[Forte]

Ok, I guess this is the right forum here for this question...

Right now, I'm stuck getting online from my Wintel machine, due to a combination of a notoriously unreliable USB modem, and a Mac-unfriendly service provider. It sucks to have to use my secondary computer to get online, so I'm looking to switch to a different ADSL provider (I'm in the UK, BTW).

Currently, the only things I've heard regarding Mac-supporting ISPs is that Zen and Demon are good choices, but that Bulldog DSL is not. I liked the sound of Bulldog's pricing, and the fact that they give dynamic IP numbers as opposed to static ones, but apparently their connections aren't reliable. It's also being a bit of a pain finding a provider who'll offer an Ethernet modem as opposed to a USB one (I've already been burned by those). There has to be more than those three ISPs, though, but I'm having a heck of a time even finding much information, which is why I'm asking here (Google has been little use, as it seems to trawl up a lot of spam-like pages when searching for ISP information).

Does anyone have any recommendations, please?

Thanks very much in advance.

[ginoledesma]

Well, you could stick with your current ISP and just buy yourself an Ethernet-based DSL modem. Of course, this won't work if your ISP uses proprietary software that works with the USB modem. If they locked out other modems by hardwiring your connection to its MAC address (the hardcoded unique address burned onto the modem's chip), most routers have the ability to "spoof" their MAC addresses to pretend to be something else.

[Forte]

Originally posted by ginoledesma:
Well, you could stick with your current ISP and just buy yourself an Ethernet-based DSL modem. Of course, this won't work if your ISP uses proprietary software that works with the USB modem. If they locked out other modems by hardwiring your connection to its MAC address (the hardcoded unique address burned onto the modem's chip), most routers have the ability to "spoof" their MAC addresses to pretend to be something else.

Thanks, but there's a reason I'm looking to switch - my current ISP is (unfortunately) AOL UK. Reliable as it is under Windows, it does land me with a bunch of stuff I don't need - I only use it for access, not for any content they provide (and believe me, I'm not with them by choice). Nobody was willing/able to help me get my iBook connected to AOL UK's DSL service (I'd already tried a lot of workarounds which all failed miserably), which is why I'm now trying to get advice on what a good Mac-friendly DSL ISP in the UK would be. ^^;;

Regarding the modem thing; Here, you generally have to use the modem and stuff that your provider sticks you with, or performance isn't guaranteed... :/ I intend to get an Ethernet modem when I switch provider, though (again, I need to find a provider that offers decent gear to get connected with).