on 9/21/01 7:39 PM, Randy Beaudreault at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
>> TCP/IP networking is neither Mac nor PC centric. Learning how it works will
>> benefit ANYONE who uses a computer and it REALLY isn't very complicated once
>> you learn some simple rules about how it works.
>>
>> Brian
>
> It's not that we couldn't benefit from learning, but that companies
> link Linksys pay to have companies like MacWarehouse advertise their
> stuff in the catalogs yet decline to provide subsequent support to
> buyers of said products but will for other platforms?
Randy, that's absurd. Linksys doesn't pay Macwarehouse to carry their
products in its catalog! They have never claimed to support Macs so you
cannot blame them for not teaching you how to configure TCP/IP and a router.
> That is my
> problem. I know that there are PC products out there that provide
> minimal support period so expecting Mac support there isn't even a
> question. So when I have a choice I'll pay more to go with those
> companies that support Macs.
That's a perfectly rational and respectable choice and I do the same
whenever possible.
> Why support companies that don't
> support us?
How 'bout we get right down to the heart of this whole thread. Many times we
don't have a choice, Randy. When I built a wireless 802.11b (Airport)
network here at my home office/studio I scoured the net and all the
retailers for alternatives to the Apple Airport equipment which are simply
OEM Orinoco Wavelan Silver 64 bit cards.
For $250 I got the Linksys BEFW11S4 4 port router/switch/access point.
For $150 I got the Orinoco WaveLan Gold 128 Bit 802.11b (Airport) PC card
Apple's 802.1b solution for my Lombard powerbook from Apple? Zip. Stugotz.
Apple's solution for Access Point/Router/Switch? A $300 AP that only
supports 64 bit encryption for $299. Router/Switch? Nothing. You're on your
own pal...
So you can see, Linksys offered a much better range of features for less
money and the alternatives were scarce or nonexistent. I bought from Linksys
knowing my purchase was not supported, I didn't need their support. It
either worked or didn't. It's a joy. It was cheap. Yay me, Boo Apple.
> They may be cheaper but we are not PC users, we are Mac
> users and should demand better.
That line of thinking is very counterproductive for you as a modern computer
user/consumer in 2001. That battle is over. We lost. Deal with it.
> If you buy from Linksys, you say I
> don't care about Mac support and your fellow Mac users that may not
> want to have the headache of learning about setting up their
> equipment with zero information and company support.
Then they shouldn't be buying a Linksys product in the first place, Randy.
This is ludicrous.
> Take those
> users into account as you shop.
I somehow OWE these users something because we both use Macs? I should
support and subsidize someone else's ignorance of elementary computer
networking? Screw those users. They should take the initiative to learn as I
did. This isn't rocket science or physics we're dealing with here, Randy,
and we're not talking about saving the whales. It's the basic operation of a
cross platform OS-neutral network device.
Brian
--
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