Re: Connecting Mac to Telewest cable modem?

In article <C0150B31.1BEE8%stimpy1997uk@xxxxxxxxx>,
Stimpy <stimpy1997uk@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 12/2/06 15:12, "Chris Ridd" wrote:

On 12/2/06 2:54, in article C014FCBD.1BEBA%stimpy1997uk@xxxxxxxxx, "Stimpy"
<stimpy1997uk@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

My SO's home office PC has finally died (well, it was coughing up blood
yesterday so time is running out) and she's agreed to try a Mac.

I have a spare Yikes here which would do the job perfectly but she uses
Telewest cable internet. Can anyone advise if I'm likely to hit problems
with getting it connected?

Telewest (aka Blueyonder) works fine. Make sure you either use Ethernet from
the cable modem to the Mac, or Ethernet from the cable modem to a router and
thence to the Mac.

Thanks for the quick response Chris. Apologies for sounding a bit dense but
don't I need to install any Telewest modem drivers or anything? She doesn't
have a router and, at the moment, her Telewest modem is plugged directly
into a USB on the PC.

This is a very poor implementation of a Cable connection. USB is always
slower than an Ethernet cable by an appreciable margin. I assure you,
she will see a very nice increase in download speed if she connects via
Ethernet cable. I don't know about USB 2.1 speeds, however. I never
experienced a USB 2.1 connection until my brother gave me his older
PowerMac G5. Perhaps a USB 2.1 modem will be faster. But I doubt it.
Having to filter her connection through a software driver
constitutionally slows the connection down.

Usually, Cable companies provide both an Ethernet cable and a USB cable
with their installation kits (at least they do here in the US). They do
not, however, supply an Ethernet card with their installation kits.

Modem drivers will only be required if she connects her Cable modem to
her computer via USB cable.



I'm concerned this process 'just works' otherwise she'll just go and buy a
new PC :-)

Personally, I advise her to purchase a new Apple Intel-based iMac
(preferably the 20" model, although the 17" is very usable). She will
be very happy, though she will have to deal with the learning curve
(very low, by the way, as I am sure you already know) of learning a new
Operating System. But OS X Tiger is extremely easy to use. I was up
and running with OS X within an hour of starting my new Apple.

When you connect a Cable modem to a Mac (or PC, for that matter), it
"just works" (if correctly connected). There is no need to use a
connectoid (on a PC) with her connection. All she needs is an Ethernet
card in her machine (all Macs come with an Ethernet connection installed
at the factory). On a PC, all that is needed is to install an Ethernet
card in a spare PCI slot (Many modern PCs now come with Ethernet cards
installed at the factory, also). Ethernet cards are very cheap here in
the US. I don't know what they cost in the UK. But a decent Ethernet
card here in the US costs between $10-$35US. Any Ethernet card in that
price range will be more than sufficient for a Cable connection. Just
make sure the card is a "full duplex" and "auto-configuring" card.

In addition, unless she shares her connection with other users, I do not
advise her to connect her modem to a router, which would be an
additional $35US+ expense. Many Cable modems now come with several
Ethernet connections, so routers would not be necessary, since the modem
itself would be the router (Usually a NAT router). Such devices usually
include a firewall built in.

Tell her NOT to use her Cable connection WITHOUT a firewall installed
and turned on. Hackers send out bots which look for open Cable
connections they can steal. But I am sure you already knew this.

Anyway, good luck.

--
Donald L McDaniel
Please reply to the original newsgroup and thread,
so that the thread may remain intact.
.

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