Tag Archives: laptop

28th Dec, 2009

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How to use a Verizon USB Card with Ubuntu

I’ve been having a lot of “Hey, Linux on the desktop is pretty darn good” moments lately. Here’s one from tonight, getting my Verizon USB wireless card to work on my laptop (Dell Studio 17). Getting this same card to work on a Windows Vista netbook was a total chore, so I came at this Linux experience fearing (and expecting) the worst.

After some googling, I settled on this tutorial from ASE Labs. It almost worked. After freezing the laptop, forcing a hard reboot, editing some config files and then running a shell command, my modem worked. Once. This was exactly the experience I was expecting.

Feeling a bit of despair, I tried plan B: right click the Network Manager that sits on the Gnome panel. Hot damn. There’s a wizard for this. The functionality is built right in. So consider this post less of a tutorial and more of an informational post. I just want to tip off the next googler that they don’t have to perform any incantations to get this working.

You need to know this:
username: <yourphonenumber>@vzw3g.com (i.e. 4155551212@vzw3g.com)
password: vzw

Now right click Network manager followed by Edit connections -> Mobile broadband -> Add.

There’s very brief official documentation. The key thing to know is that Ubuntu calls this feature “mobile broadband.” Basically, the only problem with this feature is that it’s not SEO optimized for what I think it should be called.
https://help.ubuntu.com/9.04/internet/C/connecting-mobile.html

If you want to get really tricky you can even configure your laptop to act as a wireless router so that you can share your internet with people around you.
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/…

18th Nov, 2009

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Linux on the Desktop

In 1997, I was a Linux zealot who loved to tinker with software. Now I’m an overworked pragmatist. I still love Linux, but for different reasons. Last week, I heard a meme* pop up that Linux was dead on the desktop (specifically for web entrepreneurs). So I wanted to give the opposite take–Linux is a great, pragmatic choice for your desktop.

Improved Hardware Support
I’ve been installing Linux without trouble on desktops for over ten years. The real problem was with laptops. In 2004, it took me six months to get wireless working on my laptop. In 2007 I bought a laptop from System76 that had Linux pre-installed. Even suspend and hibernate worked. That was much better, but they only have a limited selection of re-branded Asus models. On Monday, I bought a new laptop from a big blue box store, installed Ubuntu, and everything just worked.

The Cloud
It’s funny that we’d even be having a desktop operating system discussion given how many core apps moved into the cloud. I use Firefox, GMail, a slew of apps from 37signals, and a SSH shell connected to a different server. That experience is the same on any operating system.

Sun Virtual Box
I never got Wine or VMWare to work on Linux. It was just a bit too much configuration. But recently I tried Sun’s Virtual Box and it does a great job. When I looked at the proprietary apps I run, I found that most of them are for Windows. My accountant prefers the Windows version of Quickbooks. I sometimes have to test IE bugs in Windows. Netflix streaming used to be Windows-only. All of these apps work fine in the Virtual Box virtual instance of Windows. I even sync my iPhone from iTunes running in the virtual instance.

Same as Your Server
I had an OSX laptop and basically liked it. But I got tired of fighting library dependencies on two different platforms. By running Linux on my laptop, I can have an identical environment to my production servers.

Dying Religions
I’m not religious about Linux anymore. I think that helps. I can run a virtual instance of Windows without feeling like I’m cheating. I got sucked into Linux because it was a free playground at a time when I had free time. It shaped my problem solving strategies and mindset. Now I want to have a access to the command line and Unix tools. But some (most) software was built for Windows. Now with Virtual Box and a little bit of personal maturity, I don’t have to choose one over the other. I use both.

Price
I bought a 17inch Dell Studio laptop with a dual processor, 500GB HD, and 4GB of RAM for $770. The equivalent MacBook Pro costs $2500.


* At the Business of Software conference, Paul Graham gave a talk covering 21 trends he’s seen while running YCombinator. He may have been talking about Linux on the desktop not being a relevant business opportunity, but his anecdotal data was about web entrepreneurs moving to OSX.

14th Mar, 2008

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Recent Purchases

I purchased three things in the last year that I’ve ended up being very happy with.

System76 Pangolin Laptop


Last summer I decided to switch from OSX back to Linux. I don’t think Linux is better desktop software necessarily. However 99% of my time is spent either using software that’s the same on all platforms (Firefox and Thunderbird) or doing development for software that runs on Linux. I got tired of the context switching. I wanted my laptop to behave the same way that my server did. My last experiences with Linux on a laptop were pretty time consuming and I never got everything working (like power management). System76 sells laptops with Linux pre-installed and they make sure the hard parts are working (wireless, power management, sound). I even have IE6.

System76 does one important thing extremely well: they make sure your laptop software works correctly by offering updates and fantastic software support. I do have one complaint. Their hardware support turnaround is awful. I needed to get my power connection replaced and was without my laptop for three weeks. Around the same time my coworker thought his Macbook wireless wasn’t working so he went in to the Apple store and got a brand new one same day only to get home and realize the problem was with his Airport. I’d still recommend System76 with the caveat that you shouldn’t buy the extra warranty and assume that you’ll pay for any repairs to be done locally.

Logitech S510 Cordless Keyboard


I do also have a desktop and enjoy working there because I have a nice view and because I have a dual monitor setup. However, I’ve come to find that I prefer my keyboard to be on my lap. I decided to try out Logitech’s S510 Cordless Keyboard. I discovered two things. One, cordless keyboards are nice! Two, this is a fantastic keyboard to type on. I like writing just for the joy of getting to press the keys. The keyboard side works great. I don’t notice a lag. I went six months before needing to recharge the battery. I can type from almost anywhere in my room. The package also comes with a wireless mouse, but I didn’t like it so I stuck with my old mouse.

Syncmaster 245BW 24″ Widescreen Monitor


This monitor is HUGE. 24 inches is a lot of inches. I’ve always lusted after bigger monitors but recently felt like buying one would have been too extravagant. I don’t know why I thought that because I’ve definitely read that larger monitors can make huge differences in productivity. I’ve also read how tabbing through windows is a bigger break in concentration than merely glancing. That’s why I have all my interrupting programs (Email, IM) on a second monitor (merely 20″ widescreen).

Last month I had my first conference booth in order to demo CrowdVine. The booth fee was waived because we were being showcased but the logistical fees weren’t. This was my first exposure to conference logistical fees and I was shocked! I paid $90 to plug my laptop in for two hours plus another $90 for Jay’s laptop and another $90 to power the monitor we were demoing on. We also could have rented a 30″ plasma screen for $300 but at that price I decided it was better to buy something I could own. And that’s how I ended up with this wonderful 24″ monitor ($400 plus shipping there and home).