Below I've decided to speak my mind on a few unconnected subjects, enjoy:
This high-speed Internet access is intolerably slow. I got a DirecWay satellite transceiver recently, it being the only form of broadband available here. I still have my 56k dial-up account with Prexar, though, and I'm quite glad I do. I was well aware there'd be no noticeable increase in speed when downloading small files like webpages, but I was expecting it to be dramatically faster downloading larger files. This has not been the case. With 56k, my downloads were fairly consistent. It would normally go at around 6 KB/sec, sometimes as much as 10 KB/sec, never lower than 5 KB/sec, and the connection would never drop-- it may take time, but I would know that if I started downloading, I'd finish downloading. The satellite lags for a few seconds before doing anything. Once it starts to download, it's pretty fast, usually around 275-250 KB/sec. It maintains that speed only for a half a minute of so, then it starts to steadily drop down until after thirty minutes it's down to 5 KB/sec. It holds at around 5 KB/sec for another hour before falling to 0.6 KB/sec, then the connection drops altogether. It is impossible for me to download a large file.
Streaming files is a similar situation. With 56k, the stream may break and I have to wait a few seconds for it to pick back up, but by god, the stream would go from the beginning all the way to the end. With the satellite, the stream starts after the lag, then plays for maybe five minutes, then drops, never to be heard from again.
In the case of webpages, if it was accessible, I could reach it with 56k. Given time, the whole thing would load without problem. The satellite often fails to load pages, forcing one to reload several times before it actually makes a connection, then it often can't maintain it and parts of the page don't come through. DirecWay advises you use their proxy, I suggest otherwise. Without it, maybe 40% of websites don't work, with it, I'd say it's more like 90%.
56k may be slow, but at least it works.
I'm terribly confused about GoDaddy's technical support. What's "24/7" about "Monday-Friday, 9am to 5pm"? Is it 24/7 in the sense that I can call it anytime, regardless of it being answered or not? Can't that be said of any phone number, even those nonexistent? Can I advertise "24/7 technical support, call 555-555-5555"?
Why did Cadbury stop exporting their candies? I don't want Nestle hiding under a wrapper that says "Cadbury", I want Cadbury. They used to export, what happened?
Overnight mail is a rip-off. It doesn't get there overnight and it cost more to send the crap than the crap itself costed. $23 to send a tiny li'l mailer to Kansas containing a roll of movie film that's only worth $11.
Currently basking in the glory of my good ole never-let-me-down 56k modem; awaiting Monday, 9am MST to arive; lamenting that I didn't buy more chocolate at the airport; wondering why the hell I fell for overnight mail; giggling over that last thought as it almost rhymes.
This high-speed Internet access is intolerably slow. I got a DirecWay satellite transceiver recently, it being the only form of broadband available here. I still have my 56k dial-up account with Prexar, though, and I'm quite glad I do. I was well aware there'd be no noticeable increase in speed when downloading small files like webpages, but I was expecting it to be dramatically faster downloading larger files. This has not been the case. With 56k, my downloads were fairly consistent. It would normally go at around 6 KB/sec, sometimes as much as 10 KB/sec, never lower than 5 KB/sec, and the connection would never drop-- it may take time, but I would know that if I started downloading, I'd finish downloading. The satellite lags for a few seconds before doing anything. Once it starts to download, it's pretty fast, usually around 275-250 KB/sec. It maintains that speed only for a half a minute of so, then it starts to steadily drop down until after thirty minutes it's down to 5 KB/sec. It holds at around 5 KB/sec for another hour before falling to 0.6 KB/sec, then the connection drops altogether. It is impossible for me to download a large file.
Streaming files is a similar situation. With 56k, the stream may break and I have to wait a few seconds for it to pick back up, but by god, the stream would go from the beginning all the way to the end. With the satellite, the stream starts after the lag, then plays for maybe five minutes, then drops, never to be heard from again.
In the case of webpages, if it was accessible, I could reach it with 56k. Given time, the whole thing would load without problem. The satellite often fails to load pages, forcing one to reload several times before it actually makes a connection, then it often can't maintain it and parts of the page don't come through. DirecWay advises you use their proxy, I suggest otherwise. Without it, maybe 40% of websites don't work, with it, I'd say it's more like 90%.
56k may be slow, but at least it works.
I'm terribly confused about GoDaddy's technical support. What's "24/7" about "Monday-Friday, 9am to 5pm"? Is it 24/7 in the sense that I can call it anytime, regardless of it being answered or not? Can't that be said of any phone number, even those nonexistent? Can I advertise "24/7 technical support, call 555-555-5555"?
Why did Cadbury stop exporting their candies? I don't want Nestle hiding under a wrapper that says "Cadbury", I want Cadbury. They used to export, what happened?
Overnight mail is a rip-off. It doesn't get there overnight and it cost more to send the crap than the crap itself costed. $23 to send a tiny li'l mailer to Kansas containing a roll of movie film that's only worth $11.
Currently basking in the glory of my good ole never-let-me-down 56k modem; awaiting Monday, 9am MST to arive; lamenting that I didn't buy more chocolate at the airport; wondering why the hell I fell for overnight mail; giggling over that last thought as it almost rhymes.
