🚀 go-pugleaf

In aus.computers.linux on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:49:03 GMT
BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote:
> Desktop PC with Mandriva 2008. Shortly I will moving to an area with no
> fixed phone line to access my ISP so it will have to shift to wireless.
> Assume I will need a wireless USB adapter connected to the PC - not
> sure what is needed in the way of hardware from that point. 
> Also, will I need additional drivers? 

It Depends....

Mainly on which modem and how it presents.

I used Unwired and had an ethernet modem from them which worked
transparently, my box saw it as a standard ethernet connection.

I suggest you check out whirlpool.net.au and hunt for people talking
about it - that's a specialist forum so you are much more likely to
get useful info about a specific supplier and hardware there than
here.

It's been my experience with Linux that given a choice between a USM
modem and an ethernet one, you should choose ethernet every time.

If you don't get that choice then a very recent distro should be good
enough, but it will very much depend on the modem.

So go search whirlpool.

Zebee

"BrianM" <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote in message 
news:pan.2008.10.29.01.56.54.535311@nilads.co.nz...
> Desktop PC with Mandriva 2008. Shortly I will moving to an area with no
> fixed phone line to access my ISP so it will have to shift to wireless.
> Assume I will need a wireless USB adapter connected to the PC - not
> sure what is needed in the way of hardware from that point.
> Also, will I need additional drivers?
>
> Bigpond.au offer a 7.2 home network where the modem plugs into any
> 240V AC plug - I was wondering if this could be adapted to work with
> Linux?. I'm not up to speed when it comes to wireless
> as I haven't used it before.

Check to see if you can get the 3 network in your new area , the USB adapter 
and USB key work straight out of the box.

Check out this whirlpool thread.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1066529.html

There are also a few other threads about getting a wireless connection using 
linux.


-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naked DSL ?
No thanks , I like to wear clothes when I use my  computer


Sandgroper
------------------------------------
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On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:37:02 +0900, Sandgroper wrote:

> 
> "BrianM" <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote in message 
> news:pan.2008.10.29.01.56.54.535311@nilads.co.nz...
>> Desktop PC with Mandriva 2008. Shortly I will moving to an area with no
>> fixed phone line to access my ISP so it will have to shift to wireless.
>> Assume I will need a wireless USB adapter connected to the PC - not
>> sure what is needed in the way of hardware from that point.
>> Also, will I need additional drivers?
>>
>> Bigpond.au offer a 7.2 home network where the modem plugs into any
>> 240V AC plug - I was wondering if this could be adapted to work with
>> Linux?. I'm not up to speed when it comes to wireless
>> as I haven't used it before.
> 
> Check to see if you can get the 3 network in your new area , the USB adapter 
> and USB key work straight out of the box.
> 
> Check out this whirlpool thread.
> http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1066529.html
> 
> There are also a few other threads about getting a wireless connection using 
> linux.

thanks for the info

B

On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:04:52 +0000, Zebee Johnstone wrote:

> In aus.computers.linux on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:49:03 GMT
> BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote:
>> Desktop PC with Mandriva 2008. Shortly I will moving to an area with no
>> fixed phone line to access my ISP so it will have to shift to wireless.
>> Assume I will need a wireless USB adapter connected to the PC - not
>> sure what is needed in the way of hardware from that point. 
>> Also, will I need additional drivers? 
> 
> It Depends....
> 
> Mainly on which modem and how it presents.
> 
> I used Unwired and had an ethernet modem from them which worked
> transparently, my box saw it as a standard ethernet connection.
> 
> I suggest you check out whirlpool.net.au and hunt for people talking
> about it - that's a specialist forum so you are much more likely to
> get useful info about a specific supplier and hardware there than
> here.
> 
> It's been my experience with Linux that given a choice between a USM
> modem and an ethernet one, you should choose ethernet every time.
> 
> If you don't get that choice then a very recent distro should be good
> enough, but it will very much depend on the modem.
> 
> So go search whirlpool.
> 
> Zebee

thanks for the info and advice

B

On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:37:02 +0900, Sandgroper wrote:

> 
> "BrianM" <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote in message 
> news:pan.2008.10.29.01.56.54.535311@nilads.co.nz...
>> Desktop PC with Mandriva 2008. Shortly I will moving to an area with no
>> fixed phone line to access my ISP so it will have to shift to wireless.
>> Assume I will need a wireless USB adapter connected to the PC - not
>> sure what is needed in the way of hardware from that point.
>> Also, will I need additional drivers?
>>
>> Bigpond.au offer a 7.2 home network where the modem plugs into any
>> 240V AC plug - I was wondering if this could be adapted to work with
>> Linux?. I'm not up to speed when it comes to wireless
>> as I haven't used it before.
> 
> Check to see if you can get the 3 network in your new area , the USB adapter 
> and USB key work straight out of the box.
> 
> Check out this whirlpool thread.
> http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1066529.html
> 
> There are also a few other threads about getting a wireless connection using 
> linux.

I had a good look at the 3 network. They don't appear to have coverage of
the Caloundra Qld area and there is no 3 shop up this way. However both 
Virgin Broadband and Vodafone offer a similar 5Gb / $39 plan for mobile
broadband so I'll check Allphones and Vodafone tomorrow and get some tech
details. Both apparently work with windoze and Mac so I can't see why they
wouldn't work with Linux. Will want to try one out. 
cheers
B

BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote:

>Desktop PC with Mandriva 2008. Shortly I will moving to an area with no
>fixed phone line to access my ISP so it will have to shift to wireless.
>Assume I will need a wireless USB adapter connected to the PC - not
>sure what is needed in the way of hardware from that point. 
>Also, will I need additional drivers? 
>
>Bigpond.au offer a 7.2 home network where the modem plugs into any
>240V AC plug - I was wondering if this could be adapted to work with
>Linux?. I'm not up to speed when it comes to wireless
>as I haven't used it before. 
As evidenced in other threads to you post "wireless network" has two
very different meanings. You can have a modem that connects via a
wired telephone to the Internet and uses a wireless router
<http://www.dlink.com.au/Default.aspx?Sec=2&Sub1=2&Sub2=5#A5> to
communicate to other computers in a house
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_LAN>.

Instead of a wireless LAN you can use the electrical wiring to
communicate with other computers using devices like
<http://www.dlink.com.au/Products.aspx?Sec=2&Sub1=26&Sub2=80&PID=314>.


From your post it seems that don't have a fixed line phone at all so
you will need to use the mobile phone network or a satellite
connection. The former is expensive and, probably, slow. The latter is
fast and expensive but it is currently government subsidised if you
live in a "remote" area. 

I'm sorry this does not answer your Linux questions but it may help to
refine the question.

BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote:
> Desktop PC with Mandriva 2008. Shortly I will moving to an area with no
> fixed phone line to access my ISP so it will have to shift to wireless.
> Assume I will need a wireless USB adapter connected to the PC - not
> sure what is needed in the way of hardware from that point. 
> Also, will I need additional drivers? 
> 
> Bigpond.au offer a 7.2 home network where the modem plugs into any
> 240V AC plug - I was wondering if this could be adapted to work with
> Linux?. I'm not up to speed when it comes to wireless
> as I haven't used it before. 
> 
> cheers
> B

  This is for *AUS*, right? (Asking because you have a .nz e-mail address.)

  If so, see 'my' recent (October 3) thread "(Telstra) Wireless
Broadband USB Modem under Linux?" in aus.comms.mobile and
rec.travel.australia+nz (and partly in this group). That contains many
pointers that may/will be of use to you.

  In the end, for several different reasons, I chickened out and went
for a (MS-)Windows based approach. But AFAICT, it should be perfectly
doable under Linux as well. Especially see the excellent "The Linux GPRS
HOWTO" (<http://www.xs4all.nl/~ernstagn/GPRS-HOWTO/GPRS-HOWTO.html>)
[1]. While that document talks about GPRS, it is equally applicable to
UMTS/3G/NextG/<whatever>, because that is a phone-network aspect, not a
computer/Linux aspect.

  I hope this helps.

[1] Am I suprised that this is written by a Dutchman? No, of course I'm
not! :-)

On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:30:23 +0100, Frank Slootweg wrote:

> BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote:
>> Desktop PC with Mandriva 2008. Shortly I will moving to an area with no
>> fixed phone line to access my ISP so it will have to shift to wireless.
>> Assume I will need a wireless USB adapter connected to the PC - not
>> sure what is needed in the way of hardware from that point. 
>> Also, will I need additional drivers? 
>> 
>> Bigpond.au offer a 7.2 home network where the modem plugs into any
>> 240V AC plug - I was wondering if this could be adapted to work with
>> Linux?. I'm not up to speed when it comes to wireless
>> as I haven't used it before. 
>> 
>> cheers
>> B
> 
>   This is for *AUS*, right? (Asking because you have a .nz e-mail address.)
> 
>   If so, see 'my' recent (October 3) thread "(Telstra) Wireless
> Broadband USB Modem under Linux?" in aus.comms.mobile and
> rec.travel.australia+nz (and partly in this group). That contains many
> pointers that may/will be of use to you.
> 
>   In the end, for several different reasons, I chickened out and went
> for a (MS-)Windows based approach. But AFAICT, it should be perfectly
> doable under Linux as well. Especially see the excellent "The Linux GPRS
> HOWTO" (<http://www.xs4all.nl/~ernstagn/GPRS-HOWTO/GPRS-HOWTO.html>)
> [1]. While that document talks about GPRS, it is equally applicable to
> UMTS/3G/NextG/<whatever>, because that is a phone-network aspect, not a
> computer/Linux aspect.
> 
>   I hope this helps.
> 
> [1] Am I suprised that this is written by a Dutchman? No, of course I'm
> not! :-)

thanks for the info Frank. No, I'm not in NZ, that is just an anti-spambot
address. I'll change it to .au  though. 
I've just got back from a talk with Vodafone (an informed person strangely
enough) and they have a good broadband wireless deal at the mo. It seems
the modem works out of the box without additional software, with Windows,
Mac, and probably Linux. I checked the coverage and it is a solid go for
the area I'm shifting to.
This is one option - still have a few more to investigate. 
cheers
B

On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:25:39 +0000, David Segall wrote:

> BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote:
> 
>>Desktop PC with Mandriva 2008. Shortly I will moving to an area with no
>>fixed phone line to access my ISP so it will have to shift to wireless.
>>Assume I will need a wireless USB adapter connected to the PC - not
>>sure what is needed in the way of hardware from that point. 
>>Also, will I need additional drivers? 
>>
>>Bigpond.au offer a 7.2 home network where the modem plugs into any
>>240V AC plug - I was wondering if this could be adapted to work with
>>Linux?. I'm not up to speed when it comes to wireless
>>as I haven't used it before. 
> As evidenced in other threads to you post "wireless network" has two
> very different meanings. You can have a modem that connects via a
> wired telephone to the Internet and uses a wireless router
> <http://www.dlink.com.au/Default.aspx?Sec=2&Sub1=2&Sub2=5#A5> to
> communicate to other computers in a house
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_LAN>.
> 
> Instead of a wireless LAN you can use the electrical wiring to
> communicate with other computers using devices like
> <http://www.dlink.com.au/Products.aspx?Sec=2&Sub1=26&Sub2=80&PID=314>.
> 
> 
> From your post it seems that don't have a fixed line phone at all so
> you will need to use the mobile phone network or a satellite
> connection. The former is expensive and, probably, slow. The latter is
> fast and expensive but it is currently government subsidised if you
> live in a "remote" area. 
> 
> I'm sorry this does not answer your Linux questions but it may help to
> refine the question.

thanks for your additional info David - it's all good stuff !.  A
satellite phone would be out of the question for everyday use, although I
would seriously consider one when travelling off the beaten track for
safety reasons.  I have read about Dlink, and iirc Bigpond offer this
service but at $59 for 1Gb it wouldn't be the first choice - although - it
uses the NextG network for coverage.  I do use data packs via NextG on my
XP notebook when travelling away from the main centres, but these can be
ridiculously expensive (even with auto updates turned off).  
I'm working my way through ethernet as recommended by a poster at the
moment. cheers
B   

BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.au> wrote:

>On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:25:39 +0000, David Segall wrote:
>
>> BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote:
>> 
>>>Desktop PC with Mandriva 2008. Shortly I will moving to an area with no
>>>fixed phone line to access my ISP so it will have to shift to wireless.
>>>Assume I will need a wireless USB adapter connected to the PC - not
>>>sure what is needed in the way of hardware from that point. 
>>>Also, will I need additional drivers? 
>>>
>>>Bigpond.au offer a 7.2 home network where the modem plugs into any
>>>240V AC plug - I was wondering if this could be adapted to work with
>>>Linux?. I'm not up to speed when it comes to wireless
>>>as I haven't used it before. 
>> As evidenced in other threads to you post "wireless network" has two
>> very different meanings. You can have a modem that connects via a
>> wired telephone to the Internet and uses a wireless router
>> <http://www.dlink.com.au/Default.aspx?Sec=2&Sub1=2&Sub2=5#A5> to
>> communicate to other computers in a house
>> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_LAN>.
>> 
>> Instead of a wireless LAN you can use the electrical wiring to
>> communicate with other computers using devices like
>> <http://www.dlink.com.au/Products.aspx?Sec=2&Sub1=26&Sub2=80&PID=314>.
>> 
>> 
>> From your post it seems that don't have a fixed line phone at all so
>> you will need to use the mobile phone network or a satellite
>> connection. The former is expensive and, probably, slow. The latter is
>> fast and expensive but it is currently government subsidised if you
>> live in a "remote" area. 
>> 
>> I'm sorry this does not answer your Linux questions but it may help to
>> refine the question.
>
>thanks for your additional info David - it's all good stuff !.  A
>satellite phone would be out of the question for everyday use,
Not a satellite phone, a satellite Internet connection
<http://www.westnet.com.au/internet/satellite/>
>although I
>would seriously consider one when travelling off the beaten track for
>safety reasons.  I have read about Dlink, and iirc Bigpond offer this
>service but at $59 for 1Gb it wouldn't be the first choice - although - it
>uses the NextG network for coverage.  I do use data packs via NextG on my
>XP notebook when travelling away from the main centres, but these can be
>ridiculously expensive (even with auto updates turned off).  
>I'm working my way through ethernet as recommended by a poster at the
>moment. cheers
>B  
If you have a fixed line phone within wireless or power line LAN range
that's the best choice. 

BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote:

>No, I'm not in NZ, that is just an anti-spambot
>address. I'll change it to .au  though. 
.invalid is preferable. Then you can be sure that you are not
accidentally directing spam intended for you to a real site. See
<http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2606>.

On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 06:26:41 +0000, David Segall wrote:

> BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote:
> 
>>No, I'm not in NZ, that is just an anti-spambot
>>address. I'll change it to .au  though. 
> .invalid is preferable. Then you can be sure that you are not
> accidentally directing spam intended for you to a real site. See
> <http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2606>.

done

B

On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 06:18:26 +0000, David Segall wrote:

> BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.au> wrote:
> 
>>On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:25:39 +0000, David Segall wrote:
>>
>>> BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote:
>>> 
>>>>Desktop PC with Mandriva 2008. Shortly I will moving to an area with no
>>>>fixed phone line to access my ISP so it will have to shift to wireless.
>>>>Assume I will need a wireless USB adapter connected to the PC - not
>>>>sure what is needed in the way of hardware from that point. 
>>>>Also, will I need additional drivers? 
>>>>
>>>>Bigpond.au offer a 7.2 home network where the modem plugs into any
>>>>240V AC plug - I was wondering if this could be adapted to work with
>>>>Linux?. I'm not up to speed when it comes to wireless
>>>>as I haven't used it before. 
>>> As evidenced in other threads to you post "wireless network" has two
>>> very different meanings. You can have a modem that connects via a
>>> wired telephone to the Internet and uses a wireless router
>>> <http://www.dlink.com.au/Default.aspx?Sec=2&Sub1=2&Sub2=5#A5> to
>>> communicate to other computers in a house
>>> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_LAN>.
>>> 
>>> Instead of a wireless LAN you can use the electrical wiring to
>>> communicate with other computers using devices like
>>> <http://www.dlink.com.au/Products.aspx?Sec=2&Sub1=26&Sub2=80&PID=314>.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> From your post it seems that don't have a fixed line phone at all so
>>> you will need to use the mobile phone network or a satellite
>>> connection. The former is expensive and, probably, slow. The latter is
>>> fast and expensive but it is currently government subsidised if you
>>> live in a "remote" area. 
>>> 
>>> I'm sorry this does not answer your Linux questions but it may help to
>>> refine the question.
>>
>>thanks for your additional info David - it's all good stuff !.  A
>>satellite phone would be out of the question for everyday use,
> Not a satellite phone, a satellite Internet connection
> <http://www.westnet.com.au/internet/satellite/>
>>although I
>>would seriously consider one when travelling off the beaten track for
>>safety reasons.  I have read about Dlink, and iirc Bigpond offer this
>>service but at $59 for 1Gb it wouldn't be the first choice - although - it
>>uses the NextG network for coverage.  I do use data packs via NextG on my
>>XP notebook when travelling away from the main centres, but these can be
>>ridiculously expensive (even with auto updates turned off).  
>>I'm working my way through ethernet as recommended by a poster at the
>>moment. cheers
>>B  
> If you have a fixed line phone within wireless or power line LAN range
> that's the best choice.

sorry, I misread your post.

B

On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:45:01 GMT BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote:

> I've just got back from a talk with Vodafone (an informed person strangely
> enough) and they have a good broadband wireless deal at the mo. 

Beware if travelling outside major cities their coverage poor if non
existent.

On Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:26:21 +1100, Polly the Parrot wrote:

> On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:45:01 GMT BrianM <bmorris@nilads.co.nz> wrote:
> 
>> I've just got back from a talk with Vodafone (an informed person strangely
>> enough) and they have a good broadband wireless deal at the mo. 
> 
> Beware if travelling outside major cities their coverage poor if non
> existent.

yes I guessed that would be the case - ditto for my mobile

cheers