OT: Help with simple Linux maintenance

[Oleg Goldshmidt]

>> She has a Linux laptop fully functional with Kbuntu 9.04.  It is
>> connected via Ethernet to a cable modem.  The cable modem is
>> working and the computer receives a cable IP .
>>
>> She has a Netvision account and the connect script was tested with
>> a cable modem at my place and it worked.  The script also worked
>> when every command is cut, paste and executed in a root shell.
>> But, running the script with sudo yield nothing.

Gal, 

Maybe a much simpler solution for your friend will be to call the
provider and tell them she is not interested in dialing them and wants
a direct DHCP connection. No scripts, dialers, setup (well, DHCP), or
anything like that, at no extra cost? I don't think I have ever used a
dialer with broadband (i.e., from the moment I moved from dial-up to
ADSL and then to cable), and if my memory betrays me and I did in the
beginning, certainly not in many, many years. Frankly, I didn't even
think dialers existed any more as a mainstream feature...

IIRC, when I tried to re-hook with Netvision a couple of years ago
they were in the process of merging with Barak, and told me that since
they were merging the infrastructures if I wanted direct DHCP I had to
get a Barak account. Now the two are the same company, right?

> and Netvision are thieves who want our money, not our business. They
> deserve neither.

That may be true, and certainly they (well, Barak) want our business
because of the money we pay, can't fault that, can we?... FWIW,
Netvision have always (since 1996 for me) provided decent Linux
support (not that I used it heavily), including dial scripts that I
was offered but never used, etc.

The trick is to call them and tell them on the phone that you have
Linux, and you want to talk to someone knowledgeable. This always
worked for me in the past, i.e., I was called back by someone
reasonably proficient. Though I am still a Barak customer I don't call
tech support much (well, DHCP just works), so I don't know if that
changed after the merger.

-- 
Oleg Goldshmidt | pub at goldshmidt.org