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--- news:archive [2015-04-26 10:18] – Archival of 2013 jens
+++ news:archive [2023-06-12 17:39] (current) – Archiving 2018 jens
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ====== News Archive ======
+===== 2018 =====
+==== 2018-09-02: Wifi firmware ====
+By now there is a new [[http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/non-free/f/firmware-nonfree/firmware-atheros_20180518-1_all.deb|firmware package]] available from Debian, no more manual intervention is needed.
+==== 2018-02-20: Wifi disconnects solved ====
+If you depend on Wifi for your connectivity and the Wifi disconnects all the time it can get really irritating.
+After 3 days of intense searching I finally came across [[https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=229808|this post]] in the Arch Linux forums which describes exactly what to do so the disconnects finally stop. Ironically again Arch, maybe I should try that distribution for a change ;-)
+All in all I am still super happy with the XPS 13, great performance, great screen, great battery life. After solving the disconnects I can easily live with software rendering (for the time being) and I think even the Wifi power settings can be turned on again.
+Just to summarize the steps to get the disconnects solved:
+  * Download the latest Atheros ath10k firmware from https://codeload.github.com/kvalo/ath10k-firmware/zip/master
+  * Make a backup of ''/lib/firmware/ath10k/QCA6174'' and delete the whole directory.
+  * Unpack the downloaded ZIP file and place the QCA6174 directory in ''/lib/firmware/ath10k/''
+  * Rename the latest firmware-X.bin files to remove the _WLAN* part.
+  * Place the latest (highest version) firmware-4.bin and firmware-6.bin files directly in ''/lib/firmware/ath10k/'' (I used softlinks).
+  * Reboot.
+  * Check with ''lshw -c Network'' if the latest firmware is loaded.
+As Buster is still young I assume this will be long solved until it will be released.
+==== 2018-02-17: New challenge, XPS 13 ====
+I got myself a new challenge: a brand new Dell XPS 13 9370 (2018 model) Developer Edition (non-touch). I really love this notebook, thus far I have not found one single point of criticism (I am not a webcam user ;-)).
+It comes pre-installed with Ubuntu and even after just booting it and using it for about 10 minutes I remembered why I don't like Ubuntu. So I quickly prepared a Debian Stretch installer stick with non-free firmware. The notebook is very thin and has no USB A ports anymore, let alone a RJ45 connector for LAN. So to install you depend on Wifi and for that the non-free firmware is really needed.
+However, somehow the Stretch installer didn't like the firmware, not even the updated one. It was looking for a 3.0/firmware-5.bin whereas there are only 3.0/firmware-4.bin and 3.0/firmware-6.bin files available. And because I wanted to start using this great piece of hardware as soon as possible I became lazy and just used the Buster installer which works fine.
+Points of attention so far (the rest is working perfectly):
+  * The Wifi randomly disconnects. I had to disable power management for the Wifi card, a description of that will follow later on this site.
+  * I am running KDE and using the compositor in hardware rendering mode (for e.g. the desktop cube) makes the screen become flickery after a while, the contents don't get redrawn. Switching to software rendering (no more cube) solves this problem and switching from the default OpenGL 2.0 to 3.1 makes it less likely to happen. I hope a future kernel module for the graphics will solve this problem.
+  * The keyboard backlight turns off after just 3 seconds even though the setting is at 10 seconds. I will have to research this further (low prio).
+As said, everything else works fine and I am really happy. Ironically, the [[https://www.archlinux.org/|Arch Linux]] Wiki pages for the [[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dell_XPS_13_(9360)|9360]] and [[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dell_XPS_13_(9370)|9370]] were more helpful than the [[https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Dell/Dell%20XPS%2013|Debian Wiki pages]] ;-)
+As soon as I solved my problems I might make an account and edit the Debian Wiki page for the 9370.
+Updates on this notebook and Debian will surely follow!
+===== 2017 =====
+==== 2017-06-17: Debian GNU/Linux 9.0 (Stretch) released ====
+Not much news on my site, even though content gets constantly polished and updated where needed.
+However, last night [[https://www.debian.org|Debian]] Stretch has finally been released :-) Go grab [[https://www.debian.org/distrib|your copy]] and have an install party!
+==== 2017-05-06: Icedove became Thunderbird again ====
+Well... maybe a little late... but still. You get the picture :-)
+===== 2016 =====
+==== 2016-03-14: Iceweasel became Firefox again ====
+For years, the Debian team had to rebrand Firefox into Iceweasel. Luckily, by now Debian and the Mozilla Foundation settled their "disputes" and henceforth Iceweasel will be called Firefox again in Debian.
+Please note that this also has an impact on your [[misc:sources.list]]!
+===== 2015 =====
+==== 2015-04-26: Debian GNU/Linux 8.0 (Jessie) released ====
+The heading says it all: Debian GNU/Linux 8.0 a.k.a. Jessie has been released! Although the release was scheduled for april 25th and here in Europe the 26th already was 4 hours old: Congratulations Debian Team for making this another great release!
+I run Jessie for a while now on my desktop(s), now on to upgrading all servers :)
+===== 2014 =====
+==== 2014-06-28: Moved from MediaWiki to DokuWiki ====
+[[http://www.mediawiki.org|MediaWiki]] is most certainly a great piece of software. However, because of its features and functions, for my use it is a little bit too heavy. My site aims primarily at documentation, this is why I moved my content to [[http://www.dokuwiki.org|DokuWiki]].
+This switch also made me overhaul some of the content, double-check if all links are still working and hopefully present the content more clearly.
 ===== 2013 =====
+==== 2013-07-30: Das Keyboard ====
+{{ :wiki:daskeyboard.jpg?300|}}
+Usually I am not about blogging or writing down experiences because I want to provide objective documentation. But in this case I have to write a few words on //Das Keyboard// with MX Blue switches.
+I am no professional at typing at all, but working in a terminal a lot I do appreciate a good keyboard. After a lot of research I chose the [[http://www.daskeyboard.com/|Das Keyboard]] [[http://www.daskeyboard.com/model-s-professional/|Professional S]] with [[http://www.cherrycorp.com/english/switches/key/mx.htm|MX Blue]] switches. To put it short: this really //is// a great keyboard! Even when you are no professional, it makes you type faster and gives a good tactile feeling. Personally, I also like the sound :) and compared to the good old IBM model M it is even less noisy. The integrated USB hub is nice and handy. What I also like is that this is a no-nonsense keyboard without a zillion added functions.
+This is also the thing I //don't// like about Das Keyboard Professional S: it has a function key. Whereas the fact alone is no problem (I can simply choose not to use it), in my opinion the placement is a little off. The space key is moved a little to the right which makes me (sometimes) hit the wrong key when using the space key with my left thumb. Also, due to the FN key the Windows keys were shrunk a little. This makes it impossible to replace the key caps with penguin keys :S
+This last point is no big issue of course, although it leaves a little strange taste to it. All in all I am very happy with my Das Keyboard, I am sure it will serve me long!
 ==== 2013-06-16: A word of warning about debian-multimedia.org ====
 Previously, this domain was owned and maintained by Christian Marillat providing (amongst more) Multimedia Packages for Debian. By [[http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/pkg-multimedia-maintainers/2012-May/026678.html|request]] from te former Debian Project Leader Stefano Zacchiroli, the domain name changed to [[http://www.deb-multimedia.org/|deb-multimedia.org]]. My pages on the Debian [[::misc:sources.list]] reflected that change, but maybe you are still using that repository.