How beginner firendly is Trisquel? (Driver support)
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Hello everyone.
I'm fairly green at Linux OS.
Until now I've only fooled around with Ubuntu.
My question is this:
With Ubuntu, all my pc's components just worked out of the box. (WIFI NICs etc.) If I install Trisquel, would I run into lack of driver support etc?
I'm only just getting into Linux and I'm currently in to position skill-wise to manually configure all this stuff. Should I be concerned about making the switch at this point?
Cheers,
~EbolaNerd
I am a member!
There is a pretty decent chance you'll run into problems with your wifi and/or graphics even if it works in Ubuntu/Linux OS. The reason for this is Trisquel includes only 100% free software (where the code is available in simple terms) whereas Ubuntu, Linux OS, etc include some non-free software. That non-free software can be really problematic in the long run. For example there are components that you risk losing support for. If you know those components aren't free and then choose not to use them you won't become reliant on them- nor will they cause trouble down the road for you. Usually people run into trouble upgrading distributions because some component is no longer supported by the company releasing that component (be it something like Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader, Oracle Java, or a driver/firmware component for a piece of hardware).
Many people do resolve these issues by replacing these non-free components with free ones. However it does take a bit more work and sometimes it can be difficult / or annoying due to digital restrictions. For example you might not be able to replace the wifi card in your computer because of the digital restrictions on some computers. You can usually switch to using a USB wifi adapter instead, but of course, it's less convenient. Tis is the price of freedom though.
The good news is once you've replaced these non-free pieces things are much easier going / better supported than if you used a distribution which included non-free software.
Hi Chris.
Thanks for the reply, appreciated.
So basically what I need to do, is figure out what hardware on my pc runs on 100% free software and if I have a component that does not, I need to replace it.
If that turns out to be the graphics chip in my laptop, then I need to acquire a new laptop I'm guessing?
It does make sense :)
Thanks again.
Generally, you want Intel integrated graphics and Atheros wifi (but not the newest ones).
You can try running lspci to find out what hardware you have.
Sweet.
As far as I can see I have the:
VGA: Intel 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller.
Wifi: Broadcom BCM4313.
I believe the Broadcom nic uses Atheros drivers.
This is good news. Thanks for the advice/help :)
Of course, the easiest way to check is always to run the live CD. ;)
And the best way. In my experience some devices, especially NICs, which lspci will lead you to believe won't work in fact do when you try because the BIOS/UEFI loads the firmware to the device at boot before Trisquel loads. It's not ideal for freedom, but it does mean what you already have might work 'out of the box.'
I totally agree with 'Chris'! Freedom has a price: we need to change our habits about computer use, (and it isn't difficult to do).
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