[tlug] "VDSL" modem thingy? Linux and internet password?

[Dave M G <dave@example.com>]

TLUG,

My friend recently moved into an apartment and is now subscribed to some 
internet service that came with the apartment. There are so many company 
pamphlets in all the packages related to her internet service, that I 
honestly can't tell if she is subscribed to Flet's Hikari, OCN 
something-or-other, or some kind of "VDSL" variant of "ADSL".

Anyway, here's the thing. A while back, when she was living in a 
different apartment with a different internet connection, I managed to 
convince this friend to switch from Windows to Ubuntu. She much prefers 
Ubuntu and would like to stay with it. But, all the settings and 
instructions for hooking up the internet are all for Windows, with some 
for Mac.

(On a side note, the Windows interface isn't working all that well 
anyway... seems to have trouble remembering its login settings.)

I went over to her place last night to see if I could get it worked out. 
At her previous apartment, she shared a connection with her roommate, 
and had a static IP address. I figured that at her new place all I 
needed to do was set the network settings to "DHCP" and let Ubuntu do 
the rest.

Not so easy, unfortunately. Her internet cable runs directly from her 
laptop into her cable modem (or whatever the thing is), and so she needs 
to have a username and password setting on her computer in order to get 
out onto the internet. On Windows, the connection is handled through a 
networks settings dialog somewhere within clicking on a LAN icon and 
selecting "properties" (But

I couldn't find any place or way to put in a username and password 
within the Ubuntu interface.

Question 1: How does one get a Ubuntu (and/or Linux in general) to 
connect to the internet in such a circumstance, where the connection is 
direct to the ADSL/Cable modem thingy?

Question 2: Would it be potentially easier to just get a router to put 
between the computer and the modem thingy?

Question 3: Is there more I need to know about her internet service or 
set up that would identify what needs to be done on the Ubuntu/Linux end 
of things?

I don't want this person to have to go back to Windows just because of 
this silly connection issue. I hope it's possible to get it set up.

Thanks for any advice.

--
Dave M G
http://www.tlug.jp/wiki/User:Dave_M_G