DirecPC digital satellite is my only way to experience Broadband
internet
speed.I live in the country with no cable service, copper phone wire
thru two node boxes into town to the phone company at 28kbps at best.I
need to upgrade my
computer,I want a Mac and if I never see Windows again I could lose
all the resentment for having to use windows and pay for the crash
laden,lockups and memory hoarding mediocre OS for PC's.DirecPC says
only PCs.I read that Macs will
run windows programs, hook up to windows networking-no problem.
I need to know is there any way to have a Mac and use DirecPC-my only
hope for
Broadband internet speed?

awave-ga,

Thanks for allowing us the opportunity to answer this question!

The DW4020 satellite terminal supports Macintosh-based systems.  It is
Ethernet, not USB-based.  The Macintosh supports USB, but there are no
drivers available for the lower-end satellite terminals offered by
Hughes Network Systems, makers of the DirecWay product.

The Hughes page on the DW4020 terminal is located at:

http://www.hns.com/default.asp?CurrentPath=products/direcway_terminals/dw4020/dw4020.htm

It states clearly:

Key features include: 

Ethernet-based
Operating System (OS) independent

As a result, it should hook up to any Ethernet network (including a
Macintosh network, as long as you are running a relatively current
version of Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X).

I was also able to locate this April 2002 article from MacCentral:

http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2002/04/22/satellite/

"The folks at Hughes Network Systems (HNS), a provider of broadband
satellite solutions, say they're now shipping a new satellite
terminal, the DW4020, that will extend the reach of the DirecWay
two-way satellite broadband service from Windows based computers to
Macs, Unix-based systems and other platforms. "

I confirmed this information with a call to DirecWay.  DirecWay and
DirecPC are the same service (they changed their name recently) and
are both managed by Hughes Network Systems.  You can get in touch with
DirecWay by dialing (866) 556-9662.

Best of luck to you with your new service!  I'm glad I could be of
assistance.

Research methodology: 
Google searches on direcPC mac and direcway Mac
Visits to http://www.direcway.com/
Call to the number listed above

arimathea-ga
Researcher