Since I have looooooooong, strong roots with debian (all my servers are debian), I decided to give it's desktop cousin ubuntu a try.
It was easier than windows. Really.
The latest example which prompted me to make a post was this belkin wireless G usb stick. I'm going on vacation and it's wireless access....I require no less than 3 computers cause I'm a geek. Installed the drivers, XP x64 couldn't install it. Googled and kept trying. Nadda. Belkin support said due to high call volume, the wait was 45 mins to an hour and they would call me back. No thanks.
Plugged it into my stock, out-of-the-box, unmodified ubuntu, went into the "network" option in administration, typed in my wep key and ssid, and it worked.
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> Plugged it into my stock, out-of-the-box, unmodified ubuntu,
> went into the "network" option in administration, typed in
> my wep key and ssid, and it worked.
Meanwhile, I have to wrestle with ndiswrapper randomly dropping my connection.
Still better than Vista. I really don't get how Compiz-Fusion can run so smoothly and Aero run so horribly on the same laptop.
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> Still better than Vista. I really don't get how
> Compiz-Fusion can run so smoothly and Aero run so horribly
> on the same laptop.
Vista still doesn't work at all for me. It's problem after problem.
x64 is like that too. Whoever tookover the direction of MS after XPsp2 needs to be fired and sent to africa.
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> Vista still doesn't work at all for me. It's problem after
> problem.
>
> x64 is like that too. Whoever tookover the direction of MS
> after XPsp2 needs to be fired and sent to africa.
You could do that, but Steve Ballmer would Fucking Killâ„¢ you with a chair before he'd go.
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same here ( I use kubuntu though) my wifi card worked out of the box and the drivers available for it in xp and vista are horrible, it will connect to an access point, but after a few minutes it will drop and the only way to reconnect is to restart the computer. In Kubuntu, once I connect, I stay connected, (except for every once in a while when there is a lot of interference, but the I can just click the button and reconnect.) Also, my tv tuner, webcam, and scanner worked out of the box whereas vista / xp required extra drivers. The only thing I have to complain about is the lack of ATI drivers.
<P ID="signature">"The other day i was at the park and was wondering why frisbees look bigger and bigger as they get closer to you...."
"...and then it hit me."</P>
It probably depends entirely on the card... my wireless card was HELL to install on Ubuntu. Once it was recognized though, it worked much more easily than on Windows.
Same goes for official nVidia drivers. I tried nVidia's instructions, instructions on the Ubuntu forums, and eventually Envy, and that was not easy thing to get working.
Envy eventually got the official drivers installed and working, but Envy seems to run into trouble about half the time, for no explicable reason.
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