Brain on Fire Tim McCormack, distilled.

When I switched to Linux a couple of years ago, I was able to find excellent replacements for most of the software I used on Windows. In a couple cases I had to use Wine to run my favorite Windows-only programs until I was more comfortable with the replacements, but there was one that I never gave up: Textpad.

I just completed the easiest operating system upgrade I've ever experienced: Ubuntu Edgy Eft to Feisty Fawn. I directed the entire process over VNC, and did not have to leave the GUI at any time. Only a single restart was required, I did not have to edit any config files, and there does not seem to be anything left to clean up.

When I'm making a web page at home on my laptop (a Linux machine), I test it on Firefox and IE 7. (I only test on IE7 now, because it will be distributed to Windows users as a high-priority update.) Unfortunately, IE 7 will not install under Wine, which is annoying because that's how I run Windows programs on my Linux machine. However, there is a way to get the layout engine of IE 7 working under Wine -- and that's all I need.

After upgrading Ubuntu Linux from Dapper Drake to Edgy Eft, I found that the login screen would malfunction with the message "The greeter application appears to be crashing. Attempting to use a different one." A different login screen would appear (which worked just fine), but it was still irritating.

Problem

I have an Acer Aspire 3500 running Ubuntu Linux, and I occasionally need to use the modem. Unfortunately, the Acer uses a winmodem (softmodem), which is not well supported by linux (because it isn't a true modem).

Solution

1. To locate the appropriate software, I needed to know what chipset my modem used. I used linmodems.org's scanModem utility.
   1. Download scanModem.gz to a working directory.
   2. Extract the gzipped file.
   3. On the command line, change the permissions to allow execution of the script: chmod +x scanModem
   4. I don't know what this does, but you have to do it: sudo modprobe snd-intel8x0m
   5. Run the script: ./scanModem
   6. Don't worry about all the output, just go to the newly created Modem folder. Open ModemData.txt, and scan through for information like "Your modem supports the _____ codec" or "Use a _____ driver". In my case, some text halfway through the ModemData.txt file instructed me to get the hsfmodem driver from linuxant.com. There was also an additional file called Conexant.txt detailing HSF modems. If you can't figure it out, subscribe to the linmodems discussion list and send them ModemData.txt and a very nice request for help.

2. If, like myself, you have a Conexant chipset modem, the following instructions may be of some use.

   Conexant is a manufacturer of softmodems. Linuxant has a contract allowing them access to Conexant's source code and technical information, so they can write software to support the modems under Linux.

   If you have a working ethernet or wireless connection on the machine that needs the modem drivers, use Conexant's online installer. Otherwise, you'll need to download and install the drivers manually.

   • If you are using the online installation:
     1. If you agree to the terms of the license, download the HSF softmodem driver.
     2. Run the cnxtinstall.run file and follow the instructions.
   • If you are installing manually:
     1. Don't bother with the version-specific downloads -- get the generic package with source from the Linuxant HSF downloads page. I use Debian, so I picked the DPKG version.
     2. Download and extract the zip file.
     3. Go to the command line and navigate to the extracted folder.
     4. Before you can install the package, you need to have installed linux-headers-386: sudo apt-get install linux-headers-386
     5. Install the package: sudo dpkg -i hsfmodem_7.47.00.01full_i386.deb
     6. You will be prompted for some configuration information. I just hit enter at each prompt to accpet the default, except for the email address prompt, where I entered my actual email address. They won't spam you.