On Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 01:08:13PM -0700, Robert Kopp wrote: > I'm about to get a new laptop, and it would be nice to get one > at a retail store whose hardware was supported by Linux. The > only problem I have ever encountered with earlier laptops was > with the Wifi adapter, but now that most of the new ones don't > have PCMCIA slots (to provide Wifi connectivity if the built-in > Wifi adapter doesn't work), this is an important point.
Alternative - USB2.0 WIFI adapters. The ZD1211B based devices are cheap, and work out of the box with Ubuntu. If you are running an older driver, you may need to compile a driver module. Although Wifi is built into most laptops, it is usually low power 5mW stuff, not a lot of range. Drivers can be a problem, and they often change chipsets on the supposed same model of laptop. Lastly, for security purposes I want the wifi to be OFF when I unplug the USB or PCMCIA card; without a direct power switch I am relying on corruptable software and firmware to take internal Wifi offline. Sometimes you just want to raise the drawbridge, rather than trust the guards. Keith -- Keith Lofstrom [email protected] Voice (503)-520-1993 KLIC --- Keith Lofstrom Integrated Circuits --- "Your Ideas in Silicon" Design Contracting in Bipolar and CMOS - Analog, Digital, and Scan ICs _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
