by Adam Boettiger » 25 Sep 2005, 03:41
Thanks for the tip, StarKnight.
Unfortunately that fix was way too complicated for me. I love the stability and speed of Linux, and on the PPC platform I gave up on trying to get Fedora to work and between Ubuntu and YDL I chose YDL and really like it so far. But I don't know how to compile code and drivers. I just want the stuff to work.
I realize it's not Linux developers' fault, it's the hardware manufacturers for not supporting it or making drivers.
That said, I need wireless WLAN access on YDL or it is no good to me for what I do.
I have an ASUS wireless AP (WL-330G) that "claims" it needs no drivers to install and work and is purely plug and play. It uses a USB plug for power and an ethernet male plug to make the WLAN connection. It's a pretty cool device, but being new to YDL I have no idea what config settings to use to get it to work. In theory it should work.
I also just picked up a Netgear 108 Mbps wireless USB adapter that claims that I can plug into the USB port and use to access my 802.11x WLAN for net access; however no mention whether it works with Linux. It looks nice, though. Comes with a short cable and velcro attach so you can move it around for the best reception point.
I am leery of opening the celephane on the box though, without knowing if it will work. I just bought it today, have the receipt and can easily return it. None of these things say they work with Linux and I searched online and there is no mention of this device working. Says it comes with a "Smart Wizard Install Assistant" CD, which makes me very leery. <G>
I guess this Netgear thing is the closest to what you would call a dongle, but again, I'm leery of this hit and miss connectivity issue with Linux. Seems like there is a huge business opportunity here for someone or a group of developers to come in and create Linux drivers for five or six of the major wireless cards and dongles and sell them for twenty bucks a download. I know open-source is free and all, but the dongle sure as hell wasn't, so I would gladly pay $20 for a driver that was easy to find and worked out the gate with no compiling etc.
Between the Netgear WG111T 108 Mbps Wireless USB Adapter and the ASUS unit, which would you use if you were me? The ASUS I've had and just can't get it to work - probably user error. The Netgear I don't want to try unless I'm sure it's going to work as I'd rather return it for the cash.
TIA
/AB