cheap ubuntu laptop with wireless that works right "out of the box".

[Christopher Copeland]

On 30 Jan 2008, at 08:58, Derek Broughton wrote:

> Default User wrote:
>
>> I just purchased a Toshiba Satellite laptop, model A205-S5804, from a
>> local big box store.  Price $449 USD (which is why I bought it).   
>> Here
>> are the specs:
>>
>> http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/rdet.jsp?seg=HHO&poid=403617
>>
>> Unfortunately, the wireless doesn't seem to work under ubuntu right  
>> out
>> of the box, and maybe not at all. See:
>
> There's _no_ way to know from that spec whether the wireless can work.
> Calling it "RealTek" doesn't tell you anything about what you need  
> to know.
> That said, for $449, buy yourself a USB or PCMCIA card that _will_  
> work
> with Ubuntu.  I paid $18 for the one I put on my wife's laptop after  
> the
> Intel wireless died (and Dell refused to honour my warranty!)
> -- 
> derek



I don't think being forced to have a dongle or pcmcia card hanging off  
a laptop is desirable (especially on a new purchase) in terms of both  
wireless performance and convenience. That said ralink based usb  
devices work well in my experience. The D-Link WUA-1340 and Asus  
WL-167g being two widely available examples.

Hopefully one of the other laptops posted on this list will solve the  
problem. The only laptops I've bought under $500 are a couple of Asus  
Eee's. The Eee has many merits (size, no MS tax, supporting a company  
shipping linux, etc.) and in ubuntu the wireless works with some minor  
tinkering using either ndiswrapper or the updated atheros driver that  
Asus released.
--
Christopher Copeland