Saturday, May 27, 2006

SUSE 10.1 drops wireless support

From The Jem Report::
"The original release of SUSE Linux OSS 10.1 did not contain drivers for Atheros-based wireless network cards."
And the Linux and Open Source Blog quotes the Release Notes:
For technical reasons, it was necessary to drop support for Ralink WLAN cards. The old driver no longer works with kernel version 2.6.16 and the new version is not yet stable enough. We intend to release an update as soon as the new version is stable enough.
and then adds:
I was very upset as I really needed the card to function, which is installed on desktop, to have access to internet from notebook and other wireless devices, as my desktop also functions as router.

Hey, me too! I am upset, especially since I made the gesture of PURCHASING this PIECE OF CRUD! I just made my workhorse box into a paperweight until I can get a competently manufactured distro on it.

I need wireless more than printing.

So, as it goes with linux, I live in suitcases, flitting from distro to distro to distro, falling in and out of infatuation. The question is where to go next. Kubuntu's latest release, even as a live CD, still locks up on this one computer-- a bug that perhaps only affects one PC on the planet. Kanotix's web interface is still completely unprofessional and a recent release candidate wouldn't even recognize a USB stick. MEPIS' pricing scheme turns me off. Debian versions have been worse than SUSE as per "roll your own" wifi drivers. Gentoo RR4 has code I wrote (it ships with povray SDL files I wrote), so maybe it and Knoppix are the next ones to get a shot.

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