Faheem Mitha wrote:
I've already done some searching on the net, and it left me feeling more confused than enlightened.
The reason I wanted to hear about people's firsthand experience using Linux with broadband in this area was to guide me in a specific choice, along the lines of "if it works well for you, it will work well for me". I've found such info surprisingly hard to come by on the net. Before dealing with possibly Linux hostile corporations, it is nice to be able to arm oneself beforehand.
Ok, I use Linux on my RR connection. So do many people on this list. They also use earthlink and a lot of different DSL providers. You may search the archives for various discussions. As for customer support, just don't tell them it's linux and you'll be fine. For ease of setup, get one of the 30 dollar DSL/Cable sharing router/switches. Shoot, go ahead and get one of those WAP/Router/Switches. Unless you want to do routing on your debian box.
Is this generally true across all providers?
I've never heard of a DSL company that didn't make you sign a year contract. If you have your own modem that may be negotiated, however with cable's >3Mbps down and 512Kbps up max and DSL's dismal 1.5Mbps max and 128Kbps up you get a lot more bandwitdth for a similar if not smaller cost. You'll have to call the various providers to see.
A few questions about Time Warner.Don't know. I don't use TW e-mail. I run my own mail server. If this is a concern, run your own server.
1) Is it true about limiting email attachment sizes?
2) Does the setup require a login demon? Debian has a package called rrlogind for use with roadrunner. My impression is this is somewhat area-specific.
Not here in RTP. I can't speak for earthlink or similar resellers of RoadRunner.
3) Has anyone got experience of the differences between Time Warner and Earthlink? What are the other main options as far as cable go in this area?
I don't have first hand experience here, though I believe that the user experience is very similar.
http://www.twcnc.com/isp/default.htm lists all the available options for cable.
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