Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 00:02:57 -0700 (PDT) From: -Edwin Hale <thucidydes@yahoo.com> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Is There Any Buyable Laptop for FreeBSD 9.1 That Is Simple to Set Up? Message-ID: <1372057377.55381.YahooMailBasic@web120504.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
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I have been looking for ages for a simple system on which to do the followi=
ng:-
a. Unix-Based.
b. Do Programming in C. (I like gedit if possible).
c. Xfce as GUI.
d. Production Work:-
1. OpenOffice (not LibreOffice).
2. The GIMP.
3. Inkscape.
4. Something with CAD and 3-D Rendering.
5. Film and Sound Editing.
6. Databases: PostgreSL, MySQL, and db2.e.=20
7. Internet Work, including uploads to my website with FTP, my web host usi=
ng the latest version of Apache.
f. Good Graphics and Media.
g. Good wireless connectivity through an external hotspot - currently using=
Sprint (not the best or the worst) 3G (more reliable than 4G) OverdrivePro=
but may upgrade when something better appears.
If I did not have to travel a good deal, I should be content with a desktop=
computer, but cannot escape from laptops.
I have tried many versions of Linux and some of the offshoots of FreeBSD, a=
nd only FreeBSD and DragonflyBSD seem close to what I think is best. FreeBS=
D wins because DragonflyBSD is just too esoteric at the moment.
After over a month of effort, I freely confess that installing FreeBSD 9.1 =
is beyond my capability. I have a Toshiba Satellite L755 with 32-bit Intel=
=C2=AE Core=E2=84=A2 i3-2350M CPU @ 2.30GHz =C3=97 4 Processor at the momen=
t, and this is nowhere mentioned on any list of FreeBSD-capable laptops tha=
t I can find. Indeed, after ruthlessly searching the web and talking to doz=
ens of people, none of whom have any close experience with FreeBSD, it seem=
s that there are very few laptops which are capable of trouble-free install=
ation of FreeBSD. In the case of my Toshiba Satellite L755, I believe that =
the wireless driver is not friendly to the idea. As I currently use Ubuntu =
12.10 (native - wiped it in attempted to instal FreeBSD 9.1, and then re-in=
stalled after failure of said installation of FreeBSD), I ran the following=
command and received:-
$ lspci | grep Network
02:00.0 Network controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8188CE 802.1=
1b/g/n WiFi Adapter (rev 01)
And, running
$ iwconfig
produces
wlan0 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:"OverdriveProA1F" =20
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.422 GHz Access Point: 84:DB:2F:35:9A:1=
F =20
Bit Rate=3D18 Mb/s Tx-Power=3D20 dBm =20
Retry long limit:7 RTS thr=3D2347 B Fragment thr:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality=3D70/70 Signal level=3D-40 dBm =20
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:8 Missed beacon:0
lo no wireless extensions.
eth0 no wireless extensions.
And this:-
$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family=
DRAM Controller (rev 09)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Pr=
ocessor Family Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Ch=
ipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Fami=
ly USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 04)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family=
High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family P=
CI Express Root Port 1 (rev b4)
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family P=
CI Express Root Port 6 (rev b4)
00:1c.6 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family P=
CI Express Root Port 7 (rev b4)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Fami=
ly USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation HM65 Express Chipset Family LPC Contr=
oller (rev 04)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Fam=
ily 6 port SATA AHCI Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SMBus =
Controller (rev 04)
02:00.0 Network controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8188CE 802.1=
1b/g/n WiFi Adapter (rev 01)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR8152 v2.0 Fast E=
thernet (rev c1)
Well, the installation of FreeBSD floundered at the configuration stage of =
the GUI, and then stopped at the command line when the ports could not be i=
nstalled because of lack of connectivity.
Oh, well - no need to waste time discussing this because my present compute=
r is not good enough in other respects for what I should like to do.
Therefore, my question is ultimately:-
Is there any 17"64-bit laptop that will readily support FreeBSD 9.1 with wi=
reless connectivity to an external hotspot?
Many thanks.
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