Goodbye Linux : (

[ScottishGirl]

Hi

My one year Linux experiment is coming to an end. I really like Linux but I have decided to go back to Windows XP.
Linux is undoubtedly better than Windows it is much more stable and secure. However, I have had extremely poor Internet connectivity with Linux. My ADSL connection drops 30-50 times a day.
Normally I would have assumed that the problem lay with my ISP but my boyfriend uses Vista and he rarely loses connection.

[lagagnon]

However, I have had extremely poor Internet connectivity with Linux. My ADSL connection drops 30-50 times a day.
....but my boyfriend uses Vista and he rarely loses connection.

There is something fundamentally wrong with your hardware/network setup. There is simply no way any Linux distro would be released to final versions if wired Internet connectivity were a problem. I work for a recycling charity that repairs older computers, loads Linux on them and donates these machines to people who need them. We have installed over 600 Linux machines in our city and I have never seen an Internet connectivity problem. If I did it was either due to a bad network card, faulty cabling, incorrectly set up modem/router - but never a problem on the Linux OS side.

Also, your previous posts to this forum all tell us about your speed problems but never, not in one single post of yours, did you provide us with any data, tell us about your network configuration, or assist us in any way to help you, which we would have, had you asked the right questions and provided some details.

Methinks I smell a troll....

[optimize me]

There is simply no way any Linux distro would be released to final versions if wired Internet connectivity were a problem.

I beg to differ. Ubuntu is known to crank out faulty software. If there's a known killer bug, but it's after the code freeze, they'll push the garbage software and start writing patches after the release. (Intel graphics, anyone?)

I'd say if OP is having connectivity problems in Mint Main, she should uninstall nm-applet and try wicd. Nm-applet has been faulty since Ubuntu 8.1, and nobody seems to care since not everyone has problems with it. In KDE I wouldn't know where to look - I'm strictly a gnome guy.

I have a post on how to do it. Look for "Solution to wireless connections" or some such title. It's worth a shot...

[FedoraRefugee]

I'd say if OP is having connectivity problems in Mint Main, she should uninstall nm-applet and try wicd. Nm-applet has been faulty since Ubuntu 8.1, and nobody seems to care since not everyone has problems with it.

Agreed. Or get to work and figure this thing out. Try another distro, try another version of Mint. This is not a Linux in general problem, it is a hardware specific problem and it can be fixed. If this is the only thing keeping you from using Linux then why not try and fix it?

Otherwise, go back to XP. I wish you luck, you should use what works and what you prefer.

[lagagnon]

I have a post on how to do it. Look for "Solution to wireless connections" or some such title. It's worth a shot...

Yes, good post, but the OP is talking about a wired connection, hence my post.

[optimize me]

Yes, good post, but the OP is talking about a wired connection, hence my post.

I don't see where OP says anything about wired or wireless. Looking at OPs post history, I saw a number of questions about wireless. I don't know if the wireless problem was ever resolved and made to work or not, but whatever..

A year-long Linux user with only 9 posts on a forum? You're probably right about the trolling thing.

[ScottishGirl]

Hi

I have given up on solving the wireless problem with Linux. I am now used to sitting two feet away from my modem and using the ethernet cable to surf the Internet.

My bf can do work all over the house wirelessly with Vista, I would like to be able to do that to. I have tried OpenSuse 11.1, Mandriva One Spring 2009, Ubuntu Hardy Heron and Jaunty Jackalope and experienced problems with all of the distros.
I do think that Linux is the superior OS but I am starting a university course in October(OU) and the university requires Windows for all of its courses. I hope to use XP for the first few weeks and purchase a cheap Vista computer when Windows 7 comes out.

I don't know how to find my network information but here are some of my computer's specifications:

Intel Pentium Processor 735A
1.7 GHz.
1GB DDR2
802.11b/g wireless LAN

My computer is over four years old and I think that perhaps my b/g wireless LAN is now ancient by computer standards and this might explain my spluttering internet connectivity.

[optimize me]

My computer is over four years old and I think that perhaps my b/g wireless LAN is now ancient by computer standards and this might explain my spluttering internet connectivity.

I'm telling you - at least try ditching nm-applet and installing wicd. It's worked for both my Toshiba (going on 3yrs old) and on my wife's Acer (3+ yrs old).

It's worth a shot.. unless you already tried, that is. All you have to do is type sudo apt-get install wicd at a prompt and it will purge nm-applet and everything.

[RichardH]

Goodbye. I wish you all the best in your endeavors.

You never mentioned what version of Linux you are using.
You never mentioned what make and model of computer you are using.
You never mentioned what make and model of wireless card you have.
You never mentioned if you have a router or what is your wireless provider.
You never mentioned what you have done to try to connect.

Without information nobody will be able to help you.

I think lagagnon is correct.
And the best answer is, "Don't feed the trolls."

[ScottishGirl]

OK some of the blinkered comments have really annoyed me. Here is a potted history of my Linux expereince.:

(1) Ubuntu Hardy Heron worked fine - except I could only connect to the Internet through a wired connection. Also Ubuntu looks and feels old-fashioned.

(2) Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope refused to recognise my Network.

(3) Mandriva One Spring 2009; npviewer.bin constantly crashed. I had huge trouble getting Mandriva to play DVDs on my computer. I had to hunt down codecs by enabling the videolan repository but then I had to make sure to only enable want I needed. What must complete Linux newbies make of all this?! I never did get to install libdvdcss using Mandriva, though Linux Mint and Ubuntu installed this DVD de-encryption file effortlessly. With Mandriva I couldn't get Vlc, Picasa or Opera unless I paid about £50-00 to upgrade to the paid for version! I can get all these programs for free with Windows - and Debian distros.

(4) OpenSuse 11.1 is very modern but too bloated in my opinion. I got tired constantly putting the DVD disc into the DVD drive every time I wanted to upgrade or install a new program. Also like Mandriva I could never get a DVD to play on my computer.

(5)I have a Sony Walkman 8GB Mp3 player and while I can upload music to it I cannot delete any music or upload videos. Also I got a one year free subscription to itunes with the Sony Walkman but I cannot use it because itunes requires you to download and install a program - naturally using .exe files - and Linux won't permit executable files.

(6) I could not get GoogleEarth to work properly on any Linux distro.

(7) I used to be a great fan of Firefox but I think that Firefox has become too temperamental. I noticed when using Mint that Firefox would regularly crash while Opera was very stable. I want to be able to choose between more than two browsers. I have tried both Chrome and Safari on my bf's computer and I am impressed with both their speed and their reliability.

(8) OpenOffice doesn't appear to have very popular fonts like Times New Roman,etc Debian distros aside the Linux user is stuck with very obscure fonts, and there is a reason that these fonts are rarely used.

Guys I know that Linux is far more secure and stable than Windows. I have enjoyed not needing any anti-virus or malware software for the past year. It has been great not having to worry about Trojans, worms, viruses and BHOs etc.
However, I need to go back to Windows - for all the above reasons - but also because 90% of regular computer users don't know or care about Linux! What this means is that software houses, computer manufacturers, university computer science departments and last but not least computer magazines will devote all their time, energy and resources to what the majority or computer users and Internet surfers want. And what they want is not an OS where they need to learn and enter a whole series of arcane commands into a terminal: sudo apt-get, urpmi, etc, but an OS where all the learning and pain of internet surfing is removed and that is what Windows gives them.

I will check out Linux again in a few years. I hope that some or all of the problems outlined above will have been resolved.

(6)

[DrHu]

OK some of the blinkered comments have really annoyed me. Here is a potted history of my Linux expereince.:

Blinkered commentary works both ways
--It does look like you have only settled, if you used Linux for all that time for an incomplete experience, and even though you say you think Linux is the better OS, you haven't succeeded in showing that

..Here is a potted history of my Linux expereince

• (1) Also Ubuntu looks and feels old-fashioned.
  (3) I never did get to install libdvdcss using Mandriva, though Linux Mint and Ubuntu installed this DVD de-encryption file effortlessly. With Mandriva I couldn't get Vlc, Picasa or Opera unless I paid about £50-00 to upgrade to the paid for version! I can get all these programs for free with Windows - and Debian distros.
  (6) I could not get GoogleEarth to work properly on any Linux distro.
  (7) I used to be a great fan of Firefox but I think that Firefox has become too temperamental. I noticed when using Mint that Firefox would regularly crash while Opera was very stable. I want to be able to choose between more than two browsers. I have tried both Chrome and Safari on my bf's computer and I am impressed with both their speed and their reliability.
  (8) OpenOffice doesn't appear to have very popular fonts like Times New Roman,

[1] I don't like the Ubuntu look/style either, nor do I like the standard Gnome desktop (looks like MAC) with Places, Applications, System on one desktop panel
--but there are other looks/styles/themes available

[3] http://linuxondesktop.blogspot.com/2007 ... -free.html

[6]True for you, but not true that it doesn't work on Linux distributions

[7]I used to be a great fan of Firefox..
Firefox runs fine for me on Linux mint 7 gloria 32 bit edition, as well as on various other Linux's (Freespire, Mandriva, opensuse, Fedora, puppy)

[8] Sorry I don't know what popular means, maybe it's a windows term, and perhaps unknown to a MAC or Linux user
Yup it does, and you can even add the msttcorefonts
http://embraceubuntu.com/2005/09/09/ins ... oft-fonts/

• The Truetype Microsoft fonts provided by the package include:
  Georgia (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
  Impact
  Times New Roman (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)

However, I need to go back to Windows - for all the above reasons - but also because 90% of regular computer users don't know or care about Linux!
...
I will check out Linux again in a few years. I hope that some or all of the problems outlined above will have been resolved

..for all the above reasons...
So, obviously despite trying to help we have wasted our time..

also because 90% of regular computer users don't know or care about Linux!
--I don't know what that has to do with anything, even if it were to be accepted as being true..

..I hope that some or all of the problems outlined above will have been resolved
That won't happen, if you are expecting Linux to be a clone of windows
"forget about it" Godfather movie quote
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison ... _and_Linux

I guess that explains it fully
Goodbye and Good Luck with all that!

[RichardH]

I came to Mint 7 to get more stability after a couple of years with sidux/Debian sid.
Installed Mint on my clone core2duo 2.2Ghz desktop and it connected to the wire out of the box.
Installed it on my Acer Aspire One, and had to click on an icon to get it to connect.

Several have offered to help but you really didn't offer much.

I can not divine what wireless card you have, what sort of 4 year old computer, etc.
And since I can't and you keep it a mystery; then yes, we get sort of cranky.

We are actually reading these forums to learn things that might help us fix our problems;
though occasionally we read about someone who has a problem we have already solved.

And it is frustrating for those who pass by to realize, finally, that there is no way to help.
When you keep it a secret, it brings up all sorts of bad thoughts. We've seen this sort of thing before:

Again, I apologize if I was mistaken and you really wanted help but didn't know how to go about it.

Try again if you wish and give some real data.
Or, if Vista rocks your boat, enjoy.
You will be keeping someone employed fixing Windows boxes for a living.

saludos,
Richard.

[Edited to remove some of the wordiness that misled AKDave. Hopefully better, but no promises. rh.]

[optimize me]

Case closed. Topic un-subscribed.

kthxbye

[MALsPa]

G'bye, ScottishGirl. You have to do what's best for you, and Linux isn't for everyone. Glad I don't have the kind of issues with it that you have, though.

[AK Dave]

(1) Ubuntu Hardy Heron worked fine - except I could only connect to the Internet through a wired connection. Also Ubuntu looks and feels old-fashioned.

(2) Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope refused to recognise my Network.

Sounds like a simple wireless network connectivity problem. Easily solved IF you provide some specific information, but I see from other threads that this information was asked for and never provided. You never provided the information that helpful people would need to help YOU fix YOUR problem. And, it is remotely possible (very unlikely) that the problem is not fixable; nevertheless, you might have the dubious distinction of using hardware that is impossible to be supported by linux. Ergo, maybe you just needed a different wifi dongle.

(5)I have a Sony Walkman 8GB Mp3 player and while I can upload music to it I cannot delete any music or upload videos. Also I got a one year free subscription to itunes with the Sony Walkman but I cannot use it because itunes requires you to download and install a program - naturally using .exe files - and Linux won't permit executable files.

Oddly, iTunes works just fine on this linux computer. Two ways:
1. old iTunes 6.0 in Wine
2. brand spanking new iTunes in a VirtualBox XP session.

(7) I used to be a great fan of Firefox but I think that Firefox has become too temperamental.

There are more browsers than Firefox. Did you ask for suggestions?

(8) OpenOffice doesn't appear to have very popular fonts like Times New Roman[/quote]

Install them.

However, I need to go back to Windows

Whatever. Use what you like. Doesn't bother me. I have XP in Virtualbox for those occasions where I absolutely have to have some specific Windows app.

majority or computer users and Internet surfers want

They're ignorant sheeple. I don't care.

OS where all the learning and pain of internet surfing is removed

Oddly, thats exactly what Ubuntu and Mint do. Google is even rolling their own linux distro, ChromeOS, based on the idea that a good linux exactly fits the general consumer's websurf needs.

and that is what Windows gives them.

Windows IS pain!

[AK Dave]

I installed it on my Acer Aspire One, now 8 months old and the wireless didn't work.

Blame Acer, and praise Ubuntu for having a wiki with the exact fix to your problem. Ubuntu has to have a whole wiki for you to fix. I've referenced their article multiple times here on this forum to help people fix their Acer Aspire One computers.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AspireOne

I also had a Lenovo C3000 N200 which had a Broadcom wireless built in.

Blame Broadcom.

Several have tried but you really didn't offer much.

Have you asked?

[davec51]

If you want a light, easy OS that just works, I recommend you try Puppy. There are many versions, and most of them are about 100M. I'm a recent convert to Mint, but I still use several Puppy versions.

[RichardH]

I installed it on my Acer Aspire One, now 8 months old and the wireless didn't work.

Blame Acer, and praise Ubuntu for having a wiki with the exact fix to your problem. Ubuntu has to have a whole wiki for you to fix. I've referenced their article multiple times here on this forum to help people fix their Acer Aspire One computers.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AspireOne

I also had a Lenovo C3000 N200 which had a Broadcom wireless built in.

Blame Broadcom.

Several have tried but you really didn't offer much.

Have you asked?

Hey Dave,

What is your point?

I asked a couple of times. Lagagnon and FedoraRefugee asked but nothing was forthcoming in this whole thread.

You noticed a couple of things from my posts but didn't read the next line where I explained how all the AA1 needed was to click the icon and click on Connect. Maybe I wasn't clear and should have said that wireless didn't auto-connect at the first boot up. I don't have a problem with Acer. Works fine in sid, testing, mint, even XP for limited times. I was trying to get the ScottishGirl to give us a bit more info: such as what type of card, what type of computer, etc.

I apologize if my impreciseness has offended you. Surely wasn't my intention.

Also explained how I got the Broadcom working by asking and giving information about my setup.


You have made some very knowledgeable posts, so this surprises me.

I think the problem the lady has is that she doesn't really know how to get the info to ask the questions.
If she can't or won't explain, then I don't really think this thread deserves any more attention.

[ScottishGirl]

If someone will tell me what commands to enter in the terminal I will be delighted to post the results.

My computer is an Aspire 1642ZLMi if that helps anyone.

[ScottishGirl]

Please bear in mind that I have only ever used the terminal to navigate directories. These are the only terminal commands that I know:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get autoremove
sudo apt-get install...
top
ls