I live in a small town and the cable company finally brought in high-speed internet. Is there anything I need to be aware of (besides the difference in price?) I believe that they are using usb modems, which shouldn't be a problem because kudzu automatically detected my scanner. Anyone else have experience with Comcast?

Some USB cable modems are suppported and some not. I would select a modem that has an ethernet i.e. RJ45 connection. You will need a ethernet card if you do not already have one installed in your PC. Then all you have to do is configure the NIC for DHCP.

Definitely check the HCL here at LQ; others may have posted comments about the same equipment you would be using -- J.W.

If I remember correctly, the modems that comcast rented out you could use either usb or ethernet, can't remember the brand they use though. I ended up buying my own and using ethernet.

The comcast connection here in FL works well. Only rarely do they experience extended outages. Infact, in the 3 years I have been with them, only twice can i remember was there an "un-planned" outage...in both instances they immediately sought solutions and users were connected within a reasonable amount of time.

I wouldn't recommend seeking their help for "local" home problems...most times their tech's are given scripts to read procedures from and rarely do they steer far from them. So i would recommend becoming well versed in home networking and be able to trouble shoot your problems yourself.

I have been using Comcast about 3 1/2 years, almost 1 year of which have been while using Mandrake 9.1, 9.2, and now 10 Official. The modem supplied by Comcast was an RCA with USB or Ethernet connectivity (but not both at the same time).
My current setup is through a Siemens router with 3-4 computers connected at any given time and I have had no problems whatsoever.

They use Motorola Surfboards if you request one and they also use some RCA modems also (request a surfboard) and there service is excellent. I have it

They do 3mb download and 256k upload usually.

Woo Hoooo Just got my SurfBoard installed, I'll never go back to dialup willingly. Works Great!! I downloaded Slackware 9.1 (both disks) in about an hour and a half. With dialup, it would have taken me a week for just 1. I haven't done anything with uploads yet.