[techieMoe]

Originally Posted by Jo Ann Yamamoto

Yes, it works fine. It's the wired NIC that doesn't work.

That's odd. Normally it's the other way around.

I think I have figured out the answer. We just have a different definition of "installs with no problem."

It's like when my brother says it won't be any problem to install a gas dryer. To him, "no problem" means "extend the gas line, buy an adapter, borrow a special tool, install a new 20amp branch circuit, install a vent, check the gas pressure, shim the base, repair the drywall, plug it in and you're done." For him, that's no problem. But for your average person, it's a problem.

It may not seem so from your experience, but even taking the average person into account, installing something like Ubuntu or Mandriva usually isn't nearly as difficult as what you're having to do. Most of the time it's just a matter of

1. Boot from CD
2. Double-click the "Install" icon
3. Next, next, enter time zone, next, enter username and password, next, Reboot.

That's what I mean by "no problem".

[RJB2008]

First, You are trying to install the wrong version for your machine.
The TOSHIBA Satellite® L355-S7812 is a Intel Core2Duo 64bit machine.
Do NOT try to install a x86 version of anything on it.

NOTE: Macs love Linux too - Including the Mac-mini.
ubuntu rocks on a Mac! (Core2Duo)

Get the right version: 64bit AMD and Intel computers
Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition -
Download Ubuntu | Ubuntu

Kubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) -
Kubuntu - Download
Kubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron)

REMEMBER: 64bit AMD and Intel computers

If you are experiencing a slow download, Cancel & Try another location.

Try to find the closest location to you with the fewest hops...

Right click a mirror location - 'Copy Link Location' and paste into this site:

Free online network utilities - traceroute, nslookup, automatic whois lookup, ping, finger - Select Traceroute (6th one down)

(Format: [www.site.com] - remove all extra url garbage including 'http://' before clicking 'GO' and make sure 'don't resolve IP addresses' is checked... it's quicker that way)

Enjoy your new simple install that works!

------

[Debian Linux Geek]

You can install a x86 version on your computer and i recommend doing so. You will get no advantage by installing a 64 bit version except frustration.

[Manchunian]

I agree with the above. 64 bit is to be avoided for the moment.

[RJB2008]

Frustration?

I installed it without any problems on my Mac-mini Core2Duo and the 64bit version does use and load balance both cores.
Awesome experience with no complaints or troubles whatsoever.
Very simple and straightforward.

We all have different hardware and experiences.
I am sorry for your frustration and I do realise that not all installs go smoothly because of this.

However...
We are talking about the orriginal post of installing on a particular laptop and ...
I am going to purchase this same laptop today (provided it is in stock at my local store), so I will post my findings regarding my experience installing the 64bit version as soon as I am able.

Best Regards

[smolloy]

Seems the original poster has been banned.

Pity. I would have liked to see her "converted".

[Manchunian]

RJB2008, could you post the results anyway? I am convinced, and I have been since I first saw a post by Jo Ann Yamamoto (although she started to convince me on this thread - I have to admit!), that she is in reality tommykay, who was also banned, writing from a different computer. The style and presentation of her (or should I say 'his'?) writing is the same: her/his way of quoting with this > symbol on other posts (not many people quote like this - she didn't consistantly do it that way, but tommykay didn't either), underlining, writing massive posts where she repeats the same thing over and over again, giving no details...I really believe (call me a conspiracy theorist if you want) that this is someone out to give Linux a bad name for one reason or another. If we can debunk this crazy story of his/hers then we will help to frustrate these efforts. I only hope that the other forums will take the same action that has been taken here.

Edit: do you think you could start off by installing the 32 bit version of Kubuntu before you install the 64 bit version? If we find that the exact same version on the exact same computer doesn't have the problems that this poster claims it does, then we've gone a good way to showing that the issues raised by him or her are totally ficticious.

[RJB2008]

Manchunian, et al., I am sorry to report that my attempt in quickly acquiring this laptop has proven to be futile.
If and when I do acquire one, then I will be able to post my experience.
They are selling like hotcakes for good reason.

BestBuy had the Toshiba L355-S7812 on sale for $699 ($100 off at the time / price jumped to $999 today) and they quickly sold out along with other similarly spec'd (mostly intel based) machines.
I was unaware that the last day of the sale was yesterday (which is when I got a wild hair to buy a new laptop, started research, found this thread and started adding my two cents).
Toshiba - Satellite Laptop with Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology - Matte Silver - L355-S7812

I browsed through all the displayed models checking hardware configurations and every one I found that was reasonably priced with mostly intel hardware was also sold out... now I'm frustrated.

intel hardware from what I have gathered has open source drivers vs. the Atheros hardware which seems to be a popular choice among commercial builders.
Even my Mac-mini has an Atheros WiFi "AirPort" card in it and works fine, however, "The driver itself is open source but depends on the proprietary Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) that is available in binary form only. "
Source: madwifi.org - Trac

Although Atheros cards are more Linux friendly than the dreaded Broadcom cards (another popular builder choice to avoid), ubuntu warns that it has no way to automatically update the driver. For this reason I recommend that anyone looking for a machine with built in wifi search for intel based networking solutions.

As for the 64bit debate; I realize that it has been problematic for many, however, it has made progress as a viable option to 32bit installs and in my experience utilizes both cores and memory efficiently without problem... there again, hardware configuration being key.

Putting x86 32bit in a 64bit machine is like owning a Ferrari for a family vehicle. Sure you can, but it defeats its purpose as you are not reaping the full benefits of the machine for its intended purpose.

To those who have bad feelings about 64bit...
Please, try not to slam it.
Let's promote Linux - not bash it.

RJ

---------

[Manchunian]

To those who have bad feelings about 64bit...
Please, try not to slam it.

Nobody's slamming 64-bit. It's just that it's less reliable than the 32-bit, for the moment. Now, in this and other threads started by Jo Ann Yamamoto and tommykay (whether or not these two are in fact the same person) the poster(s) has made far-fetched claims as to the reliability of the installation and general running of Linux. This has been done in long, yet vague, vitriols that could give a bad impression of Linux to anyone who hasn't had any first-hand experience of this OS. To orientate her or him to a 64-bit version could give them more things to find at fault with Linux, which we obviously want to avoid.

Putting x86 32bit in a 64bit machine is like owning a Ferrari for a family vehicle.

I agree, to a point. There is a clear performance difference between the two versions, but I don't think it's quite like you make it out here! I also agree that 64-bit is getting better and better all the time. Good job really: within a few years there will be no more 32-bit machines left!

[bigtomrodney]

From my own use of 64-bit distros I can say it all works great with the following caveats :-

• There is no 64-bit flash plugin, so that can be messy
• Some codecs in the past have been problematic, though I believe this is fixed now
• Java

It's not that 64-bit distros themselves are problematic, it's the additional proprietary add-ons that mess things up. With all that said I found absolutely no difference in performance between 64-bit and 32-bit, so for the sake of the extra problems and workarounds there was no incentive to run it.