Those usb modems

[gabriel]

Hello, I have some questions about usb modems (those Sagem, Speedtouch etc).
I know they work on linux, but my question is: why installing and using an usb modem with linux is generally such a long and painful process (too hard for many people - believe me, it's one of the obstacles, that makes people stick with windows, although I know that these mdoems are troublesome even for windows users - I know it from my own experience).

Is it because of licensing or something else, that these devices can't work "out of the box" on linux? Can we expect this situation to change in the future?

Right now I advice all people I know to get an ethernet card and ask a provider for an ethernet cable modem.

[domecq]

Refer to this website: http://www.linux-usb.org/

[mullins]

I use a Speedtouch and it did take some effort to setup on Linux compared to Windows but it was worth it!

[jobezone]

Is it because of licensing or something else, that these devices can't work "out of the box" on linux? Can we expect this situation to change in the future?

Right now I advice all people I know to get an ethernet card and ask a provider for an ethernet cable modem.

I think this is because each manufacturer reinvents the wheel when using usb, and usually provide only windows drivers (and sometimes poorly supported binary linux drivers). Yeah, I advise people to get an ethernet adsl modem. It's just so painless to set up.