Ubuntu Studio on T22

[bonestonne]

So my T22 is back up and running [last night was a long night with dad] and my choice was instead of keeping Ubuntu Feisty, i wanted something different [that and i didn't initially want to sit through all the updates, although everything was still there].

it works completely out of the box, but my wireless card appears to not work too well, i'll enter my WEP, but it will never manage to connect, i tried connecting to some open network that's in my neighborhood [not sure where its coming from though] but it wouldn't connect to that either. has anyone used Studio before?

i know of ndiswrapper, and its on my to-do list after this install is done [partition tables weren't right last night]. i chose studio because this laptop will be my school/DJ equipment, because it beats an MP3 player by far, and is a whole lot nicer looking [will post pics later today maybe].

my last question is about a USB squid/hub, i shouldn't have a problem with one right? this whole 1 USB port is a killer to me.

[bonestonne]

Ok! quick update on the situation, i'm hoping others find this useful as well.

i have this netgear WG111v2 that i got for my other computer since i have no room for internal wireless cards, and miraculously it works with linux right away. I still can't get ndiswrapper to open, however i did take the wg111v2 .inf driver from my win XP tower, and went to "open with other application, and then i looked around for the "ndisw" file, as i still have the app. installed, and what i did was in "open with other application" i added gksu in front of the quotes with the other command, so in theory, if that worked [i can't find a way to check] i had installed the driver for it, but i just use the "network" tool to establish my connection.

another note is that with WEP protected networks, just take the adapter out of roaming, enter the name/WEP in "network" and then restart with the adapter plugged in. it should automatically connect with the network without any problems. its working for me, i don't see why it would be different for others. for open wireless networks, just set the adapter to roaming, restart, and then just left click on the network icon by the clock and select your network to connect to. now, this took a couple tries for me, however it was successful for me when i was in school today, and i had a fair signal [~50-60%].

i also have a Linksys WMP11, however in linux i have not had as much success with it. for windows it really worked well, but i'm phasing out my windows usage to OS X and *nix because i just know it better. i will however try to solve my networking problem with it in the future, as i sorta like having a free USB port [i'm waiting until after i get two new batteries to hit up the USB squid].

networking is flawless and works all around my house [and the 3 foot USB extension cable is a major help]. eventually i may get a second adapter and try to mount it internally, but thats for the future.

hopefully this helped out some people, and just so that there's no confusion, i'm running Ubuntu Studio, not any other distro. i thought about Sabayon in a Fluxbox environment, but decided not to use it because networking [from my point of view] would have been more of a hassle. if possible i do intend to try to get Sabayon on my sisters Thinkpad 600, but i'll have to work on that idea, because i don't have any optical drive for it.
--------------edit--------------
apparently the Linksys WMP11v3 is going gold with Ubuntu, i'm able to connect to my WEP protected wireless network without a problem so far. I do not believe i ever installed the driver for this, i simply put it in, went into network, made sure it had the network name and WEP, set it to DHCP, clicked OK, restarted, connected instantly.

i hope this can give other linux users hope in their quest for full wireless capabilities, and this has completely knocked off my need for windows on my Thinkpad! it was more of a log than anything else, but i'm sure it'll help someone...and i'm sure i'm not the only one waiting for Gutsy Gibbon (10 days!!!)

[bonestonne]

I suppose this may as well turn into a wireless internet work log. i have a few things to say about this.

while at first the Linksys WPC-11v3 appeared to work, it actually stopped. can i explain it? not yet. it appears that for wireless internet for Ubuntu, i've had the most luck with the Netgear WG111v2. no drivers needed, supports WEP and open wireless networks, i've connected at my school and here at home with no problems with it, and have even managed to get a keyring managed password to autoconnect to my home network, however at school its open.

the linksys adapter however appears to be very touchy. in school, it will pick up the signal sometimes, but not others. the netgear adapter just set on Roaming will never fail me. it will pick up the signal with a fair amount of strength in places that the linksys adapter completely fails.

now, i need to also make a note that i'm using linux. before i had linux on this laptop, the linksys card worked well with windows XP. it could be a software issue as well as a hardware issue here, however i will put another netgear adapter to the test soon, i'm going to get a netgear PCMCIA adapter to see if netgear is generally better within Ubuntu than linksys. now, this T22 is pretty old, and could use lots of work, but i'm sure it'll be able to hold up. i don't intend on getting a new a/b/g card just for this yet, but i do plan on getting a USB hub just in case.

now as for features, the blue light on my netgear WG111v2 does not blink with activity ever. it will blink once while it connects for the first time, however when used in Ubuntu, there is no activity light. with XP there is activity however, verified because i use this same adapter with my tower when its up in my room, however this laptop has changed the playing field.

when i had tried to get a wireless signal in my house, one issue that came up was the fact that my kitchen is literally 6 feet away from where the wireless router is. i was sitting at the seat at my kitchen table closest to the router, which is a maximum of 7 feet away, if that, however the linksys card would not pick up even a fragment of a signal. however, the second i plugged in my WG111v2, it came to life, with a 73% signal. if the WG111v2 could sense the signal that strong, why cant the Linksys adapter sense it?

also, at my schools radio station, i can pick up a wireless signal from across the hall, which is the band room, where teachers use a wireless router to connect to the schools network with their macbooks and whatnot. well, if i'm on one side of the station's main door, i pick up the signal very well, maybe 25% signal [which for through concrete walls, is pretty good] but that was with the WG111v2. with the Linksys WPC-11v3, it had picked up the signal, roughly the same strength, however a problem arose when i had moved across the hall by the main door into the actual studio. when i moved into the studio with the WPC-11v3, i lost the signal entirely, however the studio is closer to the band room than the room across the hall, so why would i completely lose my signal? i have yet to do the same with the WG111v2 however, i do believe i can test it out tomorrow. i did not have the same issue last year however, last year i had windows installed, so is it a software problem causing this?

if i had to [at this point] recommend someone a wireless adapter for a thinkpad that didn't have one, i'd readily say the netgear WG111v2. its based on the realtek 8187 chipset, so its not hard to find drivers for, and will work openly under linux without configuration beforehand [meaning ndiswrapper is not necessary to use this adapter]. however, at the same time, i have a personal dilemma with this adapter. the thinkpad T22 has one USB port, so using the WG111v2 hogs that port entirely. be sure to get a USB hub, or have a USB PCMCIA adapter to use on the side, or you will get very annoyed, having to disconnect just to plug in a flash drive.

my thinkpad is now used as a DJ tool, as i have Mixxx installed [and am looking into other programs as well]. having wireless internet working is a must have, as ethernet is not always an option, especially during large shows where you have enough cables being thrown around anyway. i'll continue updating this thread until i've found a permanent solution to wireless internet for my T22, which may result in some modifications, however i'm fully ready to do it. my future plans are to take apart the WG111v2, and mount it under the keyboard and soldier it a custom cable to the USB port in the back, and just to get a USB PCMCIA adapter, to solve the speed problem as well.

i'll get back to this again at a later date when i have more answers.

i will also see how well this adapter works with other distributions such as Sabayon, so that's also on the to-do list.

[awong]

about wireless, for my r31, when I ran a pcmcia card, I was using a netgear wusb511t out of the box it was connecting well at my school and at home with wep, you can probably find it cheap on ebay. only issue is with atheros cards is the signal is read a lot lower than on windows, apparently at 62% is the max. Not sure why this is, but it find it reliable to connect when I have issues with my internal wireless.

Also I have a belkin wireless g notebook card, broadcomm chipset. It works well on wep networks, but on unsecure networks it takes multiple tries to get it to connect, there seems to be an issue with it, but i am using ndiswrapper on it.

[bonestonne]

thanks for that, i'm not quite sure what my friend has, but he's selling it to me for $5 so i'm not too picky left or right [because an extra wireless adapter will be handy].

i can't say i'm getting a perfect signal in Ubuntu, however up in my room [basically right above the router], i'm getting a ~70% signal. and apparently my USB adapter is much better than that linksys card, as today i tried it, and got a decent signal in places where the linksys adapter had not gotten a signal at all.

i've tossed the idea of dual booting around, however it wont help me get a signal anywhere, that and i only have a 20gb drive right now [i'm putting off an 80gb long enough to get a pair of condenser mics]. for now i'll just have to invest in a USB hub, but i'll definitely look into that netgear adapter you mentioned. i have an encrypted network here at home, but its open at school, so ease of compatibility with both is important to me.

off to post pictures in the gallery while the Kings X digitizes [i love 80's music]