response 1 of 86:

Jul 21 05:50 UTC 2004

#10 of 28: by Rane Curl (rcurl) on Sat, Jul  3, 2004 (15:01):
 What is involved in installing Comcast Broadband? That is, what boxes
 are put where and wired to what and how?

#16 of 28: by  (gregb) on Tue, Jul  6, 2004 (14:32):
 Re. 10:  The tech will bring in a coax cable from outside and connect it
 to a cable modem that'll sit near your computer.  The cable modem will
 connect to your computer in one of two ways: Either through a USB port
 or a network PCI card.  Tell the technician you want a network card.
 They're more reliable and stable, IMO.  The tech may then want to
 install software on your PC;  If you go for the network card setup, just
 have him/her install the card driver.  Preferrably, do it yourself, if
 you know how.

#17 of 28: by Mike McNally (mcnally) on Tue, Jul  6, 2004 (15:52):
   re #16, re #10:

   Greg's summary is more or less correct, but if I'd written it I'd've
   tried to stress the part about asking the tech if there's any way to
   activate the service *without* running the cable provider's install
   disk on your computer.  They might be less obnoxious on the Macintosh
   (or then again they might not) but on a PC these install disks tend to
   do lots of "helpful" things like reset your browser's home page to the
   cable company's corporate portal, re-brand your Internet Explorer
   browser by adding a bunch of crap to the registry to "customize your
   Internet experience", etc..

   Your Mac almost certainly has a NIC card built in already, with drivers
   pre-installed, so the installer really shouldn't have to set up *any*
   software on your computer.  You *should* only need to set up your TCP/IP
   control panel to use DHCP (aka "obtain an address automatically") and
   possibly enter some name server entries if those are not provided by
   the DHCP server.

   If they want to install some special "dialer" application on your computer
   to connect using PPP over Ethernet (PPPoE) spend an extra $40 bucks and
   buy yourself a Linksys home cable/DSL router and use that to manage the
   PPPoE connection (and the rest of your network, too..)

#18 of 28: by Rane Curl (rcurl) on Tue, Jul  6, 2004 (20:36):
 Thanks Greg and Mike. Is that the same cable as for the TV, and is it just
 a "T" taken to the computer?

 Do multiple computers require multiple cable modems? Is that a big
 expense?

 In any case, there is a problem as our computers are on the second story
 with no simple way to run cables to them (except from outside the house).
 What about a local wireless interface?

 Also, nothing that sounds like a "NIC" card is indicated in the System
 Profiler. I've also installed USB and Serial cards and didn't notice any
 others already there.


#19 of 28: by Glenda F. Andre' (glenda) on Tue, Jul  6, 2004 (21:32):
 Multiple computer require a router or you pay more.  We didn t have to run
 the comcast software cd to get ours up and running.  We use a cheap Lynksys
 router between the cable modem and the computers.

#20 of 28: by Joe (gelinas) on Tue, Jul  6, 2004 (22:04):
 "NIC" is "Network Interface Card."  Most such for personal computers are
 Ethernet.  Didn't you say your machine(s) had Ethernet built in?

#21 of 28: by Mike McNally (mcnally) on Wed, Jul  7, 2004 (00:49):
   re #18:  in order to share your cable-modem connection between multiple
   computers, use a home router box.  Linksys makes an excellent product
   with (~$80) or without (~$40) wireless.  You'll probably want 802.11b
   or 802.11g wireless if you intend to network computers in multiple parts
   of the house and don't want to cable between them and then you'll have
   to add wireless cards (better) or USB wireless adapters (recommend against)
   to computers that are not physically near the wireless access point..

#22 of 28: by Rane Curl (rcurl) on Wed, Jul  7, 2004 (01:08):
 Yes, the computer has ethernet built in (and I have an ethernet LAN).
 Does the cable-modem just plug into that?

 My computers are a PowerMac running OS 10.3, an iMac running OS 9.2.2
 (takes no cards, but has ethernet), and of course there is the TV. What's
 your recommended hookup for these (I might want to plug a visiting
 Powerbook into the LAN and put it on the cable too).


#23 of 28: by Mike McNally (mcnally) on Wed, Jul  7, 2004 (03:02):
   My recommendation is to buy a wireless access point with 4 port switch.
   The Linksys WRT54G is $67 from Amazon (which means it's probably cheaper
   elsewhere) and has a $10 rebate.

   If you set up the cable modem and a box like the one above near the iMac
   you can plug the iMac into one of the 4 wired ports and have the PowerMac
   hooked up via a wireless card or wireless USB adapter.  If the visiting
   Powerbook has an Airport card they'll be able to connect using wireless,
   too, probably from anywhere in the house.

#25 of 28: by Tim P. Ryan (tpryan) on Wed, Jul  7, 2004 (12:40):
        Know what email adress you want when you call comcast to get
installed.
 You need an available one, so that TimRyan@comcast.net is someone else, after
 various tries, I became TimRyanAA same company.  See if you get bounced
 emailed from your proposed account.  Have alternatives ready.
        I needed no install software.
        The thing I would do different is to tell the tech right off
 that it's going to be your hands on the keyboard, not his.  Mine was
 looking at stuff, as far as I'm concerned he should not be looking at,
 in the process to do the comcast.net lookup and such.
        Newsgroup service on comcast is done thru giganews.  You get
 1 gig a month.

#28 of 28: by John H. Remmers (remmers) on Thu, Jul  8, 2004 (09:55):
 Re #23:  My Linksys wireless access point went bad after about a year.
 Replaced that and the Linksys 4-port router with an integrated
 Netgear 4-port-plus-802.11g-wireless that has performed flawlessly
 for the 6 months that we've had it so far.
 
 #29 of 29: by TS Taylor (tsty) on Thu, Jul  8, 2004 (12:18):
 you really, really really ... want a local router betwixt your b0xen and
 the cable modem. i don't recommend wireless necessarily, but whatever
 floats your boat .. as long as there is a NAT in front of your NIC.
 
 #30 of 34: by Rane Curl (rcurl) on Thu, Jul  8, 2004 (12:42):
 Since I've never used most of the connection hardware that has been mentioned
 in this thread...I think I need a diagram showing the devices and how they
 need to be hooked up. My experience to day has only been plugging together
 ethernet links (and a LocalTalk net, which is still being used). Are there
 such example configurations on the web somewhere?

#31 of 34: by Mike McNally (mcnally) on Thu, Jul  8, 2004 (14:35):
   re #30:

   The configuration is usually extremely simple.  The cable modem
   plugs into the wall jack via an ordinary coax television cable.
   On the back of the cable modem is (usually) a single twisted pair
   ethernet jack.  Use a Cat5 or better twisted pair ethernet cable
   to connect the ethernet jack on the cable modem to the "WAN" or
   "Internet" port on the router box.  Assuming you have bought a
   router with a built-in switch and not just a wireless access point,
   there will be four (or more) twisted pair ports on the back of
   the router/switch that you can connect directly to computers that
   have a 10 or 100Mbps twisted pair ethernet port (almost everything
   these days.)

   If you buy a model that is also a wireless access point, you can
   of course also add wireless clients, such as laptops with built in
   802.11b (or g) (in Apple parlance, "Airport") as well as desktop
   computers in hard-to-cable locations, using a special PCI-bus card
   or USB wireless adapter.



        tv           10BaseT               10BaseT
       cable                                         wired
                                 |    |   _________ computer 1
    /|       +-----+           +--------+/           wired
   |.|_______|     |___________|.   ....|---------- computer 2
   | |       +-----+           +--------+
   |/                                    \

  wall        cable            wireless AP \
  jack        modem            4 port switch
                                             \

                                               \

                                                    wireless
                                                   computer n

#32 of 34: by TS Taylor (tsty) on Thu, Jul  8, 2004 (16:27):
 .. and (foollowing on the great #31) due to the way comcast & etc run
 their 'customer identification' get the local router IN PLACE and
 operating *BEFORE* comcast shows up.

 when it is connected, you can http:// 192.168.1.1 (usually) and do
 your configuration and setup.

 wehn comcast shows up the installer will say someting like ' i can
 only plug in directly to your computer's NIC card,' which is probably
 true since they won't warranty a local newtwork.

 so .... right after installer plugs in ethernet cable into computer, wait
 a miinute or so and move thier cable to your router and plug your
 router into NIC
  port.

 when comcast 'reads' the source it will read your *router* id and
 conform thusly.  you might even have already (recommended) implemented
 the router's NAT (newtwork address translation) .

 there are a buncha addresses you can 'install' beforehand.

 iirc, mine is from the block of sun's cards - or irix b0x address
 block .. got a couple routers, don;'t remember which is in use.


 the specific reason for doing this *beforehand* is that comcast will
 read the NIC address and PROHIBIT a different NIC from working!!!

 if you wnat to change later, you have to call comcast and run some
 deal like, 'well, i changed my card from 10 Mbs to a 100 Mbs and the
 card works but your internet connection doesn't.'

 or, maybe, ' i changed from half-duplex to full-duplex card.' something
 technical enough that the comcast pest-filter will comprehend
 sufficiently enough to tell comcast's gear to re-read and re-set.

 btw, if the concast guy trys to scare you into ' oh, *that* won't work,
 it's not a computer,' (i just glared at the dolt). simply say someting
 simple like 'well, that is the computer i want on the net - it *is*
 a computer afterall.

 not recommended is to utter ANYthing like, 'it's my internal newtwork for
 the house.' just call it the computer you want working.

 when the installer hassles you ... just answer, 'i'm happy with what
 you have done ... thank you.'

#33 of 34: by Mike McNally (mcnally) on Thu, Jul  8, 2004 (17:13):
 re #32:  I don't know what Comcast's official policy is but these days
 most broadband ISPs have conceded that many customers want to plug in
 more than one computer.  Many (e.g. Verizon DSL) even advertise this as
 a feature of their service and will sell you a home router box at a
 special price when you sign up for service.

 I guess what I'm saying is that I doubt that Comcast makes a big deal out
 the issue anymore, though I can't say for sure.

#34 of 34: by Scott Helmke (scott) on Thu, Jul  8, 2004 (19:02):
 I've got a Netgear MR-314, which I got a couple years ago so something else
 is being sold in its place now.  It's a combination firewall, router, and
 wireless box.  As McNally described, it's got an "Internet" port which I
 connect to the cable modem, and it does various things to protect the
 computers on the other side of the firewall.

 TS - when the Comcast installer came to my house I first hooked up my iBook
 to test the connection, then plugged in the Netgear box.  It didn't work,
and
 we couldn't figure it out... until I thought to reboot the cable modem.  Then
 it worked just fine.  I guess the cable modem got fixated on the MAC address
 of my iBook and needed a reboot to look for something else.
 
 #35 of 41: by Glenda F. Andre' (glenda) on Fri, Jul  9, 2004 (03:27):
 Sorry TS but your information is old.  They no longer care what mac address
 you have, and you can change it at will.  They no longer care whether you
have
 a router or not, they figured out that they can't control it so why bother.
 We have changed which machine is connected to the cable modem (when the
router
 was down) and have changed routers with no problems or questions from
Comcast.

#37 of 41: by TS Taylor (tsty) on Sat, Jul 10, 2004 (11:37):
 re #33, #34, #35 ... good info ,all.   and, #35 .. i am *happy* that
 my info is old. it makes life easier for everyone now.

 and take scott's info to heart as well ... reboot to re-sync b0xen.

 sounds as if comcast has bent to the will of the ppl! nat-ocracy in action.

response 3 of 86:

Jul 21 12:50 UTC 2004

Sounds good.

response 5 of 86:

Aug 30 06:20 UTC 2004

...and adding the iMac in works too. So I can be doing different things
on the G4 and iMac, which are on the wired ethernet LAN, and this LAN
is connected wirelessly to the internet - at the moment by dialup from
the Airport Base modem. Cable modem here we come. 

Of course, this could all have been done without "wireless", which only
saved the problems of stringing ethernet cables around the house. 

response 7 of 86:

Sep 4 05:54 UTC 2004

The end is AirportBase->WirelessNetworkAdapter->LocalEthernet->G4 (and
iMac). 

There is a neat utility available at
http://edge.mcs.drexel.edu/GICL/people/sevy/airport/#Hangup for connecting
and disconnecting the Airport modem, from the desktop. 

I've been unable to connect to Comcast after enrolling, buying the cable
modem and connect-kit, and installing everything. After some discussion
with Comcast on the phone, and trying various things, they ask about the
lights on the modem - and one is not showing cable synchronization. So I
agreed for a Comcast house-call. The tech found no digital signal on my
cable and, sure enough, he went outside and found a "trap" in place on the
incoming cable. He said that at one time traps were installed so people
could not steal internet access (but anyone knowing enough to steal
internet access would know to climb the pole and switch the cable from the
trapped to the untrapped connector on the box....). Anyway, he switched
the connector, and I had signal. But... 

As of right now, I do not yet have high speed cable access. I think it may
be that the modem is mis-configured with the IP address I need, so I need
to leave it off until the current DHCP lease expires....I hope it is this
simple (this heads-up is from Macworld.com/forums).

response 9 of 86:

Sep 7 06:34 UTC 2004

I have discovered that Comcast has a block on relaying e-mail that I
generate in Netscape or IE that will be handled by my e-mail server at
another ISP. I have sent them an inquiry about unblocking this relay, but
would like to ask here why they do this and whether they are friendly to
unblocking it. 

I've done some web searching, and allegedly it is to cut down on spam. 
However I did not understant how this would do so. I do not read my e-mail
with a browser, and receive none through Comcast. All I want is to be able
to click on "send mail" links on web pages and compose a send e-mail.
Responses would be through my e-mail ISP.

response 11 of 86:

Sep 7 17:31 UTC 2004

Try changine your e-mail composer to use the Comcast SMTP server,
but leave everything else alone.  That way mail will go out with
the same from information but will go:

   Mac->Comcast->Destination

instead of

  Mac->OtherISP->Destination

I think you can make your SMTP server dependant on the Location
setting, so you can switch your ISP and SMTP server just by
changing the location.

response 13 of 86:

Sep 7 20:24 UTC 2004

Will using the Comcast SMTP server put comcast.net as the From address?

response 15 of 86:

Sep 8 03:07 UTC 2004

Re #11: I figured it out myself. I just changed the outgoing mail server
to smtp.comcast.net - and it worked. I thought it was going to ask for
a password, and it did the first time (my comcast.net PW) but not thereafter.

response 17 of 86:

Sep 8 05:40 UTC 2004

I shouldn't have said I figured it out "myself" only: I did look at the
comcast.net forums and found some comments (full of jargon) that mentioned
smtp.comcast.net, so that's what I tried. Funny thing, though, I haven't
gotten an answer to my earlier e-mail to Comcast asking about this error
message - and their mail response says it "might take a few hours" for
a reponse. Maybe everyone was at the beach  for Labor Day.

response 19 of 86:

Sep 8 21:20 UTC 2004

Re 17: I hate those automated messages that say "we got your message
and will respond".  That might be the right thing for @aol addresses,
but not in general.

response 21 of 86:

Sep 13 16:41 UTC 2004

WEP will keep casual hackers out.  It's possible to break it, but doing
so requires eavesdropping on a fairly large volume of traffic.  If you
want to stay on the safe side, changing your keys monthly will probably
foil any attempts unless you really move a lot of data across the
wireless link.

Right now there are so many networks around with no encryption at all
that it's unlikely anyone will bother, unless there's something special
about your network that makes it an attractive target.  Hackers tend to
go for the low-hanging fruit.

response 23 of 86:

Sep 13 17:18 UTC 2004

I think the 52% is probably the signal level readout from the card, not
an indication of packet loss -- kind of analogous to an S-meter reading
on a radio receiver.  A better indication might be the speed your
network card is using.  It will fall back to a slower speed if the
signal gets too weak compared to the noise level.  I'd use the lowest
power level that gives you acceptable performance in the most distant
location.  (But then, I've always believed in the amateur radio credo of
using the minimum amount of RF power necessary for communications.)