Although using ndiswrapper does get the wireless working, it prevents the NC10 from restarting / rebooting. Other problematic issues such as power management and wireless range are also presenting themselves. I therefore decided to uninstall ndiswrapper using the Add/Remove option in the applications menu, disabled the wireless and rebooted successfully(!).
To install the latest Atheros drivers use these instructions: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/NC10#Wireless%20Networking%20-%20Atheros
Latest drivers are needed for Ubuntu 8.10 and can be installed by following these instructions:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/NC10#Wireless%20Networking%20-%20Atheros
This is an alternative way to get the wireless working… posted by Jon Bradbury – http://netbook-forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=57#p276
Instead of following the complexities of the original post (click on Read more if interested), simple instructions are provided at:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/NC10#Audio%20-%20Alsa%20Driver
FYI: Adjusting the internal mic sound levels after install is required to get the mic working
Update: Most people report that the Webcam works without needing a workaround
I got the Webcam working in Ubuntu by following these instructions on the very useful Acer Aspire One page https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AspireOne#WEBCAM. Even though the NC10 has a very similar specification to the Aspire One they are not identical, following all the instructions on this page might well be problematic. Let’s hope that a similar page appears for the NC10. Oh hang on… it won’t just appear, we as a community have to write it!
I have found that some applications, especially games, require the resolution to be set when running them for the first time on the NC10. I followed the instructions provided by “Sage_Harpiua” http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=42010 and set the resolution to 1024×600.
I have had no problems configuring an external display while running Ubuntu 8.10. Unfortunately, I have experienced an occasional ‘glitch’ where the external display seems to flicker for a millisecond or two and then returns to normal. This only happens every five minutes or so. Any ideas? (I will provide more info as I try to diagnose the problem).
Alexis helped me to resolve an occasional ‘glitch’ where my external display seemed to flicker for a millisecond every five minutes or so. I tried using a different VGA cable and no longer experience the ‘glitch’ (something to do with the edid signal being interrupted).
The internal mic does not work using Ubuntu
*This post remains for historical purposes only, new workaround now available*
Display Brightness
See latest blog post for 9.10
http://nc10ubuntu.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/ubuntu-9-10-netbook-remix-karmic-koala/
Original workarounds:
As reported on http://www.mail-archive.com/desktop-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com/msg236918.html the function keys that adjust display brightness are not working.
I found that the screen brightness is too low when booting without AC power. I can, however, adjust the brightness at the GRUB menu on boot using the function keys but I had to disable the auto brightness function in BIOS (hold F2 on boot) to allow this.
*Update* Better workarounds available, see comments!
