The Linux KDE desktop presents a Windows-like interface that's easy to use. Programs are launched by clicking the "K" button and by clicking the icons on the "K panel".

Almost everyone with a few computers on a small-office or home-office (SOHO) network faces the same problem – how to give all machines simultaneous access to the Internet via a shared modem.

Usually, the main requirement is to give everyone email access. However, you don’t want everyone dialling out to the Internet on separate lines – that’s expensive and ties up lines that should be kept open for voice connections.

The answer is to use one machine as a "gateway" to the Internet and have the other machines connect via this gateway. That way, everyone on the network can share the Internet connec­tion via a common modem and phone line.

If you have only a couple of computers on a home network, Microsoft’s ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) utility – included with Windows 98SE, Windows Me and Windows 2000 – is the way to go. It’s a snack to set up and you only have to install it on the gateway (or host) machine. The "client" machines don’t require ICS and can run other operating systems such as Windows 95 and Windows NT.

If you want to know more about ICS, take a look at the article on home networking in the December 2000 issue of SILICON CHIP.