Linux Still Needs Drivers
I think of myself as a Linux expert. I was a Unix administrator before Linux existed, and these days I run Linux on four servers and four desktops in my home office.
I also know my way around hardware, and I'm something of a network maven. And despite all that, I can't get Wi-Fi networking working on my Centrino-enabled Toshiba laptop.
Argh!
To be specific, my main laptop these days is a Toshiba Satellite A35-S159. Other than having more memory than most notebooks, with 512MBs, with its 2.3 GHz Pentium 4-M and 60GB hard drive, it's pretty much like any other modern laptop out there.
It also includes an Atheros AR5001X+ wireless network adapter, which supports the whole Wi-Fi gamut of 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g.
That's important to me since I run g and a in the house, and nine times out of 10 when I'm on the road, I'm using the slow—but dependable—802.11b. It's probably also important to you since these days almost all laptops come with this kind of Centrino Wi-Fi pack.
