🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <tim-2905971311220001@203.19.6.10>,
	tim@touchstoneDDI.com.au (Tim Downing) writes:
> In article <5mik36$4nu$1@gruvel.une.edu.au>, dbromage@metz.une.edu.au
> (David Bromage) wrote:
> 
>>Cybercomp Services (cybercom@thehub.com.au) wrote:
>>>http://cable.telstra.com.au/
>>
> 
> Does anyone know if they block access to any ports/services? Do you have
> to use their proxy/news server?

Yes.
The HFC modems also use a modified form of DHCP to boot, which means it is
difficult to get a linux or other UNIX system up online.

Someone created a package to do it, I can't remember where it is.

Many UDP style streaming services are blocked, like realaudio for example,
as well as several others.

You can only access mail from telstra - as well as I think news.
All FTP access appears to be done via a WWW browser going through 
Telstra's proxy.

The network software checks for the latest version of everything 
when you login, so if you do not have the latest version of IE 
for example (most of the stuff is MS dominated) a connection is made 
and the package downloaded.  You pay for this.

It's a good way to ensure everyone uses up their 100MB real fast.
And $4 a time for telstra everytime a new package is released.

If you want to know more, search the link archives at:
http://online.anu.edu.au/mail-archives/link/ 

and use "cable" or "HFC" to dig up lots of good info about the 
service, and it's shortcomings...
The Linux HFC howto is also described there...

rachel

                 defghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz:  What? No ABC?
--
Rachel Polanskis                 Kingswood, Greater Western Sydney, Australia 
grove@zeta.org.au                http://www.zeta.org.au/~grove/grove.html
r.polanskis@nepean.uws.edu.au    http://www.nepean.uws.edu.au/ccd/
                Witty comment revoked due to funding cuts