Helena Xfce: Wicd or Network Manager?

[merlwiz79]

Network Manager works fine for me in Ubuntu 9.10.
Wicd Wireless and Wired.
Chestnut-dialer modems and mobile phone's modems.(CDMA phones use #777 to connect)
Gprsec mobile phones.( no CDMA phones work)
Network Admin wireless, wired, and modems.

Network manager:
Has wireless, wired, modems and mobile phone's modems.
Has other plugins for vpn, pptp, and openvpn.

You can change your vote at any time.

[spet]

As in the last poll my primary reason for choosing Network Manager is support for VPN connections.

[vrkalak]

My vote goes for Network Manager installed in Helena Xfce.

Network Manager works best for me. "outta the box" . . . I am using a Wireless USB 3G Connection.
When I first installed LinuxMint-7 Xfce ... I couldn't get Wicd to work ... no matter what I tried.
Wicd wasn't so n00bie-friendly back then.

Xubutnu 9.10 has Network Manager . . . seems to work OK.

[tivasyk]

i had to switch to network manager on linux mint 7 xfce to easily connect via cellular phone and usb 3g-modem. works like a charm, and i like the way network manger unifies interface for wifi AND modem.

[ikey]

Personally I vote for nm-applet (network-manager-gnome) due to its mobile broadband support. I looked into wicd
but afaik it only deals with wifi and ethernet.

This is what dano from wicd has to say on the matter:

We'd like to add support for this and other less common methods of accessing the internet, but since none of our developers have access to mobile broadband (afaik), its very difficult for us to do. If some brave soul out there who does have access wants to give it a shot, that'd be great.

That was posted some time ago and still things have not changed...
So for us poor souls constricted to 3G and PPP etc. please keep nm-applet

- Ikey Doherty

[vrkalak]

I know that with the up-and-coming release of LinuxMint-8 the Mint Team of Devs are busy working, re-working and tweaking, their little fingers to the bone, trying to get the RC of Helena to us in a timely manner.

There are several posts, including this one, where the Devs are asking for our input.
We know that Mint is about the only distro out there; that has Devs that actually 'listen' to it's members.

I know that there are more "Xfce" users and fanatics out there . . . let's go, guys, give the Mint Team your input.
They are trying to build us the best Mint version yet, let's help them out.

[ikey]

I take back my vote and post.
I have been using wvdial instead of nm-applet for a week or so now and I'm absolutely in love with it.
No disconnections, no lag, no time outs. I get 2.4mbps on a bad day on mobile broadband!!
I never got this on network-manager-gnome.
Perhaps we could keep wicd and write wrapper scripts for wvdial for common ISP's and modems?
I'm gonna look as to the feasibility of it.

- Ikey Doherty

[daka]

Can anyone verify if Helena works with USB 3G modems? Karmic 9.10 is a nightmare with usb 3G modems which worked fine in Jaunty. Apparently there is a 'proposed' kernel update now to solve this problem in Ubuntu. Can anyone tell me if the Helena release has/will have the original kernel or the most recently updated kernel (.15) during the testing process and also when Helena is released?

thanks

Daka

[vrkalak]

I use a USB 3G modem (via Sprint), have for a year or so.

It works great in Mint-7 Main (gnome) and Xfce CE. Works even better in LinuxMint-8 RC1 Helena.
I expect my USB 3G modem to work in the Final Release of Helena, as well.
It also, works just fine in Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic and Xubuntu 9.10

My only problem has ever been, in adjusting the download speed, but the connections have worked great.