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

[Nick Murtagh]

Ian O'Connell wrote:
> On 22/06/07, John Madden <john+ilug at jmadden.eu> wrote:
>> So, what do the engineers do when they go to do an install in a
>> completely non-Windows house or business? Eg., if they were to come to
>> my house to install something, they'd have a choice of Mac OSX, Ubuntu
>> or Debian (deliberately omitting my partner's Vista laptop here for
>> illustrative purposes).
> 
> He'll plod about i imagine, give you the settings and leave.....

I have to say this "engineers" argument seems completely bogus.

In my experience, most home + business ISPs either send you a modem +
settings in the post, or send someone on site to check your ADSL line
with a laptop. In fact, Magnet Business _won't_ do any kind of testing
using the customer's kit - the installer checks the line is ok using
_his own laptop_ and you're supposed to ring tech support if you
need help getting it working with your own machines.

Now, I think there definitely would be a problem if you rang tech
support and wanted help setting things up in Linux. The reality is that
most Linux users are technically competent and don't need this sort of
hand holding. If Linux on the desktop takes off in a big way then good
ISPs will train their staff to deal with it.

None of this helps Brian of course. Brian, I suggest you get your own
ADSL modem with an ethernet port, and a NIC for your PC. I would not
recommend getting into wireless networking at the same time, it can be
a bit of a minefield (on pretty much every operating system...).

-- 
Nick Murtagh <nickm at go2.ie>
go2web Ltd., Harbour House, Harbour Road, Howth, Dublin 13
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