On 1/19/06, Tim <ignored_mailbox@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On Thu, 2006-01-19 at 08:59 +0200, Dotan Cohen wrote: > > Can we distribute a "Connecting Fedora to an ISP" handbook for the > > ISP's? Because when I call my ISP, the first question they ask is > > "Which Windows do you have"- they have a flowchart with instructions > > on connecting Microsoft operating systems to the internet, including > > which tabs to select and which checkboxes to check. > > In recent years I haven't had too much trouble with ISP configurations > and Linux. I haven't had one fob me off if I stop them from giving me a > Windows set up recipe, then ask them just to tell me the phone number, > username, password, whether I need to preset DNS or proxy addresses, and > what the mail server addresses are, etc. > > > Why can't we create something similar for Fedora? The Network > > Configuration tool has ALL the same options that the Microsoft one > > has- just in different places. > > I think what's really missing is within Fedora. Most of what we needed > was in the network configuration GUI, and I think anybody with five > minutes to spare can step through it and put the right information in he > right places, as far as getting a dial-up connection to work. But the > set-up routine didn't bother to make a device link for the modem, I had > to do that by hand (i.e. nothing created /dev/modem, and nothing was > there to say your modem has been found at /dev/ttyS0). And all computer > OSs seem to leave you to figure out how you separately configure your > web browser proxy, your mail client send and receive server addresses, > etc. > > Trying to make a recipe to set up your dial-up connection is fraught > with errors. Just look at the problem with Windows, which only has a > few versions to contend with. There isn't an all purpose step 1, step > 2, step 3 procedure to follow, they're all different. Through in > umpteen versions of Linux, BSD, and whatever else, and you've got far > too many variations to train an ISP lacky to deal with. The best > solution is for your computer to make it easy to configure. And that > can mean two things: > > A guiding routine that steps you through configuring everything that > needs to be configured. > > A set-up GUI where it's dead easy for you to figure out what you have to > fill in and where (well named gadgets, explanations for the options, > etc.). Or the same for configuration text scripts/files (a basic > template with the bare minimum, and something obvious so you can work > out what manuals to read for the optional extras). > I don't know how the situation is in the rest of the world, but in Israel it is rather difficult to connect even a windows machine to broadband. I can outline the step because I've done it enought times, but it involves changing deeply-buried settings in "advanced" tabs, checking and unchecking security parameters for different protocols, etc. It does _not_ consist of simply plugging in an IP, user name, and password. I personally was not able to get Fedora online with the MS instructions. The interfaces were just too different, and I'm not 100% positive that there were options in the GUI for what was needed. I had to switch ISP's until I found an ISP that has a tech that knows about linux (as a hobby!) and he got me online. (For those in Israel, I'm now with Actcom- they're great for linux support.) I will try to get my hands on the MS guide for connecting a windows machine to the ISP. If I can present it, is there anyone here who can help me 'translate' it to the Network Connections GUI if I get stuck? I believe that if we can get a guide like this into the hands of the ISP's, then we will remove one more barrier that is preventing people from using Fedora. I know this, because I set up Fedora on a friends' machine, but after failing to connect to his ISP (012, for those in Israel) we reinstalled Windows ME. He was not willing to switch ISP's, and I think that most people would not be willing, either. Dotan Cohen http://technology-sleuth.com/ 23452
