Comment My quest to "switch" (Score 4, Informative) 852
I have been meaning to try out Linux for years, but never ventured. Thanks to reading /. (can't remember how long; should be 3+ years) I finally decided to take the plunge two weeks ago.
I chose openSUSE, simply because it got some Press(Read: Novell).
I have XP on Toshiba Laptop and wanted to have a dual boot on it.
I used GParted for partition, though openSUSE came with partition manager. GParted was very easy and "Windows like"
The installation went smooth and openSUSE recognized all hardware. I chose GNome as the desktop, simply because Firefox came with it.
I played around and customized to my liking. Opened the Terminal and played with the vi editor. It seems like vi skills are etched in memory(I used to program in C years ago).
I hit the road block with wireless network. The installer recognized Intel 3945 wireless card, but would not connect.
Doing a Google search(are you happy now Google lawyers?), I found I am not alone. I tried ALL solutions offered on various forums.
1. Using Intel's Linux driver - This required a kernel version of 2.6.8 or greater. openSUSE 10.2's kernel is 2.6.16 or something. It is only sensible to use the native driver right? I hit the wall again and again.
2. ndiswrapper - Grudgingly I tried this as a last resort. Same result.
Time spent: Few weekday evenings and a weekend (to the dismay of spouse)
I absolutely love the shiny OS. Unfortunately I can not use it without an wireless internet connection.
So it sits there unused.(I changed the default OS to Windows in GRUB).
I chose openSUSE, simply because it got some Press(Read: Novell).
I have XP on Toshiba Laptop and wanted to have a dual boot on it.
I used GParted for partition, though openSUSE came with partition manager. GParted was very easy and "Windows like"
The installation went smooth and openSUSE recognized all hardware. I chose GNome as the desktop, simply because Firefox came with it.
I played around and customized to my liking. Opened the Terminal and played with the vi editor. It seems like vi skills are etched in memory(I used to program in C years ago).
I hit the road block with wireless network. The installer recognized Intel 3945 wireless card, but would not connect.
Doing a Google search(are you happy now Google lawyers?), I found I am not alone. I tried ALL solutions offered on various forums.
1. Using Intel's Linux driver - This required a kernel version of 2.6.8 or greater. openSUSE 10.2's kernel is 2.6.16 or something. It is only sensible to use the native driver right? I hit the wall again and again.
2. ndiswrapper - Grudgingly I tried this as a last resort. Same result.
Time spent: Few weekday evenings and a weekend (to the dismay of spouse)
I absolutely love the shiny OS. Unfortunately I can not use it without an wireless internet connection.
So it sits there unused.(I changed the default OS to Windows in GRUB).
