On Sat, 2004-06-19 at 11:37 +1000, SL wrote: > [stuff]
Hi there,
welcome to the list, hopefully we'll be able to get you over this hurdle
without too much pain.
> My internet connection is the cheapest ADSL package offered by TPG
> ($19.95/200mb month). The modem is a D-Link ADSL modem DSL-302G
> connected by USB (as directed by TPG).
Ok, so the first thing to note is that according to this page:
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=67
this modem has an ethernet port as well as the USB connectivity. As long
as you have an ethernet card in your computer (a Linux supported one,
but most ethernet cards have good Linux support), then you shouldn't
have any problems getting the modem to work via its ethernet
connectivity. This is likely going to be the option that will cause you
the least pain. If you don't have an ethernet card, this one:
http://www.everythinglinux.com.au/item/NTG2013
looks like a good deal. IIRC that's a tulip based card. Can anybody
verify that?
I don't know if this thing will work with USB. I know that there are USB
ethernet devices that do work, but I've not had any experience with
them. Running it over ethernet really looks like the safest bet to me.
>
> I have read very good reports of Xandros 2. Other Linux distros weren't
> 'good enough' for a non-experts like me to make the break from
> Windows.... but I am wondering if Xandros might be the one...
>
> HOWEVER!... a bit of preliminary homework...incl looking at some
> screenshots of Xandros....suggests to me that I am going to have
> problems transferring my current ADSL set-up over to Xandros...or any
> other Linux distro... (It appears that Xandros may cater well for
> dial-up internet access...or ADSL via ethernet rather than USB.....)
I suspect you'll find that's the case with any linux distro.
The other consideration you should probably take into account is how
many people there are that can help you. I know for a fact there are a
lot of debian users on this list, though I'd never recommend debian as a
first linux distribution. I suspect you'll find people here can help
with Red Hat, Fedora Core, Mandrake, Debian and Suse. I don't hear a lot
about Xandros, which might either mean that they never have any problems
at all, or that there just isn't very many people using it.
I understand that the latest version of Fedora Core has been wiping out
Windows partitions, which is a real shame because it's an awesome piece
of work in so many ways. You should probably steer clear of it if you
need to dual boot. At least get the facts on it. The apps that ship on
all these distros are pretty much the same, given the tasks you say you
need to perform. Once you get the system setup I think you'll find any
of them will suit your needs.
Finally, is the reason you're connecting via USB because TPG said to? If
so, it might be worth tinkering with one of the live-CDs (like Knoppix)
to see how hard using ethernet will be. I suspect there will be no
problems, but it's better to know *before* you've installed this stuff
and don't know what to do with it.
HTH, and ask away if you have any more questions.
James.
--
James Gregory <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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