Skip to main content

Unwiring Linux

I am a firm believer in Linux, or at least the idea of Linux. I have used Red Hat at work; I then favoured Ubuntu as an all in desktop with good server support as well. I have now installed SuSe 10.1 on my server at home.

All of these platforms have a common flaw, the lack of or at least the general lack of WiFi support.

Part of the problem is the slow adoption of WPA-PSK on Linux. Until very recently WEP was the only security (other than MAC address filtering) but this is old and so the move to WPA is essential if Linux is to move up to XP again.

Ubuntu Dapper and SuSe 10.1 are very good replacement desktops and I would easily jump across permanently if only we could solve the WiFi issue.

With SuSe the D-Link card I have is potentially supportable with Madwifi or Ndiswrapper. I couldn't get either to work at all. Then some more googling later I [finally] discovered that version C of the PCI card was not Atheros but Ralink. A quick trip to the site (via my laptop and trusty USB/SD stick) got me the driver make files. However the make didn't work.

This is also part of the problem with OS. The community aspect that is a strength (and nice to be part of) is also the biggest weakness. I found six postings on how to configure my card with SuSe, all of them were different and although I appreciate the time and effort people have taken to try and let others know all of them fall a part if it doesn't go exactly 100% as planned.

In the end I tried 4 out of 6 and none of them worked :(

I'm not completely techdense (TM) "the opposite of tech savvy" but while it's down to the user to build the drivers yourself WiFi; and in fact a lot of Linux, will remain the realm of the geek.

But.... there is hope on the horizon. Both Belkin and Linksys produce Wireless Ethernet bridge products that allow me to use the Ethernet interface on my Linux (or XBox, PS2, Tivo et al) hardware to wire to the bridge and then connect to my wireless network this way.

This bypasses the need for drivers and other software on my hardware, it's all on the network element.

So I've found the options, nominally, I am now faced with the usual challenge to try and find someone in Thailand or Singapore that can provide me with one.

If Linksys or Belkin are listening I am more than willing to help you distribute these products to fill a big gap in the OpenSource and home user market in Thailand.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crisis Connections

What the flood situation in Thailand has shown once again is the power of social networks to fill the void of communication. In recent times the role of Facebook, Twitter, and Blackberry messenger has been shown in good and bad light.  The same methods that released the Arab Spring have also been used to coordinate the London Riots . Love them or loathe social networks are here to stay and what the floods show is how they keep people connected.  Some will say there should be no communication void if central government is on top of its game, but with a situation that can change so rapidly, and over such a large area the traditional press certainly struggle to keep the public up to date. Twitter and Facebook have been saviours for those of us outside Thailand at this time.  With roving reporters and connected people like Patee Sarasin and Jetrin out doing and tweeting many more people are kept up to date. Equally useful is the ability to time shift news updates through TV ch
Post a Comment
Read more

Voice puts the pinch on Content

Content providers in Thailand are struggling to stay afloat after a restructuring of the revenue sharing between the mobile operators and themselves. Firms like Advanced Info Service (AIS) have been offering content on their 2.5G networks here for sometime. This has spawned a number of content partners to spring up. The previous arrangement were of the order of 65% to 80%. The new arrangement sets a 50:50 split of the revenue between proivder and operator. The operators say that this is due to the operating costs of their networks and that up to now this has been a trial offering. It smells more like a knee jerk reaction to falling revenues from voice. When will the market wake up and realize that paying for voice is dead. The secret to the success of operators going forward will be in the successful channeling of content, where voice is but another type of content. This is a worrying trend. If the pinch continues then I see that most of the content partners will not survive long. This
1 comment
Read more

SKY New Zealand vaults into the 21st Century

New Zealand is a pretty country but it's also pretty slow in coming forward in many areas. It has it fair share of innovation but some parts of everyday life are still if not 20 years behind but at least 10...until now. Sky in the UK has made use of user driven options through handset interaction for some time, push the red button, Sky NZ still does not support this type of service. But this is where competition shows its value, it forces natural monopolies to innovate, and let's be honest Sky TV is a natural monopoly here by being the only digital TV service (which you have to use if you want to get a decent reception so Freeview doesn't count [yet]). Now Telecom has tied up with TiVo as the sole distributor in New Zealand Sky has had to play catch up, their response iSky. First impressions, given that the full service isn't launched yet, are good. Finally after years of me seeing other countries extending TV into the computer world with the likes of Yahoo -> TiVo
Post a Comment
Read more