Dear List,
For the past 7-10 days I been experiencing a persistent problem with wifi connections on my Lenovo T440s after using F22 for 12 months in the machine without problem. The wifi connection is made just fine with my router and I initially have connectivity. After a few minutes though the connection will become dead (eventually the gnome status area icon will show a ? but only if I leave it long enough). When I try to visit a new website in Chrome it displays "Resolving Host" in the status pop-up. I was just starting to run a dfn upgrade and I saw:
Error: Failed to synchronize cache for repo 'updates' from 'https://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/metalink?repo=updates-released-f22&arc...': Cannot prepare internal mirrorlist: Curl error (6): Couldn't resolve host name for https://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/metalink?repo=updates-released-f22&arc... [Could not resolve host: mirrors.fedoraproject.org]
If I turn the wifi of and back on again (either via the physical key on the keyboad Fn-F8, or via the gnome3 wifi/status tool in the top right of the desktop) the connection comes up fine and I have connectivity again for a few minutes and then the cycle repeats again
I've tried changing DNS servers to say Googles servers to rule out an issue with my router/ISP DNS but to no avail.
I have numerous other devices (all Android) in the house connecting to the same wifi router and they are not experiencing any connection problems at all.
I'm running currently Linux 4.4.11-200.fc22.x86_64, but see the same problem on 4.4.10 and 4.4.9. I also have:
NetworkManager.x86_64 1:1.0.10-3.fc22 @updates
installed.
I'm not really sure how to troubleshoot this problem or what to try to resolve it short of installing F24 and risking using the beta for a couple of weeks.
I'd appreciate greatly any insights you might have or suggestions as to what to look at to track down the source of the problem or provide more information that you might require to diagnose what is going on.
Thanks in advance
Gavin
On 06/02/2016 06:22 PM, Gavin Simpson wrote:
I'm not really sure how to troubleshoot this problem or what to try to resolve it short of installing F24 and risking using the beta for a couple of weeks.
I'd appreciate greatly any insights you might have or suggestions as to what to look at to track down the source of the problem or provide more information that you might require to diagnose what is going on.
Have you checked in the journal to see if there's anything? Note the time when the problem starts, then run "journalctl -b" and go to the time and see if there is anything relevant.
Nothing that jumps out at me. Here's the entries from the journal from the last time I restarted the wifi to a point where the connection is lost:
Jun 02 21:19:41 localhost.localdomain NetworkManager[983]: <info> connectivity: check for uri 'http://fedoraproject.org/static/hotspot.txt' failed with 'Error resolving 'fedoraproject.org': No address associate Jun 02 21:18:34 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [2796:2987:0602/211834:ERROR:get_updates_processor.cc(250)] PostClientToServerMessage() failed during GetUpdates Jun 02 21:15:40 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [2796:2987:0602/211540:ERROR:get_updates_processor.cc(250)] PostClientToServerMessage() failed during GetUpdates Jun 02 21:14:41 localhost.localdomain NetworkManager[983]: <info> connectivity: check for uri 'http://fedoraproject.org/static/hotspot.txt' failed with 'Error resolving 'fedoraproject.org': No address associate Jun 02 21:13:33 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [2796:2987:0602/211333:ERROR:get_updates_processor.cc(250)] PostClientToServerMessage() failed during GetUpdates Jun 02 21:12:29 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/211229:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiers blink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 21:09:41 localhost.localdomain NetworkManager[983]: <info> connectivity: check for uri 'http://fedoraproject.org/static/hotspot.txt' failed with 'Error resolving 'fedoraproject.org': No address associate Jun 02 21:05:36 localhost.localdomain /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[1949]: (II) input device 'ELAN Touchscreen', /dev/input/event6 is a touch device Jun 02 21:05:36 localhost.localdomain /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[1949]: (II) input device 'ELAN Touchscreen', /dev/input/event6 is tagged by udev as: Touchscreen Jun 02 21:04:41 localhost.localdomain NetworkManager[983]: <info> connectivity: check for uri 'http://fedoraproject.org/static/hotspot.txt' failed with 'Error resolving 'fedoraproject.org': No address associate Jun 02 21:01:01 localhost.localdomain run-parts[14220]: (/etc/cron.hourly) finished mcelog.cron Jun 02 21:01:01 localhost.localdomain run-parts[14216]: (/etc/cron.hourly) starting mcelog.cron Jun 02 21:01:01 localhost.localdomain run-parts[14214]: (/etc/cron.hourly) finished 0anacron Jun 02 21:01:01 localhost.localdomain run-parts[14208]: (/etc/cron.hourly) starting 0anacron Jun 02 21:01:01 localhost.localdomain CROND[14205]: (root) CMD (run-parts /etc/cron.hourly) Jun 02 20:59:41 localhost.localdomain NetworkManager[983]: <info> connectivity: check for uri 'http://fedoraproject.org/static/hotspot.txt' failed with 'Error resolving 'fedoraproject.org': No address associate Jun 02 20:56:33 localhost.localdomain NetworkManager[983]: <info> connectivity: check for uri 'http://fedoraproject.org/static/hotspot.txt' failed with 'Error resolving 'fedoraproject.org': No address associate Jun 02 20:55:37 localhost.localdomain NetworkManager[983]: <info> connectivity: check for uri 'http://fedoraproject.org/static/hotspot.txt' failed with 'Error resolving 'fedoraproject.org': No address associate Jun 02 20:55:37 localhost.localdomain NetworkManager[983]: <info> connectivity: check for uri 'http://fedoraproject.org/static/hotspot.txt' failed with 'Error resolving 'fedoraproject.org': No address associate Jun 02 20:54:41 localhost.localdomain NetworkManager[983]: <info> NetworkManager state is now CONNECTED_SITE Jun 02 20:54:41 localhost.localdomain NetworkManager[983]: <info> connectivity: check for uri 'http://fedoraproject.org/static/hotspot.txt' failed with 'Error resolving 'fedoraproject.org': No address associate Jun 02 20:49:15 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204915:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:46:23 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204623:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:46:22 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204622:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:46:07 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204607:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:45:59 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204559:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:45:32 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204532:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:44:57 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204457:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:44:37 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204437:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:44:33 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204433:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:44:33 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204433:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:44:31 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204431:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:44:31 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204431:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:44:30 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204430:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:44:28 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204428:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:44:25 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204425:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:49 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204349:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:40 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204340:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:22 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204322:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:22 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204322:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:21 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204321:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:21 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204321:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:21 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204321:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:18 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204318:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:18 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204318:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:15 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204315:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:14 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204314:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:09 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204309:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:09 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204309:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:09 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204309:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:08 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204308:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:08 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204308:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:08 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204308:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:08 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204308:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:01 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204301:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:43:00 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204300:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:42:59 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204259:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:42:59 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204259:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:42:58 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204258:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:42:57 localhost.localdomain google-chrome.desktop[2796]: [1:1:0602/204257:ERROR:PlatformKeyboardEvent.cpp(117)] Not implemented reached in static PlatformEvent::Modifiersblink::PlatformKeyboardEvent:: Jun 02 20:38:56 localhost.localdomain audit[1]: <audit-1131> pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 subj=system_u:system_r:init_t:s0 msg='unit=NetworkManager-dispatcher comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/s Jun 02 20:38:46 localhost.localdomain chronyd[877]: Selected source 192.99.2.8 Jun 02 20:38:46 localhost.localdomain evolution.desktop[4676]: evolution-shell-Message: Connection established. Going online. Jun 02 20:38:46 localhost.localdomain NetworkManager[983]: <info> NetworkManager state is now CONNECTED_GLOBAL
Cheers
G
On 2 June 2016 at 19:44, Samuel Sieb samuel@sieb.net wrote:
On 06/02/2016 06:22 PM, Gavin Simpson wrote:
I'm not really sure how to troubleshoot this problem or what to try to resolve it short of installing F24 and risking using the beta for a couple of weeks.
I'd appreciate greatly any insights you might have or suggestions as to what to look at to track down the source of the problem or provide more information that you might require to diagnose what is going on.
Have you checked in the journal to see if there's anything? Note the time when the problem starts, then run "journalctl -b" and go to the time and see if there is anything relevant. -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://lists.fedoraproject.org/admin/lists/users@lists.fedoraproject.org Fedora Code of Conduct: http://fedoraproject.org/code-of-conduct Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines Have a question? Ask away: http://ask.fedoraproject.org
On 06/02/2016 08:29 PM, Gavin Simpson wrote:
Nothing that jumps out at me. Here's the entries from the journal from the last time I restarted the wifi to a point where the connection is lost:
I was really confused until I realized you had it in reverse order. :-)
I don't see anything there either. Next time it happens, show the output of the following commands. Feel free to mangle SSIDs and MAC addresses. My wifi device is wlo1, replace as necessary.
iw wlo1 info iw wlo1 link
Also, what is your wireless device? (lspci | grep -i network)
On 06/02/2016 11:12 PM, Samuel Sieb wrote:
On 06/02/2016 08:29 PM, Gavin Simpson wrote:
Nothing that jumps out at me. Here's the entries from the journal from the last time I restarted the wifi to a point where the connection is lost:
I was really confused until I realized you had it in reverse order. :-)
I don't see anything there either. Next time it happens, show the output of the following commands. Feel free to mangle SSIDs and MAC addresses. My wifi device is wlo1, replace as necessary.
iw wlo1 info iw wlo1 link
Also, what is your wireless device? (lspci | grep -i network)
A few more commands to get more info:
ip addr show dev wlo1
Ping the gateway (you can get that by "route -n | grep ^0.0.0.0"). Ping 8.8.8.8 Ping the nameservers from /etc/resolv.conf
Also, you should probably upgrade to F23 by now anyway.
On Thu, 2 Jun 2016, Gavin Simpson wrote:
Nothing that jumps out at me. Here's the entries from the journal from the last time I restarted the wifi to a point where the connection is lost:
[snip'
Speaking as a fedora user, this has happened to me a number of times over the years. I've posted to this and other forums each time and get the same kind of responses of tweaking this or that (particularly the MTU).
And... every time, it either didn't work or worked poorly. I am convinced it was the driver.
What I ended up doing was go out and buy a slightly-out-of-date external usb wifi adapter. It has to be an older one -- not a brand new one or you run into the same problem of having a too-new adapter.
Then, I use the thing for a couple of months (or until the next version comes out), and viola! It's magically working again.
The laptop I'm using is a case in point. I bought it in the early days of Fedora 22. Nothing I tried would make the damn thing go for more than about 5 minutes. In installed Mint, and it didn't work. I installed Manjaro, and it didn't work.
So, I plugged in my three-year-old usb wifi adapter and chugged along with that until Fedora 23 came out. And, voila, it worked perfectly.
Things aren't nearly as bad as they were 20 years ago, when you had to go out and buy an obsolete machine or else spend a month trying to make the hardware work. But occasionally, the drivers are still not quite "there" yet on brand new boxes.
billo
It has to be an older one -- not a brand new one or you run into the same problem of having a too-new adapter.
That's not true. It varies device by device. Some new devices have excellent drivers. Always check http://linuxwireless.org/.
=== Gavin,
Many drivers have debug mode, which will output to the kernel logger (`journalctl -k` or `dmesg`). It varies by driver, and you'll have to poke around in /sys to find it, and probably write 1 to a file. Additionally, putting wpa supplicant in debug mode `-dd` option to `/usr/lib/systemd/system/wpa_supplicant.service` might get you more information.
On Fri, Jun 3, 2016 at 5:42 PM, vendor@billoblog.com wrote:
On Thu, 2 Jun 2016, Gavin Simpson wrote:
Nothing that jumps out at me. Here's the entries from the journal from the last time I restarted the wifi to a point where the connection is lost:
[snip'
Speaking as a fedora user, this has happened to me a number of times over the years. I've posted to this and other forums each time and get the same kind of responses of tweaking this or that (particularly the MTU).
And... every time, it either didn't work or worked poorly. I am convinced it was the driver.
What I ended up doing was go out and buy a slightly-out-of-date external usb wifi adapter. It has to be an older one -- not a brand new one or you run into the same problem of having a too-new adapter.
Then, I use the thing for a couple of months (or until the next version comes out), and viola! It's magically working again.
The laptop I'm using is a case in point. I bought it in the early days of Fedora 22. Nothing I tried would make the damn thing go for more than about 5 minutes. In installed Mint, and it didn't work. I installed Manjaro, and it didn't work.
So, I plugged in my three-year-old usb wifi adapter and chugged along with that until Fedora 23 came out. And, voila, it worked perfectly.
Things aren't nearly as bad as they were 20 years ago, when you had to go out and buy an obsolete machine or else spend a month trying to make the hardware work. But occasionally, the drivers are still not quite "there" yet on brand new boxes.
billo
-- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://lists.fedoraproject.org/admin/lists/users@lists.fedoraproject.org Fedora Code of Conduct: http://fedoraproject.org/code-of-conduct Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines Have a question? Ask away: http://ask.fedoraproject.org
On Fri, 3 Jun 2016, Justin Brown wrote:
It has to be an older one -- not a brand new one or you run into the same problem of having a too-new adapter.
That's not true. It varies device by device. Some new devices have excellent drivers. Always check http://linuxwireless.org/.
=== Gavin,
Many drivers have debug mode, which will output to the kernel logger (`journalctl -k` or `dmesg`). It varies by driver, and you'll have to poke around in /sys to find it, and probably write 1 to a file. Additionally, putting wpa supplicant in debug mode `-dd` option to `/usr/lib/systemd/system/wpa_supplicant.service` might get you more information.
Well, yes and no. Sure, if you know what chipset you are looking at, etc. you can look it up. But...
1) That list isn't 100%. I have bought a few adapters after looking them up that were supposed to work and didn't.
2) I'm one of those guys that tends to collect computer detritus. I'm the guy who "just happens" to have the HDMI to micro-HDMI adapter in his backpack when someone can't hook up their laptop for a PowerPoint presentation. Just because. Oh, you want a parallel printer cable? A Zip drive? I just happen to have one here somewhere...
Folk like me seem to come in two flavors, I've observed. It's like buying power lawnmowers. I have friends who buy these $1000 push lawnmowers and say "It's worth it! These things will last 30 years if you take care of them," and they carefully do all the maintenance things you are supposed to do -- only use ethanol-free gas, keep them sparkly clean, sharpen the blades so you could shave by sticking your face in the rotors, etc. Then there's folk like me, who go to Walmart and buy the cheapest damn piece of shit that works for $100 bucks. Then I use it until it fails (usually 1-2 years) and then go out and buy another.
Which way is better? It depends on how good $100 lawnmowers are in 2045. Because I'll be in Walmart buying a new one, and my friend won't.
Same thing is true with computers. Some folk go out and buy the $5000 laptops because, you know, they are the best and you can keep them for 10 years (I actually fell for that in the late 1970s when a selling point for the first 8-bit personal computers was that the motherboards used gold solder so the computer would last 20 years. I paid an extra so I could get an Exidy Sorcerer, I think it was, with a custom motherboard.) I stopped doing that in 1980. Other folk (like me) make a point of buying last year's laptops for $500 (and preferably a demo from Staples for $300), and get a new one every year.
And the same thing's true for these kinds of accessories. There are these guys and gals who go out and buy the $300 usb wifi adapters and the $200 cables and stuff because, you know, that's the "good stuff." And there's people like me who go on Ebay and buy 10 cheap things that are borderline disposable with the idea that if one of them works, you're ahead.
And when you do it the second way, you don't always know what chipset you are getting. God only knows what they shove in those little toys they make with child slave labor in those sweatshops in Guangzhow and sell for $1.99 with free shipping. However, you do know that if they were selling the same thing last year, it's probably old enough so that the current linux drivers support it. And if you buy 5 different kinds, at least two will work.
billo
-
Gavin Simpson -
Justin Brown -
Samuel Sieb -
William Oliver