Slashdot Mirror

Is there a regularly-updated list around, anywhere, of what wireless hardware is well supported under particular distributions, and whether it has drivers in the kernel, or from some additional source, or requires binary blobs?

The major distros all provide hardware compatibility info. Here's the page for Ubuntu:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupport

Ubuntu dropped commercial paid technical support for PowerPC. They are still releasing official PowerPC releases, with updates and everything.

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/feisty/re lease/

Yes. You shouldn't use automatix at all.

gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Make the lines have this ending:

deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ feisty main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ feisty restricted main universe multiverse

Yes. You shouldn't use automatix at all.

gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Make the lines have this ending:

deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ feisty main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ feisty restricted main universe multiverse

Actually to install CD less laptops a much better option is to use netboot install.. It's usually very fast if you have a good connection, and very flexible as long as you have another computer standing by.

I have a Mobility X700 in my notebook and use the X.Org 'radeon' driver without hiccups; I have used ATI's FGLRX driver also without problem, having followed the ATI driver walkthough at wiki.ubuntu.com. I believe it's become even easier with the new Resstricted Drivers Manager in Ubuntu Feisty and Gutsy.

And you can download it here

With Windows, there's a support number you can call, or you can take it to a local computer store, or ask for help among the massive number of Windows users - in short, you're not stuck with snobs on forums who think you should be able to hand-edit configuration files without being able to see anything on the screen.

Were you pictured in one of the first 3? I am not the type of guy to put a man down and not help him back up. Here is some advice to bring balance back to your life. First, switch to this. It is a compromise (and not my first choice) but it will give you time to implement my other advice. Second, buy and start using this and these. Third, stop eating these and talk to these people. It is not everything but it is a start. Just imagine yourself as cool as this guy. Read the DISCLAIMER

As I already mentioned, I have been using Linux for about 6 or 7 years. During that time I do not recall either Libranet or Gentoo being the most widely used distro. The source based Gentoo has always just filled a small market niche for those who want the option of compiling everything from source. Libranet is a Canadian based Debian derived distro who's development has now been discontinued. You didn't mention Fedora Core was extremely popular several years ago and which still has a strong following. It is a Red Hat derived distro which uses RPM packages instead of Debian packages.

When I first started using Linux back in about 2000, I stated with Red Hat. Ubuntu has been gaining popularity for several years now. In the several years before that, whenever I went hang out have have some beer and pizza with the local Linux users at a local Linux User Group(LUG) meeting, some people would say they used Fedora Core, some used SuSE, some used Debian, some used Mandrake or something else. Now at local LUG meetings about half of the club members say they use either Ubuntu or Kubuntu. To me, the Linux market seems much less segmented than it was several years ago.

• Fedora
• Ubuntu
• Gentoo
• Libranet

Vista is far more secure than Lunix.

Done and done.

Okay.

Welcome to Canada, it's the Maple Leaf state

Gotta love the CBC (again, in Canada). I hear that Al Jazeera English is pretty impartial, too.

You have elections coming up, right?

Okay, that's a long-term goal.

That's why, if I take a vacation in Europe next year, I'm probably going to buy a GSM phone, unencumbered with all of this North American market philosophy. My understanding is that, in Europe, the mobile market involves many parties competing to provide the best service at the lowest cost... I'm not sure that I really understand this "competition" thing (that's where all of the gas stations charge exactly the same thing because you have no choice but to suck it up, right?), but I hear it's good.

This is the upstream project from which several components of Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded are being derived. As such things like the moblin image creator are documented in the Ubuntu Mobile User Guide which is being developed here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UMEGuide

hmmmm... when Matt Zimmerman announced Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded Edition, he was delighted to be working with Intel on this version of Ubuntu. Is there really a reason to create a separate project?

Ah, even lynx can be exploited (for example: http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-206-1) to make room for malwares.
I want to use wget, but it is also has a history of bugs that can be exploited.
I'll stick with telnet, and parse it with my eyes. Although it is a bit difficult for HTTPS sites.

You're welcome!

Ah, one thing I forgot to mention: if you do go with Ubuntu, make sure you scan the unusually user-friendly and clear documentation and use the Ubuntu Forums when you need help. There are thousands of members logged on at any given time, and most of them are friendly and polite. These Ubuntu people... they've got this weird idea that normal people should be able to use Linux...

Can you tell I'm a fan?

Besides being pleasantly surprised at how the community has changed, you'll also be pleasantly surprised at how little you have to muck about on the command line. I haven't had to recompile a kernel in years, for example, nor manually edit the X configuration file. The default setups are generally usable and secure, and if you need to change something, there's almost always a GUI for it.

As far as VMWare goes - yes, do it, but burn an Ubuntu install CD first and boot from it normally. It doubles as a live CD, so you can get some idea how well your hardware is supported.

I have re-written quite a few xorg.conf files to deal with my dual-head display and have not yet come across a distro that handles it well enough to just use a GUI.

You know...I enjoy Ubuntu, but seems that you have a few good points, but it all lead me to one question...with all of your "why's" have you brought them to the attention to the Ubuntu developers? http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate/develo perzone/ I think it's great that you are keeping a running list, but forward it to the people who might be able to fix it.

You can order a free CD by snail mail here. Alternatively, you can buy or download. The site will guide you to the Desktop CD in any case. (The free CDs are always Desktop).

NOTE: Embarrassingly, the download link does not work as I write this. I emailed the webmaster.

This guide will get you up and running. I've used many different guides but this is deffinently my favorite. Detailed pictures great for new users or frustrated not new users.

Mythtv Ubuntu guide

The next release will be interesting to see. Being a LTS version...

The next release will be interesting to see. Being a LTS version, I can see it spreading rather quickly and staying there for quite a while. It definitely has had a lot of upgrades since the last LTS flavor.

Unless I'm horribly mistaken, I'm pretty sure that Gutsy Gibbon is NOT a LTS release.

from https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-ann ounce/2007-April/000276.html

"Gutsy will not be an LTS (Long Term Support) release, but it will nonetheless see a lot of server work and be useful for fast-moving server deployments. "

How do you pronounce Ubuntu?
Ubuntu, an African word from Zulu and Xhosa, is pronounced "oo-BOON-too".

POPULARITY CONTEST
When you install this package, it sets up a cron job that will anonymously submit statistics about your most used packages periodically to the developers. This information helps us make decisions such as which packages should be promoted and so be in standard installs.
Homepage: http://popcon.ubuntu.com/

sounds like you just need to spend more than a day or two with your ps3. from the sounds of it, you dont know how to use it yet. most of the DLNA stuff is shoddy software. play around until you find one that you like. but if you can only get MPEG files to play on it, maybe you are doing it wrong.

to my knowledge, kubuntu is not "wholely" optimized for the ps3, but you shouldve known that right? as a matter of fact, unless they changed their minds, didn't they drop "official" PPC/ Cell support entirely?

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/ 2007-February/000098.html

also, skip untold legends [aka champions of norrath: lite]; you might want to look into the upcoming ps3 version of monster hunter.

The already make that.

>> Item 8 states that the majority of the traffic on P2P is pirated material .... While no one is going to argue the amount of pirated content available on P2P networks, given (a) that many Linux releases use BT as a distribution medium (Fedora, Ubuntu, CentOS, OpenSUSE, etc.) with images up to a DVD-ROM's worth of data (4.5 Gb), (b) the amount of video-based material (movies and television) that is out there, whose files are no doubt larger than audio MP3 rips, is it fair to assume that the music industry's concerns are a relatively small portion of the overall P2P traffic? Going to a popular tracker site such as http://mininova.org/, the largest BT swarms are typically found for the prior night's TV shows. Item 9 (sales decline directly related to pirated content) has been contested for some time; the industry has reduced its number of releases, the majority sellers are now the big-box stores who carry little in the way of back-catalog material in favor of chart-topping new releases, and the rise of sales in DVDs (sell-through DVD prices comparable to new-release CDs appearing as a better value).

Have you ever heard of Ubuntu?
Its goal is exactly what you describe, here is a quote from the Ubuntu Linux website:

Ubuntu 'Just Works'
We've done all the hard work for you. Once Ubuntu is installed, all the basics are in place so that your system will be immediately usable.

And it adds that it has all the most common applications: a web browser, a mail client...

I have to add that I'm not a big fan of these distributions 'just work'. It seems to imply: "This is a OS that even the dumbest can use."
Something you can use even if you're still wondering: "How do I download the Internet?"

We have Debian. The community existed before commercial interests took notice of us and we do not need any commercial vendor.

Um, yes, you do. Debian was dying before Ubuntu came along and without Ubuntu it would have been deader than dead by now.

People Ready

Does owning People Ready Business mean that Microsoft has given up the rights of calling employees stupid dinosaurs that need to buy a new version of Office in order to survive?

If so, maybe I can use that ad campaign idea myself. Hey executives: Buy my crap, or you are a stupid dinosaur! What an effective campaign. Interesting to see Microsoft do a 180 in terms of flattery.

People Ready Business
45-5F-E1-04-22-CA-29-C4-93-3F-95-05-2B-79-2A-B2 !!!
I will not be silenced!!!

I second that;
Might I suggest that we all blog the term People Ready Business, and link it to www.ubuntu.com or our www.apple.com our our favourite decent provider of software, and someone who deserves the publicity. A bit like all the tags for VISTA on amazon marking it as DRM Filled, Buggy, Bad Vista etc..

Might I suggest that we all blog the term People Ready Business, and link it to www.ubuntu.com or our www.apple.com our our favourite decent provider of software, and someone who deserves the publicity. A bit like all the tags for VISTA on amazon marking it as DRM Filled, Buggy, Bad Vista etc..

slim? my understanding is that the DRM is already cracked badly enough that it would be technically possible to transparently decode the DVDs on Linux, it's just that nobody has bothered to make it that simple yet. See https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormat s/BluRayAndHDDVD

Ok, you've got many PCs most of which run Windows XP. They've been crashing every Exploit Wednesday since October. Every one has a license that was paid for three times (six times under Software Assurance). You have seventeen core apps. Some of them are paid for several times. Some have a licensing server so that some people can use them when other people aren't, and come with a utility so that priority users can kick off nonpriority users. A couple of them are free. Four of them are nagware that came with your PCs or that you thought were a good idea at the time. One is an in-house app that only runs in a DOS box and accesses dBase files stored on your server. Every month a couple get pwned for no detectable reason.

Even if they don't run Windows you've paid over and over. You have to because they've made it happen what "enforcement" will happen if you don't.

Every software vendor you buy from makes it clear the software you bought is being split into "basic" versions that include most of the features you use, and an "Enterprise" version that includes must have features you can't live without. Both new versions will be annual subscriptions instead of purchases. Naturally, the Premium version you require will cost many times what you already paid and the cost will be annual rather than once each. Of course they're entitled to this conversion of your purchase into a "revenue stream" because they've upgraded their product from an application to a "platform framework" that "optimizes" your "TCO".

You're thinking about investigating this multicore thing that people are talking about, but it seems impossible to reconcile the software licenses with multiple "cores" on one or more CPUs. You want to do server consolidation, but every server app has to be evaluated both by a professional enginner and by a hideously expensive team of lawyers who also want to audit every piece of software you've purchased since 1974. Your CPA wants to know why you licensed the same software 3-6 times for each PC, and why you're buying licenses for software that won't run on the PCs they're purchased for. And what's this entry for "SCO Linux licenses"? You live in dread of being audited by jack-booted thugs, not because you're pirating but because the danger of a paperwork snafu that destroys your budget is nearly certain and the slightest discrepancy is going to get you canned.

I have one question: What the hell are you thinking? Get off the train to crazy town. The free stuff isn't just good, it's better. So much better that you're not going to believe you put up with this crap. If it's truly free you don't have to account for each copy/user/use/year/processor/incidence. It's not free because it's less worthy: it's free because you're not the first person to be disgusted by the experience you're having. Pay for support. Nobody ever got sued for terminating their support contract. Figure it out. The world has changed. The future is open.

Not the same though, I think you were looking for this.

Well, you might prefer Debian anyway, but the Ubuntu one is closer to what was suggested, all that needs to be done is make the installer silent and sneak it in as a Windows update.

Open source projects are always looking for help, this is from ubuntu open week IRC logs with explanation of various things Ubuntu does and how you can help,a lot of questions for beginners are answered https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuOpenWeek

It took me a bit to find the docs the first time around, so here are some direct links for anyone interested:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomi zation
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomi zation/Scripts
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomi zation/PreseedExamples

Enjoy!

It took me a bit to find the docs the first time around, so here are some direct links for anyone interested:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomi zation
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomi zation/Scripts
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomi zation/PreseedExamples

Enjoy!

It took me a bit to find the docs the first time around, so here are some direct links for anyone interested:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomi zation
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomi zation/Scripts
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomi zation/PreseedExamples

Enjoy!

I've never used the package you reference. However, I have been fairly successful in rebuilding Ubuntu ISO's with my own package selection. Try this page if you decide to look at Ubuntu for your Custom Installer. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomi zation

Note that the Ubuntu Customization Kit you mentioned is aimed at creating custom ISOs for LIVE CDs, not for actual installation. A good place to get info on creating install cds is https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomi zation

http://www.ubuntu.com/support/paid

Unless you're talking about a deal with Dell to supply business support, in which case you may be right.

Why wait the "next OS" is already here

Apple has beaten the world's most popular desktop operating system and the world's most popular Unixalike to the punch with multi-platform support.

That has to be the funniest line in the whole thing. Apple, by any imaginable explanation, is dead last with "multi-platform support", especially if you're considering 64 bit to be multi-platform. For one, you only talk about PPC, x86, x64 and SPARC. Linux and *BSD run on literally dozens more architectures and have for many years (decades?). Windows went 64 bit years ago as well. Only in the past 1.5 years can you even remotely consider apple to be multi-platform.

... a user can use the same DVD to install Mac OS X on a ...

Now I'm not sure if your argument is multi-platform support or fewest disks to install. Either way, apple is still the last one to the table. Vista's 6 versions, depending on which of the numerous methods you acquire the disk from (MSDN, open licensing, OEM, retail, etc.) can all be installed from a single disk with the version being chosen upon installation and verified by the key that's entered. For IT shops, it's easy to acquire a disk that contains all 12 versions of Vista (6 versions on both 32 and 64 bit) on one DVD, again with the key verifying which was installed. This is also possible with Windows XP; you can install Home or Professional edition, OEM or Retail versions from the same disk and have been able to since '01 or '02. Also on Ubuntu, the alternate install CD installs all of the following: x86, x64, SPARC, PPC, Sony PS3. So now both your multi-platform support and fewest disks arguments are destroyed. Now let's move on...

It even goes so far as to allow 64-bit apps without a 32-bit binary to run in 32-bit mode transparently, which is unprecedented thus far.

Because for Windows and Linux, it's been not needed thus far. Again, see above - Windows and Linux have been using 64 bit processors for over 4 years now. People who choose to run 64 bit apps don't have any need to run them on old busted 32 bit machines - every PC that can be considered even remotely current has a 64 bit processor. That's not true with apple, being so late to join the party, so they have to provide some way to support their previous architecture.

So while you can download one version of Ubuntu for both 32- and 64-bit x86, if you want to run 32-bit programs on a 64-bit system you have to download a compatibility layer, check library dependencies, and compile it yourself.

OK, now you've singled out Ubuntu. That's pretty much how Linux works, you install what you need when you need it. You're trying to praise apple for pre-loading a possibly unneeded 32 bit compatibility layer. The 32-bit compatibility layer in Linux is easy enough to install. In many distributions it can be installed during initial system installation. On other 64 bit distributions it's included by default (same as apple). And of course Windows does, and has been doing for years, exactly what apple is going to do, maybe, 5 months from now. Good job.

At most, when counting Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server as two different "versions" of the operating system, you still have only to choose one and are then done with it.

So, what you're saying is that apple offers very little choice in one's ability to buy what they need and customize a system. <car-analogy>Buying a mac is like buying a Ford but you can only pick between a Ford car and a F

Ubuntu and Linspire made a deal to bring Click and Run technology to Ubuntu. How this patent pact with Microsoft affects the relationship between Ubuntu and Linspire?

... and Windows wasn't ...

It's right here.

... I wiped the whole system clean ...

That's a good start. If you're going to insist on using Windows, wiping and reinstalling on a regular basis is a must. I recommend at least annually. More often if you use Yahoo search, flash games or shareware. If you use AOL or MSN and chat or IRC, you may as well boot from the Windows install CD each day.

Getting it set up the way you like it, and creating an "image" file of that setup with Symantec Ghost or something like it makes the process a lot less painful.

Or you could try actually solving the problem, but I note from your post you don't care for that answer for some non-specified reason.

If you do ecommerce from a platform you know to be insecure, don't expect everyone here to lobby for legal solutions to your technical problem.

Ubuntu would be very well suited for this with its LTSP integration: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuLTSP For help on server sizes see this page: http://wiki.ltsp.org/twiki/bin/view/Ltsp/ServerSiz ing