It's been a while since my last post on WAMUG and this particular thread
was so full of (in my opinion) un-informed comment, that I felt the need
to contribute. (And if you're interested, we've now travelled 27.000km
and we're in South Australia.)
In an attempt at making this thread constructive, let me provide some
feedback to, and comment on, some of the messages.
On Fri, 2004-02-06 at 12:51, Rick Armstrong wrote:
> Switching from iinet Explorer dialup to Big Pond Broadband ADSL
> Telstra say plug and play using USB port, they supply free modem and
> self installation kit
It appears as if you think that a USB ADSL modem requires an Ethernet
port. This is not the case. The modem plugs into the wall on one side
and into a USB port on the other.
Things you might want to consider are:
* Reports on USB modems in my experience have not been too
favourable, least reason being that they require drivers
installed on the computer to which it is connected. This
generally means that incompatibilities (can and do) exist
between Operating System versions.
* An Ethernet based ADSL modem does not require any drivers,
though some providers require that you connect using PPPoE,
which then (sometimes) requires the installation of some
software on your main (gateway) computer.
* An Ethernet modem can also be connected to a switch or hub
instead of directly to an Ethernet socket on your workstation,
allowing the connection to be shared. This setup though not
simple to install is the most flexible.
* There are also ADSL routers available that are completely
stand-alone, you just plug your computer into a spare Ethernet
port.
If it were my money I'd get an ADSL router, then an Ethernet modem and a
switch - I would not go near a USB ADSL modem.
On the point of provider. Most (if not all) ADSL services are supplied
by Telstra. In effect, BigPond is a customer of the same department as
Westnet, iiNet and others.
What this generally means is that the differences between these services
are mostly on price and support. I personally use and recommend
Highway1, and have had good reports about Westnet. I've had no problems
with BigPond and only heard bad things about iiNet.
> (I will probably have to install an additional Ethernet interface as
> existing ethernet is networked on a hub to other devices).
That may or may not be the case, see my comments above. Not to mention
that adding another Ethernet device to a computer adds a whole new level
of complexity.
> I am going to keep the iinet dialup on second telephone line until
> broadband is working smoothly.
That is a smart move.
> I am using G4 OS8.6 and any advice appreciated
This gives more ammunition to the argument against USB, since 8.6 is not
a current Operating System, so many ISPs will likely refuse to support
you.
On Fri, 2004-02-06 at 13:15, James Mandy wrote:
> If it's plug and play USB, then it's a USB adsl modem. so you wont
> have to do anything with ethernet.
Plug and play is a nice marketing term that really means: "If you have a
supported version of the Operating System, the computer, the modem and
the drivers ready to go, it will mostly work."
If it doesn't work, a support nightmare generally ensues, which many do
not recover from. But you are correct, that if it does work then you
won't need Ethernet.
On Fri, 2004-02-06 at 13:19, Bob Jackson wrote:
> Until you actually strike a problem it is hard to give any advice.
Correct.
> Generally, the WAMUG list is not a good place to get advice about
> Bigpond ADSL or cable because not many members are on Bigpond
> broadband.
While I read a lot of negative feedback on this list about iiNet, there
are to my knowledge no statistics or any information at all to backup
that statement.
> The best place is <http://whirlpool.net.au/> which is a
> site covering all broadband matters. The discussion forum is a good
> place to get advice about any Bigpond ADSL problems you might
> encounter.
That is sound advice.
On Fri, 2004-02-06 at 20:06, Greg Manzie wrote:
> I must admit (sheepishly) that I have Bigpond Broadband ADSL.
Why? If it does the trick, and it meets your requirements, there is
nothing wrong with choosing one provider over another. For many years
BigPond was my ISP - it always worked for me.
> Yes, it is expensive, but I was able to cancel one of our office phone
> lines by having it. As well, by having all plans, ie. mobile,
> landline, long distance calls etc. with Telstra, I get 15% off all
> bills. So pricing should be considered as a package.
Absolutely!
> As well as competitive prices on most things. If there is a better
> plan for your business, they will ring you and give
> you the cheaper price, even if your old plan has not expired.
That is new, I've never experienced that!
> No dial up cost, almost never a denial of service in 2 years,
> Reasonable 24 x 7 help line (they are not all Mac
> literate but they usually can find someone on duty who can answer my
> dumb questions).
This is an often overlooked aspect of choosing an ISP. If the helpdesk
is not available when you need them, your user experience will be all
the poorer for it.
> I don't have many issues with this service. It just works, which is
> more than I can say for some things on my Macs.
And that is how I've experienced the BigPond product also.
On Sat, 2004-02-07 at 03:22, Brett Carboni wrote:
> If you *can* get cable you should seriously think about it or at least
> do the exercise (IMHO).
That is sound advice.
On Fri, 2004-02-06 at 15:49, Bob Jackson wrote:
> It is also a reflection that not many members -
> *can afford broadband
> *live in locations where cable is available
> *have current experience of Bigpond ADSL and are referring to its
> previous bad history (which was then justified).
These broad statements are in my opinion completely misleading. I know
of no data that backs up any of these statements at all. Furthermore, it
reflects a misunderstanding about the differences between ADSL and
Cable.
ADSL is available in most (if not all) telephone exchanges. It is
generally available to:
* Customers who live within about 3.5km (over the wire) from their
exchange.
* Customers who do not have something called pair-gain. (Outside
the scope of this message)
* Customers who do not have ISDN installed.
I'm sure I've missed some requirements.
Cable on the other hand (in WA) is not widely available. It was only
rolled out in limited areas and uses the same infrastructure as some
cable-based pay TV.
There is a whole range of other services available to those who do not
have access to either, and I'm sure that if I hadn't pointed this out,
some would now be jumping up and down.
It is my understanding that Telstra is now also offering a more
competitive rate for ISDN for some of those customers. Of course there
are satellite offerings (I'm using one as I type this message), but they
are waaaaay beyond the scope of this already completely long reply.
On Sun, 2004-02-08 at 13:09, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Currently I put Bigpond internet services in the same basket as
> windoze:
> If you own it you'll probably have to fix it.
> If you can fix it you'll have REGULAR income, good for me bad for you.
This is not a constructive comment. It paints a picture that suggests
that most if not all BigPond users are having problems with their
service. As a previous BigPond customer, and IT support for a few of
those customers, I know these statements to be incorrect.
While I know that there are problems with the helpdesk, service outages
and mail issues, these occur with striking regularity at all the other
ISPs - because that's the nature of the world we've created.
It's no longer a case of simply turning it on and expecting it to work.
What we as a society have at the moment it the early days of the
automobile, when you were taught how to drive by the guy who sold you
the car. These days we have drivers licences.
It is my opinion that computers have reached that same level of
requirement. The challenge is convincing the general public that it
would benefit them if they were to receive formalised training.
Spam, viruses, computer support calls and Internet fraud would severely
curtailed by such a move.
..Anyone still here..
Sorry for the long-winded response. I was a little frustrated with the
voracity of some of the comments and I felt that someone new to this
field would walk away with the wrong information.
..Back to work now - (Hi Mark :-) - it's a worry that I wrote this
message in my ten minute break away from the computer, but you get that
sometimes..
Kind regards,
Onno Benschop
Connected via Optus B3 at S34°15'14" - E140°28'19" (Barmera, SA)
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