(no subject)

[ffutures]

While I really like the HP MiniNote as a computer, the sad fact is that I am having real problems getting SUSE linux to do the things I want since I appear not to have the linux mindset. I'm beginning to think that Linux was written by Timelords or something, and that "Simply," "just" and "all you need do" are Linux jargon for "it doesn't work for puny humans but we're not going to tell you the real way to do it because your head would explode." I definitely want to keep the computer, but I think I may have to look at other options.

A couple of people have suggested that Ubuntu is a better linux for people like me who aren't linux experts. That has the advantage of being free, and I was hoping to learn more about linux, but I'm starting to wonder if maybe I have more immediate priorities than struggling to learn linux since it won'd advance my career or anything.

A more realistic (in terms of my abilities) solution might be to install Windows XP; HP's web site now has the drivers the MiniNote needs. Amongst other pluses, there are a lot of accessories that will only work with Windows, such as dedicated microscope cameras, TV tuner cards, etc. But of course for this I'd need a legit copy of Windows and COA, and that costs money. You can get the OEM version of XP service pack 1 for £20, but I'd really hate to try this with anything less than SP3, and that's more like £60.

So, a little poll...

[Poll #1314789]

Later: Having reviewed the comments and had a think about it, it really isn't going to cost me anything except time to try Ubuntu first; I'll still need the external drive (I've already ordered a little kit for that) but the Ubuntu download is free. I might as well give it a try before I commit to Windows.

Comments

[ckd]

Ubuntu works pretty well on my work machines (including the ThinkPad), but I don't know how well it goes on the MiniNote.

(Also, I've been getting paid to wrangle computers for way too many years to have any kind of useful opinion on how well it'd work for any given person.)

[autopope.livejournal.com]

There's a MiniNote-tailored distro called minBuntu that includes all the necessary driver support. The only anomaly is that for some reason the developer didn't think OpenOffice was necessary, so you need to install that afterwards (via Synaptic).

WARNING: I hauled my local Windows guru in to get XP up and running on a MiniNote that shipped with SuSE. It took him two days of swearing. It can be done, but it's not a trivial matter -- it's actually a lot harder than installing Ubuntu and getting that working. (HP stuck the Windows ACPI drivers inside the keyboard drivers or something stupid, so the machine kept hanging at random every few minutes until we figured out we needed to install something seemingly irrelevant. The MiniNote is not an Intel machine and is somewhat non-standard internally ...)

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

There's a long history of the keyboard controller of PCs doing non-obvious things - in the early PCs it had some sort of timing function, so if your keyboard was on the blink it could easily take down the whole PC. Doesn't surprise me that the keyboard software does weird things too.

[pengshui-master.livejournal.com]

Istr, it was memory access related, the A20 line. This http://www.openwatcom.org/index.php/A20_Line seems to explain it - but it is a hardware thing so common to all OS on the platform.

I see the biggest advantage that a debian based distro will give you is better support from you flist who seem to know debian (true in my case, and I also I think autopope's, and possibly a few others).

Debian stable has a reputation for having older versions of the software but that is less true of Debian unstable and Ubuntu. And there is a service over at backports.org which allows installation of later packages into debian-stable.

Autopope's cautionary tale on windows installation is worth bearing in mind - I do a lot of windows installations at work and it's normally straightforward - but you need access to the drivers - recently (last 5 years or so) I've begun to find getting drivers for linux actually easier than drivers for windows.
My own laptop was a recent execption when the audio drivers where suffering from a bug - but I got it fixed in about a week spent in collaboration with the alsa team (eg the drivers authors).

I've also been finding support via IIRC (freenode #debian/#ubuntu - for OS issues, and other channels for more specifics.) a extremely useful resource - often you get an answer straight away from the original developers.

I've also been playing with a Acer one - with the Linux build for work recently (it seems to be FC8 based) and I have to say I'm coming the the conclusions that I'm not a fan of manufacturer tweak distros. The acer one is OK, but subtly different in a few places.

You may find a vanilla Ubuntu install a) Is closer to you want out of the box , b) responds more like what your advisors (here, and elsewhere will expect) . Also it will more more likely than advice in a good book on ubuntu will be applicable to your specific system.

Whether you should change to Windows though has to be your choice, I think that power users of windows have the harder time changing over than those who consider themselves less computer-literate. I think you got of to a bad start with the mini-note - personally once you get your head around linux I suspect you'll like it.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Apart from familiarity XP wouldn't be my first choice - I use it a fair bit and I know its limitations - so if I can get it up and running properly with Ubuntu I will probably stick to it.