Better Wifi Manager for LinuxLite 2.0?

Discussion in 'Software' started by mannshands, Aug 11, 2014.

  1. mannshands

    mannshands Private First Class

    Hi,
    I love my new LinuxLite 2.0 laptop. One issue. The wifi manager only displays strength in bars. I would like a percentage signal display to accurately compare available wifi networks. Nothing in the default repository looked promising. Any suggestions?
    mannshands
     
  2. Hedon James

    Hedon James Sergeant

    The bars are pretty standard in the wifi manager, but if I'm not mistaken, the available networks are displayed in order from strongest to weakest signals. But if you really need to know an absolute signal strength, as opposed to a relative ranking of signals, you're probably going to have to "step outside" the pre-packaged software center.

    LinuxLite is a heavily customized version of Ubuntu with XFCE desktop environment. I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but it would work on your system:
    http://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2013/08/linssid-wifi-scanner-for-ubuntu-linux-mint/

    Everything else I'm aware of will only show the signal strength of the wifi connection that you have already connected to.

    P.S. Kudos on the selection of LinuxLite for your laptop. A very nice, fully-featured, yet lightweight linux distro that isn't very well known...yet!
     
  3. mannshands

    mannshands Private First Class

    Hi Hedon J.,
    After dealing with the new Windoze 8 versions BS I am finally ditching as much MS stuff as possible. Now that you must log into Outlook to do so many Win chores any pretense of privacy is gone. This whole update/upgrade fiasco has made me lots of work doing 8 to 7 downgrades and replacing lost product keys. But for personal use I need something reliable like XP/7. I thought LL was the answer but 3 weeks into it and I am finding a few concerning problems.
    Thanks for the info. While I am pleased with LinuxLite 2.0 in most ways, and Voltran generally answers their support forum questions promptly, I have been waiting 5 days for a reply to this question from them. I also find their VirtualBox buggy, Win 8.1 Update worked fine in my Win 7 VM, but has several probs in LL. The package manager has also failed on me a few times.
    Since I discovered LL while keeping track of low RAM distros for use on old laptops, like Konquorer Live(old school), Zorin, Vector, Puppy and DSL, thats what I will use LL for. Now I must decide which major distro to use for my main laptop. Am torn between Debian (I like their philosophy), Ubuntu (too bloated and cloud focused), Mint and SUSE. I want one with good support from many thousands of users, not an obscure niche distro. And RIP BackTrack!
    Any thoughts on that?
    Gracias
    mannshands

    PacBel Easynote TK, 2.1Ghz, 4Gb DIMM3 AMD dual P320
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2014
  4. Hedon James

    Hedon James Sergeant

    A man after my own heart...I got sick of the forced update/upgrade spiral about 5 years ago. Learned about Linux...made the switch and haven't looked back. It wasn't always smooth & painless; there were certainly bumps in the road, but it was worth it in the end. For 5+ years now, I have been FREE of the yolk of MS. If I WANT an upgraded version of software, I get it; if I'm perfectly happy with the version I'm running, I leave it alone; either way, it's MY choice, and my computer experiences have been so much more enjoyable.

    If you must learn a new OS (great idea MS!), it might as well be one of YOUR choosing, and Win8 (or the death of WinXP) just provides a good reason to do it now, IMO. And you sound more advanced than the typical windows-migrator looking to try linux! You are already doing the very things I would suggest. The only comment I would make is that your stated criteria is nearly identical to my own, but you are making choices I wouldn't have made. That doesn't make your choices wrong; it just means your personal preferences are different, despite our nearly identical criteria. It sounds like your "buggy" experiences are frustrating you, and since you asked, I'll offer my OPINIONS of how to fix them. But they're just opinions...

    I'm an Ubuntu 12.04 & 14.04 user and it works great for me on most of my machines, as they can handle the resource requirements. But I keep an eye on low-resource distros that work well on ALL machines, running well on low-resource machines and simply BLAZING on newer hardware components. (more on that later!) I saluted your choice of LinuxLite2.0 as I've followed it's development with interest...it's come a long way in a short time and looks interesting. But MAYBE it's still a little buggy under the hood? I don't know for certain...just a speculation. It IS a relatively young distro, only on version 2.0, with a limited user base. While it's based on Ubuntu, bugs in a younger & smaller project such as this should probably be expected for awhile. But I would also expect it to get better & more polished over time.

    But before you switch from a distro you liked enough to install, perhaps you're using too new of a version of VirtualBox? I use VB, and I love VB, but the newest series has always been buggy for me. IMO, the sweet spot of VB software is the prior series, NOT the current...at least that is my perception. I've been running VB 4.2.18 on my Ubuntu 12.04 desktop with no issues for quite some time; I'm also running VB 4.3.12 on my Ubuntu 14.04 laptop and VB occasionally "acts up" after Ubuntu upgrades kernels. IMO, VB 4.3.12 isn't quite 100% stable yet...maybe just 95%, but that series is considered "active maintenance" by Oracle, while series 4.2.x is considered stable with security and important fixes. Also, if you downloaded VB from the onboard software center, I would recommend using a 4.2.x *.deb package downloaded from https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Download_Old_Builds instead. They're more fully-featured and a larger user base of VB on virtualbox.com. Don't forget the extension pack that corresponds with the *.deb package you selected. Perhaps this will improve your VB experience to the point that LinuxLite is more enjoyable for you?

    If you're wanting to replace LinuxLite and looking for a more "stable" experience with lower resource distros, you should be looking at LXDE and XFCE based desktop environments, and you should stick with a distro that has a LARGE user base. All of the distros you mentioned (Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, SUSE) fit that description, but I only have personal experience in the Ubuntu families, so I'll immediately discount the SUSE family and RPM package managers. I'm only familiar with Debian package management, which all of the remaining 3 utilize. Furthermore, Mint is derived from Ubuntu; while Ubuntu is derived from Debian; while Debian is one of the 3 oldest linux distros still operating. Looking at www.distrowatch.com will reveal that all 3 are in the top 5-6 distro downloads; furthermore Mint is currently the most popular; while Ubuntu's extended run in the top spot has left it with arguably the largest user base in linux.

    Personally, if low-resource usage is the criteria, I would prefer LXDE desktops over XFCE. While both are considered "lightweight", LXDE is the lighter weight of the 2, while XFCE is slightly more polished with features. Personal preference. With that disclaimer, some LXDE desktops that I typically recommend are Lubuntu, LXLE, and Zorin Lite. All are based on Ubuntu underpinnings, as I have no experience with a "true" Debian distro. And despite their similarities under the hood, they are vastly different in appearance. I have had good and stable computing experiences with all 3. I'd also like to pimp my own remixed distro in that mix, Pangaea-Lubuntu http://sourceforge.net/projects/pangaealubuntu/ You mentioned Ubuntu and the bloat of the Unity desktop...well, Pangaea-Lubuntu is my attempt to provide a desktop that LOOKS like Unity, but with the lower-resource draw of an LXDE desktop. It is based on Lubuntu 14.04, with a heavily customized Openbox/LXDE interface that resembles Unity; and 2 versions of nearly every function: file manager, office suite, music player, video player, etc... One version is a fully featured cross-platform software program that I personally prefer, while the 2nd alternative is a low-resource program for lower-specced machines that can't handle the fully featured version that I personally prefer. This is what I install on my family & friends machines who want linux and require occassional support. It's just easier for me that way. If you like it, feel free to give it a whirl. If you prefer one of the other suggestions, you won't hurt my feelings. It's YOUR machine and it's YOUR choice...and that's what I love about linux!

    Welcome to the brotherhood and Good luck!
     
  5. mannshands

    mannshands Private First Class

    Hi,
    YES! I use inSSid in Win. LinSSid is just what I needed. Thanks! Easy 2 step tutorial in that link.

    I appreciate your advice. For now I am sticking to work out my LL. The VM info is especially useful.

    Keep up the excellent posts Specialist James...
    mannshands
     

MajorGeeks.Com Menu

Downloads All In One Tweaks \ Android \ Anti-Malware \ Anti-Virus \ Appearance \ Backup \ Browsers \ CD\DVD\Blu-Ray \ Covert Ops \ Drive Utilities \ Drivers \ Graphics \ Internet Tools \ Multimedia \ Networking \ Office Tools \ PC Games \ System Tools \ Mac/Apple/Ipad Downloads

Other News: Top Downloads \ News (Tech) \ Off Base (Other Websites News) \ Way Off Base (Offbeat Stories and Pics)

Social: Facebook \ YouTube \ Twitter \ Tumblr \ Pintrest \ RSS Feeds