On 30 Jan 2001, at 8:31, Pete Rickard wrote: > This reminds me of a related issue: all the ISP's that require "minimum" harware > and specific operationg system/application requirements. Are they really saying > that they won't SUPPORT other platforms, or simply that they don't know how? > > Case in point: NetZero insists you have to use their proprietary software to connect > to their service. I have everything necessary on both my Mac LCIII and my Telex > 1260 to dial-in and connect/browse, but I can't use them since I need Win98 and > a Pentium to run THEIR software? There must be ways around this, as evidenced > by all of you communicating with this list on "obsolete" computers. > > A bit frustrated, -Pete The answer to the question of "is this really a minimum requirement" is "it depends". Many ISP post their minimum hardware/software requirements as a way of saying, "We can't [won't] support anything less than this." Often times, it's because their technical support has no training in dealing with anything other than the Windows environment, and only the Win9x family of OS. You'd be surprised how little some of them can help you if you have WinNT/2000! If you talk to the ones in this situation, you can often get them to give you the numbers and names you need, like the address of their DNS server, their mail server, etc. However, for some of them, especially the "free" ones, they actually do require that you have those software minimums. The reason for this is that they write their own authentication mechanisms, to ensure that you have the little bits of extra software that display those extra advertisements, or send back information on what you click on, etc. And they don't have those little software wedges and patches available for OS other than Win9x (and _maybe_ the Mac). So, this is a question you have to answer by quizzing the tech support at your ISP. They'll may not tell you outright, but giving a few calls at different times of the day may get you to a tech who's willing to at least give you the configuration numbers that you need. I've had to do this several times, when setting up the SurvPCs of friends of mine. [My own SurvPCs are off-line only at this time. Got to get around to building an S-100 bus modem! :-) Or buying an external one - but that's too easy. ] Hope this helps, Anthony J. Albert ============================================================== Anthony J. Albert [EMAIL PROTECTED] Systems and Software Support Specialist Postmaster Computer Services - University of Maine, Presque Isle "We took risks. We knew we took them. Things have come out against us. We have no cause for complaint." - Explorer Robert Scott, found in his diary after his party froze to death in Antarctica. To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
