[Sussex] The "usual" linux weirdness......

[Dave]

>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 12:02:09 +0100
> From: john davis <johnsemailaccount at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Sussex] The "usual" linux weirdness......
> To: Sussex LUG mailing list <sussex at mailman.lug.org.uk>
> Message-ID:
> 	<51da828a0905250402w73c7a1f7x229c9b71938fab72 at mail.gmail.com>
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>
> Wotcha List,
>
> Why is it, that after 6 or 7 years of using linux, I can still find strange
> stuff?
>
> Ok, I'll define the "strange" bit a little.
>
> Now it so happens that it hasn't, until now mattered which distro I've used,
> I've stuck to KDE for my desktop. Yes, perhaps it was to do with it feeling
> more familiar to windows when I first started the linux thing, but recently
> I've found that it's not quite as straight forward as that.
>
> For instance, recent iterations of the *buntu's have caused me a little
> grief (which dovetails into yesterdays problem, but more of that later). I
> think it was 8.10 (kubuntu) that had some bugs in the network manager, where
> for reasons that are far, far above me, it was proving a PITA to input my
> static IP address. One of the "work rounds" was to uninstall the kde version
> of the network manager and install the gnome network manager. Now those
> who've been on the list a long time may recall my former self proclaimed
> status as "LUG nugget". I still claim that title, as I couldn't, for the
> life of me, work out how that was done. So I ended up just installing the
> whole of gnome and configuring the network that way, but still using KDE as
> my preferred desktop.
>
> That seemed to have done the trick - fine.
>
> Now, when it became available recently, I installed 9.04 (I'd all ready been
> meddling with KDE 4 - with much frustration in trying to do "normal" tasks,
> that would have been straight forward under KDE 3), this was a straight dist
> upgrade. A little time after that, it became apparent, that the newer
> version had problems with my sound device(s), and on logging in would get a
> warning that AL2100 (I think that's what it's called) analogue doesn't work
> and it was falling back to AL2100 digital. I've got no idea what it is that
> actually produces the sound from the system......
>
> Another problem arose, though I can't remember what it was, but it seemed
> that I'd need to log into gnome to sort it out. Since then I've hardly gone
> back into KDE, as it now seems that it's gnome that's become the "user
> friendly" desktop. The sound works fine, I don't need to keep changing the
> default apps to open various types of media files, the choice of screensaver
> is amusing (currently the bouncing cow) and quite a number of other things.
>
> This has all come as a surprise, because of the last 5 or so years, I've
> attempted on a number of occasions to learn how to use gnome and it's just
> got me frustrated with (IMO) the dis-jointed way it was put together. Don't
> get me wrong, I'm still "just a user" and not techie, there are still a few
> bits that I haven't sussed out, but it's been easier then getting my head
> round KDE 4.
>
> One of the strange things, is, as I alluded to earlier, the
> networking........Yesterday morning, it just stopped working. Since I got
> this new PC, I've returned to dual booting with windows (curiosity about
> Vista mainly). Windows wouldn't connect either and I ended up coming to the
> conclusion that it was either the network card or the router/modem - it took
> a lot of swearing, much frustration, time and digging around to work out
> that it was the bit between the network card and the router/modem i.e. the 8
> port network switch had decided to "seize" up and I had to disconnect and
> unplug it to get it going again.
>
> Ok, I can hear you saying "what's strange about that, you should have looked
> at that as one of the first things", yes you're right - it just didn't occur
> to me. The strange thing though, is by using the browser in my phone to try
> and locate an answer, I found the bit about re-configuring the networking
> i.e. clicking the network manager icon in the top right hand corner of the
> desktop screen, highlighting the connection and then clicking "edit" to
> change/amend it. If I do that, I don't see any connection whatsoever, wired,
> wireless, etc etc, just an empty dialogue box. Yet here I am, typing this
> into gmail with no problems at all. I can access the net in both
> gnome/ubuntu and windows again..... So what the hell's going on????
>
> I'm not in any rush to find out how it's working (I don't really care, as
> long as it's working - as I said, I'm just a user, not a techie). Though it
> would probably be advantageous to know......
>
> Or is it just me being thick (entirely possible) ???
>
> Anyway, I hope you're all having a useful bank holiday...
>
> regards
>
> John D.
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>   
A quick google of AL2100 seems to show that it is a chip fitted to 
various routers / Broadcom modems- see link below.  Without knowing 
which make of router / modem you have. Still leaves it a bit in the 
wind.  You didn't by any chance reset the router / modem?

http://www.1sourcecomponents.com/partinfo/AL2100.htm

Dave P

-- 
"You can't rush science Gibbs. You can yell at it, but you can never 
rush it." Abby Sciuto