The Irony......
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| helios Jan 11, 2012 12:01 PM EDT |
And with all of that, you can't initialize and register an AT&T DSL modem with Linux without da** near performing an appendectomy on yourself. |
| JaseP Jan 11, 2012 12:10 PM EDT |
Right hand,... May I introduce you to Left hand? ... Why, Yes! You two do share the same body! ... |
| jdixon Jan 11, 2012 1:12 PM EDT |
> Right hand,... May I introduce you to Left hand? ... Why, Yes! You two do share the same body! ... It not so much that they don't know as that they don't care. :( |
| djohnston Jan 11, 2012 11:05 PM EDT |
Quoting:And with all of that, you can't initialize and register an AT&T DSL modem with Linux without da** near performing an appendectomy on yourself. Ken, Have you ever got one working? The only one I encountered that was not connected to a router had sporadic, at best, internet access with Linux. The Windows config seemed to show ipv4 and ipv6 access at the same time. Of course, I'm pretty rusty at deciphering Windows config files. |
| helios Jan 11, 2012 11:56 PM EDT |
Yeah, I finally got an ip address out of an ATT tech but it's on my home machine and I am away. It bypasses that silly .exe file they insist on you using to initialize the modem. Takes a bit longer but it works. I tell our HeliOS Parents on our first visit to avoid ATT DSL at all costs and if they choose to go with them, they will be responsible for their own configuration. The only way we will configure it is if they are the only provider in that area. Unfortunately, I've taken to carrying my little TP X60S with a dual boot of XP on it. That alleviates a lot of the problems there but it shouldn't be that way at all. Ska-roooo ATT. |
| HoTMetaL Jan 12, 2012 6:41 AM EDT |
I've never had an issue with AT&T's DSL service, nor have I ever had to initialize or register my modem. In fact, my AT&T-branded DSL modem's firmware is running on Linux 2.6.something. I guess I'm in the minority here. I did have to go to their account setup website to activate my service, but that was easy enough using Firefox and Linux Mint. For twenty bucks a month for 6Mbps down (actual is 5.7), there isn't a better deal for rural areas like I'm in. Communistcast wants almost $60 for similar service over cable. |
| helios Jan 12, 2012 10:18 AM EDT |
HotMetaL...Here in Texas and southern Oklahoma it's a whole different ballgame. It's a regional thing that just hasn't caught up with the rest of the nation. Where we are, when you click to to that registration page, a popup appears that demands you insert a disk and begin setup via your ROM and until recently, there was just no way around it except use a Windows machine to do it. We outlined the whole sordid 'sperience here http://linuxlock.blogspot.com/2010/12/at-blocks-linux-config... The reasoning for the regional setup hassles are outlined in the comments by an ATT guy that works in Texas. |
| Fettoosh Jan 12, 2012 11:41 AM EDT |
Quoting:For twenty bucks a month for 6Mbps down (actual is 5.7),... @HoTMetaL, I am looking into dumping Comcast cable, but unfortunately, currently there isn't an alternative. AT&T doesn't have this type of service in our area. I had a chat with one rep. and he said they only have 1.5Mbps for $20/mon. at this time. I asked if he meant 1.5MBytes/sec instead, he confirmed it was bits/sec. He said they only have limited number of 6mbps circuits and I have to wait for someone to drop their service to get it, but in the mean time, I should place an order now. Baloney. I said call me when you have 6Mbps available. I wonder what is your area? |
| helios Jan 12, 2012 11:56 AM EDT |
Yeah Fettoosh, I was going to ask that myself. In my neck of the woods, which is for all intent and purpose, Mayberry RFD, that is a heck of a deal. |
| Fettoosh Jan 12, 2012 12:50 PM EDT |
Quoting: that is a heck of a deal. It sure is quite a good deal especially when it cost us $60/mon for 6Mbps from Comcast. I am surprised AT&T doesn't have that kind of service in our area, which is only couple of miles from U of M in Ann Arbor. |
| jdixon Jan 12, 2012 2:05 PM EDT |
> AT&T doesn't have this type of service in our area. Out of curiosity, I went to AT&T's website and entered our address to check for availability: "AT&T doesn't have this type of service in our area." It looks like Frontier is our only option. |
| HoTMetaL Jan 12, 2012 3:19 PM EDT |
@Fettoosh: The $20/month deal for 6Mbps was offered in my area (near Asheville, NC) for 12 months, after which the price reverts to the normal rate of $43. There was no contract required to continue after a year. You're right; I don't believe they have offered this everywhere. |
| djohnston Jan 12, 2012 5:01 PM EDT |
Quoting:We outlined the whole sordid 'sperience here. Thanks for the link. I missed that post on your blog. Gonna take a while to go through all the readers' comments. ;-) |
| Fettoosh Jan 12, 2012 5:45 PM EDT |
Quoting:The $20/month deal for 6Mbps was offered in my area ... Thanks for the info HoTMetaL. I wouldn't mind taking one year deal for $20/mon and pay a rate of $43 afterwords if we had this service. It would still be cheaper than $60/mon we are paying now. Couple years ago, Washtenaw County had a plan to have free or for nominal fee wireless in collaboration with AA schools & City. They kept promising a completion date after another and all the sudden there was a change of plan and everything was forgotten. I wonder what happened! :-) http://www.annarbor.com/business-review/wireless-washtenaw-p... http://www.annarbor.com/business-review/wireless-washtenaw-w... |
| helios Jan 12, 2012 7:16 PM EDT |
We have the "bundled" deal with Time Warner Fettoosh so the phone, Internet and Cable runs 33.00 a month for each service. After junk fees, I think our total is 128.00 and maybe some change. I have had great reception with Majic Jack in my area but if we "unbundle" the phone, or any of the three services for that matter, the price shoots through the roof. I don't watch TV but Diane does as she is still healing from her stroke. As much as I dislike Time Warner and their business practices, they have rock solid service and I can't remember the last time we had a connectivity problem that wasn't a faulty router or bad cable. If we were to unbundle the phone, the 33.00 internet charge would jump to 58.00. Sheesh. However our up and down speeds are sick fast so even at that price, I probably wouldn't complain. |
| caitlyn Jan 13, 2012 12:57 AM EDT |
Here in North Carolina and previously when I was in Cincinnati I had a lot of outages and problems with Time Warner cable. It's the main reason I moved away from them. That, and price. I have no use for a gazillion cable channels considering how little TV I watch and no use at all for a landline phone. |
| gus3 Jan 13, 2012 7:02 AM EDT |
@caitlyn: In case of an extended power failure, do you have a means to charge your cell phone? The battery in your car/truck/SUV doesn't count. You need that for other things. Besides, without electricity, fuel pumps don't work. |
| helios Jan 13, 2012 8:49 AM EDT |
It looks like Frontier is our only option. Deity help you. I worked as a level 3 tech for a company that contracted their tech support. Mostly they sucked every place they hung out a shingle and leased cable. A few places they got it right but in places like Rochester New York, it was abysmal....I mean customers-screaming-at-you-for-10-minutes-straight abysmal. Frontier is to DSL what marijuana is to batting average..... |
| cr Jan 13, 2012 9:07 AM EDT |
@gus3: In the event of an extended power outage, that landline is only good for 2-3 days holdup time, the time that it takes for the humongous 48V lead-acid battery array at the local telco switch to run down. As long as she's got any juice (say, from one of those vampire rechargers that sucks Evereadies dry to pump up the phone) to throw at it (and the towers stay lit up), Caitlyn is better off with that cell phone than with, say, Verizon FIOS, where the holdup battery at the consumer end is only good for 8 hours (a point I argued with my elderly parents to no avail -- cable TV trumped emergency comms bigtime). |
| jdixon Jan 13, 2012 10:00 AM EDT |
> Deity help you. Sometimes that's the only way we manage, Ken. :) Yeah, Frontier service gives new meaning to the word. It took us close to six months to get our billing straightened out when they took over from Verizon, and I had to actually call the southeaster regional managers office to get it done (his office number and email were on their website, believe it or not. I wonder if they still are). But at least they're willing to try. Something Verizon had no interest in doing. |
| Fettoosh Jan 13, 2012 11:24 AM EDT |
Quoting:We have the "bundled" deal with Time Warner ... They sure get you any way they can, don't they! When we added Internet cable a while back, we didn't want any cable TV. But no, Comcast gives an offer you can't refuse. It was $52/mon for Internet without TV or $40 with $10 for basic TV. And what do you know, more TV options were added later after persistent nagging by the kids. The introductory special was $19.95 for 3 months. |
| caitlyn Jan 13, 2012 2:00 PM EDT |
Quoting: In case of an extended power failure, do you have a means to charge your cell phone?My Blackberry goes more than a day on one charge. Of course, the car battery counts. If I go anywhere at all I can plug in the phone and charging costs me nothing extra. Sorry, I've had power outages here and never was without phone service. Besides, most landline phones sold in the U.S. nowadays need electricity to operate as well. |
| gus3 Jan 13, 2012 5:09 PM EDT |
@cr, those batteries at the telcos are only to hold them up until they can truck in some fuel for their generators. @caitlyn, everyone with a hard line needs a line-powered phone. And after last winter, most of them got one. |
| Khamul Jan 13, 2012 6:38 PM EDT |
@gus3: The amount of energy needed to charge a cellphone is puny compared to the amount of stored energy in a typical car battery. You're not going to have any significant effect on starting by charging your phone off of it for a few times. And you can always start the car and let it run for a bit to recharge the battery. Assuming the cell towers are still operational during an extended outage, there's no reason not to rely on a cellphone as long as you have a car around, unless you really think the outage is going to last 3 months or something. |
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