The Dell Latitude reality check

[Scott Kitterman]

On Wednesday, February 16, 2011 04:49:40 pm Patrick Goetz wrote:
> At work we have an automated install system and use a highly customized
> version of 10.10.  For friends and family, I use the standard i386/amd64
> Ubuntu Desktop ISO to install Ubuntu on their machines.
> 
> Recently, I decided to re-install an old Dell Latitude D630 with
> Maverick so that my 16-month-old electronics fanatic would have
> something to bang around on and watch Sesame Street videos.  I took the
> opportunity to play the "what if I were a naive end user installing
> Ubuntu for the first time?" game.  It's a laptop, so obviously I'm going
> to be using a wireless network connection ... I decided to try doing the
> install over wireless -- what else?  (Mentally try and count the number
> of end users you know who don't even understand the concept of a wired
> connection.)  Then queue up the Rolling Stones, because you still can't
> get any satisfaction, as far as I can tell, trying to install Ubuntu
> 10.10 on a 6-year old laptop with a Broadcom wireless chip.
> 
> I understand the whole issue with proprietary drivers, but surely -- 19
> years into the linux game -- there must be a solution to this problem
> for providing end users a painless install experience on extremely
> generic hardware?
> 
> At the very least, the installer should scan the hardware and notify the
> user that they have install-critical hardware which requires proprietary
> drivers along with instructions on how to get the necessary drivers.
> 
> A better solution would be to include the most common proprietary
> drivers in some kind of encrypted sandbox on the install CD and let the
> user choose whether or not he/she would like to use the proprietary
> drivers at the time of the install.  I'll let the GPL legal experts
> figure out precisely how this could be done, but it seems to me it
> should be possible.

Although not trivial to discover, all the needed bits should be on the live 
CD.  I have a Dell mini 10v (which also has broadcom) and I've done multiple 
Kubuntu installs with wireless.  I did have to go into the live session, use 
jockey to install the drivers, set up wireless, and then fire up the 
installer, so it's not dead simple, but it does work.

The problem isn't getting the ones and zeros on the ISO, it's getting the U/I 
in the installer right for wifi setup and installer drivers in the live 
session.

Scott K