anyone have an ISP that supports Linux that they are happy with that they can recommend? Do they support dial-up and DSL and broadband?

thx

I've used both SBC and Verizon DSL without issues. So long as the DSL is standard PPPoE it tends to work fine, although you may need a Windows or Mac computer to run their special software to set up your account. I've also heard good things about Speakeasy, but have no personal experience with them. As for dialup, pretty much anything the lets you use a standard PPP or SLIP connection should be fine, but the only one I've had any experience with is AT&T Global which supports Linux. Also if you're a member of SDF there's a cheap *nix compatible dialup service available.

Cable modems all work out of the box with linux. If you have a network card that will configure, all you do is plug in the ethernet cable and restart /etc/networking, or network. From then on it will connect on boot. I don't know if you have Road Runner where you are. Road Runner is really worth the money. If your budget is a little strained, DSL is another option. I'm no wealthy, but cable internet is one of the things I treat myself to. I get download speeds of 600 kiloBYTES / s if the server will give it to me. I can usually max out three servers at a time. Some servers will give me the full 600K/s. The linux mirror "mirrors.kernel.org" is very fast. With cable internet you always get connected during an install because nothing has to be configured for internet itself. it is exactly as if you were on a lan. As long as the network card is configured, and a daemon is running to get an IP, you've got internet.

I have nothing against DSL, but it isn't as easy. I'm not sure if DSL modems are lan compatible now. That is to say, they are seen by the operating system just like a lan connection. You will never be sorry you got cable, until you get the bill. Then you'll cry for a little while, but for most of the month you'll be in heaven.

If you are in an area with Cox cable internet, you might want to just go ahead with DSL. The website:

http://www.dslreports.com

can find everyone who can supply you with DSL. TDS Metrocom is the best. You have to live within 10,000 feet of the telephone switch to have DSL work. I recommend being within 7.500 feet. Dslreports can tell you how far away the telephone switches are from you.

I'll just comment shortly, as most has been addressed above:

If you have cable OR DSL, I suggest you also get a seperate router. They are dirt cheap, and will make your life a lot easier for configuring your internet (they are OS non-specific generally). You configure the router once, and you are done, the rest is all taken care by the router, and your computers are all local on the network. It gives you a bonus because most routers are capable of NAT which assigns private local IP's to allow multiple computers on the internet with 1 public IP.

If you are going dial up, pretty much any ISP *should* work, as they do have proprietary dial up agents, you generally don't HAVE to use them, they are just a convenience. So the only problem you should fine with this is finding a modem that works in linux, which has been covered extensively around the web. External is pretty much the way to go.

Cool