[Gllug] Is_Talktalk_linux-friendly

[John Winters]

Don Williams wrote:
[snip]
> 	I happily run Debian Etch on an HP Pavilion desktop PC and currently 
> connect to the web through a Belkin router and a very efficient, yet a 
> bit pricey, Demon service.
> 	I welcome and appreciate in advance any and all advice on this subject 
> from GLLUGers.

Any ADSL service should work with any operating system, with the proviso
that some providers merely give you a USB-connected box which *might*
work only with Windows.  If however you're willing to invest £30-£50 in
a proper ADSL router (which provides real RJ45 network connectors and/or
WiFi) then it makes absolutely no difference what operating system
you're running on your computer.  Some ISPs will provide you with such a
device by default.

The main thing therefore comes down to quality of service.  Without
exception every "look how cheap we are" provider of which I've had
experience (usually trying to help out friends who have bought into
them) has been utterly dreadful when it comes to knowing their arses
from their elbows.

If your time isn't worth anything then by all means go with Talk-Talk,
Tiscali, BT, Virgin (not ADSL BTW) or one of those big
heavily-advertised providers.  Be aware however that this is an area
where the old saying "You get what you pay for" is more than averagely true.

Personally I would never use such a provider.  Price isn't everything
and when it comes to a broadband connection it's really, really worth
paying a little more to get a decent service.  I've had good experiences
of both UKFSN and Andrews and Arnold, and I see that Gradwell are now
offering broadband too.  I haven't tried their broadband but if it's
anything like their other offerings it will be good.  The point about
this kind of provider is that you can actually communicate with a real
technician who knows what he's talking about.

For the record, I use A&A and for £26.99 a month I get an 8 mb
connection (and very nearly that speed in practice) with a 3GB/month
limit on weekday daytime downloads, 100GB/month on evenings and
genuinely unlimited between (IIRC) 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. when I do my
mirroring and remote backups.  More importantly, when I have a problem I
can talk to someone who can converse intelligently about, to take a
recent instance, how to configure an IPv6 gateway.

Selecting a broadband service on price is a seriously bad strategy and
will cause tears.  Obviously price needs to be on the list of criteria,
but only at about 6th place.

HTH
John
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