I apologize for the rather long post to come, but this requires a bit of background information.
I started using computers with Windows (I didn't know anything else). I heard of Linux a few years later and dozens of people toldme how much better and effecient it was. I found Ubuntu and sent for a copy (they sent me five). Eager to rid myself of "Winblows," I popped in the CD and went on installing it, giving barely a thought to the message that my hard drive would be formatted. I really had nothing irreplaceable. I could get it all back online. When I began using Ubuntu, I started out trying to get online. I saw something called a Terminal Server Client. When I called my ISP to ask about it and what information to enter into it, they told me that those are for static IPs, which they do not support. So there I was, having just formatted away the only OS that I could get online with. I eventually got a friend to make me some system restore disks from his XP machine so I could at least connect. I still hate Windows with a passion (that sounds a bit oxymoronic - hate with a passion . . . but, I digress . . .) and I want very much to use Ubuntu or even some other Linux distribution, but I can't find a way to get online using it. If anyone could help me I would appreciate it.
Thanks in advance,
Milan

I just booted the Live CD. I was able to connect without changing any settings.
That said, would I be able to connect with the installed version? Or was the Live CD version using the settings on my computer to connect?
Actually, I'm not sure if there are any settings I had to change on my computer to connect. I did go into my router to tell it my login info, but that's all I did - configure the router . . .

Milan858,

I have an ADSL connection through a router. Ubuntu recognised everything when I installed it. I was able to get on the net straight away. It was a clean install on a Linux partition. Assuming your drive is big enough you could have installed Linux and kept your XP in another partition. Doing this for the first time as a new user is a bit nerve-racking though, because you are never absolutely certain you are doing the right thing.

Each distro has its idiosyncratic ways of working. Ubuntu has just about everything you need but it does a few things differently to toher distro (which is a pain).

Regards
John

I've emailed someone about it, and they say that with DSL or cable, I should be able to plug it in and be connected right then, provided my router is configured properly (it is). I'd like a second and third opinion on this before I test it on my spare machine.

Presuming your router is configured as a DHCP server, you should have nothing to do. Presumes you are on a wired connection rather than wifi - although it found and setup my old Cisco Aironet 350 o.k.
If the liveDC works, it might be worth running(that's a vertical bar, the "pipe" character). You may see modules of interest if you know what hardware you have.
If you have trouble connecting, run the above commands on the new system as well.

DSL connections under Ubuntu are configured via
Under Breezy pppoeconf needs to be installed via Synaptic Package Manager or the command
under Dapper pppoeconf gets installed by default.
Although pppoeconf doesn't have a graphical user interface, its use is pretty straight-forward.
TSC is used to connect to other computers graphically, i.e., from home to your computer at work. Using it presumes - amongst some additional issues - there is an existing DSL/internet connection. To connect to the internet you'll need to use pppoeconf.

Thanks

Had similar problem after installation
If your connection is via LAN you may need to enable your ethernet connection in system/networking/properties and set DHCP as default

I have DSL cable broadband, and a Linksys combined WAP/Router. Three Windows computers run wirelessly on the network (wife and kids). With my computer (the least powerful of the four - natch) I have a removable hard drive bay. I use one hard disk with Windows XP (which I NEVER connect to the Internet as this hard disk contains a lot of personal data) but I also use a completely separate hard disk which only has Ubuntu loaded. It is the latter which I use for internet access. When installing Ubuntu I had a wired connection to the router and it seamlessly connected to the network and internet - I didn't have to do anything. Apart from the large exception of Google Earth, I have no need for Windows really as far as web browsing is concerned.

Did you try running Google Earth with Wine? I did, and - although there are some flaws - that worked.