This was a life-saver for me and getting 7.04 to run on my Inspiron e1705/9400. X failing was my first hurdle with Ubuntu on this hardware, and here is the article that made me happy again.
http://www.mikesplanet.net/2007/04/installing-ubuntu-704-ati-x-cards/
Look at my other posts, I love Ubuntu. I go to other Distros to see what they have, I keep coming back to Ubuntu. Primary reason for coming back? Hardware recognition. Plain and simple, Ubuntu in the past saw all of my hardware and offered better support than any other Distro I have tried. Not this time. 
A little background — I purchased an Inspiron 6000 3 years ago to take to Vegas with me. I was in Vegas for 4 days, after I got back I installed Ubuntu (see my other posts). I was successful in getting Ubuntu to work (better than Fedora or SuSE). I was happy with Ubuntu on my notebook, which is why I decided to install it on my new notebook. How did I get my new notebook, warranty exchange from Dell. New notebook is an Inspiron e1705/9400.
Run down on hardware:
Originally equipped with Windows Media Center 2005, but eligible for a free upgrade to Vista Home Premium, I’ve had both operating systems on the computer. My choice was Windows Media Center. Vista runs well, but in my opinion not meant for the desktop (or at least mine).
With such great success with my Inspiron 6000 and Ubuntu 6.06, I figured I’d give the e1705 and Ubuntu 7.04 a run. FAILURE. How horrible! The live CD wouldn’t even run on the hardware. X failed, braodcom chipset (wireless) failed. What a mess, and what a step back for Ubuntu. As I was able to get 6.10 to load, though I still didn’t have wireless.
So I installed 6.10, then upgraded to 7.04 through Synaptic, and X FAILED!!! I found an article that fixed my problem, so that part was covered. Still no success with my wireless. After searching Ubuntu Forums, and trying a few things, still no success. Until I found the article that I have linked to below. The solution worked so easily it wasn’t even funny. Why it is not integrated into Ubuntu out of the box, I don’t know. Why Ubuntu has not done something similar, I don’t know. But in my opinion a tool like this is needed for greater wireless support, not just the Broadcom chipsets.
It was frustrating, and the first time in a while that I have been very frustrated with Ubuntu. I know the hardware is not really Linux Specific, had I chosen the components for the computer, it would have had an Nvidia video card and an Intel Wireless card in it, but this is how I got the notebook from Dell.
Next problem…On my Shuttle at home, I can run with the Desktop features on, Beryl is not supported on the ATI X1400 video card. Not to say it hasn’t worked, and I haven’t tried a few things, it is just sad to see Ubuntu in this current state of lack of hardware support.
What will I do? Probably sell this e1705/9400 and replace it with either a Power Book from Mac or a notebook from System76. All in time, but here have been my .03 cents on Ubuntu 7.04 on an Inspiron e1705/9400.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=405990
Well I found the above on UbuntuForums after I decided to install Ubuntu 7.04 on my Dell Inspiron e1705/9400. If you have a broadcom chipset wireless card, following the above link is in my opinion the best way to do it.
Well…here is what I found.
Here in my particular area, there is a lot of new construction. With construction, TomTom is not updated. POI’s are no longer where TomTom says they are. This is of course new construction only. For most POI’s this is not a problem.
TomTom sent me in the wrong direction on a couple of occasions. This is frustrating for me in the area that I’m in, and wish it were more accurate, but understand this is not real-time. Again these particular issues were related to (new) construction where traffic may be diverted.
So my TomTom has become more of a ‘get me in the general area’ tool, more so then how do I get to the door step tool. When looking for a retail store, it’ll give you the bulk of the trip, once you can see a sign and what not, I just take over and navigate myself. So initially I was a little more dependent upon the TomTom, now like I said, I’m just using it to get me close, and I take it the rest of the way in.
I still love it for finding me POI’s and just general navigation as I get around town. Over time it may spend more time in my glove box than out telling me how to get somewhere.
Still a great tool, and still recommend for someone who travels to new places often. As I decide to travel more throughout Cali, I’m sure it’ll come in handy.
http://basketcase.wordpress.com/2007/09/03/tomtom-go-720-review/
http://basketcase.wordpress.com/2007/09/08/tomtom-revisted-1-week/
http://basketcase.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/tomtom-update-final/
http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/
Need I say more?
I found this article from PCWorld sort of comical in regards to the fastest notebook to run Vista.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136649-page,3-c,notebooks/article.html
For those who didn’t read the article, the fastest notebook running Vista was actually a Mac!
Preface– I recently took a new job which required me to move from Colorado to California. I decided I wanted to get a GPS for the trip and for the time while I was in CA, since I didn’t know anyone and have never been. I felt it might make my trip easier. Based on my research I decided to purchase the newly released GO 720 from TomTom.
How I came to decide on the TomTom Go720. Initially I was going to get a Nuvii 350 from Garmin. Here is what sold me on the TomTom:
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Well over all, I’d call it a success.
When I set the GPS up for the first time, I didn’t select a computer voice, which is the only voice that can do text-to-speech, so I was getting the ‘in 500 yards, turn left’ type message instead of ‘in 1/2 mile turn right on Grant Ave’ or whatever. Got that sorted out.
Love the searching for POI’s..Made planning breaks for gas very easy. **Edit on 9/14/07** I had a disucssion with a co-worker today, who had actually started about 2 weeks before me and moved from Connecticut. He and and his wife purchased a GPS from Garmin (don’t know model number). The two of us basically came to the conclusion that these GPSes were good for getting you in the general area, but with new construction and maps that aren’t real-time it isn’t 100% accurate.
Only thing I didn’t like was I searched for a McDonald’s and it actually turned me around and took me back about 5 miles via residential areas..could have done w/o the going backwards part, but we can blame that on my inexperience.
One other thing that I’m not particularly fond of is in a city, around interchanges and what not, it will tell you to keep left, or keep right, etc. What it doesn’t say is, are you supposed to keep left to exit or just keep left to not exit? I’d like a clearer view of why I am keeping left, and how far left do I need to be? When there at 6+ lanes here in CA, how far left do I want to be? The work around for this would be the ‘Zoom-In’ and ‘Zoom-Out’ buttons in the upper corners. A + or – sign in the upper corners allows you to scale the map to see your destination in a different view depending on the view you selected.
The window suction cup thing won’t hold…I have a sticky foam pad, but for some reason it won’t stick to my dash (no real flat place I think). I may try and find a mount for something other than the glass. So I guess my biggest gripe is just the inability to mount this thing in a good location that is easily manageable.
The FM transmitter is nice, until I got to CA where all the frequencies have something broadcasted. Then I just had to turn it over to the internal speaker, which is loud enough for me. I didn’t hook it it up to my phone yet to see if it would dial POI’s or set it up to do any hands-free dialing and what not.
Navigation of the menu system to me seems to be lacking…too many clicks necessary to get where you want, but again this could just be my lack of time spent with the device and over time I may find a quick means to find what I’m looking for. One feature I would like is maybe voice navigation.
So…if I had to do it all over again, I would buy this. In the past I would just Google-Map something and have a short stack of papers for Metro areas and what not to get me around. No more killing trees for me.
http://basketcase.wordpress.com/2007/09/03/tomtom-go-720-review/
http://basketcase.wordpress.com/2007/09/08/tomtom-revisted-1-week/
http://basketcase.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/tomtom-update-final/
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