Internet Connection Sharing with Windows 98 Part IILast issue I wrote about my out-of-box experience installing Windows 98 SE's new Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) feature. Judging from some of the feedback I got others did not have the easy time of it that I enjoyed. www.tartoos.com To quote TNPCer Bob K., "I experienced the exact opposite result -- it does NOT work and it is NOT easy to set up."
There seem to be some problems with ICS and it may be worth a trip to the MS
Knowledge base before you install it to see if you might fall prey to one of
its known gotchas. For example, according to the KB it appears that ICS
isn't going to work with CompuServe 2000. Also, there's a KB article saying
that ICS is incompatible with unidirectional adaptors. That means if you
have a DirectPC satellite hookup you're out of luck. CU-SeeMe over a DSL
connection doesn't work. And while I've not come across it in the KB we've
had at least one report that ICS is incompatible with cable modems. And on
and on. Go to the Personal Support page and search on "Internet connection
sharing" and you'll see what I'm talking about. Hey, computers, due to the nature of being reasonably open architecture, are complex beasties and are subject to problems. Especially when using Microsoft applications since MS is not of the opinion that it needs to accommodate anyone other than itself. But I don't want to paint too bleak a picture. ICS has worked great for me and I have another Windows 98 (not the SE version) and a Windows 95 machine accessing the Internet though my Windows 98 SE machine running ICS. And I've heard from others that have had the same positive out- of-box experience (the marketing types love that phrase) that I did. Some of you are having trouble finding the English version of Windows 98 SE overseas. Per a Microsoft official in Redmond, TNPC has been assured that the best place to obtain English versions of Windows 98 Second Edition is via local or online retailers. If you have trouble finding one, your local Microsoft office should be able to help you. And if the local MS office gives you the runaround, contact TNPC and we'll pass you along to someone at MS that can help. www.tartoos.com Speaking of foreign language versions of Windows 98 Second Edition, several are available today (German, French, Spanish, Swedish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, etc.), and MS is in the process of finalizing a number of other foreign language versions. In total, we've been told that Win98 SE will be available in approximately 25-30 languages. www.tartoos.com An alternative to ICS that many TNPCers recommend is WinGate by Deerfield.com. This is a proxy server that you use like ICS to share a single Internet connection among several networked PCs running Windows 95/98/NT. If you're using Windows 98 Second Edition on your home or small office network, you can now easily share Internet access across your network with the new Internet Connection Sharing feature. In this article, I'll show you step by step how to set up and configure the new Internet Connection Sharing feature on a network. As I do, I'll explain the technology that makes this feature work. www.tartoos.com
Internet Connection Overview When your computer dials an ISP and makes a connection, the ISP's server assigns your computer an IP address. This unique address is kind of like a conference badge that identifies your computer and permits it to access and communicate with other computers on the Internet. Without this IP address, your computer can't access the Internet. www.tartoos.com The Internet Connection Sharing feature in Windows 98 allows one computer to establish a connection to the Internet through the ISP and receive a unique IP address. This computer, known as the Connection Sharing computer, then shares this single IP address with the other computers on a network. When the other computers, known as clients, borrow this IP address, they can then use it to access the Internet over your home network without having a direct connection to the Internet or their own IP addresses. |
