• FrankLaskey@lemmy.ml
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    3 days ago

    I used to daily drive Ubuntu some years ago for work/personal use but have been back on Win 10 primarily for the last 4-5 years. I was considering trying to go back due to how much Windows sucks (despite some proprietary software only being available on it) but remembering the trouble I had with some networking/printer drivers and troubleshooting those issues and then seeing this article Is definitely making me reconsider…

    • boonhet@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      I haven’t seen Wireless driver issues in years. Any non arcane devices have drivers and most distros enable most of them in their kernel.

      • SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Just built a brand new linux desktop, no wifi dongles work in it.

        If I want wifi i need specifically order from this company.

        I’m gonna be so sad if this doesn’t work

          • SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            I’m talking about the newest version of Mint I installed last month that is useless because it can’t use the drivers for the wifi dongles I own

            I had to search that exact list last month and then wait a month for this specific wifi adapter to ship to me when I assumed I could use my brand new realtek usb wifi adapter

            If you read through the list you will see the company in the article has the only wifi adapter that claims to actually have support

            • Petter1@lemm.ee
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              2 days ago

              Imagine, if you had kernel 6.13 (instead of kernel 6.1) you could have just used that dongle…

              Edit: 6.8, not 6.1

              Mint is u ubuntu based is debian based that uses old kernels.

              I think old kernel are fine in server and embedded devices, but not on user desktop.

              So I don’t recommend debian based

              • SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world
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                2 days ago

                This is the kind of stuff that makes it really hard to justify using linux.

                I was told to use Mint because I was told it would work with modern hardware.

                Can I just update the Kernal sonehow? or does that require a reinstall of Mint?

                • Petter1@lemm.ee
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                  2 days ago

                  You could install an alternative kernel and install that, but this would most likely fuck your mint install since it is built for that specific major kernel version eg. You only get x.xx.->yy<- updates, rest needs major mint upgrade which they release “late” compared to rolling distros like openSuse Tumbleweed.

                  Maybe there is an up to date out of tree version of the kernel from lwfinger that you can install, which dongle did you get?

                  https://github.com/lwfinger

                  The problems you encounter exist, because of the popular chicken and egg problem, where chip designer ignore linux due to user base and user base is small because of not same chip support as proprietary OSs.

              • boonhet@lemm.ee
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                3 days ago

                Linux Mint is currently on 6.8, so at least not 6.1, but it’s also not new enough to benefit from all the newly added drivers in 6.13.

    • Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      3 days ago

      Wireless drivers are in a lot better state than they used to be, printer drivers are very dependent on the brand you have.

      IME (YMMV) Brother printers seem to consistently work quite well and Epson printers seem to consistently be shit.

      • kescusay@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Literally have the opposite experience. Fought with my old Brother printer constantly. My Epson Ecotank is rock-solid.

        • tal@lemmy.today
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          3 days ago

          I’ve used Epson and Brother printers without issue, though I suppose things could change on a per-model basis or over time.

    • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      It astounds me that people who support linux get personally offended if you say you’re not sure linux is for you.

      I watched a video where a guy installed linux, and then installed a new desktop environment that caters to touchscreen. He got a bunch of errors. So he said “Ah, that’s alright! I’ll just bring up terminal”

      And then he types

      sudo add do willywop bojanga -l -r ♧¿¤☆▪︎●

      And I’m like “ok, hold on. How the fuck does he just KNOW that exact string is what will fix it???”

      If you don’t speak terminal, that shits confusing as hell.

      And now this story is like smokey the bear. “Only YOU can maintain wifi protocols. Seriously. I’m done. It’s just you now. The professionals are sick of this shit.”

      So it’s reasonable that non-techies are like “I had some issues before, but now I’ll have MORE issues if I comd back…I better stick with what I kjow works.”

      Meanwhile lemmy users are like “BOOO WINDOWS!!! BOOOO I SAY!!! WHY DON’T YOU JUST UNDERSTAND THE THINGS YOU DON’T GET???”

      And thus…you have downvotes for saying logically reasonable things that piss off obsessive types who would downvote each other over which distro is best.

      • Takumidesh@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        I’m not disagreeing with you, I just want to say, the reason the terminal is helpful in these types of scenarios is never communicated properly in my opinion.

        The reason when you ask people for help or Google stuff and get terminal commands back is because they are clear, concise, and reproducible. It’s really hard from the perspective of the people helping, to communicate, usually over text, how to navigate UIs that are ever changing and change depending on the users hardware and setup. This is true for windows too, and it’s why getting any help beyond very simple troubleshooting will devolve into powershell commands.

        As for this scenario, it’s just inflammatory on purpose, would anyone mention or care if one person at Microsoft who was a project lead retired after decades of working? There are literally thousands of contributors to the Linux kernel, this is just one of them retiring. A maintainer is only one role in a project and can (and will) very easily be replaced. If not by a volunteer, then in a paid position from one of the many companies that pay developers to maintain the Linux kernel. Regardless, there is already people maintaining the the ath10k, ath11k, and ath12k drivers. This is really just a non issue of a temporary vacancy for one position, the same thing that happens at every single software organization every day.

        • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          But…your comment LITERALLY is based in the fact that switch back to linux would frustrate you BECAUSE OF THE WIFI SITUATION THE ARTICLE IS ABOUT!!!

          clearly getting aggitated at life

          Humans are stupid.

          • nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            3 days ago

            What boggles my mind is they WANT more people to join them them obliterate anyone who may try to and wonder why no one wants to bother. Like an OS where I’m going to need to learn things is one thing, but one where I need to learn from people like them . . . yeah I see why they don’t have success with people outside comp sci fields.

      • Serinus@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Based on this article? Yeah, the downvotes are appropriate.

        This article: Oh no, someone might have to step up and solve this problem in a year or two.

        That guy: This is why I can’t use Linux now.

        • nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          3 days ago

          Maybe Id buy that if yall didn’t do the same thing to someone else explaining they have problems too once one of you tried to explain to the previous commenter that his expirence was wrong. You just hate seeing things that dont fit your penguin superiority complex. No matter the context.

          • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            3 days ago

            explaining they have problems too

            They claimed to have problems and need to order their wifi part form a specific manufacturer yet claimed to have built their machine themselves

            They’re lying, or so completely clueless about what they’re talking about that they come across as such. That’s why they’re getting downvoted. This is usually why, actually

            • nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              3 days ago

              They claimed to have problems and need to order their wifi part form a specific manufacturer yet claimed to have built their machine themselves

              Why would building a rig yourself preclude you from needing to order parts? When people say build a rig it’s usually always them ordering parts isn’t it?

              • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                3 days ago

                If you built your rig yourself then there’s 0 reason you’d need a specific company’s wifi card. Even if you buy a prebuilt then there shouldn’t be, even