Greetings from Capetown! I have noted thread "LAN and no Linux Internet Connection", but I think my qu is a bit different:

I will be grateful if anyone can give me or point me towards guidelines re the following: I want to install Ubuntu (preferably; maybe I can get other distribution if necessary) on my laptop. Will then want to go on the internet to collect software to run in this installation, eg using (I understand) Synaptic. This would be impossibly slow with my home connection (56k dialup modem).
Instead I can go to a friend's house where he has:
- wireless high speed internet connection, via wireless modem connected to a PC called MASTER and running Windows XP pro
- a LAN (peer to peer, I believe) using the Microsoft software on all the desktops currently connected, ie on MASTER, and on two others, being one with Windows XP home and the other with Windows XP Pro. The LAN uses a switch, and Ethernet cables, and one NIC/ Network Interface Card on each computer. The LAN is setup to provide ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) on the other PCs, but not file sharing.

There are spare Ethernet lines connected to the switch where I have plugged in my laptop, with its current Windows 2000, and got internet connection.

Question: Once I have installed and am running Ubuntu on the laptop, can I set it up so that it will likewise get internet connection via the abovementioned LAN and ICS?

Should be no problem.

Easiest would be if the LAN is running a DHCP server (Which, with the higher end XP running on it, it should)

If not, just tell your configuration what IP address it should use for the gateway address (the router or PC that actually has the internet physically connected to it), and the DNS nameserver address (can get from the 'admin' of the LAN: If on a router, it is on the configuration page, if XP box, just type 'ipconfig /all' at a command prompt )

Thanks, cwwilson721!