I bought a laptop a few months ago when my PC died and at the time I had Three mobile broadband. I could not get the internet to work on my new laptop as it’s running in Linux. I have since transferred the account to my Mum and I am now with a laptop that I don’t use as I can’t find any ISP to run from it. I don’t have a phone line so would need mobile broadband or Virgin – any recommendations?

I want names, if possible of any troublesome ISP I can find. If their ‘business’ is skimping by on out of country tech support and issuing stupid demands of its customers, I would like to point out to the world ‘x’ company is stupid… Like ‘Microsoft’ or ‘Sun’ or any other stupidness, needs to be known to the general public. (So other people don’t go and hop on with the nearest ISP) Anyone with a stupid ISP can e-mail me names and numbers, and I will call bit* them out for hours over it. Thank you.

I had a similar experience a couple of years ago that I blogged about:

http://www.peppertop.com/blog/?p=26

It’s a shame to see that things aren’t really improving much.

I just went through this getting Comcast (only real option around here). Their install requires you run this setup application which pretty much collects your account number, provisions your modem, and sets up an email account.

I no longer have any windows machines, and I asked a few people in support if there was any way to setup without the CD. They said no. I drove 30 minutes to pick up a friend and his laptop with Vista.

Get back, insert the CD, it gives a stupid error.

Call in, get a good guy. He asks me to read off my modems MAC. Turn the modem off, turn it on. Internet works. Without their damn software.

The install application for your ISP *MAY* be optional. Not to be evil (hey, most of those people are decent working people), but just telling them the application crashes might get you out of their setup.

As a bonus, I told him I was borrowing a computer since all mine have Linux. He said he’s interested in Linux, but didn’t know where to start. I pointed him to Ubuntu and Wubi.

I had a similar thing happen to me when had to replace my DSL modem. I called the support line – I just needed one piece of information to finish setup. The conversation went something like this:
Tech: What operating system are you using?
Me: Linux
[pause]
Tech: [laughing] No, no, not what program you have up, what operating system are you using?
Me: Linux
Tech: Please hold
[Five minutes of crappy hold music]
Tech: I’m sorry, but it is impossible to use Leinusss with the internet.
Me: Oh, I’ve been using it with internet for the last six years, but since I can’t use it – please connect me to the person I would talk to about canceling my service … or you could just give me the IP address to finish setting up the modem, and you can go learn something.
Tech: Let me connect you to the billing department.

I use VIF: http://www.vif.net and they have been great, the first time I called for tech support, when I told them I was using Linux, he asked, “Oh yeah, what flavour?” He was very helpful, and every call I’ve made since has echoed that experience.
Needless to say, if you are in Canada, I recommend them highly.
I don’t work for them, I’m just a happy customer that uses Kubuntu

I agree, in fact I submitted this idea to the Ubuntu Brainstorm, back in March; http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/2638/.

But nobody else seemed to like it. What’s with that?

I use zen http://www.zen.co.uk/ for my ISP and when I first moved to them I couldn’t connect for some reason. The guy asked me what I was using to connect with. My answer Smoothwall Express. This wasn’t a problem, then when he inadvertently killed the phone conversation whilst running some tests he called me back! Which was unexpected.

[...] Barker: ISP’s Require MS/Apple…Apparently. Why the frak are ISPs insisting on customers using either Windows or Mac OS to be able to give [...]

My girlfriends ISP actually sets out the following terms of use:

1. Having a fully licensed copy of either the Microsoft XP, Microsoft Vista (or later Microsoft operating system) or Apple Mac OSX Tiger Operating System (or later Apple Mac operating system)
2. Having such hardware as required to meet the manufacturer’s minimum specification for the installed Operating System
3. Having a fully working Ethernet network adapter
4. Having a fully licensed virus scanner and firewall configured to update virus definitions at least as regularly as recommended by the manufacturer
5. Having access to a fully functional email service

The fact ISPs can set out these terms that dictate what operating system you can use is ridiculous and should not be allowed, if they expect users to have a up to date anti virus for security reasons surely they should embrace *nix users for the same reason.