[Tfug] Recommendations for hassle free desktop wireless card

[John Gruenenfelder]

Yes, I typically run either testing at work or a mix of
testing/unstable (with a tiny bit of experimental tossed in) at home.
>From my point of view, if you know enough to use Debian comfortably
then there is essentially zero reason to avoid testing.  Of course, if
you are not comfortable frequently updating packages or dealing with
the very infrequent system breakage, then you should probably avoid
levels above stable.

That said, I do have an off-site file server (also used for work) that
I have Debian/stable running on.  I made this choice because it sees
very little interactive use and I wanted as much guarantee as possible
that the machine would be stable and secure (and still be running
Debian).

As for kernels, the current version in testing is 3.2.0-4, no doubt
with a lot of distro patches.  I believe this is also the only kernel
available in unstable.  However, if you add the experimental
repository into the mix, which nicely defaults to lowest priority and
therefore will not override or automatically install any packages, you
get access to much more recent kernels.  At home I was using 3.5 for
some time and now I have switched to 3.8.5-1.

The 3.8 kernel needed some tweaking, though, mostly in the area of
input devices.  This kernel appears to default to far more power
saving than earlier versions.  My Logitech G9 mouse did not care for
the USB autosuspend feature.  I found out recently that one of the
newer power management tools, TLP, defaults to disabling many power
management features specifically on input devices (HID).


--
--John Gruenenfelder    Systems Manager, MKS Imaging Technology, LLC.
Try Weasel Reader for Palm OS  --  http://weaselreader.org
"This is the most fun I've had without being drenched in the blood
of my enemies!"
        --Sam of Sam & Max


On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 1:02 AM, Zack Breckenridge <zbrdge at gmail.com> wrote:
> Let me add that this doesn't mean the N150 *won't* work with Debian, in fact
> I recommend giving it a try and would be interested to hear if it works. It
> appears that this uses the ath9k driver, but I'm not sure about the
> firmware. And it also looks like I was wrong about the debian kernel..
>
> If you don't mind running "testing" (I was forced to use their stable
> version, Squeeze), Wheezy appears to have a 3.x Kernel.
>
> On Apr 10, 2013 12:38 AM, "Zack Breckenridge" <zbrdge at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Yes I would say so. There is certainly a more permissible attitude toward
>> binary blobs in these popular/commercial distros. Unfortunately, due to many
>> vendors attitudes about releasing code for (or even just documentation on)
>> their hardware drivers and firmware, if you're looking for a "no hassle"
>> Linux desktop (and in my experience the two biggest impediments have
>> recently been display and wireless drivers), I'm not sure what choice you
>> really have?
>>
>> Debian seems to be behind the Kernel curve by design, for reasons of
>> stability, etc. Speaking from recent experience, if you have to use Debian
>> on new hardware you will probably have to recompile your Kernel or at least
>> the drivers you need (if they are even available in 2.6!).
>>
>> On Apr 10, 2013 12:21 AM, "John Gruenenfelder" <jetpackjohn at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 11:44 PM, Zack Breckenridge <zbrdge at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> >
>>> > In case by "hassle free" you mean just go to a local retail store, buy
>>> > a wireless card and have it work, I just got a Netgear N150 USB card, and it
>>> > works great with zero configuration. However, I'm running fedora 18, with a
>>> > 3.8.x kernel.
>>>
>>>
>>> Zack,
>>>
>>> Maybe it is different now, but don't Fedora and Debian have different
>>> interpretations of what is "free" and therefore allowable on the
>>> installation media.  It is similar to (ever larger) differences
>>> between Debian and Ubuntu installers and what they include.
>>>