The bad weather they have been predicting all weekend has finally arrived. “Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day.” I’m warm in bed, but I hope it has finished before the morning.
I can be painful to be a parent
Today has been painful, both physically and emotionally. Being a parent is hard.
Wireless and Linux
They have a funny relationship. Sometimes all is well but other times it’s rubbish.
I decided to install OpenSUSE on this laptop. All good. Where is the wireless? The wireless is a Broadcom 4318, so had to do a bit of voodoo, but still no joy.
I remembered that a work colleague had given me a wireless card for a laptop when he updated to wireless n. I found it in a draw and swapped the Broadcom one for the Atheros one. Rebooted, saw the new card and worked first time after setting the security etc.
For networking Apple gets it right as they control everything. Windows has to be supported by the manufacture, so usually easy as. Linux is catching up especially for newer hardware, but still not for newbies or someone without ethernet cables or other access to the internet.
New keyboard for Dell
I said last time that I would compare to the Mac. Ok, removed one plastic cover, undid 2 screws, lifted a cable and then reversed. Dell on the ease of keyboard replacement. Took about 2 minutes. The keyboard was cheaper too.
But I’m writing this on a Mac while the Dell updates itself after not being turn on for about a year.
Repairing an old Mac
I was given a 2006 Macbook a few months ago. 1GB RAM and 300GB hard drive. Only problem was that some of the keys were missing. OK use an external keyboard. All good. Decided to replace the keyboard. Bought a secondhand one from Aliexpress and waited. It arrived today.
Fitting it was pretty straight forward. Had to undo 23 screws and then lever the keyboard up and take the ribbon from the motherboard. Then reverse. All done in less that 15 minutes and now a working Macbook. Thanks ifixit.
