How to Increase broadband internet speed in Ubuntu 12.04

Bought a new HP dv6 I7 laptop from OfficeMax recently. It is a flashy laptop, with fingerprint reader, beats audio, and all. Having been a linux addict, I had vowed not to start installing linux straight away, but Microsoft didn't let me be. Within a week of regular windows updates, the headphone jack suddenly stopped working after a regular update.

While I was busy getting annoyed and researching about the solutions, the Linux devil inside me was dancing and doing back flips. Within a few hours, I was frantically writing the Ubuntu iso to a flash drive, and 20 minutes later, was logging in to Ubuntu.

Ubuntu was a treat to the eyes and looked gorgeous in the dv6. It was all that they said in the various Ubuntu reviews all over the internet. However, it was not without its share of problems.

@ beats audio could not be enabled, although the default audio was good enough. (Adding model=ref in alsa conf made it worse, so had t revert back.)

@ fingerprint reader was not recognized, not even by fprint.

@ internet was dead slow; I was getting 3MBPS in a 20MBPS line. This was a deal breaker.

Although I could do nothing about the first two issues, I searched around to improve the internet speed, and came across this wonderful post.

http://www.hitxp.com/articles/software/ubuntu-fix-slow-wireless-internet-connection-speed-upgrading-11-04-natty-narwhal/

It said that the problem was that Ubuntu was managing power to the wireless interface. The reduction in speed was because of the low power supply to the adapter.

I followed the instructions and turned off power management in iwconfig, and voila! The speed was suddenly up from a weak 3 MBPS to a vicious 19MBPS!!

The world became a wonderful place again. Peace.

  

My homegrown Linux Penguin

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 Linux is my favorite operating system, and I'm attached to it to the point of addiction. The knowledge one gains from it, and the control one feels using it, are nothing short of ecstacy.

Apart from a slew of technical attractions, there is a non technical attraction to Linux. The famous Linux Penguin - 'Tux'! The beauty of Tux is that the logo that represents Linux is like Linux itself; it can be edited in any way anyone wishes.

This public nature of the logo has only beautified Linux. There are hundreds of variations of the Tux penguin, from the Tux-Rambo to Mario-Tux to even the gut spilling Zombie Tux!!! A list of cool Tux versions have all assembled here.

Like the multiple images of Tux, the story behind Tux are also diverse. According to Wired, there is a bizarre variety of stories, ranging from

"Linus (Torvalds) was assaulted by a huge, rabid man-eating penguin that was running amok and was moving at more than a 100 miles per hour when it attacked him"

to more serious stories like

"Torvalds was never attacked, nibbled, or otherwise molested by a penguin, but became fixated on Tux because a fat penguin wasn't a typical corporate logo"

Such a plethora of back stories and logos of varied hilarity and dexterity, have only made the Logo as well as the OS it represents more lovable.

Above is my Easter egg Tux I created using Inkscape, following this excellent tutorial.