What's a good WiFi n usb adapter for Linux?

[yoda313]

I'm going to use my single core xp computer as a Linux media server.

I need suggestions for a Windows type Linux for xmbc. Is mint or ubuntu better?

Also I need a usb WiFi n adapter with Linux drivers.

Also what about Linux anti virus programs? Is avg available for Linux?

Is there a timer program for Linux to shutdown at a specific time?

Thanks.

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[jman98]

Also what about Linux anti virus programs? Is avg available for Linux?

No.

Is there a timer program for Linux to shutdown at a specific time?

Normally this would just be handled by a job in crontab like this:

55 23 * * * /sbin/shutdown -h now

That shuts down the box every night at 23:55 (11:55 PM).

[yoda313]

Thanks jman 98.

Any adapter suggestions?

Id prefer belkin but I'm not too picky.

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[usually_quiet]

Here is some information on AVG's free security software for Linux that may be helpful

http://free.avg.com/us-en/129024
http://free.avg.com/us-en/download.prd-alf

Source:http://www.linux.org/threads/malware-and-antivirus-systems-for-linux.4455/

[yoda313]

Thanks usually quiet.

I thought I might try my netgear universal WiFi adapter with Linux.
It connects via lan and uses wps to connect.

If it works I'll buy another just for my Linux setup.
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[Hoser Rob]

I have an anitvirus program for linux (clamtk), but they are not used like windows AV programs. I just use it on demand for files.

There are a bunch of quite knowledgeable linux geeks in the university town I live in. NOT ONE runs an antivirus program as you'd be stupid not to in Windoze. You don't need them.

Lots of linux users don't even run a firewall. If you want to set up a linux server, yes, you need it. Or maybe if you bittorrent. But it's really optional.

Wireles under linux is another kettle of fish. Or bucket of worms. It's probably the biggest source of hardware support problems in linux, and you don't just load a driver into the subdirectory with a gazillion .dll files. I have personal experience with this.

Have a look at:

help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessCardsSupported

Ubuntu or mint? I've used both. On my more powerful laptop I run kubuntu 12.04 lts, which uses the KDE desktop. For video playback it has the best performance of any ubuntu desktop I've used.

On the netbook I'm typing this on I've had mint Mate on it twice, xubuntu, kubuntu, and I just installed lubuntu on it yesterday. It's fast. I've been experimenting with different desktops until the new long term service ubuntu version comes out in April. The last lts didn't work as well with this machine.

One thing I'll say though. Mint is ubuntu based, but on an older kernel. Its tech support is pitiful compared to ubuntu's. Abysmal. Ubuntu has the best linux support there is.

Here's an example. I had mint running for the last month or so until yesterday. My wireless was a bit iffy so I looked to see if there was a backport. I didn't even bother looking at the mint support forums. I found it at the ubuntu site.

So, while mint is actually pretty well sorted, I would just not recommend mint for any linux novice.

[yoda313]

Thanks hoser rob.

Actually I was thinking About trying mythbuntu. Does it serve via dlna? Its a full os right? Does it have live disc?

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[Hoser Rob]

I haven't tried mythubuntu. I tried mythtv and frankly wasn't impressed. And that was on a 4Gb RAM i3 based laptop, not a single core machine.

Which brings up another point ... I missed the part where you mentioned that it's an old single core xp machine.

I don't know what you're expecting, and I don't know the exact specs you're talking about, but you can't play 1080p video properly on a single core computer running linux any better than you can in windows.

It's a bit of a myth that linux is necessarily faster than windows. That's not why I use it ... although lubuntu on my 1Gb netbook is frakking blazing compared to the windows 7 starter it came with. Though I don't use that to pllay video. Kubuntu (KDE desktop) has great video performance. Best of all the ubuntu desktops. And it's one of the more bloated versions.

I see a lot of guys trying to install some of these modern linux desktops on really old hardware. And then they can't understand why their performance sucks. They've heard about how linux can "bring new life to old computers" or therabouts.

But while it's true that linux can run in a small memory space, technically linux is just the kernel. That doesn't mean that the desktop GUI will run properly, or that app software will. The newer desktops that you tend to hear about like Unity or Cinnamon require 3D acceleration just to run. That's not good on old XP machines or newer netbooks. I wouldn't dream of running unity or cinnamon on my netbook.

[yoda313]

I don't know what you're expecting, and I don't know the exact specs you're talking about, but you can't play 1080p video properly on a single core computer running linux any better than you can in windows.

Well I was actually just expecting to do some file serving. Not transcoding. I know that would be suicide on a single core.

I know this will limit me to just what I can play natively on my destination devices. However this would be to centralize my files and make it easier to watch my stuff.

Dlna file serving doesn't take any horsepower does it?

[Hoser Rob]

Jeez. I'm not familiar with Dina so I looked it up here:

http://www.nekochan.net/wiki/Using_DINA_for_network_installation_of_IRIX

... which gives me:

"DINA is a virtual machine image built to support SGI systems being booted and doing software installation over the network. DINA is a combination of the NetBSD operating system, specialized configuration files and custom scripts to accomodate the peculiarities of the SGI's PROM netboot process. DINA was created and most often used with VMware products"

... which sounds like overkill to me. And not exectly novice level. I don't see why you'd need a VM for this.

I'd do a search for media file serving at ubuntuforums.org and askubuntu.org myself.

For linux novices ubuntu is pretty much unbeatable IMO. That's the distro I'd recommend for novices. The hardware recognition is really good. The software repositories are better than anyone else's. The stuff in the ubuntu repos is beta tested, and they're the best choice for newbies. There are other sources that you can add but it's not a good idea unless you have some idea what you're doing. Some of them aren't reliable.

I don't want to make the software installation process sound scary ... it's MUCH safer than with windows .... but it's not the same as windows. You don't have self installing programs like in windows. The OS installs all programs.

You know how if you install media programs in windows there's a very good chance it'll install some crappy 3rd party codec pack which will repoint your whole system to it? That can't happen in linux without the system putting up a big red flag.

The other thing with ubuntu is the tech support on the forums and askubuntu. It's the best. There's a guy here who does unix/linux support at the local univ. He was having a problem with a Red Hat linux system so he called their tech support, which you pay for. They couldn't answer the problem. So he posted the problem on the ubuntu tech support forum, which is free of course, and got an answer.

That's pretty important because when you're installing linux there's a good chance it'll go seamlessly but you may have hardware support issues. If so you will need tech support.

This would be more of an issue with bleeding edge hardware than with on old xp machine, but you never know.

[yoda313]

sorry hoser rob you misread my post - I wrote DLNA not dina.

http://www.dlna.org/

That's for media streaming. And yes I know it won't transcode and I don't plan to on the old machine.

Thank you for the info though.

[knotnow]

I recently purchased the Etekcity 5r2 for my old compaq laptop running Ubuntu 10.04. It includes linux drivers. I used ndiswrapper program for linux, and used the windows drivers for the 5r2 off the cd that came with the adapter.

http://www.etekcity.com/p-178-5r2-wifi-wireless-lan-80211-ngb-network-adapter-4-windowslinuxmac.aspx

[Hoser Rob]

It was dLna. My mistake.

I'd still search ubuntuforums and askubuntu for which media server is best. I can't answer that ... I don't use one program for all media. Smplayer for video (occasionally vlc but rarely). Clementine for music.

Re post #12 ... I consider ndiswrapper a last resort because there's no guarantee that the windows drivers will work.

Frankly, if the hardware support for a particular wireless adapter is that bad I think the best choice is to get a new wireless card or usb wireless dongle that does work properly with linux. This isn't a ubuntu v. other distro issue.

The best thing to do really is to download the live install image and burn it (I prefer to usb stick ... it runs a lot faster). Then boot that and see if the wireless (& other hardware) works as is. It's also the best way to get a feel for the desktop.

Which desktop? It's hard to say without knowing the machine's specs. I wouldn't use the unity desktop on an old XP machine. I tried it on a laptop with an i3 cpu and 4Gb RAM. It was too slow for me.

If you have 1Gb xfce (xubuntu) or lxde (lubuntu) is better. I'm running lxde on this netbook and it's very fast but also bare bones. There's more manual config so it may not be best for novices. Xfce is easier and also lightweight. If you're talking a half gig or so lxde would be better.

Less than a halg gig ram, you'd be better off with a really minimal distro like puppy.