Ubuntu

Switching from Linux Momentum to Ubuntu... 3 questions:

Asked by FredLC

Hello there.

I know that it's usually a no-no to stack more than one question in a single request, but since these are intimately connected with a single action (switching system), here it goes:

I have recently bought the following Laptop:

http://www.cceinformatica.com.br/produtos.php?categoria=3&subcategoria=8&item_sub=0&item=1&img=lap.jpg&texto=

NCL-C2H4

#
# CPU: Intel® Celeron® M 410 1,46GHz
# OS: [b]Insigne Momentum 5.0[/b]
# Chipset: Intel® 940 GML Express
# Drive: Combo - CD recorder & DVD reader
# Mem: 256MB DDR2 533MHz
# HD: 40GB SATA (5400 rpm)
# Screen: 14.1 inches TFT Hi-definition Widescreen with BrightView
# Graphics: Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator 940GML,
# Sound: 16-bit Sound Blaster Pro-compatible audio, Internal Speakers, AC audio link
# Modem: 56Kbps hi speed 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN integrada(RJ-45)
# Wireless LAN 802.11b/g
# Expansion Slot : Express Card/54 (admite ExpressCard/34)
# Ports: 3USB, Leitor de Cartão 4-1, (MMC, SD, MS, MS-Pro), Headpone-out (SPDIF), VGA (15-pin), RJ-11, RJ-45, firewire IEEE1394, S-Video
# Keyboard: Portuguese
# Touch Pad: Traditional
# Battery: 4 Cells

Well; Just after the purchase, it was in the tech support for a few issues, which made them replace the sound board.

Only that two of the issues are apparently unsolved:

1 - When I plug the headphone, it does not cut out the sound of the external speaker. This pretty much makes the headphone useless (what is the advantage if you're still gonna bother everyone around?). Tech support claims this has to do with limitation of Linux momentum, and not a hardware issue. I found that extremely weird, and wanted to know if that is even possible that a whole OS has this silly limitation, and if it truly is so, if installing Ubuntu would solve it?

2 - Apparently there is a bug in the timezone setup. Every time I restart, the system goes gives me 4 hours less than the actual time which I set. testing, if I made it so as to make time be 4 hours ahead, it would jump back 8 hours straight in a single reboot giving me back the 4 hours delay. Now, [b]this[/b] is more feasible as a system bug. I just wanted to know if it is a known one.

3 - Recently, I wanted to install a wireless network in my house. One of the reasons it didn't happen was because the tech guy which came did not know how to install the wireless modems in Ubuntu (he could handle windows [i]only[/i]. I fear that if I re-install the system which came with the notebook, I'll be unable to get it to wok. Now, do I have reason to be fearful, or is Ubuntu supposed to recognize it promptly, knowing that, since it works on Momentum, it does have the proper firmware to run on linux?

Best Regards,

FredLC.

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Alan (mrintegrity) said : 		#1

1. try a live cd, it is unlikely that you would not be able to disable the external speakers while using the headphones - that is a configuration issue.
2. Use ntp to automatically configure the system time against internet "time servers". This is a very common method of keeping accurate time on a pc and has been used on UNIX systems for _many_ years. Ubuntu supports this "out of the box", simply right click the clock in the panel > configure > synchronise with internet time servers. (the problem is cause by your system syncing the kernel "clock" against the hardware clock (sometimes called the CMOS clock or the BIOS clock although these terms are not correct).
3. Without knowing the make and model of your wireless chipset, i can't know if it is supported in Ubuntu or not. If it is supported by another GNU/Linux distro then it is likely that it will be supported.

Again, the best way to test all of these features is to download the feisty live cd and test with that. you don't need to install the operating system and no changes will be made to the system.

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FredLC (fred-lc) said : 		#2

I gave it back to the manufactorer, and bought a new Laptop; I'll deal with the issues of that one in a different topic. Thanks for the time.