I started off when I was really feeling badly, and that never works well, and missed a setup line in the Debian KDE disk that ended up wiping my current Ubuntu desktop slick. Ouch! Not the result I was looking for. Still, since Ubuntu grew from Debian, I now had a new focus. To get back to the Linux roots, and load Debian. Which was my post the other day. Since then, I have been doing mainly three things (multi-tasking, the whole while I was sick); trying to remember all my passwords for all my accounts, working at getting my desktop to accept the PCI card, and getting my iPod back to great working order.

So, I have a US Robotics 125 Mbps wireless card, that should be easy. Nope, it's down to the chipset, and I finally get a report on that, it's a TI ACX111. That's what I needed. Finally found a page that gave me enough information to get that driver reset correctly. But by the end I was so frustrated I can't tell you exactly which worked. That's still my biggest complaint about Linux in general, but that's really where most of us are for Windows systems, also. A little explanation is in order...

You see, I work on PCs all the time, and some times you learn methodology that just works, then you use it. For example, I have had many folks ask me how to reset a Windows Vista PC back to XP. I say it's simple, get a Linux Live disk, install it. It has the power necessary to wipe the Windows disk system. Then put in your XP disk, and it will return the system back to a Windoze machine. Sure, I give them a plug about keeping the Linux system, but I don't think anyone hears that.

So you see, certainly not the most direct methodology, but it works, every time, guaranteed. Similar to the Linux command line, to me, if I try enough "fixes" from the internet searches, one of them finally, and often mystically, to me, corrects the system files needed and then I am instantly content and happy. See, all I really want is it to work. It was the same in Windows. When you really have a bad issue, you start reading everything about the subject. Finally, someone tells you if you go "regedit" and then see?? same players, different fields, end result is the same, black magic applied and the system works.

today, I was reading a neat piece from Linuxtoday which made a great deal of sense. It was about this command line issue. As you can see, that author and I have similar views. Still, command lines are for geeks, whether you are using them in Linux or Windoze, most user's just don't or won't do it.

So why convert to Linux? To me, simple, as an operating system, once I make the fix, I am done. Surprisingly, in that other system, as soon as it decides to hiccup and lose a fraction of a second of its' database read, then my system reverts to not working, again. If I can paraphrase an ex-General Motors chairman "it's like you are going along at 55 mph, suddenly, your car shuts down. You pull over, turn it off, turn it on, and start driving. This would seem normal." :-)

So, the good news, is I still haven't corrected the issue on my Ubuntu boot (yes, Gracie, I am now dual booting Debian and Ubuntu on my desktop). So as I go through copying and moving the files to correct the Ubuntu desktop, I will promise to capture this and return with some actual how-to.

All for now,

ezsurfer