Testing Drivel on Ubuntu

I recently bought a Dell Inspiron 630m laptop. I'm really enjoying this machine. I made a ghost of the hard drive right away and started installing various alternative operating systems. After a couple of cd based boot tests and a trial install of FreeBSD, I installed Ubuntu 5.1. While using the slick application manager, I noticed this posting tool called Drivel and installed it. This post is the result of that test.

While I'm posting, I might as well mention some of the things I've found along the way. I haven't used Linux as a desktop OS since 2001. In the past 5 years, Linux has come a long way. Gaim now supports a variety of chat protocals instead of just aim. Evolution is actually a usable e-mail client. Gnome is running crisp and clean and I hear KDE is about to round a corner in terms of performance with the next full release. I haven't found any videos in my collection that I haven't been able to play. Right now, I'm streaming shoutcast stations via xmms.

I must admit, there have been some hitches along the way. Ubuntu has been called the distro you'd install on your grandmother's computer. The default install is GUI centric - gnome to be more specific. If you want KDE, go with the Kubuntu distro. Anyway, I had to use a bios hack to get xwindows into the optimal resolution for the 630m. It was an easy fix, but it took me a while to hunt the solution down (I should add a link to it here later on). The only other hardware hitch is the wireless. For some reason, the wireless will not connect to my home network when the wep key is enabled. It will work fine on the open network and will connect fine to the wep encrypted office network. I have no idea what this problem is. I've not tried the bluetooth or card reader, but from what I've read - bluetooth works, card reader does not.

I must say, it sure is enjoyable to take a look at how far the Linux desktop world has advanced while I've been distracted. Now lets see if this thing can post.