first Wireless and GPS !
my laptop sat forever on my desk because of the dialup cable, and then the ethernet. i dont carry it around much, so been thinking that i should have got a desktop instead, given the extreme use it gets everyday.
yesterday at walmart i was looking at the wireless cards, and been thinking how i can chat with priti without having to write “brb” to watch some tv while having dinner in the living room (which almost always ends up watching a whole movie and returning to the chat after indefinite time, pissing her off). been waiting for a $5 deal since last black friday, but then finally gave up. first try was to get it running on my fedora core 2 partition, but as usual, it involved frantic looking for drivers from the net, also got to know that this particular card (linksys WPC11v4) is “infamous” for fedora core 2 systems ! still have to fight a lot, but that is the fun with linux.
today again, i needed some more technology to cheer me up a little more. with the travel to california coming up for summer, and also regular long distance motorcycle rides, i finally succumbed to my temptation for the outdoor enthiast’s ultimate tool - a GPS !
a lot of online research and price comparisons rewarded me with the choice of a decent kit - a Garmin eTrex Vista C, with all major US roads built in, the option of downloading detailed topographic maps in it, and complete with an electronic compass and a barometer/altimeter. a dream tool for me without a doubt, and for not much money.
Here is the GPS at gpsexplorer.com: Garmin eTrex Vista C
———- update ———-
could not yet make the linksys wireless card work on my fedora core 2. my friend who uses fedora 3 and a netgear card, tried to use mine on his laptop and gave up too. $40 is too much price for a card that refuses to run on my linux system, so it is going back to walmart tomorrow. back to waiting-for-a-too-good-deal…
April 23rd, 2005 at 9:55 am
You have made a good decision in purchasing those two items which are essential for communication and transportation. The deal was good.
Do not get lost in California with a Learner’s licence! Get a regular lic and then get lost!
We want to see you in CA this summer.
April 24th, 2005 at 11:01 am
I’d like to hear from an insider… what exactly is the FUN of struggling with hardware drivers? I found it so frustrating that I eventually uninstalled LINUX from my laptop because there was no way to have my wireless card to work and to connect on the Internet…