Kernel 2.6.14-1.1653 fails to mount CD's and DVD's on a Dell Inspiron 1200

[Temlakos]

That's right. I discovered that last night. I put a video DVD, and then 
an audio CD, into the drive. Not only did it not mount, but Nautilus 
refused to mount it when I asked it to.

Every other kernel has mounted such media without a hitch.

The Gateway Performance 1000XL mounts these media just fine--and not 
only that, it will launch the preferred players of these media as soon 
as the mount takes place.

This illustrates the need to have more than one kernel installed on your 
machine. I maintain at least three, these being the three most current.

Perhaps it also illustrats the urgency of the need to standardize laptop 
equipment. I understand that, contrary to the impression one gets from 
looking at the plethora of maker labels, all laptops come from a limited 
list of perhaps three or four manufacturers. The big vendors will buy 
these laptops and slap their labels on them. But the lack of standards 
has always hindered Linux on a laptop. I recognize that some equipment 
will never work. (For example, I never did get the Conexant "modem" to 
work on the Dell Inspiron 1200. But when something as basic as 
removable-media mounting first works, and then doesn't work, on any 
given machine, that will surely frustrate anyone contemplating a move to 
Linux.

Temlakos