Re: Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?
Not that I am a real fan of comcast, but I've had cable modem for over 12 years. Since Comcast took over ATTBI, the speed had been upgraded to 6Mbps, and the cable connection is rock solid. With ATT, we had a couple of outages a year. Same with Mediaone and its predecessor, Highway1. -- Jerry Feldman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Boston Linux and Unix user group http://www.blu.org PGP key id:C5061EA9 PGP Key fingerprint:053C 73EC 3AC1 5C44 3E14 9245 FB00 3ED5 C506 1EA9 signature.asc Description: PGP signature ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Fios. Was: Re: Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?
I just recently switched from Adelphia Power Link (now Comcast) to FIOS and in short, I like it. I haven't had it long enough to know how reliable it is, but, the IP has changed once in the less that 1/2 month it's been installed. The router Verizon supplies is made by Action Tech which seems to be very capable. All I've done with it so far is forward ports 22(ssh) and 81(http) to my linux box. According to the Verizon installer (who was very willing to chat about the technology and seemed to be excited about it personally) other routers can be used and there is not problem with that unless you want support. They will only support the router they provide. I was originally going to replace it with a LinkSYS running DD-WRT but have since decided to keep the action tech as it does pretty much everything I need. I use a linksys wrt54g wunning dd-wrt (small version for ver 5 router) to provide wireless in the house instead of the action tech (which has a wireless interface too). One thing I noticed about the action tech is a configuration screen for Dynamic DNS updates. This is something I'd been meaniung to do for some time so I created an account with DynDNS and the action tech router sent an update after entered the info into its config etc. Cool I thought until recently when my IP changed. I presumed the router would autonomously update DynDNS; it did not. It updated when I manually told it to send an update. Seems like an IP change should trigger an update. Anyone else notice this? Oh, BTW - The Verizon Web page thingy that tells you if FIOS is available was not accurate for my location. It told me it was not available, but, when I called to b*tch about something else the verizon person asked if I was interested in FIOS. I thought about it for .1ms and said yes. I had my doubts until one day later that week there was a fibre drop strung along side the copper drop. _Andrew Gaunt Fred wrote: On Tuesday 14 November 2006 11:25, kenta uttered thusly: I'd love to try Verzion's FiOS but they're not offering it in my part of Nashua. :( If anyone here has it, how is it? I'm also not sure how any local DSL providers are stacking up these days. Feedback is appreciated. -Kenta ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Fios. Was: Re: Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?
On 11/15/06, Andrew W. Gaunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: One thing I noticed about the action tech is a configuration screen forDynamic DNS updates.This is something I'dbeen meaniung to do for some time so I created anaccount with DynDNS andthe action tech router sent an update after entered the info into its config etc. Cool I thought untilrecently when my IP changed. I presumed the router would autonomouslyupdate DynDNS; it did not.It updated when I manually told it to send an update. Seems like an IPchange should trigger an update. Anyone else notice this? This happens often with clients that talk to DynDNS. SO many are broken it isn't even funny, and for automated 'this is my IP' informative messages, depending on the client, they'll actually block and ignore the informative message simply becouse the clients spam MUCH faster then they should. A manual update will often work, as it's a different message. Thomas ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?
On Tue, 14 Nov 2006, Michael ODonnell wrote: I have no love for ComcCast - I'd drop them yesterday if I had any better (or even comparable) choices - That being said, does anyone have experiences with other residential high speed providers that are in the same price range as Comcast? Comcast has actually been pretty good to me. To be honest I can't remember the last time my Internet service was out. My IP rarely changes (once in 2 years) and for the most part they still seem to have a Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy when it comes to having a server type box at home. I'd love to try Verzion's FiOS but they're not offering it in my part of Nashua. :( If anyone here has it, how is it? I'm also not sure how any local DSL providers are stacking up these days. Feedback is appreciated. -Kenta ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?
On Tue, 14 Nov 2006, Michael ODonnell wrote: I have no love for ComcCast - I'd drop them yesterday if I had any better (or even comparable) choices - I use Earthlink for my cable service... It's from Comcast, and my bill actually comes from Comcast, but I get an Earthlink IP, Earthlink DNS, and Earthlink reverse DNS. I did this because I have DirecTV. If you have Comcast for TV and internet, then Comcast is cheaper, but if you don't use Comcast for TV service Earthlink is cheaper (due to Concast's bundle discounts). I've been very happy with it. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?
On Tue, 2006-11-14 at 11:25 -0500, kenta wrote: That being said, does anyone have experiences with other residential high speed providers that are in the same price range as Comcast? I've used Worldpath (http://www.worldpath.com) for home DSL for several years now and couldn't be happier. The service has been reliable, the rare occasions where I've needed to talk to a tech have been pleasant with knowledgeable (and local) individuals. I get about 4.2Mb down and about 768Kb up. I get that and a static IP for about $50/month. -- Cole Tuininga [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.code-energy.com/ ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?
On 11/14/06, kenta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: That being said, does anyone have experiences with other residential high speed providers that are in the same price range as Comcast? At that price range, your options are always going to be fairly limited. The best results I've gotten, looking at the whole picture (price, performance, reliability, customer service, etc.) are with local ISPs doing fixed wireless. The major advantage is that by eliminating a dependency on local wired infrastructure, you also eliminate large incompetent monopolies. If I have a serious problem with the wireless feed at work, I can drive to the ISP's office in the next town, and beat the owner over the head with his radio. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?
If I have a serious problem with the wireless feed at work, I can drive to the ISP's office in the next town, and beat the owner over the head with his radio. Just don't call first.. When I worked at the MediaOne NOC (under my horrible manager there) some guy called saying he was going to kill and/or beat one of the callcenter people (they worked upstairs). We were in lockdown for a few hours and couldn't leave the building.. Not that there was much to do at 3am, but it still sucked. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Earthlink DNS (Was: Re: Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?)
Travis Roy wrote: On Tue, 14 Nov 2006, Michael ODonnell wrote: I have no love for ComcCast - I'd drop them yesterday if I had any better (or even comparable) choices - I use Earthlink for my cable service... It's from Comcast, and my bill actually comes from Comcast, but I get an Earthlink IP, Earthlink DNS, and Earthlink reverse DNS. I did this because I have DirecTV. If you have Comcast for TV and internet, then Comcast is cheaper, but if you don't use Comcast for TV service Earthlink is cheaper (due to Concast's bundle discounts). I've been very happy with it. I'm a long time Earthlink subscriber -- started with dialup but now have Earthlink through my cable broadband. Until recently I have been perfectly happy, but now I have one huge issue with Earthlink: Remember when VeriSign decided to grab all nonexistent domain names and return the IP address of their helpful search service called SiteFinder? They did it using a wildcard DNS entry. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitefinder. Now Earthlink is doing the same thing for users of it's default DNS servers (from DHCP). Enter a non-existent DNS domain and you get an invalid found response with the IP address of their search/advertising portal run by an outfit called barefruit.com. You can read Earthlink's blog about this helpful service and the furious responses from users here: http://blogs.earthlink.net/2006/08/handling_dead_domains_1.php http://blogs.earthlink.net/2006/09/update_on_dead_domain_handling_1.php http://blogs.earthlink.net/2006/09/more_info_on_dead_domain_handl.php See also http://weblog.infoworld.com/gripeline/archives/2006/09/earthlink_tries.html. I'm an Earthlink subscriber (a reluctant one after this SiteFinder stunt) but I've configured alternate DNS. -- Mark Polhamus ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?
On Tue, 14 Nov 2006, Travis Roy wrote: When I worked at the MediaOne NOC (under my horrible manager there) some guy called saying he was going to kill and/or beat one of the callcenter people (they worked upstairs). Now I remember why I paid you less than everyone else. GOOD TIMES. (-1 point for me for clogging everyone's inbox, but it just had to be done) -Kenta ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Earthlink DNS (Was: Re: Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?)
On 11/14/06, Mark Polhamus [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://blogs.earthlink.net/2006/09/more_info_on_dead_domain_handl.php Earthlink says: ...this isn't something that you'll be able to get customer support help with... My response would then be: This isn't something you'll get my subscriber fee with. Voting with your wallet is a great form of democracy. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Fios. Was: Re: Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?
On Tuesday 14 November 2006 11:25, kenta uttered thusly: I'd love to try Verzion's FiOS but they're not offering it in my part of Nashua. :( If anyone here has it, how is it? I'm also not sure how any local DSL providers are stacking up these days. Feedback is appreciated. -Kenta ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ I've been using Fios for quite some time now, and if you search the archives I did a write-up on them shortly after the install. Well, it's been quite a few months, and the service has been nice and fast. Not one outage that I can recall. Just friggin there, reliable, and invisible. There are a couple of caveats -- as there always are -- with it, though. For me, who likes to keep ssh sessions open all the time, Fios tends to drop inactive TCP/IP connections after a time (a few minutes). Got around this problem with enabling keepalive in ssh. Another caveat with Fios, if you get their dynamic IP offering, is that dynamic means dynamic. Every so often Fios will shift the IP, open connections or not. Generally about once or twice a month. If your router (there is no modem) gets turned off, you will always have a different IP when it is turned back on. The dynamic IP problem was an issue for me since I do development on the road, as it were, but got around this problem by writing a couple of scripts to update my name servers with the IP periodically. If you don't have your own name servers, you can always use something like DynDNS, I suppose. But compared to Crumcast, it's reliable, and much cheaper -- something on the order of $35 per month for their 2Mbit/5Mbit bandwidth -- their lowest offering. For modest increases you can get higher down bandwidth, but they are stingy on their up bandwidth, keeping you to 2Mbit for most offerings. Also, the bandwidth with Fios stays consistent -- I've not seen slowdowns like I have with Comcast. Overall, I am happy with Verzion and what they've done. Which is saying a lot since I dealt with them back in 2000, where they could barely spell DSL, let alone get it right. Back then, they promised me DSL service, then made me wait for months, only to tell me that they ran out of ports. Sigh. Now, they waited on me hand and foot during the installation, including fishing wires through walls and the like. And their Customer Service also greatly improved, and actually understood my technical questions, which blew me away. Usually I have to fight the is it plugged in queries, but not this time. Having worked with DSLAMs and the like in the past, when fibre to the last mile seemed like a pipe dream, we've come quite a long way. Phew! -Fred ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2006 12:26:32 -0500 From: Ben Scott [EMAIL PROTECTED] The best results I've gotten, looking at the whole picture (price, performance, reliability, customer service, etc.) are with local ISPs doing fixed wireless. The major advantage is that by eliminating a Really?! I don't know this to be very popular. Is it now? Any local providers you can suggest? incompetent monopolies. If I have a serious problem with the wireless feed at work, I can drive to the ISP's office in the next town, and beat the owner over the head with his radio. I find the GNU Emacs manual more effective when used in this manner. I find it tends to instill more fear in the person I'm beating. ;) ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Comcast Alternatives? Was Re: Why must Comcast's DNS suck?
On 11/14/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The best results I've gotten, looking at the whole picture (price, performance, reliability, customer service, etc.) are with local ISPs doing fixed wireless. The major advantage is that by eliminating a Really?! I don't know this to be very popular. Is it now? Popular? I certainly like it. It is not that common, though, which I suspect is what you're really after. You need RF line-of-sight and cannot have more than several miles between stations. As it happens, there's a big hill in the middle of Amesbury, covered in radio towers, so it's convenient here. Elsewhere in hilly New England? I dunno. A lot of it is luck-of-the-draw. Find out if there are any ISPs homed near you and give them a call. Any local providers you can suggest? We're using MVA at work (http://www.mva.net). I'm generally happy with it. We're getting everything we pay for. It's a symmetric feed with SLA, CIR, and all those other acronyms. I'm sure a home user would be horrified at what we pay for it, but it's a whole different class of service vs. a consumer feed. They do offer consumer feeds, but I have no idea what the terms or rates are like. Reliability has been very good over the three years or so we've had it. There was one outage due to equipment failure at the tower once. It went out around 4 PM and was back later that evening. Said owner was there, at the base of the tower, in the rain, until the techs got finished fixing things. There have been maybe two or three other times were performance got bad due to upstream circuit trouble, but those were all resolved within an hour or so. The NET^W NYNEX^W Bell Atlantic^W^W Verizon frame relay circuit we had before that wasn't any more reliable. Again, the local company factor is huge. Trouble is always acknowledged and sometimes proactively reported. I'm on a first-name basis with the owner, and I can call right into their NOC if I need to. No run around, no recordings, no help desk b*llsh*t. Even if something happens, I at least know what and why and when. That's worth a lot to me. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
