Unfortunately not everyone is so lucky. It is supposed to work this way because
Linux should detect the hardware and supply the drivers in the background
without ever having to insert a driver CD. With the right hardware (and yours
seems to be the case) it just works. However, with the wrong hardware (that does
not support Linux), it can be a pain. Woody is right to anticipate problems and
try to head them off.

At the very least he can expect his ISP not to support Linux (or at least to
claim not to). In practice most will give support if you are reasonably
knowledgeable. My DSL service gave me a couple of problems.

First off I had to change my network and print server to 192.168.2 instead of
192.168.1 due to some interference between the two and secondly I had set up my
internet with DHCP and they insisted on going the bridged route with pppoe and
this did not sit well with my wife who was used to an always on internet. Even
an icon on her desktop to start the DSL was too much for her after more than ten
years with an always on internet (we switched from cable to DSL due to limits
imposed by our ISP). I ended up in convincing them that DHCP was the best for us
and we now have an always on internet. We have Primus as our DSL provider. So
far things have been good and we have unlimited internet which is becoming
increasingly rare.