This is part three of my Linspire review (part one is here , part two is here).

As promised, this week I am going to be giving full disclosure on my findings pertaining to Linspire 5.0 and its usability with wireless networking. First up on the block, the built-in utilities:

On thing Linspire did right from the start was using its foresight to offer decent tools to help get you connected to your wireless LAN. Most notable of these tools is the little radio applet that appears next to the clock. Once your Wi-Fi card is set up, you can then rely on a self-configured profile that you wish to use or simply set the applet to allow for automatic connections. Very easy to use, comparable to Windows in many respects - short the ‘bubble’ alerts.

Moving on to the hardware, however, my notebook appears to have connectivity issues thanks to my integrated 802.11g/b wireless card. The frustrating part is that Linspire detects the hardware just fine, but falls short with authentication for the device (on an open network). And even though it is based on the Broadcom chipset, it is not listed as supported from within hardware compatibility list. This was to be expected, therefore I was not too concerned about this.

Now, from that point on I tried a variety of wireless cards. Some I researched to see if they worked with Linux in general, others I simply tested at random. During this process, I wanted to avoid using NDISWrapper if at all possible. After all, this is supposed to be newbie friendly, yes?

Well, as I expected, the results were quite depressing. Out of 5 cards tested, two should have worked. Why do I say ’should have’ worked? Because both of these cards are supported natively at the kernel level being used by Linspire. Still, they do use a custom kernel, so part of that statement may not be completely accurate.

The first card that was showing signs of life, but would simply not connect within Linspire was the GigaFast WF728-AEX (Model- WN150G). This card worked great in Simply Mepis, yet would not authenticate at all from within 5.0. Personally, I suspect a conflict with the built-in WiFi card. Unfortunately, short of taking the notebook apart to remove it, there is nothing that can be done here.

The second card that should have worked is the Zonet ZEW1501 (Model- Made in China model). Works fine within Simply Mepis (under ra0 in wireless settings) and great with Xandros 3.0 after all patches and kernel updates are applied via a wired LAN. From within Linspire, no signs of life whatsoever.

So, how did things work out with NDISWrapper? Any success there? Well, if I had been lucky enough to work with drivers that actually had something other than those stupid installer exe programs, then perhaps I might of had better success with it. But seriously, who is going to fool with this? I don’t have the time for it and Joe PC user certainly is not looking for a pet project! Having said this, you also need to beware of Linspire’s hardware list with regard to WiFi cards. When dealing with major manufacturers, chipsets change all the time. Take their claim with the Belkin F5D7010. Not only are dozens of people claiming foul with this card from within the forums, Linspire has not made a single move to remove the card from the working list. Really poor choice if they are trying to win people over from Windows, believe me. Supposedly, I have heard that the Belkin F5D7011 works out of the box. When tried on my notebook however, it would not authenticate after all patches were applied on a brand new installation. The card was detected, but would not allow for connection whatsoever. In that case however, I am thinking that the card does work as others have claimed and it is worth trying so long as you can take it back if it fails.

Look, Linspire has a very special opportunity here. With their ever-growing influence, it would behoove them to make immediate contact with one of the smaller wireless vendors and work out a deal to create a Linspire sponsored 802.11g card. Both companies would make a great sum of money on the deal and I also suspect that Xandros, SuSE and others might be willing to join in on such a project with someone like GigaFast or Zonet.

Why? Because the person buying this at Best Buy is going to be pissed when they take the OS home, try one of the cards certified to work only to discover that in fact, he is out of luck. Face can be saved here however, with a coupon inside the retail box for $5 off the ‘Linspire 802.11g WiFi card’. Until this happens, I will continue duel booting Simply Mepis and Xandros 3.0 on my notebook. As for my desktop however, I am definitely going to continue with Linspire 5.0. Every week I am discovering new apps to play with. It just makes discovery so handy and the installation so time efficient. No adding Deb sources, and I am only compiling when I feel like it. You just have to love that.

Next week, the final chapter…

[tags]linspire,wifi,xandros,simply mepis,wireless internet[/tags]