DSL Hell

I Command Thee 

I finally decided to bite the $27/month bullet and get DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) from SBC. I'm a software developer, and think of myself as technically in-the-know (more in the software area). DSL tested my limits in every area. I have an HP Windows PC at the front of my house and an iMac mini at the back. We (the installer & me) decided it would be a good idea to set up a wireless network with these two computers. We ended up putting the wired modem on the iMac, and the WAN USB receiver on the HP, because the iMac was having problems recognizing the USB device. All was up and working perfectly when the technician left.

Then my troubles began. I didn't like the WAN device being plugged into the front USB port, thought it looked messy. Replugged into the back of the HP, and rebooted. Voila, no internet. After an hour talking to a help desk in India, and yet another day of flubbing around with it, I figured out that you need to log back into your specific WAN with a network password, whenever you unplug and replug the WAN receiver.

Next adventure: I thought it would be cool to create a network between my computers so I could browse one from the other. Knew it was a long shot since you have Windows XP on one talking to Mac OS X on the other. Little did I know that my good intentions were paving the road to Hell. I initiated the new network from XP, which has a friendly wizard that steps you through the process. Then, you create a network disk that will need to be run on each computer in your home network. THEN - you reboot.

When I rebooted, it was as if Satan took over. I clicked on Internet Explorer, and America Online kept trying to connect to broadband (unsuccessfully). I'd hit "cancel" but AOL would start up again. My ZoneAlert firewall software kept popping up alerts right as I was fighting off this other poltergeist. I ended up having to read the 2wire documentation on the other computer, on their web site. After much tribulation, I discovered that the HP had moved my WAN from the LAN area to "Network bridge" on the Network control panel. I lost at minimum half a day on this, and perspired heavily. Would say that it was very close to Mickey Mouse's performance in "Sorcerer's Apprentice" where the brooms keep bringing in water. I'm now enjoying my DSL, but guess what? I don't really need to network those two computers! :-)