Adsl For Mac

[Abandon]

I am supposed to help a friend set up adsl for his power book Mac (800 mhz). Does the free modem from TRUE work ok with the mac - and where to get the drivers (can't see them on my installation disc).

Anyone with experience??

Also he wants to use the com for making international phone calls - anyone with a mac in thailand doing this?? what program should he use and which internet phone company.

I see Skype is available for the mac ???

cheers

[Richard-BKK]

Hello pandit35,

Which ADSL modem from True/TA do you use? They have 3 brand names. And what is your Mac OS?

If you have a Billion Bipac-7000 you will not have that much problems getting online.

[Firefoxx]

Never heard of support from True for any platform other than PCs. You might have to get an ethernet ADSL modem (or router/modem).

Skype (on the PC) is excellent. I get even better results for free Skype-Skype connections than using the phone (too much lag). I don't know about its pay service, but my friend said that it was pretty good. Another person mentioned that for pay service, Vonage is superior.

[Abandon]

It's not for me - it is for my friend who has a power book 800 mhz. He still pays 500 baht a month for loxinfo dial up.

I told him to change to adsl. He has no modem or router right now.

I phoned TRUE and they said the free billion modem (that I use with no problems at all) will not work with the mac and he will need to buy a router. The one they sell is 5000 baht.

Now I can't use a mac and am not able to go and foreward ports for him. So does he really need a router or is there a modem that will work for him??

His main interest is com-to-phone international calls. Anyone else have experience with internet phone other than com-to-com?

Anyone know about using a microphone on Mac or what services are available??

[Highwayman]

Just had a look at the booklet that came with my Billion modem and cannot see any reference to macs, just Windows.

There is a phone number for installation questions, 02 900 9000 press 43.

[rjcos]

I use TT&T ADSL with a mac. I have an ADSL ethernet router as there are no modems I know of here that come with mac drivers.

[Abandon]

what router is it? brand and model? cheers - I don't want to misadvise him

[Firefoxx]

Nearly all the ADSL modems that ISPs provide to home users are USB modems. For special cases or business users, an ethernet modem/router is sold. AFAIK, the USB modems are not provided with Mac drivers. The modem/routers, once configured, are platform independent, and most can be configured on any platform using a normal web browser. The powerbook should work, since it should have an ethernet port built-in.

You can buy a modem/router for less (around 3,000) at any of the local IT shopping centers. Another more expensive alternative is to go wireless.

Thailand is just not very Mac-friendly.

[Abandon]

ok cheers.

The ethernet modem/router - it plugs into the lan card?? The power book is wireless equipped - anyone got an idea on a wireless conneciton??

[Firefoxx]

There are adsl modem/routers that have wireless connections. Some have both wireless and ethernet (lan).

[night_rider]

Ask your friend which version of the Mac OS he uses. ADSL Modems/Routers are independent of the operating systems they route traffic to. I imagine True's concern is with his PPPOE client. All the latest versions of the Mac OS have a built in PPPOE client but older OS may not. If an older version of the Mac OS it is just easier to get a router with a built in PPPOE client.

I agree with Firefox that there are cheaper options than they propose. Wireless may be redundant but certainly cheaper than 5000B. Check out www.pantipprice.com

[Abandon]

night rider - are you saying that depending on the version of max OS my friend uses he might be able to buy a regular modem (which will be easier for him to use). As far as I recall, he ws using dual boot for os9 and 10 but can't swear to it until he phones me.

Anyway by the answers here he'd be best getting a router from pantip - but whuch brands are recommended ???

Trouble with the pantip idea is that I will likely have to go with him. Which means setting it up for him, and then getting the phone calls when it doesn't work. And I don't have a clue with the mac.

[rickvan]

I have True connection for more that one year with a powerbook 1.25 GHZ I am usind the modem that true was installing on that time the ZYXEL PRESTIGE 600 ETHERNET connection on that time the usb was not accepted by the Mac.

[rickvan]

Skype is working very good on a Mac

[Firefoxx]

What night rider is referring to is a modem/router, not a modem. Nearly all modem/routers are OS independent, and it's the option that's been suggested from the beginning.

A modem: connects directly to a computer, usually by USB or serial.

A router: routes traffic between two networks. Can be connected to a modem. Can have many interfaces, but typical interface is LAN.

A modem/router: does both things

You can get a modem/router with a lan interface or a wireless interface. It depends on how much you want to spend, if your friend has both interfaces on his Mac.

[Abandon]

Cheers - all that is clear now. He will need a router.

Only question remains - which router works well with the mac??

Recommendations..

[Highwayman]

There is an article in todays Bangkok Post which l think many of you will find helpful.

Mac, Ethernet and ADSL: they said it would not work

[Richard-BKK]

Billion has for the Bipac-7000 drivers for Apple Mac.....

http://www.billion.com/support/download/fd/fd.htm

[Axel]

There is an article in todays Bangkok Post which l think many of you will find helpful.

Mac, Ethernet and ADSL: they said it would not work

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Was searching for the same article... The link, as usual with BKK Post, does not work if you are not registered.

Hard copy Dec. 15, Database page D6

[Abandon]

I could not get the bkk post link to work either. There was a mess up when I registered years ago, but now they won't let me re-register with my email address. Their site is the most awkward I ever encountered to register for (as I recall)

Even the ever helpful Bugmenot.com failed with 10 log in names. Don't suppose you could post the article here???

I thought I'd seen drivers for the Billion 7000 for the Mac. Thanks for the link. I don't suppose anyone has tried them? I'm hesitant to recommend them to my friend without knowing in advance.

By the Way - bugmenot.com is a great website - whenever you need to register for an international site but can't be bothered - post the url at bugmenot and they give you a name and pass there and then. It works for an amazing number of sites. Even used to work with the bangkok post.

[Highwayman]

They must have woken up to the Bug Me Not way of logging in. I'm often surprised that it works with as many newspapers around the world as it does. Bangkok Post was one where it always worked in the past.

Anyhow, here's the article from Database, the best section of The Bangkok Post and the only reason l still get it once a week, hope it is of help for the Mac users out there, perhaps it's something you can refer to if you decide to go with True as l have done recently (but not with a Mac ).

Considering all the mixed reviews l had seen on True Hi-Speed and my own experience with True dial-up l am pleased to say my ADSL experience has been positive. For the same price as dial-up, (when you take into account all the calls you have to make) l find that normal web surfing is about 3 times as quick and downloading 6-8 times quicker than before, and l'm only using the basic 590 baht per month package.

Mac, Ethernet and ADSL: they said it would not work

Graham K. Rogers

When TA (as it was then) offered ADSL last year, I thought it was time to upgrade, but when I mentioned the "Mac" word, adding that I would use TCP/IP and not a USB modem, the man entering the data went pale. After trying to convince him that it would work, I left the form unsigned.

Recent months have seen a greater uptake of the service and I decided that, despite being spoiled by an office network, I wanted to play at home too. I had communicated with Wisrute Buddhari, of the Alfa-Romeo owners club , who uses such links, and an Airport network, at home, all defying the Mac naysayers. Along with some technical advice, he suggested I should accept the USB modem graciously and not mention the Mac.

The application went smoothly at the Central Pinklao branch of True and a couple of days later, a sweet lady phoned. I collected the USB modem the next afternoon and paid the fees.

I had already bought a PCi modem/router at Pantip Plaza. The modem/router links to the computer via the Ethernet port (with TCP/IP no drivers are required) thus setting up is easier. Even without ADSL, once it is powered up a user can access configuration procedures installed in the modem itself using a browser. An advantage (for me) of this device is that it has four Ethernet ports: fine for a small network.

The True staff at Pinklao were helpful; but True does not really recognise Mac users. Apple still holds a small share of the market and for most companies Macs do not exist. When a friend went into the True shop the previous day, however, she had been informed that the USB modem would work with her PowerBook (although no drivers are provided). This contradicts what I had been told. However, there is a grain of truth in both versions.

The USB modem is made in China, but the company, Billion, is based in Australia and has a website, http://www.billion.com.au, with drivers for OSX, OS9 and for Linux.

I downloaded the Mac drivers and an extensive PDF Mac/Linux manual. I installed the driver as an experiment. Unlike normal modem drivers it does not appear in the modem list because it emulates Ethernet: we pretend we are using a network.

I have a gripe about this situation. Billion provide the drivers and documentation for Linux, OSX, OS9 and Windows online; while True seems to deny the existence of the first three. As I was writing this column, one of my former students (now an eMac user) pointed me in the direction of a discussion (in Thai) of the USB modem, on the Thai discussion board, Freemac.net (http://freemac.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1319). It would not be difficult, if a Mac user did want to use the USB device, for True to have a couple of CD ROMs at their premises: even the True web site only has the Windows driver.

I was promised installation at noon on Friday. I was ready early and so were the True team: they were outside at 9.15 a.m.. The visit took about 20 minutes.

The team, quiet and polite had the telephone working in 15 minutes and said that the Internet would be up in about two hours. They had never seen the modem router I was using, but accepted the fact. They confirmed that the TCP/IP settings should be DHCP, not manual: the system gives the settings automatically.

Getting a connection was not quite as clear cut as I had hoped. Some playing about (and a phone call) soon had things running. In a local area network (LAN), the Network Preferences settings are for the network router. They are not taken from the True server. With ADSL, the Preferences panel shows settings from the modem because that is the router the computer connects to. The True IP settings are shown in the browser configuration. One default setting was wrong on the "WAN Configuration" page.

Suwannee, from True's helpdesk focussed immediately on the problem area. The USB modem has local settings installed as default. Those who access using a router will not have the right information and must ask.

I had correctly entered the username and password, but at the top of the configuration page was a box for VPI (virtual path identifier) and VCI (virtual channel identifier). The default for VPI (zero) was correct, but VCI had to be changed to 100 from 35.

The moment the router was reset, an IP number appeared on the page. With no additional drivers, I started faster Internet work in minutes, including the software downloads I had anticipated.

Mac users delaying connections, should not listen to the pundits: ADSL plus a modem/router is fine.

[Abandon]

Excellent info. We'll try and set it up for my friend in January.

I have encountered the "tiwtch" several times in Thailand when people are confronted with the word 'mac' , but these things are usually workable if you know how.

cheers!