MediaOne :(

[Jacob Stetser]

I got myself all psyched up for cable modem access at my new apartment... and I called MediaOne today.

Even though their web site says my area has access, the operator says "No, that area hasn't been wired yet, but we expect to have the area wired by the end of 1999." Grr.

I DON'T WANNA WAIT!

I tried to push them for a better estimate, but nooooo... they won't give out any other information. Sigh.

Jake

[Deb]

I feel your pain.... all too well!

Terra and I live in an area that wont be wired for a LONG TIME http://www.aota.net/ubb/frown.gif Our cable comp is just now bragging about adding a few more channels *sigh*

We are stuck on the 56k modem

Deb

[Jacob Stetser]

Hee hee. For some reason that makes me feel a little better.

After all, your server is connected to multiple T-somethings, and you're still connected to a 56k. That makes me feel grounded.

I'm not the only one hitting the analog/FCC barrier.

http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif

Jake

[Doug]

They have digging machines laying cable in my neighborhood this week. I called Comcast last night and cable modem is suppese to be available for me in 2-3 months. If their pricing is what I was told last night, ($40.00 per month) I will be able to eliminate the service to the 2nd phone line and drop my ISP (contracts up at the end of May) and not have to pay extra over what I'm paying now (except for installation) for the cable modem service. I'm psyched up about this! I'll let you all know if it works out all right or not.

[Terra]

I want a cable modem sooooooo bad! Where we lived before, cable modems were coming in a month, we moved to Florida... Where we live, we can't even get an ISDN line so we are stuck behind the 56K modem... On the flipside, it allows us to see how everyone else perceives our server response (or so I keep telling myself)... We used to be 1 hop away from the server, but due to the recent rash of slowness complaints, we dropped our fast connection and went with an ISP that is 16 hops away to see it from the outside in...

On another note: Practice safe computing practices as cable modems utilize BroadBand, and with a sniffer setup correctly - you can snoop on anyone else connected to your hub segment... If you are going to use FutureQuest interactively, then I would highly recommend going with SSH encrypted link and port forward your POP email as well...

Just my 2 cents...

--
Terra
--Lives life in the slow lane--
FutureQuest.net

[pqwabbit]

bieng connected to cable modem may have ben great for the original rabbit rescue webmasters but it totally left them clueless about how long it was really takng their site to load for teh avg person (20 mins 36.6)

That was like really annoying - cuz they didnt get how bad it really wuz even if ya told em - so like I think its good practice busines whatever to acutally have a regular connection so yu can take the point of view of your avg web surfer and adjust accordingly- it puts ya that much ahead of the curve - kinda like how you have all them differnt operating systems set up.
msn believe me the avg Joe-surfer will like thank you http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif


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I can only please one person per day.
Today is not your day.
Tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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www.massey.i-p-d.com/index.shtml (http://www.massey.i-p-d.com/index.shtml)

[Justin]

I hear you there, pqwabbit. Another thing people need to do now and then is SHIFT + Reload, to see it as though it were their first visit. I've been to many pages with a "Splash Screen", where a stupid intro page shows you a graphic or something for a couple of seconds, and I usually get about to the part where the alt text is starting to show and I'm forwarded. I hate those. Waste of precious bandwidth IMHO.

The @Home network is either run by, affiliated, or owned by TCI cable, our cable company. Unfortunately, in my area, they are focusing on Digital cable - using all that good potential bandwidth so that people can see and hear the Andy Griffith show with a sharp picture and CD quality sound. Hmm.. So it won't be available here for a while - there are currently no plans yet at all. Friggin waste of RG-59/U if you ask me.

But on the brighter side, I can get an ISDN line installed for $20 installation and $50 a month - counting internet service. So I'd be paying about $10 more than what I'm paying now. Then there's the modem... As soon as I can afford that, I'm getting one.

But I'd much rather pay $40 a month for MEGA bits per second. MEGA. I like the sound of that. I'd kill to leave the realm of kilo's.

Oh, well, there's my 79 cents for the day http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif


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Justin Nelson, SFE Inc.
http://www.vdj.net

[Armand]

A few months ago I got a new computer...was all jazzed that it had a 56k modem since was using a 36.6. I could connect at 33.6 on the old one. Now with the new 56K I only get 28.8 max. http://www.aota.net/ubb/frown.gif

ISP blames phone company and phone company blames ISP. It's a vicious circle and neither will help improve things.

I'd jump for joy just to get 33.6 or higher around here http://www.aota.net/ubb/frown.gif

Just my 2 cents. Of course I do the same thing and tell myself that it helps me see things from the visitors prespective. (And it makes me hate most corporate sites which are loaded with useless graphics.)

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Armand (aka Joe)
joe@arcanumcafe.com
www.arcanumcafe.com (http://www.arcanumcafe.com)

[ChrisH]

Yes, Justin, that's what I'm paying -
$40 per month for a cable modem. It is
worth it, especially since I'm used to
a workstation hooked right up to pretty
good bandwidth at work. It's tough to go
back to a modem when you're home!!

I'm also interested in SSH. I got a
freeware SSH called mindterm -- runs OK
on JDK 1.2, and I think I might be able
to do email over it (or something else)
too. But how do you get around using
the CNC with http Basic Auth, which is
one step from clear text? I saw a perl
script today (39 lines) that lets you
sniff packets. Pretty scary. (No, doesn't
run on Windows, but still.)


chris

[Justin]

Joe,

That wouldn't happen to be a Winmodem, would it? I have a 33.6 Winmodem that was supposedly upgraded to 56k X2, and it says so when you do the "More Info" thing, but I've never ever connected faster than 28.8. I tried a friend's laptop with a 56k X2 in it on my line with my ISP, and it's 53.3 every time, so it's definately the modem.

Funny thing is, origionally it was a 28.8, but was upgraded at the factory before being shipped. So the manual says 28.8 all over it, but the software said 33.6 and now 56k, but I don't think it wants to do it. Stubborn piece of junk.

What intrigues me to no end is that a Winmodem is software based - most of the DSP work is done via software, which is why it is supposed to be a very upgradable modem. There's no flash rom's to upgrade - just the software DSP.

I also have a 33.6 PCTel modem, using HSP (host signal processing) technology, and it uses a LOT of CPU, requiring at minimum a P166 to run, where the Winmodem can run on a 486. The PCTel is by far the worst modem I've ever laid hands on. Stay away from anything with HSP written on it. You will not be able to find the manufacturer, as PCTel's cards are made by several companies in China or Hong Kong, with only an FCC ID to trace (mine is made by BTC). They are also unsupported. That's what I get for buying a brand new modem for $29.99 http://www.aota.net/ubb/frown.gif

The Winmodem was given to me (I now see why), and I'm just holding out till I can afford an ISDN modem.

Well, now we're up to about $2.43, so if I don't shut up I will never get a modem http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif


------------------
Justin Nelson, SFE Inc.
http://www.vdj.net

[Armand]

Justin actually it's a Lucent modem that came with the new computer (a Packard Bell, yeah I know...). But Lucent is usually some good stuff.

Had the phone company test the line and the guy said the max I should get is 25.4kbs, all because my area has like 50 year old wiring. But yet they say it's most likely the ISP, go figure!?!

Nice to know the phone company's on the ball and up-to-date on the technology. Wasn't the US government giving phone companies millions of dollars to upgrade their lines as I remember?

(Here in New Mexico two tin cans strung together is consider a viable phone system http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif )

Okay enough ranting, I'll shut up now and go back into my little corner http://www.aota.net/ubb/wink.gif

------------------
Armand (aka Joe)
joe@arcanumcafe.com
www.arcanumcafe.com (http://www.arcanumcafe.com)

[Dean B]

You guys n' gals in the U.S are sooooooooo lucky. The majority of telephone providers in the U.K don't even have a clue as to what cable modem is let alone when the're likely to offer. That plus the fact that we still have to pay for local phone calls (around $5 hr during office hours) even though British Telecom recently merged with AT & T making them the biggest communications network on the planet.
I have GOT to move to FL soon http://www.aota.net/ubb/biggrin.gif

Dean.

[Tom]

I cannot get over a 26.4 connection, and the cause is the digital SLICK phone line I have. The extra digital conversion forever prevents a v.90 connection here. http://www.aota.net/ubb/frown.gif There's info on this at www.v90.com (http://www.v90.com) .

Cox cable has already run the fiberoptic, but no timefram on when we get cable modems. And Southwestern Bell has announced DSL, but my fair city isn't on their list that goes out to Q3 1999.

Whadya gotta do?!

[Daniel]

Ahh cable modems, I've told "just a few more months" since mid 97. My area has been wired for awhile now but they still aren't even done testing the modems yet, you should see the forum on that topic, the people are fuming. I called them today and they said maybe not until June now, approx 2 yrs since they first told me they would install it, I'll be surprised if they do it then. But from what I have heard from people who have them they are fantastic, so I guess I'll have to keep my fingers crossed.

[Jay]

Hi folks http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif

We just signed up with FutureQuest... http://www.common-quest.com/ - not much on their yet other than the 'here we come' page... so far so good. I'm sure Deb is sick of my questions.. http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif

Anyway, we're puttering along with ISDN here (Stuttgart, Germany).. Telekom are testing HDSL and ADSL lines which, I am told, are superquick. But we won't get them for a long while yet. Oh well....

I was interested to read that Terra was now 16 hopes away from the machine... I'm only 15 http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif And the speed has been quite acceptable so far...

Keep up the good work everyone http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif

J

------------------
-------->8--------
John Hawksley
http://www.common-quest.com/

[hearts]

this makes me giggle.. there is no chance in this life we could have cable modems here.. we don't even have cable!!!!

and Lucent is previously owned by AT&T.. they ain't so great.. that could explain the prob with that modem.

Our server and our phone company .. they clash. I think they are enemies. http://www.aota.net/ubb/wink.gif

[Armand]

Hey Hearts! No cable? EEEK! I know the feeling about ISP and phone being enemies...that's all I get out them.

So out of curiousity how fast do you connect hearts? By the way just dawned on me that one of my friends works at Lucent....DOH!! Should ask her I suppose.

[hearts]

ahhhhhhh.. it ain't so bad.. got a satelite.. and not the digital kind neither.. got an ordinary c-band and love it. And I am too stingy to subscribe to anything too.. why bother when there is so much up there for free!

and depending on the day.. depending on the phonelines.. my connection basically sux. and our phone company will never support 56k. http://www.aota.net/ubb/frown.gif

I guess when your town is more populated by cows than people.. they don't see the point of upgrading us.

[Dean B]

Even though we're unlikely to see cable modems here for a *long* time I do have to say that british connections are generally pretty quick & stable. My sportster flash on my main PC connects at a steady 46600 through my cable connection which I use just for the modem. If I plug it into my other regular phone line it will sometimes connect at 49300. And Justin, I just put a winmodem in a PC I'm building for my Ma and the first connection I got was 50300 ! http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif

Hey Hearts............ Mooooooooooooo http://www.aota.net/ubb/biggrin.gif


------------------
Regards, Dean.
**DMCity Web Board**
www.dmcity.com/cgi-bin/ubb/Ultimate.cgi (http://www.dmcity.com/cgi-bin/ubb/Ultimate.cgi)

[Bi4Be]

LOL! This discussion is really making me remember that time my ISP said: "I'm sorry, it is your phone company's fault that you can't get a connection faster than 33.6K with your 56K Modem." Then I replied: "You guys ARE my phone company!"
Somehow, the BellSouth Dot Net ISP representative forgot that Bellsouth also does phone lines. This just made me madder. http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif

I like that fact, though. Because they can't blame the phone company and the phone company can't blame my ISP.

-Bi4Be

PS: ISDN is in my town but for a mere $90 a month. I can't do that! But I might consider ADSL for $60 a month or Cable for $40-50 a month if it ever gets here. But that will be a year most likely.

[hearts]

hey Dean...

was that a post for one of my neighbors? http://www.aota.net/ubb/wink.gif

[Armand]

If I switched to my phone company's ISP service get a feeling I'd be connecting at a speed of 9600 ...um...no thanks! http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif

[Jacob Stetser]

Hmm.

Reminds me of waiting on hold with Earthlink/SPRINT for 20 minutes, talking with the representative who eventually told me the reason I got lots of busy signals and stuff was my phone company.

So I call my operator and ask about the 'fast busy signals' I'm getting.

"That's because the switch is overloaded."

Click.

Well, DUH! I wanted to ask if BellSouth planned to FIX IT, ever! But I got hung up on. Whatever happened to common courtesy? My cable story isn't much better...

So, I call for cable, get them to say they'll come between 5 and 8 last Monday. They say they'll call before they get there.

I arrive home around 5:30, haven't had a call. Six rolls around. Still no technician. So I call MediaOne. They tell me he already came out and I wasn't there. I asked, "why wasn't I called before he came like you said I would?"

They say I didn't give them a phone number. I did. So I give it to them again. They tell me they'll see if they can get someone out there that night to take care of it.

Nobody comes.

I call back a few days later, ask the person why nobody came. He answers, "Your request for sending someone out again was denied because you missed your first appointment."

Appointment? Appointment? Since when was this an appointment? If I'm making an appointment, I tell someone I'll be there AT 5, not between 5 and 8. And I explained again that he didn't call me, and he said they only call if they're going to be late..

So I asked him why they didn't call me to tell me that they weren't sending someone out .

"We don't have to do that."

GRRRRR!

To make a long story longer, I finally got cable installed on Saturday, a full week after I first tried to get it installed. AND THEN, when my movie channels weren't working, I tried to call the MediaOne customer service line, and they have a billion options on their phone, NOT ONE OF WHICH is to talk to a real person. I had to put in all sorts of bogus numbers to confuse the system enough to send me to an operator.

Sheesh.

Still, it didn't take the 20 minutes of holding you get when you're NOT a customer.

This is how monopolies act. (One reason M$ is not one of my favored companies)

AND DON'T get me started on airlines.

http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif

Jake
/me feels much better now.

[auteur]

Boy do I feel everyone's pain...okay not the cow population dilemna but the modem...

At work I am on a T3 or something like that...I go home to work on my consulting work on a 56k...but, ever since we added the second phone line...it only connects at a 28k...which is frustrating...except I know how slow or fast my pages download for my visitors, so that does help...but I'm a download freak...of nature http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif heeheehee...and boy do I hate waiting for downloads...

I think we're going to go cable too. I'm near Ft. Lauderdale so I think we're not only wired but everything's ready to go...with Media One having Miami ready to go... http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif Maybe Terra, you could wire yourself down to my neck of the woods...heeheehee...one big and very, very long cable...heeheehee...

On another note...It's cold down here today, but I get no simpathy from anyone when I talk to them on the phone... 50 degrees ...burrrr... heeheehee... couldn't resist... http://www.aota.net/ubb/smile.gif

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Elizabeth M. Miller
Getting You the Attention You Deserve!
www.123marketing.com (http://www.123marketing.com)