Living With GNOME’s NetworkManager

[ Thanks to An Anonymous Reader for
this link. ]

“The NetworkManager project believes that pain-free
networking should be possible for laptop users. Everything should
just work, as it typically does in OS X and Windows. If you unplug
your CAT-5 cable and there is wireless available, you should be
automatically connected to the Wi-Fi network so you may continue
working. Likewise, when you return to your desk, NetworkManager
should automatically connect to the faster wired network. This is
how it works in every other operating system, so generally speaking
this is a move in the right direction for Linux.

“NetworkManager also seeks to be the authoritative source of
network state information. Given that NetworkManager should know
what type of network you are connected to, it is well positioned to
provide information to applications. Using dbus and hal,
NetworkManager provides interfaces for applications to query for
network state and network speed, which allows them to adjust their
behavior accordingly. The example given on the project’s Web page
is that your computer should not try to update itself when there is
no networking, nor when connected to a pay-per-KB GSM network.”

Complete Story