[Ham-Computers] RE: What ISP for an Old Computer

[Hsu, Aaron (NBC Universal)]

No ISP actually "requires" any memory on your system.  The requirement is
actually for the software used to do the on-line "sign-up".  There's often
also additional software installed for connection diagnostics and possibly a
proprietary connection gateway of some sort.

In reality, Win9x/2K/XP all have built-in dial-up and networking
capabilities.  For example, if I wanted to sign-up for SBC DSL, they require
64MB and recommended 128MB RAM.  The reason is that the installation CD they
send install several applications - a customized version of Internet
Explorer, a connection manager, a diagnostic tool, a PPoE client (SBC uses
PPoE for DSL), the DSL modem manager, and some other crap.  Are any of these
things absolutely necessary?  No.  Only the PPoE is needed to make the
connection and even this can be bypassed if you use a $60 router with PPoE
support.  The only thing that is really "required" is the ability of your
computer to connect to either a dial-up "POP" or an ethernet network.  The
software is for ease of installation and diagnosing problems when you need
to call SBC with a problem.

Unfortunately, 24MB of RAM *IS* pretty limiting.  32MB is recommended just
for Win95/98 and a "sweet spot" is 64MB to 128MB.  Recommended minimums for
Win2K and WinXP are 128MB and I usually advise at least 256MB.  Stripped
down versions of Linux will run fine with 8 or 16MB, but I don't think any
browsers will work.

Do you have any additional specs on this system?  A model number?  CPU type
and speed?  Type of RAM?  HD size?  This info will definitely determine
whether or not it will be worth spending the time to get the system 'net
ready.  There are many people on the list who might have older parts lying
around cheap or even free.

73,

  - Aaron Hsu, NN6O (ex-KD6DAE)
    {nn6o}@arrl.net
    {athsu}@nbcuni.com
    No-QRO Int'l #1,000,006
    . -..- - .-. .-   ".... . .- ...- -.--"


-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Hill [mailto:hro5-2 at cox.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 2004 5:47 PM
To: "mailto:"@mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Ham-Computers] What ISP for an Old Computer


Hi:
I'm helping an impoverished friend get on the net.  He has a donated old 
computer, an ACER with only 24 megs of ram.  Unfortunately, at least 32 
megs of ram is needed for all ISP' s we have checked, aside from possibly 
AOL.  My friend doesn't have a credit card, and AOL chargers an additional 
$5.00/mo for billing.  I've looked for additional ram, but no luck so far. 
Also, I'm not sure it's a good idea to spend any money upgrading that
computer.

Can anybody suggest a suitable ISP?
Thanks, Jim, w6ivw