Ubuntu 8.10, known as Intrepid Ibex, runs like a champ on the Toshiba Satellite A215-S7437 (at least the 32 bit version). Previous versions of Ubuntu forced me to use ndiswrapper to get wifi working, but it seems to work fine on this version of Ubuntu. The only problem I had was that the laptop would not suspend properly when closed after I switched from ndiswrapper to the native rtl8187 driver. In fact the laptop would freeze, but in an "on" state which is dangerous regarding overheating. Long story short: I added this line: SUSPEND_MODULES="rtl8187" to the file /etc/pm/config.d/default . I think it forces the wireless driver to unload prior to suspending. However, all networking drivers are supposed to do this anyway, or so I've read. I hope this post helps somebody.

UPDATE:

Just kidding. The driver built into the 2.6.27 kernel that ships with Ubuntu 8.10 is very unstable compared to the ndiswrapper + Win98 driver combo that is usually suggested with this particular chipset. The problem with the ndiswrapper solution is that it does not do wifi encryption. :( At least it works. My suggestion is to not get a device with the RTL8187B chipset in it if you plan on running Linux. It's too much hassle.

SECOND UPDATE:

When using the ndiswrapper driver for the RTL8187B chipset you still may need to edit /etc/pm/config.d/default and add the line SUSPEND_MODULES="ndiswrapper".