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121 Comments
- airjrdn, on 10/12/2007, -27/+76Sweet, only 3 pages of command line hacks to enable technology made popular 7 years ago.
WooHoo! - brufleth, on 10/12/2007, -5/+22Odd that the parents gets dugg down for making a relatively true statement and the first response gets dug up for making a relatively false statement. I do not have to restart every thirty minutes. In fact, I would wager the vast majority of Windows users do not have to restart. I can't remember the last time I had to restart because "cause their Web Browser is built into their Kernel."
- jwoelich, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16...says the guy with enough free time to go out of his way to insult perfect strangers from the safety of his computer desk...
- pabster, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Just what I was thinking.
This is the kind of BS that turns people OFF from Ubuntu, and Linux in general. - bieber, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Umm...
Or, maybe, that most WiFi drivers don't provide Linux drivers and firmware? Yeah, I'm thinking that's probably what you meant... - crafteh, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11Mine worked out of the box on my T40. Ubuntu seems to recognize most wifi cards on its own.
- mauvehead, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8This article is only for Broadcom devices, not all Wifi in Linux.
Here is another similar guide for how to get the Intel 3945 working in Ubuntu
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=140085 - jwoelich, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9I wasn't aware that Windows XP shipped with compatible drivers for every wireless card make and model. That's crazy! Maybe my Windows XP cd is broken or something, because it seems like I have to spend about 25-30 minutes installing drivers and rebooting after doing a clean install. Where can I buy this magical XP install disk you have? Is it a DVD? That's got to take up a ton of space.
[/sarcasm] - bignate, on 10/12/2007, -8/+14I'll second that. I run windows on various internet connections (some firewalled, some not) with no antivirus and no antispyware. I go to "seedy" sites and download tons of music and software. I never have problems (even when i AM running IE, which isn't all that often).. The only time I ever reboot is when I go home at night.
I like Linux, and have used it in the past, but it's not appropriate for the work I do on a day-to-day basis. The parent post is accurate. While this is a good tutorial, it's funny how MS gets bashed for having a "terrible UI," when I can connect to ANY wireless network with about three mouse clicks, and it takes all this work to accomplish the same thing in Linux.
Linux has come a long way, but it's still got a ways to go. - stonyhill, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6My Intel wifi card worked automagically.
Broadcom cards are a particular problem, because their drivers are proprietary, and there is no Linux version provided by Broadcom. That it is possible to use them at all in Linux is a testament to the skill and dedication of OS developers. - pabster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@crafteh
Yeah, my Intel 2915ABG worked 'out of the box' also. Except it couldn't handle WPA2 without me resorting to configuration file hell and wpa_supplicant, as well as having to manually request an IP address. Talk about ridiculous!
Now, to be fair, SuSE 10.1 worked TRULY out-of-the-box. Set it right up, and WPA2 was right there. Nothing to configure, worked right away. This is how ALL distros should be. - nickm, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Just in time for dapper :)
- Night, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6First its less then half a page, second the only reason you need a stupid tutorial is because a certain company who we shall just call broadcom won't open their hardware specifications, or make a Linux driver. To make things worse the company uses none standard chip sets. If your wireless card doesn't use broadcom chips then it works fine on Linux. Finally on windows it lost my wifi connection every hour and to get it back you had to reset the computer and reinput the wep, so much for something working out of the box on windows.
- jwoelich, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6"Yeah, that's it. Tell people to buy new hardware.
***** Linux fanboys."
And what do you think this is meant to do, scooter?
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx - tapo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Wow, I never knew OS/2 could do such a good job.
- bieber, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8I love how people bitch about GNU systems not having built in support for most wifi adapters, when it's technically and legally impossible for them to do so. Idiots.
As for the article, I can only say THANK YOU to whoever first Dugg this. I've been spending ages trying to figure out why Dapper shows my adapter but won't let me connect with it. - GrinningFool, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3You realize that this most likely means you're running only simple, easily cracked encryption -- or possibly none at all? I hope you're enjoying sharing your network with the neighborhood...
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Well..it says you need access to other repositories that are online...so if you have 2 connections, great, but if you're wireless only, then who cares?
- syberghost, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4wpa_supplicant is now bundled in the base install, thanks to a wishlist bug filed by me.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I'd rather there be a whole manual, this just isn't as much fun.
- beni, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7@airjrdn: I'd call you a troll, sir, but you're right.
- uahgekido, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Luckily, Ubuntu recognizes the WiFi in my Vaio on boot. Fedora, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Thus, I run Ubuntu on my laptop.
- KJay, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I didn't say anything about your, I clearly specified my grandma.
My grandmother happens to be a brillian lady, a retired millionaire from a business she entrepeneured. However, that doesn't mean that she is adept with a computer. Just because you've been working on a computer since you were old enough to type, doesn't mean everyone else in the world has. It's a trivial task to run a few miles for a track star who's been running everyday for years, but I'd like to see you get your fat ass up and do it. - pabster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@el_jefe
Fair enough. You are in the 0.01% minority who actually enjoy spending an evening writing cumbersome configuration files and sitting at a bash prompt.
Just be smart enough to realize the other 99.9% want no part of it, and won't do it, which is why Linux's market share is so low. - ordminute, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5There was and never will be a guarantee that any Linux distribution will work on every variation of that gazillion different install targets out there in the world currently. To expect that it should is ridiculous. To say that "Linux will never be for the desktop unless a particular Wifi chipset works out of the box" is foolish for exactly the same reason.
In the case of the Broadcom chipset above the card needs 'firmware' special software to run. Download it, install it. Big Deal.
If you do expect, even demand that your Wifi chipset Just Works at the point of install, and don't want to Google for a solution and use a Gui or commandline to install the firmware following clear instructions, then you have 2 "put your money where your mouth is" options:
A/ Pay for some customer support, just as you would on OSX, just as you would on Windows:
http://www.ubuntu.com/support/paid
B/Buy a computer with Ubuntu pre-installed, just as you did with OSX or Windows:
http://system76.com/
http://hp.com (numerous others here)
Ubuntu is Free and fine quality software used by millions on people. It has a 9 out of 10 hit rate on the Just Works scale. It's massive popularity is testimony that it does just work for many, If you happen to be one of the suffering 10%, you have either the "do your homework" or "pay someone to do it for me" solutions. You choose, but FFS don't whinge. You bought the computer with a _different operating system on it_ afterall. - tapo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Windows has its flaws as well, don't think that it was at all easy for me to deal with Linksys' goddamn 'wireless connection utility' without screaming till my lungs bleed.
Besides, when you ask "Why would I want to configure new hardware?" I ask of Windows, "Why would I want all those system resources being wasted on spyware/virus auto scans?" - t3hX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2WPA is NOT 64-bit. A WPA pre-shared key is 256 bits, and a WPA password is hashed to 256 bits.
WEP, however, is "64" bits. I put the 64 in quotes, because 24 of that is actually the IV, and 40 is the key.
40-bit WEP can be bruteforced overnight on a reasonably fast machine, with about 8 captured packets on the network. (a few seconds worth) Theoretically, it can be done with 1, if it's the right everything, and undamaged, but 8 is usually the enforced minimum. - nickm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2well ndis doesnt work for some people.
- WorLord, on 10/12/2007, -0/+21) Broadcom wireless cards - to which the article applies - were not made popular seven years ago.
2) Broadcom wireless cards are engineered to be pretty much Windows-specific. Hardware that is typically present on a WIFI/NIC is missing on a Broadcom card, and the usefullness that said hardware provides is bundled into the software drivers. Drivers which Broadcom has not created or released for Linux.
3) Most systems I've installed Ubuntu on - nearing fifty now - had wireless NICs that were recognized and functional OOTB. Then again, most systems I've worked with don't have hardware-retarded components.
4) NetworkManager is the new hotness, and replaces config file hacking and wpa-supplicant hell. All GUI, all working really well (with rare exception).
Given all this, I find it pretty spectacular that these windows-specific bits of hardware work at all under any other OS. A half-page of cut-and-paste command line entries is a small price to pay, IMO. - Arramol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Because name-calling is a MUCH better use of your time than messing with Linux.
- LeeVal, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4my Intel 2200 with a WPA 64bit works fine in ubuntu
- syberghost, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Hoops like the fact that it's not installed with any service pack or automatic update, and instead you have to go hunt for it on Microsoft's web page and install it manually, unless your hardware manufacturer bundled it or a third-party application (usually provided by the maker of the wifi card) to serve the same purpose.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=893357
I call that a hoop. If the ignorant want to down-digg me for it, so be it. - el_jefe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@ Pabster
Just because every OS *YOU* have ever used has been point and click, not ever OS out there is, and not all of us see benefit in an OS that is. So why should every OS conform to your concept of "standard". You believe point and click is easier because thats all you have used, or because thats what you first used. For me, and others, the CLI is faster and easier.
Having used both, Linux is much easier for me to use, and much easier to configure. I would much rather edit a text file then click through 10 windows, most of which contain nothing i need or want, but i stil have to click "next". - el_jefe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@ Pabster
True I do not mind it. But what makes you think it takes an "evening" to write a configuration file and that they are "cumbersome"? Here is an example of one for a NIC using a static IP. What follows is all that I would put in the configuration file...
DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=none
ONBOOT=yes
NETWORK=192.168.1.1
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
IPADDR=192.168.1.100
I would save that file, just a simple text file, and start my NIC. All done. 30 seconds. And it talking to my network. If I wanted to change the ip, just edit the text file, and restart the nic.
DHCP, even easier...
DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=dhcp
ONBOOT=yes
Sure they get more cumbersome, just like anything in life. But in most cases, configuration files are really simple. Easy to read, easy to understand, easy to make changes to, and real easy to configure the hardware to work as you want, with no fluff.
But it comes down to what you want. We are at the point where epople ahve used nothing but windows since they first used a computer. They have not learned about other OSs, or other vendors. They are locked into to a specific vendor and product for all intensive purposes. To me thats scary. I would not go to work only knowing how to support MS products (all though many do). That would mean if my company stopped using MS for a vendor, I would be out of a job. Why anyone would limit their knowledge i have no idea. *nix is better some things, Windows is better for some things, and OS X is better for some things. They all have pros and cons. Thats why all three are running on my desk. Although, my XP box has been relegated to a file server. I can pull the plug on it all day long and it will boot right back up. - el_jefe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@ Pabster
Improve performance? You mean, actually use Vista as intended. Sure, you don't have to go out and buy new hardware for vista, but then you really won't be getting your mony;s worth will you? I mean, would you buy vista just to run it at the basic level, with no Areo? I seriously doubt it. Most everyone will go out and buy new hardware just to run it, or they will stick with XP.
Just like Linux will run with almost any wireless card. But if you want to improve your *expirence* then some suggest going out and buying new hardware.
Which in most cases is easier for Windows users to understand, then actually having to use a keyboard to setup a wireless card. So yes, you hear go out and buy new hardware a lot. But if I ever say it, its simply because I do not think the audience has the ability to learn how to use the computer other than via a mouse and dialog boxes to help you find their way. - misteral, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4@brufleth
It's kinda funny for anyone to say that WiFi works out of the box without configuration for windows. As of SP2 many WiFi chipsets just stopped working under Windows.
Microsoft's stand? Wait for the manufacturer to come out with a new driver. If I have to go through a 1 pager to get it working on Linux then my life just got a little easier
(as an aside, WiFi card won't work on XP SP2, works just fine on Ubuntu.) - xcomputerman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3No kidding. I ended up completely annoyed after spending 3 hours of my life trying to get Ubuntu to recognize wireless on two different, run-of-the-mill laptops from Compaq and Dell. This is 2006, and I still have to be grepping files in /proc to get a simple internet connection? So much for "Linux for the masses."
I've been using Linux for many years and even I was ticked off. At least Mandriva figured this stuff out a long time ago, why can't everyone else? - Technopundit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3If your lungs bleed, it might be a good time to quit smoking crack.
- GrinningFool, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Windows doesn't generally use .exes for drivers, either.
- tapo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Worked for me, with my laptop's Linksys WPC54GS card.
- Technopundit, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3As time goes on, technology advances, and hardware companies move forward, due to the intricacies and legal issues of the Open Source model, Linux will become more complicated to configure, not easier.
Personally, it is not worth the expense of going through the motions of the procedure in the article, simply due to the time involved and the uncertainty of whether or not it will work.
For Linux, where my clients demand it, I recommend a wireless bridge. - pabster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hm, buying drivers for a free, open source operating system?
You'd have been better off buying a cheap WiFi or Ethernet card that WAS supported. Surely you could have gotten one for $20 (or less). - jwoelich, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Oh man...lemme think, because it's been awhile.
I bought my first PC in '95. I spent a few months on AOL, and once I started tinkering with Linux in '96, I also got a local ISP account (because no self-respecting linux user would be associated with AOL). It was just dialup PPP access, which had to be compiled in and enabled in the kernel. From there, *myself personally*, I had a little Windowmaker docklet that would initiate the dialup connection to my ISP, but there were many other ways to do it. It worked the same reguardless of Mindspring, Earthlink or whatever dialup ISP I had at the time.
I'm sure my computing experiences have been different than the average persons. I first started using Windows *and* linux roughly about the same time. And in the same amount of time, I've seen a TON of progression with linux...and not all that much with Windows. Theres a difference between something that *I* can't figure out how to do to make my OS operate decently, and the largest, most powerful software company in the world not being able to get their OS to work worth a damn on my systems. When I think back to all the money I shelled out for Windows releases (Win95, 98, 98SE, WinME, NT 4.0 Workstation, Windows 2000 Workstation, and finally WinXP) , it took them a hell of a long time to get things essentially right. So yeah, it might take a little work to get a wireless card to function in linux, or get a PPP connection working back in the day. That still doesn't make up for the frustration when trying to get a Linksys wireless card in Windows XP to hold a stable connection with a Linksys router sitting 4 feet away. Just because I can clicky-click through a driver install doesn't mean it's less frustrating. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Dapper detected the built-in wireless card in my Dell centrino laptop. I was suprised by this considering all of the tries/failures I have had in the past with wireless networking on Linux.
- blackmath, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ive tried this and many other ways and STILL cannot get my chipset working under dapper. I have the 4318 chipset which I read is a pain in the ass to get working anyway. If i cant get this working ill have to put xp back on there.
- tommajor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2haven't done it myself, but look for something called wpa_supplicant
- jenmarsh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've installed Fedora Core 5 and Ubuntu 6.06 on my PC. FC5 required me to install MadWifi drivers in order to get my DLink wireless card working. Ubuntu's default settings worked upon startup. I only had to configure the card to connect to my router.
Linux is not for everyone. It certainly isn't for someone who doesn't want to mess around with the command line. So far, I've enjoyed using Ubuntu (it's the first time I've used a linux install extensively). But then again, I really like using the command line to install things and edit conf files. I guess that is my computer geek side :P - TransmitThis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I am trying ubuntu,
my wireless card dont work so thanks for the link.
Problem being I fall over at instruction 1 :)
1) Ensure you have access to the other ubuntu repos
Er.. no I dont as the machine is not connected to the internet
(as I,m trying to get the wifi card working sheesh)
Anyway if anyone knows how I would install these packages from univers
by er getting them with my xp machine and putting them on a disc?
If thats possible? - hunchback, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What about WEP networks?
( ... sorry reply to wrong post ... ) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The point is that you might not have an extra connection. I have wireless and wired on my desktop, and wireless only on my laptop.
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