Linux Corner

[Guest 112233]

Hi everyone

Please see the "Who broke or What happened to the internet" thread.

The history of end user OS developement has for reasons of democracy of use (Unix nerds out there prick up your ears please) steadily removed the user learning curve from the process of using the interface of the increasingly complex operating systems -

With very good reason.

Unix is in the earlier stages of doing this. I'm speaking as the very happy user of a Ubuntu 9.XX netbook, that's just as easy to use for the end user, in a home networked environment, for a Tyro user, as a WIN box - However as an example, printer support is an examplar of a barrier - SU - Super user do ! thats a bit hard for the average WIN enabled user. Unix will become, once manufacturers commit themselves; to the process of developing drivers a proper universal, scaleable operating sys available to all. I am a convert (no offence intended Keef) to its capabilities in a user friendly form. A unix / linux corner please.
PS - Running MP3 files is no longer a No No.

CAT III

[Mac the Knife]

I'll third and fourth that!

Call it REAL operating sustems.

(Currently messing around with OpenSolaris and rather liking it)



Mac

PS: Don't take too much notice of our dear friend Keef's experiences, he seems to experience the most arcane difficulties that even my varied class of neophytes find hard to duplicate.

[bnt]

Here's another one who likes the idea - I've had Ubuntu on my netbook exclusively for well over a year now, with intermittent use before that. I'm not wedded to Ubuntu, but I've liked the Debian system and application management methods for years, and Ubuntu puts a friendly face on them. With the latest version, hardware support has been flawless too.

[Bushfiva]

Given the forum name is Computer/Internet Issues & Troubleshooting, I can imagine the Linux corner right now.

Q: "This bit might not be working, I can't believe this bit of my beloved Linux distribution is borked, it must be my fault, please help."

A: "That's 'cos you're using disribution A, whereas you should be using B."

A: "That's 'cos you're using disribution A, whereas you should be using C."

A: "That's 'cos you're using disribution A, whereas you should be using D."

A: "That's 'cos you're using disribution A, whereas you should be using E."

A: "That's 'cos you're using disribution A, whereas you should be using F."

A: "That's 'cos you're using disribution A, whereas you should be using G."

Q: "I just changed from A to B, because under the idiot distribution A, one bit was borked. Anyway, this bit might not be working, I can't believe this bit of my latest beloved Linux distribution is borked, it must be my fault, please help"


MUCH more variety than "That's cos you're using Windows, you should use a Mac." It should run and run.

[Mac the Knife]

Bushfiva








Mac

(Isn't that half the fun of it?)

[Shunter]

Quite happy to chip in to any Linux "corner". Spent best part of 10 years implementing open source solutions before ascending to management and would always recommend it for server solutions over Windows Server (which is pretty much a contradiction in terms).

It's amazing how companies start raising eyebrows when you point out they could easily surive with 2 good Linux techs @ £40k each instead of 8 average Windows grunts @ £20k each.

[Keef]

One of the ten distros on the "Keef Linux learning box" was SuSe. The icon was, as I recall, a green blob. It was a bit slower than Fedora on the tests I did. It couldn't recognise/handle the SCSI card with the CDRW, the DVD drive, and the scanner and wouldn't network with the other machines (yes, I know how to set up Samba - I think it was the particular network card that it didn't like).

I'm all for a Linux thread - the only worry is that there's a lot of Linux "out there" and it could grow exponentially. Mind you, if it's a "no flaming" thread - unlike some of the Linux forums I inhabited - that would be a plus. It seemed on one or two of them that anyone who had a problem he couldn't fix wasn't safe to be out alone. Some, of course, were excellent.

I've got copious notes down in the Essex house of all the distros I loaded, what worked and what didn't, and what it took to get stuff to accle. About four shorthand notebooks full, in fact.
In comparison: the Win 7 notebook is about ten pages - for two machines - and most of that is the list of software to reinstall and stuff to copy back after wiping and reinstalling from Beta to RC1.

The Linuxes that worked best for me were Fedora (very stable and capable) and Mandriva (very close second). I used Fedora in preference to the others, and had v7 v8 and v9 installed on separate partitions, to compare them.
Debian was good but crashed more often; Slackware was very impressive but the most inscrutable of the bunch by a long way - true geek stuff. Ubuntu/Kubuntu wouldn't let me do stuff - very much the "nanny" distro. SuSe wouldn't see several of the peripherals. Mepis was OK but no SCSI. Knoppix (on a CD/DVD) saved my and friends' bacon on Windows machines several times, and I always carry a copy in the laptop bag. The others were "Yeah, fine, but.."

Since only I used the machine, I didn't particularly want to have to keep going through all the "SU" stuff to be able to do anything on it. I got thoroughly exasperated having to type the SU password several times per minute on some distros while doing stuff to the config. Surely, I reasoned, it can remember that it's me and I'm SU. Some could, some couldn't.

Then, when the video card died and was replaced, only Fedora 8 still worked. All the others crashed out with long X-messages. I don't know what was different about the setup in Fedora 8, but that's the one I've kept for writing the Cisco device and for backups from the Windows machines.

[mixture]

instead of 8 average Windows grunts @ £20k each.

-and-

Windows Server (which is pretty much a contradiction in terms).

No wonder you are experiencing difficulties with Windows server if you're only paying your SA's £20k !

[Mike-Bracknell]

I'm with Mixture here. Anyway, why would you want 8 Windows SAs? I've never worked with more than 5 others, and that's on massive enterprise companies.

I've also got several Windows servers with uptimes that would shame many a Linux box

[NRU74]

Linux -Yes please in the hope that someone will help me on how to instal a dongle on my Linux equipped ASUS 701 -I've spent hours [fruitlessly] trying.

[Saab Dastard]

OK, I'll rename this thread "Linux Corner" and see what happens.

I'm not going to sticky it - and I'm going to un-sticky the MAC Corner thread, so that they will stand or fall by their usage.

SD

[mixture]

'm going to un-sticky the MAC Corner thread

Meanie !

[rgbrock1]

NRU74:

What is your problem with installing the dongle and what Linux distro are you using?

I'll assume that your dongle is of the bluetooth type? If so you need to get the hci_usb_kmp_dae driver. Use your distros "install software" util to get it as the installation utility will find all the dependencies needed for the driver module.

[NRU74]

rgbrock1
Thank you for your interest
The EEE700 appears to be loaded with Ubuntu
I have a HSDPA K3565-Z 3G Dongle which I want to use in France but want to load it whilst in the UK
I've spent ages on the Betavine forum [for example]
I get so far thru' the instal process -starting with the Ctl-Alt -t bit- but after a while always fail.
I need the really 'noddy' guide on how to download whatever in order to get this dongle to work
I suspect the easiest way is to buy XP for it
NRU

[rgbrock1]

NRU:

You need to download the new wvdial.conf for the HSDPA stuff to work !!!

I use Gentoo Linux which compiles everything from source. As a result of things might be a bit different but we can work around it. Firstly, we need to get Linux to detect your card, start your PCMCIA services - normally this can be done using (most distros do this for you):

Code:
/etc/init.d/pcmcia start
Before you insert your card, open a console/switch to an open console and as root run the following

Code:
tail -f /var/log/messages
This will allow you to "see" what Linux is doing

Right, now insert your card and you should see some stuff happening. I have included log traces of what the two cards "look" like under /var/log/messages in the attachment section.

If you see only the option_insert_nousb.txt messages using an option card run the following command:

Code:
modprobe usbserial vendor=0x0af0 product=0x5000
If you had to run the above command, you will need to save the vmc_g file attached into /etc/modules.d

Now we need to find out where your card is - you will see in the messages where the card is - /dev/ttyS? for novatel or /dev/ttyUSB? for option

Code:
find /dev/ | grep ttyS
Should show /dev/ttyS0 or /dev/ttyS1 for a Novatel Card.

Code:
find /dev/ | grep ttyUSB
Should show /dev/ttyUSB0 and USB1 and USB2 for an Option Card. (or /dev/tts/ttyUSB0-2 for udev)

Once we found that, we need to change /etc/wvdial.conf to match your settings, attached is my working wvdial.conf. Now we can start dialing up

For Novatel:

Code:
wvdial novatel internet 3gonly 384k
For Option:

Code:
wvdial option internet 3gonly 384k
If you need to send your PIN, add "pin" infront of all the commands, e.g.

Code:
wvdial pin novatel internet 3gonly 384k
Once your connection is up - surf away Now you can setup things like KPPP and Gnome's Modem Lights to do your dialing for you.

Extra Steps for the HSDPA card:

Download the kernel module from the link below. Extract it to a directory somewhere safe. If you are *still* running the 2.4 series of kernels, you need to change the Makefile to reflect this.

Compile the driver using the following commands:

Code:
make clean && make
Once this is done, run the following command to insert the module into the kernel

Code:
insmod nozomi.ko (2.6 Kernel)
insmod nozomi.o (2.4 Kernel)
Once you have done that, use the following command to setup the connection:

Code:
wvdial hsdpa
Extra steps for the Novatel U740 Card

Until I get time to update the files etc. our Novatel Linux Users out there can just type this command before using the normal dialing command:

Code:
modprobe usbserial vendor=0x1410 product=0x1400

OR

Code:
modprobe usbserial vendor=0x1410 product=0x1410
Using lsusb will show you the Vendor and Product ID's or cat /proc/bus/usb/devices will do the same.I will still add them into the FAQ but atleast this should help for now

This will add the USB's like the 3G Option did - am I seeing a swap here ? - so just dial /dev/ttyUSB0 or so - check the logs

Extra Steps for the Huawei Cards:

None really - just make sure usbserial is loaded and the card will come up on /dev/ttyUSB0 - check the logs again to confirm

If the card doesn't come up, unload usbserial and reload with the following command:

Code:
rmmod usbserial && modprobe usbserial vendor=0x12d1 product=0x1001
I am still trying to work on the USB only card, so at the moment, I don't know if it will work under Linux.

Huawei E220:

I have found that this modem will only work with the short cable supplied...not the long one with two plugs...*shrug*

Same as the E620, except use the following modprobe command: Code:
rmmod usb-storage
modprobe usbserial vendor=0x12d1 product=0x1003 (Some have reported an ID of 0x1001 - use lsusb to confirm)
After that, you will notice only one USB serial coming up, then, remove the device and re-attach it, you shouldn't need to re-insert usbserial.

Notes:

I have only seen 3G speeds on this device, but I think it is because of my RF conditions and location. More on this to follow...

[bnt]

Firstly: have you looked here? If those are the instructions you're following, which step had the problem?

Alternatively: I know the EEE machines don't come with Ubuntu, they come with a version of Xandros Linux, but I had a bit of a search and found this. What I'm reading there is that you don't need to download any bits, it just takes a few commands. I obviously can't test this myself, not having the hardware, but what happens if you follow that?
- open a Terminal (the Ctrl-Alt-R bit) and enter

Code:

sudo modprobe usbserial vendor=0×19d2 product=0×0063 
less /var/log/dmesg 

The second command opens a log file so you can see the results of the first command. Look for any lines with /dev/ttyUSB in them, near the bottom. If you can see "K3565" in there, that's a start. The rest of the article is about using "wvdialer" to get it going, but there may be an easier way on the EEE system.

[NRU74]

bnt
Doh
I meant Xandros [that extra glass of Crozes Hermitage I'm afraid]
Thanks - I'm going to try again

[mad_jock]

Great news.

I am a fully none paying user of Fedora 11 and haven't had any driver probs with several different laptops/desktops. In fact with quite a few its swap the hard disks and boot and the things still don't give any grief at all.

Stick a blue tooth dongle in the side 2 seconds later its working.

Actually I did have a problems once with the vodaphone driver for a Broadband dongle it worked but not at the max performance for the network.

My flight bag netbook is an ACER aspire one which I have stuck some more memory in 1.5G or something stupid like that. Stuck fedora on it after deciding that the linux it comes with was too restrictive even after unlocking the front end and never looked back.

If it wasn't for the pc games I would have a MS machine at all.

[Saab Dastard]

I've had no trouble putting Ubuntu onto a laptop for which I couldn't find a sound driver for Windows 7 (RC).

Ubuntu just worked.

SD

[Avtrician]

I have been tinkering with Centos 5.3, but cant get at the desk much due to No 1 son using the windows box.

Centos seems very good.