[Sussex] Linux wireless support - Realtek rtl 8187 B

[Steve Redshaw]

thanks Steve,

I will take your advice and wait, I am not wedded to OpenSuse, but I
couldn't get Mandriva installed on that laptop (we did have a try to solve
that on this forum). I like Mandriva, though OpenSuse is good to use too
(from a GUI perspective of course, I'm not too knowledgeable about what goes
on under the surface yet!!) - I tried Freespire too but found the graphics
very 'clunky' and it was quite awkward to operate

what distros would other recommend for a green Linux explorer? I suppose
there are strengths and weaknesses in all, I'm not clear about the different
basic types of Linux (Debian, Ubuntu?), different distros use different ones
I think?

a problem that has just occurred on my Sony Vaio running Mandriva 2008.1 is
I've lost all printing capability, don't know if its due to an update or
what, my printer appears on the printer hardware screen of Mandriva Control
Centre, but there is absolutely no response when I send a document to print

how can I fix this?

Steve

2008/8/15 Steve Dobson <steve.dobson at syscall.org.uk>

> Hi Steve
>
> On Fri, 2008-08-15 at 10:22 +0100, Steve Redshaw wrote:
> > I am writing again for some help advice!
>
> Advice I can give.
>
> > I am trying to get my daughter's laptop ( a pink Medion!!) connected
> > to our wireless router through Linux (I have installed OpenSuse11)
> >
> > I have been seeking help on the OpenSuse forum
> > (
> http://forums.opensuse.org/network-internet/wireless/388302-rtl-8187-b-wlan-support-2.html
> )
> >
> > the jist of it seems to be;
> >
> > 1) that the present kernel does not support this particular Wlan card
> > 2) I could build my own kernel to gain a newer version, however I
> > might have problems with other hardware on the computer
> > 3) I could use ndiswrapper - some advice on the forum not to do this
> > or that it doesn't always work - this feels a bit involved for me at
> > my stage of Linux experience (or lack of it)
> > 4) I could wait for a newer version of the kernel to be incorporated
> > into a distro , which is quite straightforward to install
> >
> > I would value any thoughts advice - thanks
>
> As someone who did build their own kernels I will say that is a
> non-trivial task.  The processes will ask you lots and lots of questions
> about your system and you need to get many of them right.  If you don't
> have an understanding of networking, file systems, input/output devices
> then you are going to struggle.
>
> My only question for you is "are you wedded to OpenSuse?"
>
> If you want to stick with the one distro (which is not a bad choice)
> then just wait for the next release of Suse that does contain the
> support you're after.
>
> If you don't mind changing distros to try out new features then look
> about for a distro that uses a kernel that does support the WiFi card in
> the laptop.
>
> Steve
>
> --
> Steve Dobson
>
> Lavish spending can be disastrous. Don't buy any lavishes for a while.
>
>
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