AT&T DSL blocks Linux Configuration
linuxlock.blogspot.com
linuxlock.blogspot.com
As a matter of course, I have established the habit of
carrying around a small laptop with Windows XP installed
in order to do this. Doing so is absolutely ridiculous
and should be unnecessary,
The financial condition of his clients are irrelevant in this case. As the technician doing the install, it is his responsibility to bring the right tools for the job. In this case, that includes a laptop running Windows.
Is he going to get all bent out of shape because one of his other tasks is going to require a Torx bit and he thinks he only needs to bring a Phillips?
Aside from that, it is no secret at all that no Tier 1 support person at any large, commercial ISP anywhere is going to talk to anyone about Linux. I went through this same problem back in 2001-ish with @home when I made the mistake of mentioning the letters "BSD" (I had the opposite problem, I could say connected on FreeBSD for days but any Windows PC would routinely disconnect and reset all TCP connections).
The basic reality is that we (the non-mainstream OS users) are not AT&T, et al's cash cow. These are capitalist enterprises designed to make a buck and, as such, aren't going to spend a single green dollar on supporting Linux until they see a clear ROI for doing so.
Finally, hinting to AT&T that their customers are going to start pirating Microsoft software is absolutely ridiculous. AT&T does not care. AT&T != Microsoft.