I have DirecPC and there are a couple of
ways to integrate that with Linux. If you only have the one computer,
then the only choice is to use software from Helius (a caldera
partner). (look at www.helius.com) It appears to be a
good, if pricey, solution if all you want to do is the interactive
method.
The other choice, if you have an extra computer, is to use
the included software with a proxy server on either NT or W95/98. I
use W98 with Sygate. It works great. Sygate sees the Sattelite
PCI card and will use it by default.
The reasons that you might want to consider this type of
setup is because of the push services available. Notably
newsgroups. The way I am set up at home is my main box is multi-booted
with W98, Linux and Solaris 7. All these point to the Satellite server
which is running W98 and Sygate. When I am doing web surfing and ftp,
I use this box. I also use it for the newsgroups that DirecPC doesn't
have in their newserver.
On the Satellite box, I read the news that has been
pushed. The advantage is that I am not 'online' with them so it is not
counting against my useage hours. When replying it wants to dial out,
but I just let Outlook Express puke on that until I have all of my replies
queued, then I batch them out.
If you are interested in DirecPC, watch at www.mychoice.net (somewhere on there you
will see an advertisement for DirecPC) -- currently they are out of them,
but earlier this month they were selling them at $49.95 -- that is the
cheapest price, by a huge amount than anywhere else in the country.
They are a local Marion, IL business. I even got a $100 rebate when I
subscribed the service with Hughes. They should be getting some more
in after the 1st of the year.
If you are interested in DPC -- then you should be
monitoring alt.satellite.direcpc in newsgroups. There are some
significant negatives about the DPC service you should be aware of.
They will talk about FAP (fair access policy). This is a method Hughes
uses so that you can't hog the bandwidth, read up on it to see if your
planned useage will cause you to get FAP'd.
Overall, I am pleased with the service and plan on
eventually getting the trial version of Helius software just to try -- I
feel it is too expensive for my needs.
Lloyd
Has anyone gotten the satellite Internet
systems to work with Linux? It looks like you have to add an
Internal cable modem. --
Robert Threet
Cornerstone Systems, Inc.