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The Linux Modem Problem?
muonman asks: "There is a business in town which refurbishes old computers and distributes them to kids, roughly at cost. Part of this cost is a $5 license for Windows 98 (they do use OpenOffice, tho). I have outlined to them the benefits of migrating to Linux, but the showstopper is modems, which most of their customers require. They buy in bulk at $4 each, with unpredictable chipsets. I can find reliable(?) drivers for Smartlinks, but cant buy them for less than $6 each, and I hate to recommend the switch in suppliers without more info. I haven't had luck getting license info from linuxant for using Conexants. It seems there has been no activity on the linmodem front for some time. Any wisdom from the Slashdot crowd?"
This question is unanswerable and based on the tacit assumption that Windows 98 will "just work" on these legacy machines.
Do these bulk modems come with Windows drivers? For $4? Do they work? What about all the other components of these refurbished computers?
Why don't you have your configuration person do a bake-off. Try MEPIS or some other user-friendly distro and see how many of these refurbished machines work (including modem) immediately, and how many require screwing around and/or installation of 3rd-party stuff. Ask the same question of Windows 98 on the same machine. While you're at it, measure installation/configuration time.
I'm not at all convinced of the premise - that Windows works on a larger proportion of these machines.