Fellow Linux-using friends,

Perhaps I should post this to the AZIPA group, but I
perceive that there is more relevant expertise here,
and I know there is some overlap in subscribers. If I
can't get the input I'm hoping for here, I'll cross
post the message.

I'm another person who got raked over the coals when
Cox went down last week. Although I am "up" in a manner
of speaking right now, the pieces still have not
stopped rolling. Yes, I have read all the email I could
from both lists relevant to the Cox transition, but
don't have a solution for myself yet.

I now have basically two issues to resolve:

o Getting my router to work so I can get *both* my
  systems on the net.

o Figuring out how to POP my cox.net email.

I'm sure once I have that worked out, I'll be all set.
The details of my problem are spelled out below. Please
bear with me while I tell my story:

My home configuration is simple: I have a Dell P3
running Linux and a Mac (actually a Motorola StarMax
Mac clone, with a G3 accelerator, running Mac OS
9.0.4). These two machines go into a simple hub, which
in turn goes to a Netgear RT311 router, which goes to
my cable modem.

Pretty simple, right? Two computers, neither one a
Windows machine, going to a router. Comments regarding
Cox and routers aside, the fact is: it worked one
moment and the next it did not.

I should point out that once I got set up last August,
I have not experienced a single outage. I have been
quite happy with the service and the speed of the
connection.

On with my tale ...

o My little "happy meal" conversion kit arrived from
  Cox a week or so ago. I was busy, and perceived I had
  some grace time, so ignored it.

o At 7:30 AM Tuesday I was happily working away ...
  typety type, typety ... when *BLAM*, I lost my
  connectivity. I had work and an invoice to deliver,
  and other important needs for the Net.

  It was four and a half days before I got connected
  again. Naturally, the first couple of days was spent
  trying to find out what **I** did wrong. Of course,
  I'd done *nothing* wrong. And the irony is, without
  the Net, it was hard for me to find out.

  Call the service number? Fugedaboudit. You all know
  why.

o Meanwhile, I began reading the instructions in my
  conversion kit. I had to drive four miles to the
  library to get to a computer where I could connect to
  the site they told me to, type in my authentication
  number, and establish an email address. Did it. No
  problem. I tested it, and am now able to send and
  receive mail to and from <lynn.newton@cox.net> using
  the Webmail interface. Haven't set up the accounts for
  my family yet.

o Next, the instructions said to put that CD into my
  computer. I stuck it in the Mac, and ran it. *Big*
  mistake.

  - Nearest I can tell, all the CD does is to install a
    piece of software called CorrectConnect, which as
    far as I can tell I don't need or want, and may
    have some security issues.

  - Also, it apparently installs Outlook, which I
    wouldn't want on any system of mine if it was the
    last piece of software on earth.

  - Finally, when I bring up IE on the Mac, I now see
    an animated C-O-X logo in the upper right corner,
    so evidently that's been infected, too. Can't say
    as I'm pleased by this "feature".

  The program on the CD appears to do *nothing* as far
  as actual "conversion" or configuration is concerned.

  The only thing needing to be looked at is to check
  the TCP/IP stuff, which as it turns out, needs no
  tweaking whatever. On the Mac it couldn't be simpler.
  Just set it to get an address with DHCP and Ethernet,
  and it's done. That's how it's been set since I got
  Cox@Home in August.

  Does anyone know how to back that junk off my system
  without destroying it, or have I been absorbed by the
  Borg?

Are you still with me? Thanks! ...

o After several days of trying to work at home without
  a Net connection, and repeated trips to the library
  with floppy disks, I was starting to think of
  creative uses for a machine gun and a ski mask.

  On Saturday a friend, who said he'd been back online
  for a couple of days (grrrr!) suggested I take the
  router out and see what happens. So I connected the
  Mac straight to the cable modem, and shazam! I came
  up on the Net. That gave me a window of opportunity
  to get caught up on a lot of stuff, before working
  out the question of why the router wouldn't come up.

o While I was at it, I decided to configure my mail
  tool on the Mac to POP my mail from the new account.
  Once that's working reliably, I can abandon my
  home.com address.

  As far as I know, I set everything right. But I keep
  getting an "invalid user name or password" error.

  Seems to me I've seen mail whiz by indicating that
  others have had this problem. I saw several
  complaints, but no solutions. Does someone know
  what's wrong and how to fix it?

o This morning I tried once again to enable my router,
  hoping that just plugging it back in, and power
  cycling the cable modem (and the router too, which I
  don't think should be necessary) things would now
  magically be restored.

  They aren't. I couldn't get out to the Net. So I took
  the router back out again, and that's where it
  stands.

  My router, which has a dead simple Wizard setup
  routine, is set with the host name Cox gave me,
  Ethernet, Standard service, and to get its IP and DNS
  from the ISP (meaning through DHCP), same as it has
  always done. I haven't changed a thing.

Many thanks to any who can answer my questions.

-- 
Lynn David Newton
Phoenix, Arizona
http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~lnewton