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February 09 Connectivity retro fit...Today began the connectivity retro fit in our house... Phone and Internet today, TV tomorrow. As was to be expected, no change like this goes off without a hitch. So far, the isues have been minor, but one in particular I thought worthy of sharing. To set the stage for you, I should mention that networking is not my strongest skill... far from it in fact. So when I started to replace my cable modem with my DSL modem, I immediately noticed some issues. For starters, they sent me a modem that also functions as a router which of course establishes an immediate incompatibility with my wireless router. Afterall, you can't have two DHCP servers connected to each other right... especially when both are set to dish out the same IP ranges. A quick investigation on the telco provider's website, and the modem companies website turned up nada... so I was basically on my own. A couple of failed attempts and a 60 minute stress break later, I had it figured out.
Basically, if you want to get a similar configuration up and running, you will need to start by disabling DHCP on the modem/router. Then, you have to reconfigure the wireless router to connect using PPPoE (once you have connected the modem to the router via ethernet). So, the DSL modem gets itself connected to the Internet (after you supply the right credentials) and the Wireless router connects itself to the Internet via the PPPoE connection to the modem. So, now I am back in business. I learned a couple of things along the way, and realized (again) that I really need to get a good book on networking. If you know a good book that covers the idiosyncrasies of networking, please do leave me a comment with the title. :-)
Tomorrow... TV. February 06 Cable out... Satellite in.By the end of the week, I should have a new phone, Internet, and TV provider. You have probably realized from reading this, once I get my mind set on something... it's on. As it turned out, I was able to get a much better deal through the phone company for all three services than I had with cable. I am not sure how I will feel about satellite TV... after living with cable for so long, in a way, I am a bit nervous. I have read that the Dish Network has won awards for customer satisfaction. I think that is more than I can say for the cable companies out there. At least with Satellite I can get TV if the power goes out again! We shall see... stay tuned. No pun intended. February 04 Cable is not what it's cracked up to be...I have been thinking more and more lately about switching away from cable. Currently, I am running cable TV, Internet, and Phone. I have always been a cable TV guy, and I have been using cable Internet for going on 6 years now. The phone service is something new, but I think I am finally at my wits end with all of it. Although, there is this part of me that is nervous about going into a contractual agreement with a satellite provider, the one good thing is... the price doesn't change. So, what put me over the edge you ask? Well, here's the situation. I started out paying about $88 a month for digital cable, "high speed" Internet, and VOIP phone service. Over the first 6 months, my phone service suffered from a 75% success rate. While it was great getting unlimited domestic local and long distance for ~$30 a month, if you can't actually talk to people successfully, then you really aren't benefiting from the service. Then there is Internet... "high speed" as they call it. At a whopping ~145Kb/S download speed, surfing the net is almost as fast as watching paint dry. I mean, they talk about "powerboost"... what does that get me, 160Kb/S?? Cable TV is about the only technically sturdy leg on this three-legged stool. But after 6 months, they jacked up the price on me... from $88 to $158. It was barely a deal at $88... for $158, I am going to start shopping. So this week, I will start exploring DSL and Satellite. At this point, I am just seeking a stable, reliable, and useful service at a reasonable price. Now don't get me wrong, $88 is a steal. I am much more likely to be in the $150 range for these services combined... Let's hope I can find something that just works well, and isn't full of surprises like cable. More to come... |
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