After recent updates display and wi-fi is lost

[Liam Proven]

On Fri, 4 Dec 2020 at 20:11, Bret Busby <bret.busby at gmail.com> wrote:

> My understanding is that Ubuntu Linux has had this functionality for
> several years

No, it does not.

> I had tried to find a non-MS operating system to run on that computer,
> and found only two that had drivers for the i7 Haskell CPU;
> dragonflyBSD and Ubuntu Linux.

As a rule you do not need "drivers" for a CPU. Any x86 CPU can run x86 code.

> When it came to nVIDIA drivers, and for Optimus, the response from the
> dragonflyBSD mailing list, was "screw you - we are not here to provide
> a usable operating system - we are here only for our own, closed
> circle, limited usability clique".

DragonflyBSD is an experimental OS for developing new concepts in OS
kernels. It is absolutely *not* an OS for beginners, non-technical
users, or non-experts, no. It is for kernel developers and so far not
really anyone else.

> Ubuntu Linux was the only non-MS operating system that had
> the drivers for that computer, including for nVIDIA Optimus.

Optimus is not a display adapter or graphics chip. It is something
else. It is, broadly, a switching mechanism.

> Aspire "laptop" computers running Ubuntu Linux, in terms of the issue
> of using nVIDIA Optimus and thence, an external screen, with them.

You do not need Optimus for an external screen.

> On both of the Acer Aspire computers, I am running 24" external
> monitors, at 1920x1080 resolution. I do not know whether the inboard
> Intel GPU's on both computers, support that resolution

As a broad generalisation, any computer with multiple GPUs, all GPUs
support all resolutions the computer can display.


> - both
> computers also have VGA sockets, which may be (I do not know, but, I
> assume/guess that they are) connected to the inboard Intel GPU's.

No. It does not work like that. All GPUs are connected to all display
outputs, including the internal screen.

Optimus switches between GPUs; that is why it is hard.

> From memory, Ubuntu Linux had (I do not know whether it still has an
> uses) the nouveau driver, for running nVIDIA Optimus hardware.

No. Nouveau is the FOSS driver for nVidia GPUs. It is nothing to do
with Optimus.

> that Ubuntu Linux has been able to
> successfully work with nVIDIA Optimus, since at least 12.04.

It sounds to me like you are not using Optimus at all, to be honest.

> Also, I note, out of interest, that Ubuntu Linux has incorporated
> (without having to install extra software) the driver(s) (?) for the
> eFAT (?) file format as used by the Samsung T5 external USB drives,

No. This is an extra. As a demonstration, here are installation instructions:
https://askubuntu.com/questions/1234755/how-to-enable-exfat-for-ubuntu-20-04

If it works, then you have it installed. Perhaps you forgot doing it.
I certainly forget all the things I've installed on my laptop, whose
Ubuntu install started out as 13.04 on a different machine about 7y
ago.

> My understanding, for several years now, is that Ubuntu Linux is the
> most advanced non-MS operating system, in terms of hardware drivers.

Not really -- Mint exceeds it. This is one of Mint's selling points.

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