[ILUG] Naive ADSL/WiFi questions (long (sorry!))?

[paul at clubi.ie]

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007, Ian O'Connell wrote:

> Despite the extreme unpopularity of Tim's view, for the average 
> scenario he's quite correct, and in all my systems which came 
> pre-installed with windows that partition is re-sized down and left 
> alone.

There are at least a few list members who have no use for windows and 
use some flavour of Unix. Not out of zealotry, but because of 
preference, habit, employment and other such sensible reasons.

> just as bad to be a linux zealot as a Microsoft one. If a service 
> engineer comes and installs his dsl do you really want to have to 
> that conversation on linux?

If a network service engineer comes along to install networking, or I 
speak to an ISP support desk, I'd expect to have a conversation about 
networking. I wouldn't expect them to know anything about Unix 
though.

> Whether its right or not is irrelevant, 99% of the worlds pc 
> computers are running windows, when it comes to on site technicians 
> or dealing with phone support regarding hardware faults its only 
> sensible if the machine came with windows then keep it about and 
> don't go causing agro that benefits no one......

So what are you suggesting exactly?

That all non-windows users must keep a windows partition around? 
That non-windows users can not use all of their hardware?

To get back to what Tim had written:

"I would have expected your ISP to provide a Windows CD
  for setting up ADSL.
  Personally, I would use that if I had a Windows boot option,
  just to set things up.

So either:

a) We're talking about configuring /windows/, which won't do
    /anything/ for other OSes one might use. (In which case we're
    arguing about whether people should be able use Linux, and the
    like, /at all/)

or

b) We're talking about firmware updates for embedded routers, which
    nearly always support the trivial FTP protocol (TFTP), which just
    about all systems support, including all Unix systems you might
    care about.

    Indeed, the embedded router almost certainly runs a very Unix-like
    OS, if not actual Unix (BSD or Linux).

The desire that it continue to remain possible to have a choice in 
what OS to run is not zealotry.

Your view however is a sort of awful, false pragmatism. One which 
would eventually lead to a situation that only zealots could agree is 
desireable: a monoculture. Ironic.

regards,
-- 
Paul Jakma	paul at clubi.ie	paul at jakma.org	Key ID: 64A2FF6A
Fortune:
The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.
 		-- Richard Bach, "Illusions"