SBC!!!(with disgust!!!!)

Richard · 2005-12-16T02:23:36+00:00

Having dropped my connection in Feb of 2005, and started again inOctober of 2005, it sure hasn't taken SBC very long to bring me to themaximum disgust level again. Receiving a snail mail this morning thatmade me wonder if they were talking about my past connection or thisone, I decided I'd better call and find out. That part is irrelevant.What is relevant is that from 11:30 until 1:30, I was on the phone,going from one damned worthless computer menu to another, and when Idid speak to a human, they were more interested in trying to sell meon a cell phone that I neither need or want. Sorry, corporate idiots, if you can't give me a simple answer to asimple question, meaning how bad have you screwed the records thistime, I'm not buying. At 1:25, I finally got an answer to myquestion, and could have ignored it, the subject had been taken careof in March of 2005.I got the answer when I called and cancelled my dsl connection,effective Monday, the billing date. It's gonna cost me, $200,stinking corporations will get the money no matter what, but if that'swhat I have to pay to avoid hours of frustration trying to find outanything, it's cheap. Even after I had gotten the answer from thejerk on the other end, and had told them to cancel the connection, Igot yet another damn sales pitch for a different calling plan. Theseidiots have to be totally brainwashed to try that, common sense shouldtell them that I'm thoroughly fed up with what is a monopoly here,they're the only phone company in town. Anyhow, I'm going off line again, but this time I think I'll forgetabout getting back on. Not worth the hassles, and the phone lines outhere stink, with a dial up you get very slow and unreliableconnections. Common sense and corporate "wisdom" are at opposite ends of the entirespectrum.Rich (AKA Lennie)

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Richard 20 years ago

The choice here is Time Warner, no alternative available.

And every one we have available here goes back to be owned by SBC. Others "might" be available, but I'd have to drive into Milwaukee to find one. Cell phone is something I don't want anyhow, if I'm not next to the phone, it means I don't want to be contacted. Benefit of retirement.

The only one I'm willing to part with cash for. Mine is on now, the weather is about to come on, when it's over, the TV gets turned off until tomorrrow afternoon. Fifteen minutes a day, maybe, if I remember it, assuming I don't have something more interesting. (Had to pay for an antenna, don't really care how good it is.)

Anyhow, to eliminate the frustration of dealing with a huge, unresponsive, uncaring corporation with trained monkeys at their end of the phone line, the obvious answer is dump it. In the time I was off, the only thing that bothered me was not having downloaded the Cahto stories from Four Directions Institute, which I now have, both in the Wailakan and English.

Rich (AKA Lennie)

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Siggy 20 years ago

You're right - I had the #s reversed. It should have said 1.3meg down and

340k up.

BTW - I asked around at work today and found about a dozen of my peers who are also on SBC and every single one, without exception, has had the same kind of experience as I. On the other hand, I heard a number of complaints about cable users that outages were fairly common although users were generally satisfied. However, cable users pay at least $44.95 per month for the base RoadRunner compared to SBC's $16.95 base DSL So, at least in the Austin, TX area it is fairly clear from my quick poll that SBC seems to have a higher satisfaction that the local cable outfit, which is Time Warner's RoadRunner service, and a dramatically lower price too.

Robert

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Bill Janssen 20 years ago

Even in the case of a "rubber stamp" commission, they don't like to be embarrassed by a disgruntled customer and will tell the SBC people to clear up this case.. They may not try to keep other cases from happening, but if you have records that means you are dangerous.

Bill K7NOM

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Pete C. 20 years ago

Satellite - StarBand. I researched it before I moved. Every indication is that it works fine for normal surfing, just not well for encrypted VPN due to latency. Full two way as well, not like the early version that used dialup for upstream. Available throughout North America, you could get it at a cabin in the middle of nowhere.

You don't have to always have it, that's not the point. The point is with some of the cell plans available now they are a viable alternative to a land line for typical low level voice use. They also have the benefit of going with you when you want, or you can turn them off anytime you don't want to be available.

I didn't have cable TV for years. Now I have it since the package price with the cable modem is good and work pays for the cable modem. I spend a lot more time in the shop than watching TV, but when I do feel like watching TV it's usually one of the various Discovery Networks channels when it isn't a rerun.

After I dumped TCI I did ok with dial for quite a while. Dial works just fine for newsgroups and a fair amount of surfing. Big downloads were ok if I started them before dinner and they completed while I was eating. I'd still never go back to dial if high speed was available. Much easier to host my feeble little web site that gets about 10 hits a month on high speed.

Pete C.

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Richard 20 years ago

In this day and administration, I'm not sure I want any government agency to consider me "dangerous."

Grumpy, grouchy, cantankerous, fine. But not dangerous.

Rich

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Gunner Asch 20 years ago

DSL? Whats that? The closest thing we have here, is RoadRunner (Time Warner) cable modem at $49 a month.

Which is why I have dialup.

Sigh..and until I can pay the phone bill in LA..not even dialup there..which is why Im off the newsgroup for 3-4 days at a time.

Accounts recievable , lately, has been only promises...damnit

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the s*it out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

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Jon Elson 20 years ago

Yeah, but what happens if you become dissatisfied with the service? How big a mess is it to move to another server/service? Does this service provide the domain name for you? If so, you need a new domain name, and everyone who looks at your server needs to be informed of the change. What if this service goes out of business without any warning?

$240/year? And, you still need to have your own internet service. I combine it all. At one time, the server and my personal surfing and all-other-uses computer were the same. Right now, my server is on an otherwise useless 133 MHz Pentium classic computer with a couple-GB disk drive. I do have to pay electricity for it, but it can't use a whole lot.

Jon

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Martin H. Eastburn 20 years ago

You have another : Dish network is bi-directional now - no phone wires. Martin Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

Gunner Asch wrote:

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Richard J Kinch 20 years ago

The various unreliabilities of a decent server farm are far less than anything you could do yourself.

You do backups and move elsewhere if need be.

Domain name registration has no connection to the services hosted at that name. You can move the hosting around, or have multiple hosts if you like, with the same domain name. Maybe you're confused by outfits that bundle hosting and domain name registration together to hold you hostage. You should instead register the name yourself independently with Tucows or GoDaddy or the like.

If the rented host disappears without warning, you set up a new host and just point your DNS there.

What your server PC uses in AC power alone.

No, you get more with less IP service. You don't have to pay for static IP ($) or server TOS ($$). The server bandwidth is no longer spoiled by your surfing and vice versa. The virtual server is hooked to a gigabit connection, instead of a puny kilobit DSL line in your bedroom.

Huh? 10 cents/KWH = $1/watt-year. (What does your utility charge?) Your 24/7/365 homebrew host costs you $100s/year just in AC power. You can't compete with the economy of shared virtual servers on IP backbones. It's like running your own generator versus buying utility power. See

formatting link

For a few years like you I ran my own server off static IP DSL. It seemed kind of clever until I found it was cheaper and faster to let someone else care and feed for the thing. I don't regret the switch.

I won't name the outfit I've successfully used for 3 years now. Do a reverse IP lookup on my email domain if you want to know.

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Jon Elson 20 years ago

That is exactly what I have done. I had my registration with Network Solutions before those outfits even existed.

Oh, for gosh sakes. My old MicroVAX used that kind of power, but not this little PC. A 150 W PC power supply, at 100% rated load, will draw

1314 KWH over a full year, at my current electric rate that comes to $91. I still need a local network caching DNS and local router, so I'd still have a machine on, anyway.

Seven Cents, on average, over the year.

Well, I guess this means I'm a "Control freak". I like to be in "control", and see EXACTLY what is going on. I also get all the logs, and can find out how many times a particular page is used by who. For instance, there's some guy in eastern europe who apparently uses a

47 MB file on my web server as a daily check on network performance. At least, I can't come up with any other reason the SAME guy has downloaded that same one file thousands of times.

Jon

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Richard J Kinch 20 years ago

You might consider a monitor and all the wall warts.

Well, that's super cheap. That's really your marginal rate, with taxes and all? Where?

You fully control a Linux virtual server just like your own PC, root and all, and you can load your own hard drive images if you like. The only difference is you have a Web page with a reset button instead of a physical one, and a IP connection instead of a CRT and keyboard.

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