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Do you really mean that? I'm not sure about the situation in Australia, but, over here, not many ISPs support Linux, but most are happy to tolerate it, provided that you don't want them to fix any issues that you have.
You may think that this is not entirely desirable, and you would be right.
You just need the Internet connection, right? Operational Systems stands on layer 7 (application layer) so any operational system which supports TCP/IP, will be supported by your ISP.
Windows, FreeBSD, AIX, Linux... etc. It's transparent for your ISP.
I think he means provide technical support. I work for an ISP and we "don't support" windows 98. What that means is that if you are running something so old that the people on the phone don't remember how to talk you through it then you have to pay to have me come to your house and figure it out. Getting linux support will be hard wherever you live I would think.
Quibble-time: "ISP" means "Internet Service Provider" so "ISP Provider" is redundant....
I would not even bother asking an ISP if they "support Linux". The internet protocols are standard so they really can't do anything to support--or not support--a particular OS.
If you ever get any hassle from the help desk, politely explain that the the choice of OS does not affect the standard protocols, and then move the conversation to fundamentals.
I have never had any problem with any ISP when I was running Linux.
It never seces to amaze me that a good chunk of ISPs' use Unix or Linux on their servers but yet refuse to provide support for it to their customers. This however is also the case here in the USA. If the help desk can't fallow their Q&A sheet on the screen then they are lost.
I have found however that if you can get "general" info from them that it is not too difficult to get things working. Most ISPs' here use DHCP so just having your username and password is enough but in other cases you may need to have the domain name, gateway IP address and the DNS server information. Lastly some ISPs' still require a certian computer name to register on their network.
Quibble-time: "ISP" means "Internet Service Provider" so "ISP Provider" is redundant....
I would not even bother asking an ISP if they "support Linux". The internet protocols are standard so they really can't do anything to support--or not support--a particular OS.
If you ever get any hassle from the help desk, politely explain that the the choice of OS does not affect the standard protocols, and then move the conversation to fundamentals.
I have never had any problem with any ISP when I was running Linux.
I have problems with mine. They kept reading the windows-centric script, "click this-> click that......." Not only was it taking too long, but it wasn't leading anywhere. I finally just had to ask them what the end result of all the clicking was going to be so I could just get it done. That's tech support though and I know to just play along so that they will move on to plan B and fix the problem. As far as simply connecting to their service it shouldn't be an issue unless you are talking something like a wireless provider that requires hardware installed like an aircard or something.
g'day all
having a problem getting ubuntu through my firewall, did get it through my last firewall, when seeking technical support I found out my ISP does not give help for Linux, hence the reason for my question. It will not matter in the end especially with helpful forums like this. Am taking the PC elsewhere to get out to the net then come home and try again. Am trying to get past 2Wire modem which so far sees the PC but has it marked "inactive" more research will do it.
Thanks for replies so far
Appears NIC card was unseated my experience with any linux o/s is limited so my knowledge of trouble shooting is poor (woeful).
Thanks for advice and replies have given me some more of an idea of how things are.
It never seces to amaze me that a good chunk of ISPs' use Unix or Linux on their servers but yet refuse to provide support for it to their customers.
One of he ways of dealing with this problem is to find out if you can talk to a techie (rather than a front line help desk support person). If you do, the chances are fairly strong that you'll find yourself talking to Linux (or BSD) person who feeds their servers and who is more than happy to help you, unofficially, of course. Haven't really had to do that since the appalling days of dial-up, and all its miscellaneous and MS-corrupted ways of getting authenticated, but it can be made to work, if they will let you do it.
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