Oh, and I forgot to say, not being able to download any additional software
to get the modem going, and not being able to look at these bug reports to
find a work-around. Most frustrating.

On 19 August 2010 08:24, Richard Cookson <
richardcookson@3rdplanet.efhmail.com> wrote:

> Or to put daf's point from my point of view as a completely non-technical
> user, it used to work fine by clicking on network manager (whatever
> underlying program this was I don't know) and filling in the phone number.
> Now it's broken.
>
> Why has something which worked fine been removed? As I originally posted
> when I had this bug filed under another bug report, it's not an issue to me
> when my normal broadband connection is working, but when my broadband
> provider goes 'bust' (as they have done twice now), or has a service problem
> it leaves me in the intolerable position of not being able to get on-line at
> all, not being able to email my provider to find out what's going on, not
> being able to get on the internet to arrange another provider, not being
> able to get my bank statements, not being able to recieve my emails, not
> being able to access my online diary and documents etc, etc, etc.
>
>
> On 19 August 2010 06:33, daf <email address hidden> wrote:
>
>> Mathieu, I understand that technology *can* have a role to play (though
>> I think that role is not as major as you might think here). I also
>> appreciate that this is a level-headed discussion. Please understand I
>> come from a place of passion about Linux-based operating systems, in
>> particular Ubuntu. If you don't mind a bit of a read (and I hope this is
>> a reasonable place to make this post) then please also understand that
>> my frustration stemmed from the following:
>>
>> * _many_ 3G modems (and, with that term, I incorporate GPRS and EDGE,
>> since the tech involved is often transparent to the user -- the modem is
>> simply supplied by a wireless telecoms company on a contract basis) are
>> correctly identified and work with the usb-serial kernel module, producing
>> what, for all intents and purposes, looks "like" a serial modem to client
>> apps. Even more of these modems can be "made to work" by getting their
>> vendor/hardware id's forced at the time of module load -- not trivial for a
>> newbie, but fairly simple to do (all things considered) when following some
>> kind of instructions to edit default module parameters or try out with a
>> modprobe line. The point is that as soon as usb-serial has recognised this
>> device, the actual establishing of a connection via pppd is trival to script
>> from a dev's point of view -- I would have expected the basics of ppp
>> network setup to be available. In other words, the hardware here is not the
>> issue. Whether you have a HUAWEI or a cheap Siemens modem, whether you use
>> one of the zillions of phones out there which present a modem interface via
>> cable, establishing a connection to the internet should be really simple
>> with these devices -- and is, if you have a background in Linux networking.
>> It's just that the common user is left out in the cold -- as is the lazy
>> expert (:
>> * Even if ppp connections can't be configured through NM (as with wicd,
>> another fine lan/wireless network helper), the problem remains that the
>> client-space applications all believe NM on the opinion it has with respect
>> to "being online". The general idea of being able to help the user with an
>> online status is neat -- just not well thought-out if it doesn't cater for
>> one of the most common methods for connecting to the internet -- most
>> especially at the time of the original post and my "+1". Now that wireless
>> routers and DSL are becoming more of the "norm", the importance of this
>> issue may actually, if anything, be dwindling a little. But I would still
>> count it as important.
>> * A larger issue is that gnome-ppp (or similar) isn't installed by
>> default. NM is -- and could fill this gap. So the user gets a dvd/cd from a
>> friend/colleague who is a FLOSS-pusher, installs (or hits the "try me out"
>> option) and finds that something which was really trivial to do under her
>> other installed OS is not immediately available to her -- and, as far as I
>> can see, for no particularly good reason (yes, there's dev-time -- and yes,
>> I should be putting my programming skills where my mouth is!) when the
>> establishment of a ppp connection over a serial device has been the
>> granddaddy of internet connection methods -- and typically something
>> Linux-based systems actually do *better*: faster, better intrinsic hardware
>> support (ie often no need to install extra 3rd-party drivers), more reliably
>> -- in my opinion.
>> * NM offers "Mobile Broadband" and "DSL" connections but won't let the
>> user tweak the devices to use -- it's just like NM is so close, but missing
>> that crucial cigar -- and I can't rationalise why. Perhaps someone else can?
>>
>> --
>> MASTER Network Manager integrated ppp support - should allow the
>> configuration of dial up modems
>> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/311581
>> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
>> of a duplicate bug (355553).
>>
>>
>