Improvement ideas - Uni assignment

[BecBee]

Hey,

I'm new to the forums and as part of a university assignment I had to use a Open Source program or OS and then come up with a number of improvements or features I think would make it more user friendly :p

I came up with a few things I'd like to see implemented or things that I feel would be useful:

After installing Ubuntu I didn't have an Internet connection because the driver for the Dell wireless utility hadn't been installed. I was wondering if there could be a way either during installation or during the first boot to run a "detect hardware" utility I feel this would be useful as you can start using Ubuntu pretty much right away after it installs.

Also the update manager found 35 new updates that needed to be installed to my laptop after the Ubuntu installation. To save time and to help the user out, maybe options could be given to the user during the installation or add a recommended list of plug-ins to install as well because the media player also required numerous updates/ plug-ins to work properly too.

Thanks
BecBee

[sffvba[e0rt]

You have the starting of a good list there. As a forum policy we don't allow the forum to assist with homework and thus this thread is closed.


404

[sffvba[e0rt]

Thread moved to Cafe.

After deliberation it has been decided to re-open this thread.


404

[Bachstelze]

There is already a tool in Ubuntu to detect when some hardware needs additional drivers. However, due to space constraints, not all drivers can be included on the CD (this is probably why your wireless seems to not have been detected). Also, if an Internet connection is available during installtion, you are offered the options to download and install updates automatically during installation.

[mr john]

Maybe they could do something like Suse Studio. A wesbite where you can build your own Ubuntu based on your hardware/software requirements and then download it. This would irradicate the need for a one-size-fits-all cd.

The website could even have a tool that scans your hardware to see what you got.

And of course when the iso is generated it has the latest version of all the packages required.

[BecBee]

Thanks for your response.
I didn't use a CD or USB stick to install Ubuntu I actually used the windows installer so that I didn't need to create a partition in my hard drive.
So I don't know about the CD but when installing Ubuntu on a computer with an Internet connection available there was no options to update automatically.
BecBee

[mamamia88]

Hey,

I'm new to the forums and as part of a university assignment I had to use a Open Source program or OS and then come up with a number of improvements or features I think would make it more user friendly :p

I came up with a few things I'd like to see implemented or things that I feel would be useful:

After installing Ubuntu I didn't have an Internet connection because the driver for the Dell wireless utility hadn't been installed. I was wondering if there could be a way either during installation or during the first boot to run a "detect hardware" utility I feel this would be useful as you can start using Ubuntu pretty much right away after it installs.

Also the update manager found 35 new updates that needed to be installed to my laptop after the Ubuntu installation. To save time and to help the user out, maybe options could be given to the user during the installation or add a recommended list of plug-ins to install as well because the media player also required numerous updates/ plug-ins to work properly too.

Thanks
BecBee

well there is a terminal command lspci that will list most of your hardware including wifi card. after finding out what wifi card you have put the name of the card+ ubuntu into google to see how to get it working. one of the things i love the most about linux is that my wifi driver is built into the kernel. hope that helps you out. oh and here is a detailed list about compatable wifi cards and how to get working. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessCardsSupported if yours is on there and you have a working wired connection should be easy

[PaulInBHC]

Maybe they could do something like Suse Studio. A wesbite where you can build your own Ubuntu based on your hardware/software requirements and then download it. This would irradicate the need for a one-size-fits-all cd.

The website could even have a tool that scans your hardware to see what you got.

And of course when the iso is generated it has the latest version of all the packages required.

Great idea but scanning for hardware won't work on a blank harddrive. You would have to have an OS and browser to get to the website.

Rumor again is that CD size iso is going away.

[mamamia88]

Great idea but scanning for hardware won't work on a blank harddrive. You would have to have an OS and browser to get to the website.

Rumor again is that CD size iso is going away.

true but if you have a blank harddrive you are probably building your own computer so you probably know what hardware you are using since you picked out the parts yourself. I like the debian way of installing where you chose what components to install like desktop server etc. I think that they should do something like that for ubuntu but with the option to scan hardware and download required packages if you have an internet connection available. This would be included on the cd. They already ask you if you want to install updates and third party software while installing why not include this option as well? My experience with linux so far is that wifi doesn't always work out of the box but ethernet always does. Can't think of a reason why something like this shouldn't work.