All that unsupported hardware !!!

[hbbk]

I already posted for 2 HW pbs (MX700 mouse + digital camera) but now I found 2 more unsupported or badly supported hardware (or maybe I'm missing something) : my Lexmark X83 printer/scan doesn't seems to be supported at all, and my sound card Terratec DMX6Fire 24/96 is not fully supported (at least the mixer seems to be totally crazy...).

Could anybody tell me I didn't made a mistake switching from windows Any help somewhere for those pbs ? Oh and I didn't tried yet to burd CDs and DVDs

[askrieger]

Re: All that unsupported hardware !!!

LinuxPrinting.org is the first resort for printing problems in Linux. Unfortunately, the Lexmark X83 is a "winprinter". In other words, it has no internal control and decoding electronics. That's what makes it cheap. Instead it relies on M$ windoze to send the appropriate codes via a device driver that the manufacturer provided to M$. Obviously, this code is proprietary, so the manufacturer could not provide it to Linux. Besides, there are too many Linux distributions to provide code to all of them, so none is a simpler (and less costly) solution.

Accordingly, LP.o regards the Z83 as a "paperweight". My own personal attitude toward such printers is that if the manufacturer doesn't want my business, she's not going to get it. I use only HP printers because they're Linux friendly, and their lifetime costs of use are much less over the long run than cheaper printers.

BTW, I've seen references to Terratec TV cards, but not sound cards.

[devnull73]

Re: All that unsupported hardware !!!

yes, you made a mistake switching from windows.

Never buy hardware expecting it to be supported under linux - always check first. If you're buying a laptop or something, see if you cant go to the store and boot a live CD on the model youre looking at.

[hbbk]

Re: All that unsupported hardware !!!

[...] the Lexmark X83 is a "winprinter". In other words, it has no internal control and decoding electronics. That's what makes it cheap. Instead it relies on M$ windoze to send the appropriate codes via a device driver that the manufacturer provided to M$. Obviously, this code is proprietary, so the manufacturer could not provide it to Linux. [...]

I've posted something about code provided by Lexmark to help devellop drivers for their printers, I don't know if it could help ...
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?topic=7958.0

BTW I bought this printer and all the other hardware before switching to kubuntu. I've enough of W98, I need file system stability, powerfull multi process and memory management, safe and reliable network integration and all the many other powerfull Linux advantages over Win$ ... But in the opposite I loose many hardware support, and easy desktop integration (for ex I still do not succed to open all my avi, mpg, mp3 ... files w/ VLC, I used open with and ask for remember association but it do not work...) ... I decided to keep a windows partition so that until I change my HW I can continue using it.

best

[clownius]

Re: All that unsupported hardware !!!

GOOD LUCK with the printer.

Quote
But in the opposite I loose many hardware support, and easy desktop integration (for ex I still do not succed to open all my avi, mpg, mp3 ... files w/ VLC, I used open with and ask for remember association but it do not work...) ... I decided to keep a windows partition so that until I change my HW I can continue using it.
End quote

No i will not learn BB code lol
If you wander through the forums a bit these are actually easily solved problems and the fixes work great. many of these are not open source and as such cannot ship with Kubuntu but using them is not a major drama.

Generally id help you myself but i have a major problem with a brand new system and stumbled across this by accident and dont have the time to start linking threads.

Sorry Clownius

[podunk]

Re: All that unsupported hardware !!!

Things that are CPU controlled through a Windows program (like most Lexmark printers) will be very difficult (or impossible) to run under Linux.

Several companies offer commercial versions of Linux with paid for proprietary drivers included in the distro. Xandros and Novel come to mind - Linspire also I think?

I've made a decision to switch my business to Linux. I will need to buy some Linux friendly hardware to do so. However when I compare the cost of yearly useage fees, high support costs and the unending upgrade this is a real no brainer.

Added bonuses are speed, stability, security. Little maintenance and ease of backup are deal sweeteners.

Did you make a mistake in installing Linux? If you're happy with Windows and unwilling to invest the time learning a new OS then yes, you did.

Every OS has strength's and weakness's and It takes time and effort to discover what they are.