WIFI Missing Firmware Issue

This is present in antiX-13.1-Full but does not occur in antiX-12-Full. Fixing it will give a better initial experience to users evaluating antiX.

The issue is described here
post30282.html#p30282

Edited by biker because it served no purpose. If offended. Blame my ignorant ass.

The suggestion is offered to enable antiX to provide the best impression to a wide audience, which might possibly include users who are taking their first steps into Linux. It is sometimes difficult to recall how intimidating this is to novice users. If WIFI is not working for them they may simply discard antiX. In this case all the other reasons for using it will count for nothing.

When I began my working life, I was taught the 5P rule:

Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance!

Hence, were I dependent upon a wifi connection, as well as downloading the antix bundle, I would download the required firmware from the Debian repo, and place it on a USB stick, just in case.

Alternatively ethernet cables are very inexpensive, and provide a far more reliable connection when doing something major like installing an OS.

And even now I am retired, I can still remember being taught the 5P rule and the times it has saved me from having to go running for help when the unexpected occurs. There's another rule about that too, called"Murphy's Law":

If it can go wrong, it will go wrong.

Off Topic

Alanarchy wrote:...as well as downloading the antix bundle, I would download the required firmware from the Debian repo, and place it on a USB stick, just in case.

That is feasible for an expert or enthusiast, but less so for a Linux novice who is using antiX live for the first time in order to see if they can get along with it. The idea is to make the first impression of antiX appealing and simple to use.

I agree with SamK but I think the problem may be related to the non-free nature of the firmware. We might not be allowed to distribute it on the LiveCD. That certainly seems to be what the license on the sourceforge page was saying. If it was included before then maybe that was a mistake (perhaps upstream) that has now been corrected. This is not my area of responsibility so I'm just guessing here.

I agree with SamK that we really want it to work OOTB on as many systems as possible (within reason).

BitJam wrote:...the problem may be related to the non-free nature of the firmware. We might not be allowed to distribute it on the LiveCD. That certainly seems to be what the license on the sourceforge page was saying.

This is not my area of expertise, rather my thoughts after reading the licence and related Debian information.

The package is being obtained from an official Debian repo. When doing so, there is no requirement to accept the terms of the licence agreement before downloading the software, e.g. via apt-get.

The Debian package (firmware-ipw2x00_0.36+wheezy.1_all.deb), contains the standard Intel licence agreement referred to on the Sourceforge web page.

The installation of the .deb triggers the display of the licence agreement before the package is installed to the file system. If this is declined the installation does not proceed. The user must agree to the licence in order that the installation proceeds. It is the standard Debian installation mechanism that ensures the licence is honoured.

In this way firmware-ipw2x00_0.36+wheezy.1_all.deb (i.e. in an uninstalled state) may be shipped with the distro without infringing the licence.

A simple script may be included in the installation ISO to manage the installation of the .deb to the file system and unload+reload the ipw driver. As this will use the standard apt/dpkg mechanism, the licence will be displayed and must be accepted in order for installation to be conducted.

The outcome is:

• The firmware is incorporated within the antiX installation ISO, and thereby any of its installed modes
• Full compliance with the licence is achieved
• antiX maintains its aim to be compatible with older systems
• The user has a good experience with antiX"out-of-the-box"

refs:

========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"http://packages.debian.org/wheezy/firmware-ipw2x00"
linktext was:"http://packages.debian.org/wheezy/firmware-ipw2x00"
====================================


========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"http://packages.debian.org/wheezy/all/firmware-ipw2x00/filelist"
linktext was:"http://packages.debian.org/wheezy/all/f ... 0/filelist"
====================================

Bug or No bug by technical deffinition.
It is my hope that whatever a person feels is a problem / error / omission / hinderance in performace / bug / depretiative or hindering change / the OS falls short in any way it gets mentioned. As this is the ONLY way I can see that things be straitened out for the better. Even if there are more"issues" than can be dealt with, or"issues" that are not concerning, there will still be the knowledge that such a"issue" exists. Without a mention of such, that"issue" will continue to exist for all eternity unless it is resolved by a fluke chance.

t is my hope that whatever a person feels is a problem / error / omission / hinderance in performace / bug / depretiative or hindering change / the OS falls short in any way it gets mentioned.

In that case my HP printer didn't work out of the box - I had to install HPLIP myself. I didn't realise things like that were classed as a bug; I just assumed some things a man has to do for himself.

Where do you draw the line exactly? When you end up with four DVDs like certain OSes provide?

After booting, I think the next main priorities are X-windows and internet access. But as far as posts in this thread are concerned, almost anything goes IMO. I can guarantee you that not every bug or problem in this thread will get fixed. But we don't want people to self-censor themselves because then we are going to miss out on knowing what problems people are having.

As far as the wireless issue SamK brought up. It was a regression! It worked in antiX-12 but then did not work in antiX-13. Of course that should be reported even if it turns out to have been intentional.

1. Please don't discourage people from reporting bugs
2. The wireless issue SamK tracked down really needed to be reported
3. antiX is better and will further improve due to SamK's detailed, bug reports

SamK is not writing a review of antiX. He is trying to help by really digging in and finding things the devs might have overlooked. I realize these posts might be boring or even excruciating to onlookers but he is providing a very valuable service. He seems to be methodically testing almost every option and reports whatever seems to be broken. If anything, we need more SamKs, not fewer SamKs.

SamK is not writing a review of antiX. He is trying to help by really digging in and finding things the devs might have overlooked. I realize these posts might be boring or even excruciating to onlookers but he is providing a very valuable service. He seems to be methodically testing almost every option and reports whatever seems to be broken. If anything, we need more SamKs, not fewer SamKs.

You are right Bitjam and I apologise to SamK and anybody else I upset. __{{emoticon}}__


========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp53CoeIwQU"
linktext was:"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp53CoeIwQU"
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Incidentally, this is what wi-fi looks like:


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url was:"http://www.popgive.com/2013/07/this-is-what-wi-fi-looks-like.html?"
linktext was:"http://www.popgive.com/2013/07/this-is- ... like.html?"
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Repos of Dave's Server

After discussing this in Shoutbox it seems worth raising as no-one was absolutely certain.


Both the following systems are conventional installations on internal hard disks on separate hardware.

From antiX-13-Full ISO and upgraded to 13.1 via apt-get /etc/apt/sources.d/antiX.list shows
deb
========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"http://www.daveserver.info/antiX/debs/"
linktext was:"http://www.daveserver.info/antiX/debs/"
====================================
testing main

From antiX-13.1-Full ISO /etc/apt/sources.d/antiX.list shows
deb
========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"http://www.daveserver.info/antiX/debs/"
linktext was:"http://www.daveserver.info/antiX/debs/"
====================================
testing main dev

Is the dev element meant to be included? If so, it should be added to systems upgraded to 13.1. If not, it should be removed from 13.1 systems created from the 13.1 ISO.

I don't find a man page for youtube-viewer, though [1] reports there is one. youtube-viewer -h works as workaround.


[1]
========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"https://github.com/trizen/youtube-viewer/blob/master/WWW-YoutubeViewer/README"
linktext was:"https://github.com/trizen/youtube-viewe ... wer/README"
====================================

Tom wrote:I don't find a man page for youtube-viewer, though [1] reports there is one. youtube-viewer -h works as workaround.

[1]
========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"https://github.com/trizen/youtube-viewer/blob/master/WWW-YoutubeViewer/README"
linktext was:"https://github.com/trizen/youtube-viewe ... wer/README"
====================================

Here is the youtube viewer project page. The options are listed on the page.

========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"https://code.google.com/p/trizen/"
linktext was:"https://code.google.com/p/trizen/"
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Printer Setup Fails Due to Missing Group Membership

Setting up a printer in antiX-13.1-Stable via the Control Center produces the error message"cups-authentication-canceled" and setting up cannot be completed.

The issue seems to be resolved by adding the user to the lpadmin group after which setting up completes OK.

Suggestion
All antiX users are created as members of this group.

SamK's printer setup bug is confirmed on my end.