Timothy Murphy wrote:
Karl Larsen wrote:
As I have said many times, if NetworkManager works, it is fine;
but if it does not work you are up the swanny.
What is needed in my view is a simple program, or just a recipe,
which tells you exactly where WiFi is failing, if it is failing.
The difference between Linux and Windows is that in Linux
you can tell the user exactly what is going on.
Linux is not, or should not be, a black box.
The trouble with a supposed universal system like the one outlined
in the link above
is that in the end you are forced to say,
"You must have one of the following devices".
What if someone has a laptop with built-in WiFi
using a card not on the given list?
Do you just say, "Bad luck, mate"?
Tim, that is what the Manual is about. If you can't make it work, do
things step by step and see what is bad. Then fix it. As for
NetworkManager it is a work IN progress. Right now it works just fine
for me. I recommend using it.
I'm not sure if you are giving me advice,
or telling me how you think your manual would help.
I have 7 different WiFi devices, including PCI, USB and PCMCIA cards.
All are working perfectly.
However, NetworkManager does not work with 3 of them.
It is never going to work eg with the Orinoco classic PCMCIA card,
because (as I have said several times)
NM assumes that a card will scan in a certain way,
and this card does not scan in that way.
This is not necessary for WiFi to work.
However, that is not my main argument with NetworkManager.
My main argument is that if WiFi is not working,
NM just confuses the issue,
since you first have to work out what NM is doing,
what entries it has written in what files, etc.
You say your system works for you.
There is nothing surprising about that,
as WiFi works without any problem at all
in perhaps 80% of cases.
The question is what the best procedure is in the remaining 20%
of the cases where there is a problem.
Unfortunately, I don't think your manual is going to help
in the majority of these cases.
Certainly your first step, to determine your WiFi device,
is sensible, though I imagine most people would know that anyway,
eg from their computer manual.
Tim: You hate NetworkManager. Please get over that. I appreciate it has
not worked for you but it works for me. Your problem I think is that you
forgot to turn off the old network application. Try it again with
network turned off, and see if it isn't better. Also get the NM list as
I do and at least read the work going on to make NM better than ever.
The guys working on Fedora 8 like NM and plan to use it. I like it too.
And I have my PHd in EE 1962 from Stanford in California. I would have
liked to been in Ireland but money was tight.
Karl
