Here is a strange issue! Using Mandriva One 2007 Spring with KDE, I am currently using a hotel wi-fi connection that, although free, seems to have certain restrictions on its use.
To get Firefox to connect I have to select the option "auto-detect proxy settings for this network". If I select "Direct connection to the internet" I get the following:
ERROR
The requested URL could not be retrieved
While trying to retrieve the URL: /
The following error was encountered:
* Invalid URL
Some aspect of the requested URL is incorrect. Possible problems:
* Missing or incorrect access protocol (should be `http://'' or similar)
* Missing hostname
* Illegal double-escape in the URL-Path
* Illegal character in hostname; underscores are not allowed
It seems it is not seeing the address properly. So if I try to access something like 'www.website.com/index.html' it only sees '/index.html'. This not a total disaster becuase I CAN get Firefox to work but nothing I have tried will make Konqueror work.
Does it use a different port from Firefox?
Firefox also works (if set to "auto-detect proxy... etc") in Windows XP, as does Oulook Express but Skype and Yahoo Messenger do not.
The hotel offers its own VOIP serice so I am guessing they are deliberately blocking certain ports to 'encourage' guests to use that?

since firefox is working and detecting the proxy correctly

typing
www
and nothing else in the address bar sometimes redirects to the actually proxy server address
telling you it.

Use that tomanually set the proxy in Konqueror

No, that just takes me to a holding page that rells me they are running an Apache server on Debian. I have tried entering the gateway address from the wireless info but that doesn't work. Looks like they have tied this up really tight. You can browse the web and email for free but everything else you have to pay for. Interestingly, the hotel also offers wired broadband but you have to pay for that. I am guessing that Skype et al would work fine on that.