In order to fix the "NZ@McD1" I edited /usr/local/sbin/nzone, as it asserted the WLSSID to that. I have changed it to attwifi.
The complaint from iptables seems to be that my computer doesn't *HAVE* a POSTROUTING iptables rule... I'm not sure how important that rule is, but `sudo nzone stop` *does* remove the iptables rule, and stops my internet connection from killing itself.
I *think* the reason my wired connection keeps going out is attributed to the above 2 things, *and* my choice of BASE256 which is apparently supposed to get nzone passes every few minutes. I think that because of this choice, my internet configuration is *reset* every few minutes, thus essentially disabling my ability to use my laptop for regular net usage while it's running.
I just tried changing it to BASE16 and that didn't help the constant restarting of my network connections.
I have also found out that the script in /etc/init.c/nzone DOES NOT WORK.
I have to use the /user/local/sbin/nzone script to both start and stop the connection. I'll post later with a diff between the two files.
I am less looking into the phone option, and more into how to fix the configuration I'm using.
If I have to buy a $15 wifi dongle, I will though I would love some Ubuntu ready recommendations.