I am trying to get OpenDesktop to run as a Live CD on my HP dv9000 laptop, that has the dreaded Atheros 5007 chipset. OD 2009 recognizes the Atheros card, but I can not get any of the network apps to aid in connecting the card. Is this something that can be done as a Live CD, or does it require installation?

If it can be connected as a Live CD, will you help me out on the specific steps necessary?

Thanks

I dont personally know of any way from the LiveCD. All instances that I have dealt with that card require HD install. I will work with the one card I do have and see if there is anyway. No promises if I can get it to work.

Robert,
I appreciate your checking it out, but don't spend a bunch of time. The network tools looked, of course, very similar to :Ubuntu, and it can't be done with any of their distros.

The current betas of PCLinuxOS and Mepis allow this type of connection, as well as the 11.1 version of SUSE. I was really hoping to give you distro a try before I made a decision because I like your interface so well. I'll keep checking back -- I really would like what you are doing and how you conduct your operation.

Thanks

Hawkeye

I wrote a blog ab out how I create PC/OS and how testing and maintenance are put in the development cycle.

http://pcosopensystem.blogspot.com/2008 ... built.html

As you can see from that entry. There is a lot of testing that goes into PC/OS. In the 2009.1 cycle we are now in the testing phase. A bunch of local users mostly businesses and academics beat the holy living hell out of PC/OS and the IT departments and students tell me what they hate, what they like and what changes they like to see. The current UI changes for example are brought about by testers and app inclusion like Sylpheed and Osmo are subjects of the talks now.

You can delete delete this before reading. It is like Macbeth said, 'a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing' -- but it sure was fun to write it.

I knew you put in a lot of work to get PC/OS exactly the way you want it, but the blog you pointed me to sheds light on your process. Technical aspects aside, there is a lot of 'small business owner' mentality -- querying and testing the 'market' as a piece of your puzzle. Although there are distros that are fairly open and communicative to the end user(s), it is mostly focused on a technical basis, i.e. where they are on these apps or these libraries; any business perspective seems to come from end user forum posts, in the form of ideas or suggestions. This may be one of those reasons that Linux hasn't moved much in the marketplace; mostly a 'technocrat model', rather than a 'consumer model'.

My observations are pretty far afield of where my original post started. As I have mentioned before, I like what you do and how you package it, but my situation may not be one that coincides with your business model:

1. Single household with 2 consumers and 3 computers that have no commercial interests or needs.
2. The desire to run all 3 computers on a single Linux OS. The OS must be (a) totally user-friendly and bulletproof for a user new to Linux, but (b) challenging enough to keep an intermediate Linux addict interested and occupied.
3. The OS must be (a) 'out of the box' friendly with the Atheros 5007 card in an HP laptop and (b) contain a repository or repositories that will fulfill the multimedia needs of someone who wants to download, touch up, group, and re-distribute photo portfolios on CDs and/or DVDs for friends and family.

All in all, this would represent a time drain on your resources and efforts, by constantly presenting questions and situations like this for you to answer, but provide a limited income stream for your efforts, because the consumer household is on a retiree fixed-income from which you would receive a single check from once a year (or thereabouts) like a birthday or Christmas present. Not your target audience. Don't get me wrong, I think you are really on the right track, for yourself and for Linux in the long run.

This Atheros card thing is all about the end user, like me, who bought before they thought, and now is looking for someone to 'hand hold' them to the right answer. There is little profit and great frustrations in dealing with folks like me, on subjects like this. I am a 'forum surfer' -- it's all part of my cherished Linux experience/hobby. And I read varying versions of this conversation over and over again. I am amazed at the number of forum users, in other OS's, that are down right indignant that XYZ Linux has not dropped everything and taken care of the mongrel wireless card (or video card, or hard drive) problem that doesn't operate 'automagically' for them.

I have already taken up too much of your time. You are doing the right things in the right way. I may be an end user of one of your products in the future, but the time does not appear right for either you or me.

I thank you for the insights. They are interesting and invigorating for an 'old geezer' who used to help companies do business planning and marketing. On a practical level, however, I think I will head over to Distrowatch.com and LinuxReviews.com, and see if I can match my needs to a distro that seems to be headed in my direction. I already know it can't be a 'buntu version or derivative (they all deal with Atheros the same way -- in lock step). Fedora and SUSE have too much 'silk shirt' showing for my preferences. And anything with KDE 4.XX or vanilla Gnome are at polar ends of the complexity scale, to much to swallow, or too boring to use. I REALLY like the Xfce window manager, and LXDE intrigues me, but what OS is out there with the technical soundness (read NO bugs), and some history of stability? Like Scully and Muldaur said, 'the truth is out there somewhere.....'

As always, best wishes for you and yours,

Hawkeye

I think I will put my input into this discussion. PC/OS definately has a focus on the consumer desktop. Thats why we include so many codecs and applications for the sole purpose of the consumer. Prism, Gstreamer codecs, Flash. We work really hard to bring it to everyone. The beta test group consists of grandmothers, students and people who are looking for exactly what you are looking for. That one distribution for 3 or 4 desktop households. Small businesses and home business users do a lot of beta testing because they are just as important as consumer desktops. The graphics design companies that use PC/OS, the church that uses it to broadcast their sermons and use it across their desktops are just as in need as the consumer. Truth be told, you wont find that just right Linux distribution. You may find one that recognizes your wireless card from liveCD but upon installation it will be lacking.

Users of PC/OS can contribute. In terms of not only donations. Join the insider group. You can contribute code, artwork and ideas and you get first billing. The changes in PC/OS 2009.1 and past releases are a direct result of feedback. About 5% of the changes are changes we make the decisions ourselves, the rest is from the community of users and beta testers. The UI changes came directly from beta testers and users.

Is PC/OS perfect? No, but we strive for that happy medium where we get most right out of box.

To fix your Atheros problem on the LiveCD. Open the PC/OS menu, go to system, click on Hardware Drivers. Disable the Atheros driver than reenable it. connect to your network. This is an Ubuntu bug and we are working hard to fix it in 2009.1. I have the same issue with my D-Link.