The Answer Gang

Free Linux ISPs in France

From Wilf on Sat, 2 Sep 2000

There've been a number of requests about ISPs offering "free" (but paid by ads) services and accepting rather than rejecting Linux users. If you're in Europe, Wilf's answer may be handy... and if not, his warnings are still worth regarding. -- Heather

Hello LGs,

Users in France may now choose quite a few ISPs which offer 1, 2, 3, ... 12 hours free of charge (that's to say connection, personnel web space, phone costs within a local area...).

Alas, some inconveniences are:

1. (having to) accept extensive advertising which (once your surfing analyzed) will be tailored accordingly (someone MUST pay, mustn't s/he ? . I skip details on restrictions and services which vary from one ISP to another.
2. most of 'em are aimed for (un)lucky Windows (Windoze?) users. Win 3.11 is almost always left out, and Linux even more so.

Exactly why everyone has been asking...

Having called an ISP (Free, to be precise), I received a letter and a CD in a surprisingly short time which included necessary information (login, password, POP, SMTP, DNS1 and DNS2, News and Email addresses and some example scripts for Linux which I strangely did not need at all) to configure programmes (under Linux, you've guessed it) which worked fine... after two nights' spent on configuring kppp.

Users in France may check www.free.fr for information regarding the "points d'accès" within their region of residence. They, at Free, do not impose such and such OS: you are free to use Windows and/or Linux or any other OS capable of handling Internet's protocols and some such programmes.

This leads me to furnish a piece of information users of OLITEC modems might find to be just what they needed to get at last connected:

I use (under Red Hat 6.0) a modem of Olitec, the Self Memory 56000 V90/K56Flex, which kppp recognized straight away. However, hours and quite a couple of beers later, the connection was still not established, raising not only the phone bill but also resulting in a what now appears to be a somewhat bold head, until I checked out the configuration file of kppp (under the influence of suggestions made by a friend who cared to spend the nights in front of my compy, and not, as you might have suspected, under the influence of the brew, honest, we weren't blotto at all). Besides, fancy having a good look at his personnel (French) pages he painfully created under Linux and want to learn (or indulge yourself in reminiscences) about that famous "racing car" Gordini or R8? Check out www.amicale1134.cigale.net, it is for you! Well, on then: in kppp, the option "Periphery / End of Line" is set to "CR" by default, which the above named modem needs to be set to "../../LF". This done, the connection was immediate and I could surf (which I did, in fact) !!!

Worthwhile noting, though: kppp runs without a problem when used under root, other users, however, need be in a group especially created and given the rights to use kppp! Being new to Linux, I haven't yet figured out how to create a group and get my current "none-root user" into it. Anyone care to help, please?

There is a file called /etc/group which declares what groups exist and which users are members of them. You can also be a member of a group if its number is your gid in the /etc/passwd file (that's your default group). So add your own username to the right group line in /etc/group (multiple users are seperated by comma, spaces are not needed). -- Heather

Another information regards reducing phone bills: again, users in France should contact France Telecom and subscribe to "Primaliste Internet" at 9,91 FRF (or 1,51 Euro) per month which gives a discount of 50% on local calls using ONE chosen phone number and made between the (nightly) hours 22:00 and 8:00 (that's 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., if you prefer) at 0,07 cts (or 0,01 Euro) per minute (I guess "Night time is the Right time", but not really an excuse to neglect your Missis!).

Finally, a personnel request to those writing articles or documentations for Linux Gazette in English (be that British or American or in general): I have taken up to translating some of them (articles, that is) and have not often though quite some difficulties when it comes to translate (or even guess) what the author wanted to say. Please be precise! Phrases like "I youz, but it no working, pleaz hep!" don't mean much, particularly when translated. Never mind spelling mistakes (even God left out where/how/why he lives...), but use nouns or name "the things" instead. And, keep your articles coming in! (Hmmm, I hope editors of LG aren't grumbling so much about this invitation .

Quite the contraire, mon ami! We love to see new translations. And, while encouraging our readers to clearer sentences, I'd also like to encourage a bit more that helps all of us help you:

• Please state what sort of thing doesn't work
• Please try to tell us what you were expecting it to do
• ...and what you tried already ("everything" doesn't cut it - it might actually help us realize what's going on, to know what sort of everyday thing didn't work; or you might have missed something that we, more experienced as we are, think was clear enough to be part of "everything" we'd try.)

Wishing you all, at LG and 'round the globe, good continuation (and "bon apétit / enjoy your meal" in case you're dining...) and, of course: "ETAHI, ERUA, ETORU !!!",
Sincerely Yours, Wilf (as opposed to Howling Wolf as is ham to bacon

Copyright © 2000, James T. Dennis
Published in the Linux Gazette Issue 58 October 2000

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