hours to get all the drivers downloaded, updated, CD found, etc.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:00:39 +0000

Wesley: I agree that Ubuntu overall is much better than Windows for out-of-the-box support. I’ve never used Vista, but I remember from my XP days that you were lucky if even the ethernet worked worked on a fresh install without you having to hunt around for drivers first.

However, most non-geeks, who have never installed a Windows system from scratch, are unable to appreciate the hardware support built into the Linux kernel. They assume (in my experience) that because their computers came with drivers etc. already configured by the hardware vendor, these things must magically ‘just work’ in Windows. Not so, but the vast majority of people never have the chance to realize this.

By: Wesley

Wesley — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:40:07 +0000

I agree that better wireless support is needed, but it has improved so much in the last year or so I think it is becoming a non-issue. I am in a similar position as Tony, I upgraded and had another option for my broadcom card and now it works better in Ubuntu than in Windows. I never expected that day to come. You can never have too much hardware support I don’t suppose but from my experience Ubuntu still kicks the pants off of Vista for out of the box support.

By: Carl Snyder

Carl Snyder — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:55:53 +0000

re:Jack Fuller
MSI Wind is available in both Linux and WinXP versions, but Linux versions have been reported to be less available in the States.

By: 嘉佑

嘉佑 — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 07:58:00 +0000

I use a GSM broadband under Fedora 9, everything is fine.

By: Jack Fuller

Jack Fuller — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:16:42 +0000

Wondering why Ubuntu was installed on the MSI Wind? Does it not already come with Linux? Wikipedia says it has SUSE Linux. Does that distro allow the wireless to operate?

By: Toby Deemer

Toby Deemer — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 01:55:27 +0000

Hear hear…

I couldn’t agree more.

As a quick note though- I ran the somewhat nerve-racking “gksu update-manager -d” command and went through the Hardy to Intrepid-RC transformation.

Voila, my dreaded Broadcom bcm4318 wireless chipset sprang to life. And with the updated wireless stack that Intrepid boasts, it sees wireless points that I never saw before, neither from Linux nor windows.

(Also has actually functional dual head support withouth third part apps or drivers, but that’s for a different discussion. Both of these items are slated for an upcoming post. Stay tuned. Shameless plug over now. Thanks.)

And yes, Ubuntu is making great inroads, as you said. The IT company I work for, a die-hard Windows shop, our Help Desk engineer recently started asking me about Ubuntu and how to dual boot, whether to just install natively, etc. He wanted to “try another OS, and it was the most likely candidate.” Ubuntu’s also making some rumor waves in the company as an alternative because of the economy ripples we’ve seen lately.

Here’s hoping the momentum continues.