About the mountpoint stuff, you can type “gksudo mkdir /media/WinShare” into an Alt+F2 runbox to make a mountpoint and then just use that in the directions.

Jon:
#2 *is* what Ndiswrapper is. It’s a way to translate Windows drivers for Linux.

By the way, what kind of wireless card do you have? Broadcoms are, I think, all supported in 8.10 now. I always buy Intel hardware because it works well with Linux.

Or hopefully, persuade the chip makers to release their own drivers at the same time as those for Windows.

Much like you I check out linux from time to time on an old laptop. I figure this is the best way to test it since laptops are so popular now, and they’re the source of most linux problems. Virtually anyone could install ubuntu on a desktop box, plug in an ethernet cable and a couple of monitors and be away and working.

On a laptop you have the major problem of wireless – what’s the point of a portable computer if you have to be plugged in? – and the issue of using external displays.

It can be done easily enough, but requires some fiddling to set up the laptop so that it can run EITHER the inbuilt monitor OR both monitors, on the fly. It just doesn’t properly agree with it.

At least your wireless is working now though, eh? How’s the performance, given that it’s an older machine? Tempted to use xfce or one of the myriad of other lightweight environments?

At the same time, one of the biggest problems with hardware on linux is that the drivers are hit-and-miss, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised.