aysiu
December 27th, 2010, 05:12 PM
I am really sad that Broadcom performance seems to have regressed over the past few years in Ubuntu. It's still taking thirty seconds to a minute and a half to reconnect after I resume from suspend.
Ubuntu's Hardware Drivers utility also can't automatically install the wireless drivers without an internet connection, even though they're on the installation medium itself.
Sad. And filing bug reports hasn't helped.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/566483
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/jockey/+bug/534824
Nevertheless, I would never tell people Broadcom is painful even for the computer savvy. I couldn't believe what I read in the San Francisco Chronicle today:
Q: I have two Windows XP computers. Instead of trying to upgrade to Windows 7 (cost, aggravation), I have been thinking about Linux. I use my computers mostly for the Internet, e-mail and basic word processing. Which version of Linux do you think would suit me best?
A: None of them. Several years ago, I had high hopes for Linux as an alternative to Windows, but the evolution of Linux for consumers has been disappointing. It's almost unbelievable, but Ubuntu, Fedora, SUSE and other free versions of Linux still have trouble connecting to wireless networks. That's because they're incompatible with technology from Broadcom, which is used in a majority of network adapters. There are workarounds, but they are painful even for the computer savvy.
Broadcom recently released its driver codes so that open-source developers can use them in future versions of Linux. When those appear, Linux could be a contender. Until then, I'd stick with XP. Original "article" here (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/27/BUT61GUDGH.DTL)
Ubuntu's Hardware Drivers utility also can't automatically install the wireless drivers without an internet connection, even though they're on the installation medium itself.
Sad. And filing bug reports hasn't helped.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/566483
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/jockey/+bug/534824
Nevertheless, I would never tell people Broadcom is painful even for the computer savvy. I couldn't believe what I read in the San Francisco Chronicle today:
Q: I have two Windows XP computers. Instead of trying to upgrade to Windows 7 (cost, aggravation), I have been thinking about Linux. I use my computers mostly for the Internet, e-mail and basic word processing. Which version of Linux do you think would suit me best?
A: None of them. Several years ago, I had high hopes for Linux as an alternative to Windows, but the evolution of Linux for consumers has been disappointing. It's almost unbelievable, but Ubuntu, Fedora, SUSE and other free versions of Linux still have trouble connecting to wireless networks. That's because they're incompatible with technology from Broadcom, which is used in a majority of network adapters. There are workarounds, but they are painful even for the computer savvy.
Broadcom recently released its driver codes so that open-source developers can use them in future versions of Linux. When those appear, Linux could be a contender. Until then, I'd stick with XP. Original "article" here (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/27/BUT61GUDGH.DTL)