ATTBI Registration Resolved

[peterman at eecs.tufts.edu (Charles Peterman)]

So after several false starts, an hour on hold, we finished the dance and
I am online yet again.

The upshot:

ATT broadband no longer allows you to simply call in the MAC of the NIC
you are using facing them.  You have to go through their silly
registration process.  Their registration process snarfs the MAC off of
your machine and away you go.

It doesn't work from lynx 2.8.5dev3, as the form has a button on it that
is unrecognized by lynx. It doesn't work with konqueror (3.0) running
without java.  It works with MSIE and that is pretty much it. Further
caveat, it doesn't work unless MSIE on a machine that is connected
directly to the modem. No intervening firewall. Once the MAC is
registered, that NIC is the only one that will work with the cable modem
for anything aside from arp.  arp being available so that their installer
can find the registration machines.

It took me some time to find a box that had an MS OS on it that I could
slip the appropriate NIC into. but I managed to get the card registered.
Once registered, the card quickly found its home back in my firewall, and
all was well.

I liked this better when they let you just call in MAC's.

Thanks to everyone for their help,  hopefully you won't have to endure the
same dance anytime soon.

-Charles