Fergus Wilde [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] wondered:
> Hello Peeps, > > Another dull query about hardware recommendations. I need to put a > non-technical person onto a fast and comfy (and this means it > can be quite > expensive) Linux-only desktop PC that's going to route other > pcs in the house > (including wireless) through to a cable internet box, and > onto a decent > colour laser that is known to perform well with Linux. It needs to be > available in the UK, too. > > Any thoughts? In the spirit of chiming in without having anything useful to say... I'm just curious why you'd want to do that. I mean, why not just get a dedicated wired-and-wireless router to connect between everybody and the cable modem? Cost a few bob (heckuvalot less than a modern, powerful general-purpose PC) and should be rock-solid reliable and need next-to-no config. If extra wired ports are needed, add a hub or two. Again, very basic and cheap. Some small routers also have a dedicated printer connection for sharing one or more printers with your networked PCs... meaning yet another task you wouldn't need to set up on a computer. If the routing function absolutely must be accomplished via Linux, well some routers already use embedded Linux, and some can have Linux (and the routing/firewall/etc. features) loaded in place of the native router OS. I realize that some people like to use an _old_ computer with Linux to perform routing duties, but that's because: a) they've got it lying around, good for little else, b) the routing is a non-demanding task for old hardware c) they like the hobby aspect of configuring it with Linux. But why use a new, powerful computer for that? If you have other tasks for the computer, that really make use of it's power, you might encounter software problems or update issues that might take down that computer on occasion... during which time your routing function goes away for the entire building. The dedicated hardware, on the other hand, does the routing job well and does nothing else, all day every day -- and so much less expensively. Again, just curious. There must have been other parameters not mentioned in your query. Kevin The information contained in this electronic mail transmission may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected from disclosure. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to this message and deleting it from your computer without copying or disclosing it. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
