Post #311,113
7/16/09 5:04:43 AM
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I can has megabitburgerz, now!
Yep, 6 mos of Comcast promo at (allegedly..) their top speed @ $20/month. Finally hit my price point.
(Nom. '$100' installation cut to $25 == did they Lose on that. How's that Vulture Capitalism koan go? ~ 'It is not enough to win; others must fail'.) Check.
Kinda Keystone Kops for a while (installers here 4+ hours on a Sunday: finally deduced 1st RCA DCM425C modem was fubar.) Another one brought in.. upload speed fine per speakeasy.net (are there better speed tests out there?) -- but variable d/l speeds. Packed up gear and another echelon 'tuned' an analog amp (I'm at end of a local string.) Satisfied that amp was OK, he marked job Done.
Still flaky though.. Yet their finest minds had already perused things.
So.. borrowed a reliable LInksys from neighbor: bitchin. Today, a more-generalized dude showed up, affirmed that RCA is crap; left a Scientific Atlanta minibox. Copacetic so far.
Alas, a Netgear FVS114 router (teensier than modem), allegedly capable of VPN (as if I care - it's a freebie tester from a trove next door) -- out-of-box: drops the packets-ball. Guess I have to view the $%*^#^@ Cee Dee. Thought these were Plug n' Play by now.. if just a firewall, with no 'real' network to configure (?)
Alas, the Suits are throttling to 800 KB/sec; evident watching the flat-line on the new iStat display; classic 'filter-to-X BW' decay, after a few seconds of 3-4ish MBytes/sec. Steady 798-800 KB. Will have to call in and see if this 6-mos 'Intro' really IS about "their best stuff", or just a preview of what the proles really get.
Ah well; it's sufficiently advanced techno to seem Magic ... enough por moi.
iMac sent pop-up message, with electric-purple border:
At last! ... Mein Führer, I CAN WALK !!
(And later on, after allowing Flash 10 to install, I get bombarded with Keychain messages, wanting to reset a PW (which I'd never set, in first place.)
Thanks Adobe -- now I have to rtfm! my least-favorite pastime.
A keychain cannot be found to store Safari
Prolly same in just loaded FFox 3.5, I wot.
Carrion,
but swiftly
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Post #311,114
7/16/09 5:52:15 AM
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congrats
now you can hangout at dslreports.com
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/comcast
and kvech with the bigboys
thanx,
bill
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Post #311,118
7/16/09 8:03:50 AM
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Woot! Welcome aboard!
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Post #311,120
7/16/09 8:11:35 AM
7/16/09 8:11:56 AM
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Finally off of that gravel backroad
and onto the real superhighway.
There's no going back.
I will choose a path that's clear. I will choose freewill.
Edited by beepster
July 16, 2009, 08:11:56 AM EDT
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Post #311,128
7/16/09 8:48:21 AM
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Not pleased with Comcast lately
Ever since the big network upgrade they put in a few months back, our service drops randomly for minutes at a time.
Regards,
-scott
Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
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Post #311,139
7/16/09 10:49:52 AM
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Re: Not pleased with Comcast lately (Still)
The recently did another round of "upgrades" here because AT&T U-Verse is encroaching badly here. Service from Comcast is doing badly at best, I get regular drops daily now. And 2-10 second "hiccups" nearly 5 times an hour. It makes working from home nearly unbearable, at times.
BUT... since AT&T is getting crushed under the weight of the iPhone crowd thirst for bandwidth... service is also lackluster.
I've got a friend in the first area installed around here (Jenison) and his initial speeds were great 19 months ago. Recently its been dropping like a stone during peak hours especially, but in general over all... plus NOW he can only have two TVs on at any one time now other wise drops occur (pixelization and artifacts) on all TVs.
He used to be able to have all four running perfectly.
Recently a local company, just down the road from me (on 50th street) had a 1.4Gbps multi-plexed multi-point Internet link from AT&T, with a $45K/month 5-9s SLA agreement with them (besides the bandwidth cost)... 7 months of broken SLA, 100s of open NOC level 1 network tickets open and completely ignoring the phone calls and other such things, they have dropped them like a hot rock and have back charged all installation, service fees and are looking for punitive damages in a lawsuit. AT&T has basically said... "have fun and good luck with that"
Effectively, they were ignored, because even though they have a 1.4Gbps link and additional SLA contracts.... they are small fry compared to the big ole APPLE that is nearly ready to fall off the tree due to huge problems in the infrastructure.
AT&T Started about 10 months to late to keep the crushing bandwidth issues from hurting them as much as they are. They saw the waves of iPhone users coming, but kept "rolling" in the dough not DOING what they needed to do for future keep-uppance.
So, at this point AT&T has started the scaling of the updates/upgrades to what they need to be about 6 weeks ago. Its going to be at least January before they get anywhere *CLOSE* to what needs to be done to get acceptable levels of service back.
Oh well.
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Post #311,164
7/16/09 3:46:01 PM
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Re: Not pleased with Comcast lately (Still)
I've been having similar drops and hiccups here in Houston as well. It definitely impacts my ability to work from home.
Comcast is my only option - no fiber, let along DSL, is available in my neighborhood.
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Post #311,135
7/16/09 9:41:17 AM
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Welcome...
... to the 21st century. :-)
Does this mean we'll see more of you in here, now?
Wade.
Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers?
A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
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Post #311,163
7/16/09 3:43:04 PM
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I, on the other hand, have the Verizon "air card" in the
relative boonies of Alaska where some other company covers for them and would be lucky to get dial-up speed.
It's not that high speed is impossible up here. At the moment, and it's the first time in over two weeks, I'm "on the grid" in a campground with real Wi-Fi and pretty good speed. On the outskirts of Wassila, AK where Todd and Sarah are in the phone book. :)
Alex
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Post #311,172
7/16/09 5:47:27 PM
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I have one of those as well.
Its been better than Comcast recently.
Mine is a USB760 and screems. I also have the external antenna for it, which helps in sub-optimal areas.
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Post #311,183
7/16/09 8:50:29 PM
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Router suggestions?
Followed Netgear simple-sheet implicitly, twice. It ends with no data appearing on iMac (which already has the addresses, DHCP enabled etc.) Impossible to access their website, obviously. Nor is there a web-format page on its CD. Would think that should be embedded in firmware? And the more I read re Netgear's apparent continuous disarray re any queries, the plaintive cries of newbies + the more-experienced, re quirks: the less I'm inclined to pursue any satisfactory remedy for this (now ~ 3yo) tiny/cute box. Their site uninformative..
I need-not wireless (no joy on Dell netbook doings for foreseeable -- and who can afford a used Apple nb with 2 cats having dental repairs..)
Wish not to become familiar with nat, iptables and the other keen stuff re commercial sites.
Simple wired-only network router with firewall, preferably one smartened up for the current sorts of scams, loaded with known Bad-address-ranges from the get-go. (I'd suppose that periodic updates of blacklists -- would be smart / and should also be accomplished separately from any firmware changes. NV-RAM in there?)
Guess it could also be wired/wireless-optional -- for the futchah.
Any candidates swim into view? Cheap is fine, but slick setup trumps saving a sawbuck any day.
Will search for Apple router, Leopard-aware install, etc.
Gracias all
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Post #311,184
7/16/09 8:55:59 PM
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Linksys, D-Link, Belkin.
People will probably recommend particular models, too, as there is still dross in amongst the gold (D-Link is known for this problem).
NetGear used to be good, but the newer "consumer white" stuff is far too often crap and they have absolutely zero interest in fixing problems (as you have seen). If it works, bonus, if it doesn't, it's a doorstop.
Wade.
Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers?
A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
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Post #311,186
7/16/09 9:49:25 PM
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Maybe try a different firmware version?
I've got a Buffalo WBR2-G54S after a recommendation for Buffalo stuff by Peter. It has worked well for years. There's a similar box on eBay (WLA-G54) for $20 but it doesn't have the power brick. (I don't know anything about the differences between the two models.)
But before buying another box, you might want to try a different firmware version for your FVS114. There's a thread at DSLReports that talks about similar issues, with some users reporting success with different firmware. http://www.dslreport...ashing-constantly
FW version 1.1_15 is available at the Netgear site - http://kb.netgear.co...s/model/a_id/2419 - I dunno whether that's actually better than any of the other versions.
HTH a little. Good luck!
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #311,209
7/17/09 3:01:36 PM
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Illuminating
Thanks; seems that V-1 was the mainly-working version, all the way through __14.
Maybe __15 is OK, but if I can't communicate with the sucker at all ...
Netgear box on back-burner for now, maybe a hobby-type puzzle later on.
Guess this is why Apple also sells these suckers..
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Post #311,188
7/16/09 10:00:59 PM
7/17/09 7:05:58 PM
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Linksys ...
Linksys 160N or 160NL or the 610N
Or a well read Buffalo
Have seen many problems with DLINK lately... on current models. Only "obselete" models are really any good.
Belkin hasn't been very consistent.
Edit:
Err oops, typo and forgot one.
Edited by folkert
July 17, 2009, 07:05:58 PM EDT
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Post #311,190
7/17/09 1:51:42 AM
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My experience is limited . . .
. . because I've stuck with what's worked for me - and that's been Linksys. I used a DLink in one instance where there was something seriously wrong with the network and a Linksys refused to work.
In my opinion Netgear is the bottom of the barrel - I've seen so much Netgear stuff that didn't work, sometimes with very strange symptoms.
I have no recent experience with Buffalo.
Yes, I've had Linksys gear fail, but considering how much I've installed it seems less failure prone than other consumer grade network products.
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Post #311,211
7/17/09 3:17:24 PM
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Thanks again; consensus seems to be Linksys
Will do a comparo on Greg's models VS Apple-with-obligatory-tailfin$; will put aside neighbor's Netgear for a puzzle-game later on, with new firmware --
it's 'old-enough' maybe to have been built prior to [??] the current models --
which appear to have earned their disrepute.
Sounds like some pretty dumb Corporate Policies ... if you intend to sell stuff in a declining economy, hmm?
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Post #311,256
7/18/09 12:24:16 PM
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I've had a Linksys BEFSR41 router
for several years and it has not given me even one minute of trouble. Furthermore, when I bought another to use while working away from home the telephone support to set it up on my existing machines was way better than expected.
"Chicago to my mind was the only place to be. ... I above all liked the city because it was filled with people all a-bustle, and the clatter of hooves and carriages, and with delivery wagons and drays and peddlers and the boom and clank of freight trains. And when those black clouds came sailing in from the west, pouring thunderstorms upon us so that you couldn't hear the cries or curses of humankind, I liked that best of all. Chicago could stand up to the worst God had to offer. I understood why it was built--a place for trade, of course, with railroads and ships and so on, but mostly to give all of us a magnitude of defiance that is not provided by one house on the plains. And the plains is where those storms come from."
-- E.L. Doctorow
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Post #311,260
7/18/09 6:28:34 PM
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Netgear doesn't like Macs (nor Vista)
We have several white Netgear SOHO "internet routers" (RP614-ish, 4 port switch + uplink, no wireless, DHCP server) at work for public access. They absolutely refuse to hand out IP addresses to MacBooks. They respond to Windows, but several newer Vista machines then don't like the answers and drop the packets.
I've been replacing them with equivalent Linksys gear. So far, everything is working again. The ones we have are compatible with the DD-WRT replacement firmware. Amazing what one of those little boxes can do once you put a decent OS on it... (I particularly like the WiViz wireless proximity monitor.)
Model numbers on these things mean very little. E.g. up to v6 you get a Broadcom chipset with plenty of Flash RAM, and tjhen v7 has a cheap knock-off set with just enough memory to turn on the power light. It pretty much is a crapshoot.
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Post #311,262
7/18/09 6:36:06 PM
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Never mind Macs . . .
. . I encountered a case where a Netgear wouldn't even connect to an IBM Thinkpad. The guy I was setting up wouldn't allow me to talk to the guy he was renting the office from so I had to set him up pirating off a nearby Linksys.
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Post #311,283
7/19/09 2:58:18 AM
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That's a good point re: Vista.
There is something slightly funky in how Vista does DHCP as a client and thus it refuses to acknowledge the NetGear response. My (ex) mother-in-law had this problem with her daughter's PC. I was going to try to do a firmware upgrade, but wasn't confident of it working. The real solution was to replace the dodgy hardware, but she became an ex- before anything got done.
Wade.
Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers?
A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
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