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The component I was missing was a 10/100 card and to fair to Linspire it was listed as a required component. So open the case and insert the card, boot up and no error message. Now with the ZyXEL modem (reviewed 30/5/05) to attempt to connect to the Internet. All the required information resides on the ZyXEL box so plug it in to the 10/100 card and you are connected.

I glossed over CNR (Click and Run) simply because without Internet connectivity I could not use it and as it subscription is almost half the price you are paying for this Linux implementation  then it is rather important.

When you first connect you have to log in and give a password to use the CNR you will not have one but you do have an all important registration number in the box and once a few details are completed you are then able to select your name and password. Now log in and browse in a web interface environment. There are many thousands of programs that are all suitable for Linux all in one place and the vast majority are FREE.

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There are ten main headings Audio & MP3, Business and Finance, Desktop Enhancements, Games, Home and Education, Internet, Multimedia and Design, Software Development, Utilities and lastly Web Authoring. Once into a section you are free to browse with descriptions of each individual program click on it if you wish to download and providing its FREE that's it, it will be downloaded.

The other main use of the Web Browser is - not surprisingly - to browse the WWW and this it does in an interface very like the basic Internet Explorer so if you can navigate in that you certainly will have no problems here. Or course you will probably also want to collect and send E-mail and should you have an account with an ISP that allows web access then it can be collected that way, if not there is a E-Mail client that is easy enough to use and is probably no harder to setup than Outlook Express in Windows.

I am by no means entirely a Linux user but Linspire 5 a £4 secondhand 10/100 card and the ZyXEL modem mean I can connect to the Internet using Linux almost as easily as I can with Windows.

The PC I am using is an Athlon 1100 with not a lot of memory that used to sulk a lot with many reboots under Windows - pause while I save this piece in Open Office and touch wood - but since converting to Linux it has never rebooted once. It is not a rapid booter and it is probably close to five minutes after switch on before it is ready to be used. Now I am testing Vonage a new service that allows you to make and receive FREE phone calls to the UK and the Republic of Ireland (providing they have geographic numbers) and while the Vonage service is not supported under Linux I have proved it works. This adds another link in the chain between my broadband phone line through the ZyXEL modem now the special Linksys box that you plug a standard phone into and then the 10/100 cable goes into the PC. More on that another day as I have been using that part for only a few hours at the time of writing.

Link www.linspire.com or in the UK www.phoenixglobalsoftware.com then click on Linspire