Linksys and wireless networking fun.

So I just spent essentially the last two days configuring our new wireless network. I decided on Linksys hardware because it is cheap and has a reasonable reputation. The router lived up to the reputation but both of cards were a problem.

My laptop runs Debian Linux. This is where the trouble started. I checked the compatibility list before I bought the hardware and the card was listed so I was happy. Of course it was listed, they're all listed. The only problem is that most of them have a blank space in the table where the driver name should be. Oops and arrrrgh. At this point I was worried but a little frantic googling yielded ndiswrapper.

My normal process for setting up new software that I don't fully understand is to find as many different sets of instructions as I can and try to follow them all simultaneously. This approach usually doesn't work too well but this time it was a success. Thank-you ndiswrapper!

The other computer runs win98 but at least it's not ME. To me this is like saying, "I fell from a third storey window but at least I didn't land on a spike!". I have been spoiled by Debian and, dare I say it, XP. I had forgotten what it was like to have to repeat all the steps until every mouse click and keyboard entry is perfectly executed.

The installation seemed to be going well until the configuration utility crashed. The configuration utility would only run once; after a new installation and would always crash right after I entered the passphrase. So I couldn't get it out of infrastructure mode (static IP). Reluctantly I reverted to the classic uninstall, reinstall cycle. The first uninstall deleted the windows dhcp libraries. After a number of failed installations and some failed un-installations, I found the correct steps to make it work:

1. Uninstall the drivers and config utility, be thorough.
2. Re-install the drivers causing the dhcp libraries to be re-installed (from my dusty old win98 CD).
3. Reboot and quit the config utility before it has chance to crash.
4. Change the advanced settings for the card in the windows network dialog to Ad Hoc mode and reboot again.
5. The config utility will run again. Let it pick up the network, enter the passphrase.
6. Hit OK, get a success message and quit as quickly as possible.

It worked and I have subsequenly enabled the security settings and it all still works.

IFS Designer Update and Tutorial

I've made some more updates to my IFS Designer. I think it's actually quite usable now as most of the changes are GUI changes. The main window is still just a mess of buttons but I'm just waiting until I've got enough functions to warant a menu. If I made one now it'd be save, load, exit and draw and that's just not worth my trouble putting a menu together and it's not worth your trouble to make the extra click. Anyway, here's the list of changes I did make:

• There is now a README that contains a short tutorial. If you don't know what an IFS fractal is this won't tell you but it will tell you how to make one and a pretty one too!
• Added a CHANGELOG, mostly to prevent me from claiming non-new features as new, also there's a (mercifully short) bug list.
• Integrated the event loops for Ltk and cl-sdl to allow live update of IFS display. This was simply a case of telling the cl-sdl event loop to run ltk:process-events when it's idling. I initially felt a bit wrong about this. I thought Ltk should be in charge, not some subsidiary window that's only there to show the pretties. I like cl-sdl too but I wouldn't want to build a GUI with it! I got over myself when I realised that not only was it the path of least resistance but that the cl-sdl event loop spent most of it's time idling anway.
• Separated the cl-sdl display window from the IFS class hierarchy so now it displays a given IFS rather than displaying itself. This is a bit of a no-brainer, the interface is not that which it controls/displays. Sometimes it's just easier (to start with) to lump it all together and then seperate it out once you've decided which bits should go where. I guess this design method is similar to the oft cited optimisation analogy of crystalisation. You start out using lists and no type information at all. Then as you find the optimisation bottlenecks you add the necessary declarations that allow a fast program to crystalize out of the mailliable, but slower un-typed lisp. Similarly with design you start out with lots of interconnected objects then as the desired functionality becomes clearer you can start to pull them appart until you have a nice clean, modular design.
• Made cl-sdl display window exitable by changing a slot value. Now who's in control! :)
  
• Closed windows now re-open automatically. When you close an Ltk window it is just hidden by default so it only needs to be made visible again not re-created; which is nice.

There's lots of extra code in the archive that's getting ready to implement exciting new features but not yet. It will give you an idea of what's on my mind though.

There's a new version of the matrix library that you'll also have to get for this new version to work.