on being the lex for a day (<-- month moar laik)

[dubdobdee]

i: can haz nu mac book wahoo!
ii: need to access interweb via broadband
iii: old imac has broadband via landline (supplied by lovely problem-free nildram)
iv: what do i do to tap into it? (am checking with nildram if i need a router that's specific to their services)

i am in no tremendous hurry -- i want to do this all orderly and sensible for once, not just busk

Comments

nildram's swift response

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

"Hi, The only thing you will need to change is the router you use. The broadband service does not need to change at all. We continue to deliver the broadband via the phone-line as usual. Basically [what] the router does is allow you to connect more than one computer to the internet; wirelessly if you wish. So you need to acquire a wireless router and then you just plug it into the phoneline replacing the modem/router you are currently using. You can then wire your original mac to the router and use the new macbook to connect wirelessly. You can buy the router from us if you wish. We sell a Billion 5200G router at £39.99. (Or if you want to regrade your broadband to a year's contract we will send this router to you for free.) Otherwise you can go into any computer hardware store and ask for any ADSL wireless router. Any will do, just make sure it is compatible with Macs (most are). So you will only be changing the way you receive our service once it gets to your house, which is completely your business, we do not need to change anything at our end. I would be happy to offer further advice if you like, please don't hesitate to get back in contact. Kind Regards, F____ J____ Customer Care"

Re: nildram's swift response

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

wtf sort of router DO you have? and how was it connected to your last mac/pc?

i'll google make and model if you can say what it is

my current set-up

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

is this a modem or a router? it is called hermstedt webshuttle dsl

the landline comes to a dsl filter (excelsius z-blocker model z-420uk) then one bit connects straight into the imac, then other bit goes through the webshuttle, which THEN connects with the imac

this is a bit tangly but only went seriously wrong ONCE, when i upgraded the imac and there was a bug in the similarly upgraded software for the webshuttle, which i needed some patch-in stuff to fix (which they sent very quickly)

Re: my current set-up

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

ok. that's a USB modem/router, not an ethernet-based one. so ignore what i said before. it should go

landline -> filter -> webshuttle -> mac

no idea what the bit direct from filter to mac is, and might be unneeded. you will prob need to download 'driver software' to make the mac recognise the webshuttle.

new mac = you are probs on 10.5 (leopard). let me look for you...

Re: my current set-up

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

all bad news. hermstedt went bust years ago (it seems), and although i can find some stuff to download, i really don't think it's gonna work for you.

surprisingly the specs of the hardware still stand up. but it does look like you need to get a new modem/router.

annoyingly nildram's new-user sign up includes a free wireless router.

Re: my current set-up

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

the cheapest new sign-up is actually the same as i already pay i think -- but they might not be happy about such a blatant finagle on my part!