Which Repositories To Use For Wireless

I notice the most frequently recommended RPMs for Madwifi are those on opensuse.org. And the most frequently recommended RPMs for ndiswrpper are andrewd18's RPMs lately transferred to packman from Andrew's repo on opensuse.org.

Why do we recommend those over the RPMs containd on the installation DVD? Are they so much better than the RPMs supplied by the devs with each release of Suse?

Swerdna

mostly recommended because they are more up to date.I prefer the ones on the disk as they are easier to install & stable

mostly recommended because they are more up to date.I prefer the ones on the disk as they are easier to install & stable
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This is my recent thinking: A significant few new users get it wrong when downloading the packages. They have to choose the right repo according to the x in 10.x and also they have to execute "uname -r" to then select the right package/s for their kernel. So it's perhaps simpler to go with the RPMs on the disk -- fewer opportunities for error.

That's from the user's side of things.

From my side of things as an adviser on the Forums, I have more typing and more explaining to do to try to help them get it right if they don't use they RPMs on the disk.

So the remaining question for me is: Is the fact that the RPMs on the remote repos are more up to date than the RPMs on the disk, does that factor have real merit or is it just a satisfying notion?

Swerdna

So the remaining question for me is: Is the fact that the RPMs on the remote repos are more up to date than the RPMs on the disk, does that factor have real merit or is it just a satisfying notion?[/b]

I would be interested in knowing the answer to this as well. Maybe good practice to use the ones on install DVD first, unless there are good reasons (new hardware for example) to use the newer drivers.

Maybe good practice to use the ones on install DVD first, unless there are good reasons (new hardware for example) to use the newer drivers.
[/b]

I find this reasonable. After all, the update should provide newer driver if it exists, and patch the one coming from DVD if it gets too old.

Well at today's date the madwifi options from main oss repo and opensuse.org are dated for build times thus:
25 Sept 2007 and 5 Feb 2008, lag of 5 1/3 months.

And for ndiswrapper comparing andrewd's RPM in packman with the more traditional stream in packman the dates are:
both 3 Feb 08 (are they the same, hmmm ??)

So to my way of thinking, I can't see a significant distinction foreither of madwifi or ndiswrapper, provided the user turns off the DVD as a source, as generally happens.

Any response/comment/opinion?

Swerdna

it would be best to recommend the disk versions, just in case they do not have internet connection to download the latest & greatest,as previously experienced by me when helping quite a few beginners

it would be best to recommend the disk versions, just in case they do not have internet connection to download the latest & greatest,as previously experienced by me when helping quite a few beginners
[/b]

So how's this for an economy of actions for general effectiveness:
(I) IF internet then tick these in communitty repos:
Main repo non oss
Main repo oss
Main update repo
Packman repo
Videolan repo
If you have ATI graphics or Nvidia, while you're there tick as appropriate
(II) IF NO internet then is OK for the time being

Either of (I) or (II) should give adequate rpms for madwifi & ndiswrapper

??

Swerdna

looks ok to me