So, I figured out, I have: broadcom 802.11b/g, it's a Compaq Presario R3000. Ubuntu is what I'm using, and I read a few tutorials and they weren't very clear, or they involved pages and pages of coding, which I just got this thing, so I was lost in a few minutes anyway.

Seeing as the kind of wireless card I have isn't that uncommon, I read somewhere you can find the stuff online to use for whatever card you have... but, then ther weren't directions on how to do that. How do I get this card, which I've used 3 years with windows on my laptop, to also work for Linux. Also, I have no idea about this MAC address and BSSID, I have a Network Address I was able to retrieve from another computer on my network, but it uses hyphens rather than colons as suggested in the example BSSID... Right then, I have no way to retrieve that information either as far as I know.

I'm pretty happy with even 20 minutes of Ubuntu compared to Windows, my computer isnt burning up all the time after running a few simple processes which is a positive sign... I just need to figure out this wireless internet thing.

Regards,
Aurelian

Don't fret about the MAC format. Some OSes/apps use dashes, some use colons, some even use spaces. Cisco network devices use groups of four (0000:0000:0000).

OK, so after a bit more research, apparently Broadcom cards are incredibly difficult to get to work with Ubuntu. I don't know what a wrapper is, I don't what that something something 33 is either. I figured out I have a Terminal and I can enter code in there, so if there is some kind of code I need I could print it and then put it in by hand... I ended up just using a D-Link external card, hanging out the side, it cuts my internet by half and it's really slow, I'm really hoping I can get the broadcom working... is there any way to do this without calling a computer technician?

Oh yeah, Pidgin doesn't work either, and because my computer is an i386, I also can't listen to mp3's or watch movies... Hopefully those problems sort themselves out when the internet works fully, but I'm kindof doubtful about the mp3 one. Should I just switch to freespire tonight? Ubuntu's site went on about how compatible it was with this and that, and none of the plugins work on my computer, so, now I can't use just about any of my old files...

Otherwise, I'm quite impressed with this.

Here are a couple of links that may be of help, if you haven't already viewed them. Do you have access to a wired internet connection?

In the Terminal window, type this command, lspci and look for the wireless card information. Then search some more about that particular card.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=25683

http://penkin.wordpress.com/2008/03/...dcom-wireless/

I can't get past the first line on either of those... I don't have a dell or acer, or those files, or anywhere to get those files. Where do I get any of the files neccessary for this?

FYI what a wrapper is....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NdisWrapper

Linux drivers for the broadcom chipset.
http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43

Those drivers won't install. it says something like "E: Driver not found" And I did exactly what it said.