What modems work with Ubuntu?

[Derek Broughton]

Mike Drabik wrote:

> The reality one techie has experienced 'out there' among the non-profit
> organizations (NGO's) with shoe-string budgets and who cannot afford a
> broadband connection
...
> E. THEN, after the upgrade is complete, I.T. Specialist finds the Winmodem
> won't work in Ubuntu. He works at every possible solution he can find -
> desperately even working at home using his broadband connection looking
> for a possible windmodem driver compatible with Linux. Result: nothing,
> absolutely nothing works.
> 
> F. Advises Director of same. Result: Director orders all parts be returned
> to the store; the Ubuntu CD is tossed in the trash; the PC is relegated 
> to the attic of the building currently occupied by the NGO AND  the I.T.
> specialist is now looking for a job.
> 
> I ain't got a solution to this problem, but this is the reality out there
> for both NGO's and ordinary computer users and many of the I.T. folks out
> there who support them.

This, though, isn't the fault of Ubuntu.  Ubuntu needs to support _some_
modems, not _every_ modem.  This was an error on the part of the IT
specialist who failed to spec a working modem in the upgrade.  Frankly, I
have trouble believing you couldn't have got a usable modem with the $40
left in the budget, rather than trying to make the original one fit.

I've seen the same on the part of corporations with far more resources.  A
solutions provider specced a Debian system running MySQL for a database
application.  Unfortunately they never considered the fact that, at the
time, MySQL couldn't handle more than a 4TB database, and the data grew to
4TB within months.  Rip out Debian, install Solaris (iirc) and Oracle. 
Take a big loss on the project.  That company not only won't touch Linux
any more, but they badmouth it at every opportunity - because of their own
error.
-- 
derek