[Chimpmaster]

So has anyone done this?

In Australia, current affordable satellite solutions are 1 way (ie downloads via satellite, uploads via modem).

Sample solution:

Pc connected to satellite device via usb port.

Network card from pc connects to ethernet hub, which connects to an airport base station and a local imac (the 2 clients).

1) What type of software is available to share an internet connection froma pc to mac clients? (if needed)

2) I wonder how hard it would be to share the connection given that it is really two separate connections...

3) The isps dont officially support macs. Is there any hardware or software around that could help here so I dont need a crappy pc server...

[Camelot]

Depending on your version of Windows, the built-in internet sharing feature in Windows 2000 or XP will do what you need. It'll let the Macs (or other machines) on the ethernet connection share the satellite connection.

[Chimpmaster]

THanks Camelot. SOunds like it might be worth a go...

[ghporter]

The setup in your original post will work fine. Just think of the PC as a fancy router, and it should all make sense. You don't need to do anything with the PC but boot it up and let it translate the connection into ethernet for you, so it shouldn't be a big deal. People do this with Linux routers all the time-basically an inexpensive PC running Linux to play router. No sweat.