[Intro-book-discuss](no subject)

[Maximiliano Curia]

> 1) What GNU/Linux packages do you use to create a dial up 
> (PPP) connection? And why?

I'm not using dial up conections, but I'd use some different ways
wvdial, which was all I need at that time. Sometimes wvdial or my ISP broke
down so in that moments, I start checking other ways and from time to time I
found the other a little better or more informative or instructive.

So I tried plain pppd, gppp, kppp, I must say that it was pretty weird to have
a pppd script working and not be able to make the kppp to work, but I think
it's working now. 

> 2) More and more people are switching to cable Internet 
> access. Can you provide some good references to help people 
> set up their cable connections and connect to the Internet?

Yes, it's pretty easy, at least it was to my, I have a network card in my
computer and that's what you have to configure. In my case, I just have to tell
it to use dhcp client, and that's it.

> 3) Do you have any favorite tricks for optimizing the 
> speed/bandwidth of your Internet connection? What tools do 
> you use to measure your speed?

A proxy will help for bad conections. Plus, mi ISP have a brokeable dns, so I 
run my own. 

> 4) What measures do you take to keep prying eyes out of 
> your computer while you are surfing the Web, participating 
> in newsgroups, using email?

Mmmh, I have a very restrictive firewall ( set up at my ISP ), which is not
what I really what I want, but any way it forbide almost any outside
connection. Any way, I have a firewall ( iptables based ), tcp wrappers is
configured, and there is a little number of LISTEN services.

Plus, I prefer using ssl based protocols ( not always available ), so I use
pop3s, ssh, scp, etc.

> 5) What is your favorite Web browser and why? What features 
> does this browser offer that are not found in other 
> browsers?

Mozilla ( 0.9.1 is usable ;) ) is the one that I use more. But it is 
overbloated,
konqueror, galeon, amaya, are my second option in graphical web browsers. 

I use lynx and links in text mode.

> 6) What email client do you use? What features does it 
> provide that you feel are useful and important?

Mutt, very configurable, it remainds me the FIDONET times, it's fast, simple,
nice. And I can see lots of document type in it.

I have tried kmail but in a version change it broke mi mail folders so I quit.

Mozilla mail and Evolution are cute, and promising.

> 7) Which newsreader do you feel provides the most features?

I don't use newsgroups, but I tried pan, it was simple.

> 8) Can you recommend a good WYSIWYG Web page editor?

I prefer to edit plain html. Any html syntax highlight editor is fine, glimmer,
bluefish, vim, emacs, august.

> 9) Which FTP client do you use and why?

lftp is wonderfull. It allows you to use connections as bash. You can use http,
use ls to see all the href's and files and get one of them. You can suspend a
conection, which is going bg automaticly.



-- 
"C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot; C++ makes it harder,
but when you do it blows your whole leg off." Bjarne Stroustrup (author of C++)
Saludos /\/\ /\ ><