no, ubuntu 8.04 is not ready to take on windows
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| tuxchick May 28, 2008 4:27 PM EDT |
I have Kubuntu 8.04 installed on my Thinkpad T61, and I don't know what they did to wireless support, but it's like they regressed several releases. It doesn't see the onboard Intel 3945ABG wireless chipset at all. 7.04 didn't see it either. There are several bug reports on this (such as http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Download#DownloadlatestLin... , with the ritual forlorn, partly-helpful response from a single developer). It did correctly recognize and configure my Atheros-based PC card. 8.04 also recognized the Atheros card, but didn't install madwifi-tools, which are required. It's like some drunk people got into the build and randomly broke things. It hurts to give Microsoft credit for anything, but basic networking configuration in Vista works beautifully. Better than in XP, and much better than the Hardy Heron. There is also the chronic problem of multiple graphical network configurators, and no guidance on which ones actually work, and Network Manager and Avahi helpfully getting in the way. (I nuke both of 'em, the pests.) The System Settings control panel is still full of poorly-functioning applets that sometimes work, and sometimes don't, and it's especially fun to hit the Help button, and get 'There is no documentation available!' Gee, thanks! Some of this is Kubuntu-specific, and Kubuntu is known as the unwanted Buntu stepchild. I could rail about printing, too- as old as CUPS is, and with Apple funding it, why tf isn't it any better? For example, it still doesn't report which printers are actually online and available; it reports them as "idle, accepting jobs." TurboPrint is still the only inkjet driver suite that shows ink levels and has maintenance commands. This is pitiful- basic functions that are behind the times and undependable. I haven't tried plain old Debian on this Thinkpad yet. The main reason I've stuck with Kubuntu is it makes fonts more readable- for some reason I never could get Debian to be tolerably readable on my laptops. Might be time to try again. |
| herzeleid May 28, 2008 5:20 PM EDT |
FWIW ubuntu 8.04 runs perfectly on my Compaq V6000 laptop, including wireless, sound, laptop controls, Xorg Direct Rendering, suspend/hibernate and resume. - could it be that you're one of the lucky people with wireless hardware that doesn't have a working linux driver? BTW I've been a kde user for years, but I found kubuntu to be flaky, as though it were designed as a straw man meant to show the superiority of gnome. I use gnome on my ubuntu laptop, and it's not bad, given the improvements in gnome over the past year or so. So no, windows is not ready to take on linux, at least on this laptop - ubuntu wins, microsoft flunks, end of story. |
| bigg May 28, 2008 5:40 PM EDT |
TC I feel your pain after installing Hardy and then not having the time to install something over the top for several weeks. > It hurts to give Microsoft credit for anything, but basic networking configuration in Vista works beautifully. Well, I've said #@$%!! more than a few times with my wife's Vista laptop. XP and any Linux work better for some reason. It just stops working randomly and then after wasting an enormous amount of time, it magically reappears. |
| tuxchick May 28, 2008 5:48 PM EDT |
herzeleid, both the Intel and Atheros chipsets are well-supported on Linux. Ubuntu doesn't install the right kernel modules or userland tools. I had PCLinuxOS on the Thinkpad for quite awhile, and it was really nice and had no problems with networking, but it kept coming up short in the software repos. Debian has spoiled me for package selection. bigg and herzeleid, maybe the missing ingredients are chicken feet and incense :) |
| azerthoth May 28, 2008 9:11 PM EDT |
bigg, I feel your pain. I'm in the middle of a battle with my wifes Vista laptop connecting to my print server. Every other Linux computer in the house connects and works no problems, XP connects and works no problems, Vista ... well it connects but past that it only thinks it sends the print jobs. After some research I found the issue and a work around, for Vista to print I have to map it to the print server via my desktop because of hplip. Debian sid doesnt have a version high enough to support my printer and vista. It's a cheesy work around, but I cant even imagine trying to put Gentoo onto an OLPC XO. Yes I finally found a use for that piece of junk, print/scanner server with kooka up and running in a perpetual VNC session. It scans the images and drops them straight into a webserver so you can retrieve them via a web browser. |
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