Evil, evil USB - we are soon to be delivered from thee!
I like the concept of USB. It's a good idea, really - plug in a piece of hardware on the fly, and the system should automatically recognize it and seek out the proper drivers. Some good thoughts there, and we've had some good experiences, such as with our scanner and our (seldom used) webcam.
USB DSL modems are, however, another story.
When we first got DSL, and were given a USB modem, it seemed like a good idea. Modem autorecognizes, gets right on the network, no hassle. And for a while, that was fine. Occasionally the modem would drag the system down, but not often. Maybe once a week at the most. In fact, it was fine for the longest time...
...and then we moved. See, when we moved, Southwestern Bell had to cancel our old DSL account and create a new one. What they didn't inform us of was that in the year and a half that we'd been on their network, they'd changed the login method. Whereas before the modem would automatically get on their network, now we had to have a PPPoE app to log in. From there, things went downhill.
First of all, their shitty PPPoE app doesn't support the latest drivers for this particular modem, so I can't upgrade it. Secondly, said shitty PPPoE program is unstable at best. Sometimes it can see the network, sometimes it can't. If you have to reboot, expect to do it again, because it can't find the DNS server after only one reboot. It doesn't like to release system resources upon shutdown, either, leading to many headaches with Scandisk saying the system didn't shut down properly.
Add on top of this the fact that the USB modem waits on bootup for it to handshake with the network before you can actually get into Windows proper. If it didn't handshake, reboot again. Let's not forget the hit on system resources from the USB device. And the USB modem's getting flaky too. Of course, it's over 2 years old, and it's on almost constantly, so this is not completely unexpected.
Anyway, in a couple of days we should get our new ethernet DSL modem, free of charge. We'll have to get a router/hub/firewall with built-in PPPoE handling, but my dad can help with that; it's the same setup they have at the church office. And then we can be free of this USB piece of crap, and the Enternet software, and having to use Microsoft's Internet Connection Sharing, and being dependent on one PC being up for the other to see the 'net.
And life will be just that much better!
USB DSL modems are, however, another story.
When we first got DSL, and were given a USB modem, it seemed like a good idea. Modem autorecognizes, gets right on the network, no hassle. And for a while, that was fine. Occasionally the modem would drag the system down, but not often. Maybe once a week at the most. In fact, it was fine for the longest time...
...and then we moved. See, when we moved, Southwestern Bell had to cancel our old DSL account and create a new one. What they didn't inform us of was that in the year and a half that we'd been on their network, they'd changed the login method. Whereas before the modem would automatically get on their network, now we had to have a PPPoE app to log in. From there, things went downhill.
First of all, their shitty PPPoE app doesn't support the latest drivers for this particular modem, so I can't upgrade it. Secondly, said shitty PPPoE program is unstable at best. Sometimes it can see the network, sometimes it can't. If you have to reboot, expect to do it again, because it can't find the DNS server after only one reboot. It doesn't like to release system resources upon shutdown, either, leading to many headaches with Scandisk saying the system didn't shut down properly.
Add on top of this the fact that the USB modem waits on bootup for it to handshake with the network before you can actually get into Windows proper. If it didn't handshake, reboot again. Let's not forget the hit on system resources from the USB device. And the USB modem's getting flaky too. Of course, it's over 2 years old, and it's on almost constantly, so this is not completely unexpected.
Anyway, in a couple of days we should get our new ethernet DSL modem, free of charge. We'll have to get a router/hub/firewall with built-in PPPoE handling, but my dad can help with that; it's the same setup they have at the church office. And then we can be free of this USB piece of crap, and the Enternet software, and having to use Microsoft's Internet Connection Sharing, and being dependent on one PC being up for the other to see the 'net.
And life will be just that much better!