Category Archives: agora pro

ubuntu 9.10 (karmic koala) beta on the kogan agora

Posted on by
7

In a bid to resurrect my kogan agora pro netbook to a usable state, I decided to upgrade to the lastest version of ubuntu, karmic koala, which has just gone beta.

sudo update-manager -d

This will kick off the update manager, and provide you with a single button to upgrade to version 9.10. After 30 minutes or so, you should be rebooting into a new kernel, and the new ubuntu.

The usual suspects that needed attention in the past (read: the touchpad and wireless networking) were both still working, and had obviously remained configured from the previous version.

Whilst I say “working”, the wireless adapter is connecting to my home wireless access point however the signal is still low and not picking up neighbouring APs.

 

Continue reading →

kogan slashes $100 off the price of both agora netbooks

Posted on by
2

Earlier this month kogan announced that both the kogan agora and kogan agora pro netbooks would be both $100 cheaper, at $399 and $439 respectively.

The difference between the two is still $40, and spending the extra on the pro is still money well spent if you are considering buying a kogan netbook.

You may wish to review some of the comments on this site regarding the wireless network capabilities of the agora netbook, however at $439, the kogan agora is a now a very cheap netbook.

 

kogan sent me a replacement wireless network mini card

Posted on by
24

After the problems I had connecting to wireless networks overseas with my kogan agora netbook, I emailed kogan support and explained the issues I had been facing.

A support representative emailed me back rather promptly (6 minutes later!) and acknowledged the under-performance of the VIA wifi card. They also offered to send me a replacement card, which is now being used in the agora netbooks.

I quickly took up the offer, and a week later, the new Ralink wifi card arrived in my mailbox (see the picture gallery below).

Change over of the card was very easy – power down, remove battery, remove single screw for the back panel and slide open the panel. Next I used small pliers to carefully lift off the two antenna connectors, and then after removing the single screw holding the card down I was able to pull it out. Installation of the new card was the reverse of the removal of the old.

Continue reading →