Wireless networking is one of the worst areas at the moment for poor hardware compatibility. Not least because of the powerful encryption that is usually employed. (Did you try turning off all forms of encryption, or fall back to WEP? Insecure, but 100 times easier to set up.)

I do agree that linux is disappointing as a Desktop Environment, though. For games, movies, IM, and “calendaring”, it just doesn’t compare to Windows XP. However, it is important to remember that although Ubuntu concentrates on the Desktop, it is for enthusiast and IT professional usage that linux was built for, and there it leaves XP for dust.

After discussing this very issue with a friend, I do realise some sympathy lies with the Linux / Unix community due to hardware manufacturers simply not bothering to consider open source as a viable market. Writing drivers for non-supported hardware must be a frustrating thing.

If I had more time (and patience) I would sit around for hours trying to get my Ubuntu install to work correctly, but unfortunately I don’t, therefore I will take the path of less resistance, and go back to Windows.