Back in July I bought myself a netbook, and being a fan of the open source operating system I decided to install Ubuntu. All went well at the time, but I needed some extra software to make the wireless connection and brightness keys work. I found what I needed and all was fine.

This week however, I thought I'd try the latest version of Ubuntu Netbook Remix and so wiped the existing installation. After a brief test period, I decided I wasn't happy with the latest release and decided to revert to the earlier, Long Term Support, version. This is where I hit a snag ... where did I find that extra software?

After much hunting around the internet and my surfing history, I eventually found a forum post detailing what I needed to do. In order to save me from repeating this hunt; I have now copied the instructions to a text file on my server, saved a bookmark to the forum post and I am replicating the instructions here should anybody else find them useful.

As the forum post was only aimed at solving the brightness keys, I've re-written it slightly but full credit goes to Fred Ora at Ubuntu Forums for his post which is linked to this entry.

First Steps

Ubuntu Linux 10.04LTS does not support the Realtek 8192E wireless driver out-of-the-box, so connect the Samsung netbook via ethernet cable in order to obtain an internet connection.

Getting the Software

• Open up a terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal)
• Type (or copy) the following command to add a new software repository:
  

  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:voria/ppa

• Type (or copy) the following command to update the software list:
  

  sudo apt-get update

• Install the required software with the following command:
  

  sudo apt-get install samsung-tools samsung-backlight samsung-wireless

• Restart the computer

Once the machine has restarted, a wireless connection should be possible. Further configuration is required for the brightness keys.

Configuring the Brightness Keys

1. Open up a terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal)
2. Type (or copy) the following code to edit a configuration file:
   

   sudo nano /lib/udev/rules.d/95-keyboard-force-release.rules

   (be careful not to change anything other than what is mentioned below)
3. Find the line containing the following text (use CTRL+W to search the file):
   

   ...*N130*|*N140*|...

4. Before the last asterisk and final quotes, type:
   

   |*N210*

   (or your particular Samsung model number)
5. Exit the text editor with CTRL+X, remembering to press Y when prompted to save.
6. Type (or copy) the following code to edit a configuration file:
   

   sudo nano /lib/udev/rules.d/95-keymap.rules

   (be careful not to change anything other than what is mentioned below)
7. Repeat steps 3-5, above
8. Restart the computer

Once the machine has restarted, everything should now be working. This has been tested successfully on a Samsung N210 running Ubuntu 10.04LTS and Linux Mint 9.

Just under two weeks ago, Kate and I bought a Nintendo Wii. In order to use it too it's fullest, I also re-instated WiFi on my home network.

When we moved home back in August, for some unknown reason my Wireless Access Point decided to stop working. It hadn't been that reliable anyway so it wasn't a big surprise. Fortunately the use of wireless hasn't been such a big issue since there is a phone point in the office meaning my computers could be wired into the router. For that reason I didn't bother replacing it.

The only real issue was Kate's laptop, but we got used to either using a very long network cable or just using the laptop in the office.

However, it's obviously impractical to have long cables running from the office, across the hall and into the living room in order to network the games machine so I decided to get myself back on the airwaves with an Linksys WRT54GL Wireless Router.

Now, for the first time ever, I am experiencing how truely liberating using a wireless connection can be. Not only can I now surf the internet easily from the sofa again (through the Wii or Kate's laptop), but on a nice evening like this evening, I can sit out on our balcony (as I am right now) and take in the fresh evening air whilst writing in my blog!

I love technology!

Enabled Broadband internet allowing me to start using my studio equipment, and experiment with hosting websites locally. Started to create a home network, encountering numerous problems trying to create a wired connection through 20m of Cat-5 running down the stairs - the doors kept damaging the cable when shut. Rented property meant that holes could not be drilled.

(This entry has no specific date)