4 ms·

I had a thinkpad running ubuntu for a couple of years, around 2010-2013, but I was forced to switch to a mbp for one simple reason: About 1/10 of the time when

by awongh 11y ago

I had a thinkpad running ubuntu for a couple of years, around 2010-2013, but I was forced to switch to a mbp for one simple reason: About 1/10 of the time when I would be at a coffee shop or something and would try to connect to the wi-fi router, ubuntu simply wouldn't be able to connect. This thinkpad had one of the officially supported wifi chips in it, and it still didn't work. Lots of forum posts told me to downgrade driver versions or some such thing, I wasted a bunch of time trying many different solutions and nothing ever fixed it. I'm a web dev, and without internet I can't get anything done- I had to eventually get rid of it. Too bad, because the build quality was nice and it's a much better deal than a mbp, but unreliable internet is a deal-breaker. (If there had been some way for me to pay someone with driver knowledge to diagnose and patch the driver problem I would have done that!)

unethical_ban 11y ago
Or buy another laptop. Could have been a hardware issue. Or install another distro.
- awongh 11y ago
  I thought that the hardware drivers were independent of the distro? or at least debian? I lazily assumed hardware support on other distros would be crappier. I think the big issue here is that if a piece of hardware is listed as officially supported and it still doesn't work after you try to fix it with whatever hacks are suggested, it's not a workable situation.
  - slgeorge 11y ago
    You're on OS X so probably don't care but ... a. Hardware drivers are not independent of distro Technically most drivers will land-up in the main-line kernel at some point. But, for testing whether a "whole" laptop works means making sure all the drivers are working at the right version - it's fiddly. Consequently, what you really care about is whether your distribution supports that hardware version. b. Getting support for a Linux laptop In many ways the fact that users had to load Linux themselves in the 90's has been the biggest problem for users now. If you want a "Linux" laptop you should buy one with Linux preloaded. That way you'll get one with a known working configuration on the hardware and software. If something doesn't work there's a venue for you to get support - the person who sold it to you. Otherwise, if you do have problems you're stuck doing whatever "the internet" tells you to do - half of which will probably be wrong, or it's just happenstance that it worked for them. That's why buying from a Zareason, System76 or Dell (XPS 13) is important c. Lenovo certifies but doesn't provide support for Linux Lenovo does a type of certification for Ubuntu that means it "works for them". But, AFAIK there's no avenue to get support from them if the hardware doesn't work. Generally, it does work (writing this on one now), but you're stuck if you have problems.
- gog 11y ago
  That takes time and/or money. Even if the wifi doesn't work on your mac, but it does on your phone or some other device, you can be pretty sure your mac is not working properly.
touristtam 11y ago
I can relate: I have a X230 at home with Ubuntu 14.10 and the wifi has a weird tendency to disconnect and then have a hard time trying to reconnect.
vacri 11y ago
Linux wifi can be a bit of a curious beast, but there is some element of the random number generator playing against people here. Last year I was working for a company in a startup colocation. My computer is a desktop and I run linux... and we moved into the colo only to find there was no wired network. Wifi was the only way. I tried a couple of USB wifi cards (yuck) and then just bought a cheap pci one. After that, it worked perfectly. Over the next few months, there were frequently times that all the macbook users in our company would be complaining and asking each other about the wifi being down, meanwhile my card was going rock solid and never missed a beat. At a previous workplace, the folks on macbooks often complained of wifi dropouts and the folks on windows laptops never did. But then there are stories like yours that are the other way around. Wifi is a difficult thing to pinpoint, because you can never be sure just what it is that's causing problems; there are so many factors, and it's difficult to really nail down without a lot of time and alternate parts to swap out.

by awongh 11y ago

unethical_ban 11y ago

Or buy another laptop. Could have been a hardware issue. Or install another distro.

awongh 11y ago
I thought that the hardware drivers were independent of the distro? or at least debian? I lazily assumed hardware support on other distros would be crappier. I think the big issue here is that if a piece of hardware is listed as officially supported and it still doesn't work after you try to fix it with whatever hacks are suggested, it's not a workable situation.
- slgeorge 11y ago
  You're on OS X so probably don't care but ... a. Hardware drivers are not independent of distro Technically most drivers will land-up in the main-line kernel at some point. But, for testing whether a "whole" laptop works means making sure all the drivers are working at the right version - it's fiddly. Consequently, what you really care about is whether your distribution supports that hardware version. b. Getting support for a Linux laptop In many ways the fact that users had to load Linux themselves in the 90's has been the biggest problem for users now. If you want a "Linux" laptop you should buy one with Linux preloaded. That way you'll get one with a known working configuration on the hardware and software. If something doesn't work there's a venue for you to get support - the person who sold it to you. Otherwise, if you do have problems you're stuck doing whatever "the internet" tells you to do - half of which will probably be wrong, or it's just happenstance that it worked for them. That's why buying from a Zareason, System76 or Dell (XPS 13) is important c. Lenovo certifies but doesn't provide support for Linux Lenovo does a type of certification for Ubuntu that means it "works for them". But, AFAIK there's no avenue to get support from them if the hardware doesn't work. Generally, it does work (writing this on one now), but you're stuck if you have problems.
gog 11y ago
That takes time and/or money. Even if the wifi doesn't work on your mac, but it does on your phone or some other device, you can be pretty sure your mac is not working properly.

touristtam 11y ago

I can relate: I have a X230 at home with Ubuntu 14.10 and the wifi has a weird tendency to disconnect and then have a hard time trying to reconnect.

vacri 11y ago

Linux wifi can be a bit of a curious beast, but there is some element of the random number generator playing against people here. Last year I was working for a company in a startup colocation. My computer is a desktop and I run linux... and we moved into the colo only to find there was no wired network. Wifi was the only way. I tried a couple of USB wifi cards (yuck) and then just bought a cheap pci one. After that, it worked perfectly. Over the next few months, there were frequently times that all the macbook users in our company would be complaining and asking each other about the wifi being down, meanwhile my card was going rock solid and never missed a beat. At a previous workplace, the folks on macbooks often complained of wifi dropouts and the folks on windows laptops never did. But then there are stories like yours that are the other way around. Wifi is a difficult thing to pinpoint, because you can never be sure just what it is that's causing problems; there are so many factors, and it's difficult to really nail down without a lot of time and alternate parts to swap out.