Well the more I read, it seems the less I know. I've been trying to figure out how to get Zipspeak to support at least one of my PCMCIA cards. I have both wired and wi-fi network cards that I'd especially like to be using. (We run a neighborhood access point and also run our own SMTP server on a VAX with a home network already in place.) I am grateful to everyone who kindly offered to help me privately, but I've learned so much from reading this list's archive, I'd rather ask general questions now so the answers are public. In no way am I trying to snub anyone who offered to help off-list. I'm really confused because I don't understand exactly how and where hardware support is implemented. Some docs tell me to recompile my kernel. Some docs say I need kernel patches. Some docs suggest I replace my kernel with another one on the distro's CD. Some docs tell me to enable auto-loading of modules. Some docs tell me to add modules. Some docs tell me to simply edit some cryptic file. Some docs tell me hardware will be automatically detected. This all sounds contradictory. I need to be pointed in the direction of a how-to that gives clarification about how to troubleshoot whether hardware is supported/detected and what to do, and the order to do it in, when it isn't. I also have the additional complication of Speakup, which I assume means I can't just replace my kernel. I'm not expecting device manager or plug-in-play; getting my hardware working is part of the fun. But I'm surprised that so much of what I read is inconsistent. And guys, if I ever get this figured out, I'll write up something unambiguous to explain it to the clueless!!! --Debee
