Denys asks:

>Why doesn't the iMac use DHCP?   Why did Alfredo have to instruct the iMac
>manually as to how to get to the Internet?

Your assumptions are wrong. It does use DHCP, when so instructed. But I
don't use DHCP, and I suspect Alfredo doesn't, either. You're assuming
that Alfredo is using PPP -- which has nothing to do with DHCP, but which
can self-configure using IPCP -- or perhaps a cable modem. But it's more
likely that he has a router in his house, and a private network address
that's gatewayed to the Internet. Under such circumstances, there's no
point in setting up a DHCP server. I don't use DHCP for the same reason:
on a small network, it's a pointless complication.

Don't assume that everyone connects to the Internet the same way you do.
There are lots of different ways of putting a computer on the Internet,
and not all of them involve DHCP.

Just so there's no misunderstanding, a novice Macintosh user with a
single computer accessing an ISP over a modem doesn't have to do any
configuration at all. The Mac dials up a server at Apple, configures
itself using IPCP, and then leads the user through the process of finding
an ISP and setting up an account. No configuration is necessary. If the
user already has an ISP account, the system asks only for the phone
number and identification information.

>Also, why doesn't a Mac show up
>with a name on the DHCP scope?

I don't know (assuming it really doesn't), but if you're truly
interested, I'll configure a DHCP server on one of the NT boxes here and
find out.

-- Bruce


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