I have one more thing to cover before we close the book on Cerro Azul.  Last Sunday, in my post “The Expat Affair”, I mentioned a special property that is now for sale in Cerro Azul that I wanted to tell you about.  I have made it the topic of this whole post due to the extraordinary value and beauty of this property.  I want you to see that this area is not for Hillbillies.  This home is the quintessential entertaining center.  I now have the details so here we go.

“This air-conditioned 3-bedroom/3-bath house is situated on 2,580 square meters (0.60 acres) of pristine land.

The home is designed in stunning contemporary Spanish architecture with 390 sq. meters (4,100 sq. feet) of grand living in 3 levels with slate floors throughout, Berber carpet in all three bedrooms, and protected by electric gates and an exterior wall.

The main level consists of a large open concept Living/Kitchen/Dining area complete with fireplace and a bar with plenty storage for liquor and glasses. The new Italian Scavolini gourmet kitchen has gorgeous granite countertops, plenty of modern space-saving storage, a stunning amount of counter space and stainless steel appliances. Frosted glass upper cabinets allow filtered light to keep the kitchen bright and airy.  Conveniently next to the kitchen is a huge pantry complete with Washer/Dryer and storage for kitchen appliances. The dining area has built-in storage for china, linens and silver drawers.

Also on this floor are a guest bedroom, bathroom and garage with a tool room.  The balcony runs completely across the house with sitting, dining and barbecue areas. Each room on this level has its own access to the balcony. The sunset views from this balcony are breathtaking.

There is a grand staircase in the foyer that leads to two bedrooms with private baths in each. The master bedroom is over sized with a sitting area. The master bath is very unusual with a walk-around shower. Both bedrooms have balconies and amazing views.

Downstairs are an air-conditioned darkened home-theatre room and a game room with pool table, gym, and a Yoga area also with spectacular views from its balcony.
This level also has large storage room with a 7000 KW generator hooked up to the house and designed to keep the entire house with power.

In the backyard an unbelievably immaculate garden with flowers, orchids, orange and lemon trees and a seasonal swimming area with a deck. A concrete bridge leads you to the gazebo with patio furniture and hammocks…perfect for reading.  Also included is a caretaker’s cottage at the very end of the property completely removed from view.

Priced to sell this home is offered partially furnished at USD $315,000 firm.

The property has excellent drinking water, electricity, telephone, two separate Internet providers, (ADSL and Wireless provider for backup), and satellite TV.

“Los Altos de Cerro Azul” is a private residential development in the mountains of Chagres National Park: one-hour east of Panama City (40 minutes from Tocumen airport). This gated community is guarded with 24-hours security and has an impeccable record for safety.

A January 2012 property appraisal estimated the market value at USD $411,000.”

Contact information:
Bernardo Lopez
(507) 6766-5970
panalat69@gmail.com

Now imagine the price of this property at home, and remember it comes with many of the furnishings you see in the photos!  There is a caretaker living on the property who looks after the exterior of the property and landscaping as well as other tasks designated by the owner.  He  is paid $350 per month.  This could easily be equated to condo fees in many of todays modern complexes and would be at a bargain rate when you consider all he does.

موقع فايلسونيك من اليوم ألغا سالفة مشاركة الملفات و صار حاله حال الدروب بوكس و البوكس ماتقدر تنزل ( فلم مسلسل برنامج لعبة ) و السبب كله من قوانين
Sopa & Pipa
يعني صج هالقانونين صلوا فينا شرق و من المواقع اللي طنت العافية من هالقانونين فايلسيرف و الخوف على الميديافاير و اليوتيوب و مواقع القرصنة مثل ذا بايريت بيي و خدمة التورنت
ومن تبعات القوانين هذي اللي مسوي جيل بريك حق الآيفون و الآيباد و الآيبود خل ينقع أجهزته و يشرب مايهم لأنك ما راح يقدر ينزل أي محتوى من الإنستولس و ينطبق هذا بعد على البي سي و اللي ينزل ألعااب بلي ستيشن 3  و أكس بوكس 360  منسوخة و حتى مواقع تنزيل ام بي 3 اللي تستخدم مواقع الرفع راح تتأثر بالموضوع والأيام الياية راح تبين من الدور عليه يا يتسكر او يطن العافية و يقلد الفايلسونيك ؟؟؟

I am trying to help a myself and number of people who are over 4km or 55dB from the exchange and by documenting the problems, troubleshooting steps and hopefully the solutions I am going through, trying to fix the broadband speed, any help would be greatly appreciated. So far I have gone from 1.7Mbps to 3.7Mbs sync (IP Profile still stuck at 2000k though).

I plan on buying / testing a number of routers/cables etc to establish which is the best in this scenario, as well as looking into potential problems and solutions. (Please if you can help with any of the items in RED below, or have any comments or suggestions I would be very grateful)

Having looked into this “long line” issue, I understand that it can be rather specific to the kit in the exchange I am providing as much information as I have below in the hope that someone else may find this relevant, and/or be able to add to it.

My objective is to identify which chipset would be best for this scenario, and hence which router – from my digging the best recommendations I have found so far are for modems / routers based on the Broadcom chipset: I have read that there may be better chip-sets (Alactel???) but I have not really had confirmation… Any help on this would be great. (TG582n vs ST585v6 vs Billion 7800N vs DG834N ?)

Technicolor / Thompson TG582n
Netgear DG834N
Billion 7800N

Below slightly older but SNR / DMT information available:
Thompson 585 v6
Netgear DG834

If you have a router you would like me to test, please let me know, I am not testing any routers right at this moment, as BT are working on doing a reset at the moment.

Background

We have had this phone line since we moved in in 2004, we were originally with Zen, and we had pretty good speeds around 3-4Mbs. A few years later we signed up for Iphone’s with O2, and thought we would try out O2′s broadband, but we were not happy with it (2.3Mbs) not the Iphones, so we sent the notice that we were going to cancel the contracts within the timeframe, but somthing went wrong and instead of providing a MAC code, they had to do a cease and re-provide.

Since then we have been with Xilo – but we have not been able to get our old speed back (3-4Mbs), so I have been trying on and off to resolve the issues.

Our neighbours (300 year old semi-detached cottage & further from the road) moved in a year ago, and managed to get BT out to look into it (they said they foud a number of issues – one where the line came to the house, as well as one at the exchange and a third somewhere in between)- they now are getting consistent speed at 3.7Mbs using the new BT home hub with BT themselves. I really feel that we may have the same problems, as these houses were once one, and even when sub divided they were owned by the same family, so everything would have been done at the same time).

:Modulation:
G.992.1 annex A
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]:
448 / 3,776
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [KB/KB]:
90.00 / 103.00
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]:
12.0 / 18.5
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]:
31.0 / 56.0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]:
13.0 / 6.0

Also our other neighbours are fine at 4Mbs using Talk Talk with a Netgear DSL-2640R.

ADSL STATISTICS:
Mode: G.DMT
Type: ANNEX_A
Status: Showtime

Downstream Upstream
Rate (Kbps): 4032 kbps 448 kbps
SNR Margin (dB): 6.0 10.0
Attenuation (dB): 60.0 31.0
Output Power (dBm): 19.0 12.5
Downstream Upstream
Rate (Kbps): 4032 kbps 448 kbps
SNR Margin (dB): 6.0 10.0
Attenuation (dB): 60.0 31.0
Output Power (dBm): 19.0 12.5

Troubleshooting

First we tried the obvious – filters, then went and fitted a NTE2000 as on http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/socket.htm.

We then bought a number of premium BT/RJ11 cables to see which one gave us the lowest attenuation, which ended up being a old thick cream cable we had lying around. Have recently added the Cisco Lavender RJ11 cable and while the ATT is the same it appears to be more stable, and 300kbs higher sync. (See below snapshot)

After that we went and tried a number of routers and firmware for each of them.

We started with a Draytek Vigor 2600We, then got the O2 router, while trying to solver speed problems with O2 we got a billion router that I cant remember the model number but it had issues so got a BiPac 7404VGP, which seamed to help, but had stability issues, and it didn’t help a lot. We then got a Draytek 2820vn and got stability back but at low speeds again.

With the 2820 I was achieving 2.3Mbs fairly comfortably but recently it slowed down to 1.7Mbs, which is not suitable for streaming…

We then tried interleaving, on and off for a period of months, that did nothing that we can see.

So now I have a old BT Home hub (Version 1) that I have unlocked and am using the Thompson firmware using this(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15408915/BT-HH-V1-MEGA-UNLOCK.7z) unlock kit, using Method 2 and Thomson firmware 6.2.29.2, I am thinking of using Thomson firmware 6.1.9.6 to enable the DTM / SNR tuning features of the router, any comments gratefully recieved.

I am now using DMT version 7 also as described on http://www.kitz.co.uk/routers/DMTv7.htm to do some Analysis on the line. DMT shows a Texas instruments rev.02 0 0 vendorspec. 0000 at the exchange, but I am not sure need to look into this.

For details on the ADSL Technology I would recomend reading up on

http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/adsl_technology.htm… What I am discovering is that I may want to re do some of my tests with some of the leads to ensure that the cable I am using is the best – I may try and get a belkin one – they seem to be highly recommended. Update, have tested the Cisco one, appears to be the best so far.

So where I am right now is trying to get the best router, also at the same time trying to get Xilo to get BT to do some digging into it to see what they can find out, but if I have no joy I may go to AAISP as they at least have a write up of the BT SFI (Special Faults Investigation) process and how bad it is, as well as how not to use it. They also have a we’ll solve your problem in a month, or your money back guarentee.

I have just noticed that my output power is a bit below normal when the sync is low, is this a chicken or egg issue?

I have aslo been looking into REIN interference and where the phone line comes into the house it runs down the wall parallel to power cables, goes into the house at the same point as the house mains, and goes past the meter box with all the switches.

In order to resolve this the Post Office are currently offering free installation of a new/second line, so what I am going to do is get this installed, put a new broadband connection onto this line(trying to find a cheap/free activation ISP with short contract….Freeola?), and test the speed at which this line connects, I may even go for a bonded solution…

(ISP’ for Bonded AAISP, XILO ….? Any recomendations)

My line / router / other information:

FTR (Fault Threshold rate – The rate at which BT will look into speed problems) before reset is 1411k. (Is this based on your sync speed or your IP profile? – It appears to me your sync speed… PS Xilo don’t provide a table for this data as Zen do…?)

DMT Snapshots showing SNR dropping off from 9dB gradually to 2dB then looses sync – could this be BT “training” the line?

Download speedachieved during the test was – 1896 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 600-7150 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :3072 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is – 2500 Kbps

Gallery

Replaced the phone cable with a Cisco Lavender RJ11 cable. I can’t believe I didn’t use this before, it appears to be holding the connection better than before. The Attenuation is the same, but when is synced it synced about 300kbs higher than before (Finally I have caught up with Neighbour number 1), and it has held the connection overnight for the first time. PS Also moved switch away from Router (REIN?)

It appears that the BRAS Profile is now stuck at 2Mb… not sure I can do anything during the 10 Days…

BT Speed Test:

Download speed achieved during the test was - 1852 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 400-2000 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :3712 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 2000 Kbps

The line stats as of 17 Jan 2012:

Modulation: G.992.1 annex A
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 3.520
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/MB]: 119,49 / 163,82
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12,0 / 19,0
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 30,0 / 55,0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 18,0 / 8,5
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / TSTC

I know the line is capable of more, when we were with Zen before the line was syncing at above 3Mbs with no problems. We had a cease and re-provide when we were testing out O2, which is when our problems started. Maybe we are on different hardware at the exchange…

I have included the Draytek tests from before below… for refrence.

2012-01-15 about 08:40

Model Name : Vigor2820Vn
Firmware Version : 3.3.7_2471201
Build Date/Time : Oct 27 2011 11:23:41
ADSL Firmware Version : 2471201_A Hardware: Annex A (ADSL2+ Annex M lines)
ADSL Status Mode State Up Speed Down Speed SNR Margin Loop Att.
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 2784000 12 52
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 2336000 14 52
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 2592000 13 52
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 2912000 12 52
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 2688000 12 52

2012-01-15 About 09:00

Model Name : Vigor2820Vn
Firmware Version : 3.3.7_211801
Build Date/Time : Oct 27 2011 11:18:12
ADSL Firmware Version : 211801_A Hardware: Annex A (lower quality lines)
ADSL Status Mode State Up Speed Down Speed SNR Margin Loop Att.
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 2752000 12 54
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 2784000 12 55
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 2624000 12 54
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 2656000 12 54
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 2752000 12 54

Model Name : Vigor2820Vn
Firmware Version : 3.3.7_211801
Build Date/Time : Oct 27 2011 11:18:12
ADSL Firmware Version : 211801_A Hardware: Annex A (general purpose usage on UK lines)

ADSL Status Mode State Up Speed Down Speed SNR Margin Loop Att.
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 1376000 20 52
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 2272000 15 52
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 1728000 18 52
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 2336000 15 52
G.DMT SHOWTIME 448000 2208000 16 52

Kind regards,

Llew

I have had the prime opportunity to watch how people lose control over an attempt in obtaining the internet for home use. There are so many terms, as mentioned above, you need to know when applying for an internet connection and that’s besides trying to know which ISP to subscribe with (ISP = Internet Service Provider. E.g.: Mweb).

Let us try walk through this together. So you want the internet, but don’t want to know all those terms that internet sales agents throw at you. Often, you may pay much more for something you don’t really need.

Here are the things you will need to obtain an ADSL internet connection:

1. Telkom phone line ( Voice call line)
2. ADSL (Data) Line (Comes in various speeds)
3. Data (ISP = Mweb, Telkom or even Web Africa)
4. Router (Modem is more a common term you may know – the box that use to make that ghastly sound )
5. Pots Filter ( This is a little box, that separates your voice signal from your ADSL signal from the wall)
6. Network Cable (Plugs into the back of your computer to the Router – allowing you to receive internet to your computer)
7. Patience – In South Africa everything takes 7 working days (If you lucky)

Great, now that we have the ingredients, how do we bake this thing!

Step One: The Questions?

1. What is your budget?

• This is important; getting the internet is not a cheap deal in South Africa. Breakdown of costs:
• The router: R500+.
• Telkom voice line rental: R140+
• Data Line rental: (Dependent on the line speed you choose) but the slowest line: R130+
• Data: Your choice of Uncapped and Capped (This means, either you can download, browse as much as you like, Uncapped; or limited, Capped) visit www.mweb.co.za for prices on either choice.

2. What do you want the internet for?

• If you want the internet just to browse, download the occasional file or image and just receive and send mail then, in my opinion, get a 384kb Data line, Capped at 4GB per month (R219 + your voice line rental from Telkom). If you are a heavy data user and love to download music or stream movies, then I recommend minimal: 1Mb data line and Uncapped Data. (R588+ Telkom voice line rental)

Recommended list of ISP’s: (Remember it’s all about preference)

• Mweb -www.mweb.co.za
• Web Africa -www.webafrica.co.za
• Telkom (No uncapped as yet)* – www.telkomsa.net
• Afrihost – www.afrihost.co.za
• Axxess – www.axxess.co.za
• Openweb – www.openweb.co.za
• Cybersmart- www.cybersmart.co.za

Step Two: I know what I want!

After you have settled what you want and how much you are willing to fork out a month, the next step is picking up the phone and start calling.

1. If you do not have a voice line as yet, your first call is going to be to Telkom. Apply for a voice line and choose your calling plan. If you are not going to make voice calls then ask for the cheapest, nastiest option. (I think it’s R130 p/m). OR. You have a Voice line already and need to just get the internet. Then your first call is either call Telkom or the ISP of your choice. The reason I say “either” is because some ISP’s provide an all in one package (ADSL Line rental + Data. Example: Mweb). If they do, then just call the ISP. If not call Telkom and request an ADSL Line Rental.
2. Hopefully you have now completed the step above, with little pain or agony and have not yet resorted to the strongest alcoholic beverage on the market. What’s next?
3. Wait!… 7 days for the voice line (If you don’t already have one), 7 days for the ADSL line to be installed and 7 days for your ISP to say “You are now online”.

If this has helped you in anyway, please let me know. If you are still struggling to understand how, when, what and how much? Then drop me a mail at info@glitchcs.co.za and I will gladly assist you.

Broadband Speed Test
Test your Internet connection bandwidth to locations around the world with this interactive broadband speed test .

Are you getting the Internet performance you paid for? Using Speedtest.net, you can consistently verify if your Internet service provider is delivering the connection speed they promised. Mostly.

Many Internet Service Providers have signed up to provide realistic measures of the upstream and downstream speed you pay for. It also tests latency when measuring the ping-speed.

These Internet speed testing services have been around for years and Speedtest.net is one of the longest surviving, in large part because it is more reliable than most.

The free service available on the front-page provides a reasonable gauge of your Internet connection speed, which, according to the other benchmarks we’ve run, is usually accurate.

You have the option of pinging a number of international servers and measuring the response time for both upload and download. It is very easy to use with easily selected graphics and clear animated progress guides.

You can sign up for a free account to more easily track your Speedtest.net results from multiple computers. It will also enable you to create ‘Speed Waves,’ manage your test history, label and group your connections and reserve a unique Speedtest.net nickname should you feel the need to dive into the community of speed freaks and share your results.

As a browser-based service, it does need Flash plugins to work, but it is cross-platform and cross-browser. There is now an Android app available for testing your smart-phone’s data link.

It is useful to test relative to a particular location, so that you can analyse why sites from one particular region might load slowly.

It isn’t guaranteed 100% accurate, but none of these are, so exercise caution before you get into disputes with your ISP. Note that time of day, the chosen server location and hence the traffic originating from the rest of the world will also affect the test results.

That said, a very useful free utility. RC

Duvod je legracni – jednou jsem musel diskutovat s jejich centrem “pece o zakazniky” a tak me vytocili, ze jsem se rozhodl ze jiz jim zadne penize posilat nebudu.

To me dovedlo k tomu ze jsem patral po konkurenci a zjistil ze muzu mit ADSL u sveho mobilniho operatora za polovinu ceny, takze duvod k prejiti.

Dnes jsem volal – napisu jen velmi strucne – byly to 2 hovory (pry se jim zhroutil system, proto mi volala pak zpatky [verim ze overovala u jakeho operatora mam svuj mobil, jakou maji nabidku, a zda moje tvrzeni ceny konkurence je pravdiva]). Hovory trvaly asi neco pres pul hodiny. Slecna se zeptala za kolik mi to nabizi konkurence, ja na to ze 300 (bude to o neco vic, ale kdyz me nasr@li a chteji si me udrzet, tak at daji poradnou slevu). Pak jak volala zpatky (to jiz mela funkcni system) tak zacala s nabidkama:

• 500 kc
  • ja: to je stale drahe, konkurence je levnejsi
  • ona: pak tu mam dalsi nabidku, jen pro vas, protoze jste nas dobry zakaznik
• 400kc
  • ja: cena je stale drazsi. je tam nejaky zavazek ?
  • ona: ano 1 rok
  • ja: konkurence to ma bez zavazku a kdyz budu nucen se prestehovat tak je to pro me vyhodnejsi
  • ona: to neni problem, kdyz se prestehujete, tak vam preneseme i internet, pokud tam nebude linka, tak vam ji zridime, a pokud to nepujde, tak zavazek jednoduse zrusime
  • ja: tak proc tam vubec mate ten zavazek, kdyz rikate ze ho nijak nebudete vyzadovat
  • ona: to ja nevim, tak to mame nastavene
  • ja: stale je to drahe
  • ona: muzu jit pod 400 ale snizime rychlost
  • ja: konkurence to ma za 300, bez zavazku, bez snizovani rychlosti,…

Tak jsem ji zdelil, ze jsem rozhodnut prejit. Pak nastalo 20min vetsinovy monolog, jak je to pro me nevyhodne, ze nabizi skoro stejnou cenu a zavazku se nemusim bat. Ze nyni mi pobezi vypovedni lhuta az do brezna a budu muset platit celou dobu vyssi cenu, takhle by mi to ihned zmenila v systemu a mohl bych mit levnejsi internet….

No snazila se holka, to musim uznat. Uz mi zacali dochazet duvody

Co z toho vyplyva ? Pokud platis za internet vice jak 400 – 500kc tak neni problem tu cenu si snizit. Pozor na jednu vec, sleva by byla jen na 1 rok a pak by asi naskocila puvodni cena (to si clovek dokaze ohlidat – ale proc ?  kdyz konkurence nabizi je v tomhle uprimnejsi a neschovava to za nejakymi slevami jen pro “vyvolene”)

I spent the past week camping at Jervis Bay on NSW’s South Coast, without mobile phone reception (let alone internet connection), which is the perfect way to have a complete break from work. (Pictured: Murrays Beach, one of those idyllic spots on the South Coast without mobile reception.)

However, that lack of connectivity has extended into my working week. My ISP’s ADSL has been down in my area for the past day, making things very challenging with a press release to issue for a client this morning. I’ve had to resort to using a 3G pocket WiFi modem, roaming through the house looking for the best spot for reception. The modem is flaky at the best of times, and throughput is at snail’s pace when it does decide to connect.

Not only that, due to the configuration of my various computing devices, I was forced to rely on an iPhone to distribute the press release. If anyone says they can do business solely on an iPhone over 3G, they are either stupid or pulling your leg. At least I can be grateful for the fact that iPhones now do copy and paste …

I also managed to (very painfully) add this blog post over the 3G modem – although thankfully not via the iPhone.

Bring on the NBN is all I can say.

The BBC News website ran a recent article on rural broadband (copied below) warning that councils only have until February 2012 to apply for government funding for fast broadband.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16203495

"Being ethnocentric means thinking that we are the only ones who know..."

January 05, 2012 /Counterpunch

by SUE ASHDOWN and NELSON P. VALDES

“You have to figure out how you can reach the informed masses. The solution is not the newspapers… Internet is more accessible.” –Fidel Castro, November 12, 2010 [1]

There is a lot of discussion about Cuba and Internet access and how many Cubans are not connected to it. Oddly enough, most of the critics assume that having access is merely dependent on political will. A recent report by Nick Miroff for NPR’s “All Things Considered” was titled “In Cuba, Dial-Up Internet Is a Luxury.” The report did not address the issues of infrastructure cost; rather, those matters were disregarded.

Critics like these do not seem to be aware of the actual financial costs of the technology involved. Moreover, technology continues to advance quickly while costs continue to increase. This is not always immediately evident when an advanced piece of technology appears to deliver a far superior product at a relatively cheaper price, compared with preceding technology. However, when the obsolescence – both planned and unplanned – of the interconnecting equipment is considered, the cost pressures are clear. Ultimately, it becomes ever more difficult for the poor within a nation or among nations – to catch up.

Naively, it has been assumed that the same conditions present in the developed industrial countries are also present in the rest of the less wealthy world. Yet, there is a digital divide that is not a function of politics, but of income. And since there is an increasing income gap between the very wealthy and the rest of the population throughout the world, this means a functional, not just digital divide, on many levels. Some authors have already acknowledged that besides the worldwide divide, within the digital population of the wealthier countries there is also a divide that has been called the “broadband ghetto.”

The U.S. Census Bureau surveyed 54,000 households in October 2009, and discovered that the digital divide of the 1990s in the United States was persistent. By the time the poor had caught up with a computer and a modem, more up-to-date technology again kept them behind. The study noted that “broadband Internet adoption was higher among White households than among Black and Hispanic households in 2009. Differences in socioeconomic attributes do not entirely explain the gap in broadband Internet adoption associated with race and ethnicity.” [2]

What accounted for the disparity? If you are old, unemployed or underemployed, low income, senior, a minority, less educated, or a non-family household – the gap is from 16 to 34 percentage points behind. When asked, 60% said they did not need or use the Internet. Of course, they were poor and had little education. The rest basically said they could not afford it.

For those who use the Internet, broadband use shot from 9% to 64% between 2001 and 2009. Sixty-four percent of households with an income of less than $25,000 did not connect to the internet via broadband; while for those with incomes of over $100,000, the figure was only 6%. In Florida, in 2009, 33% of households did not connect via broadband, while in New Mexico the figure was 45%. In Mississippi, 58% of the households did not connect via broadband.

There are two separate issues here. One is the existence of broadband “availability.” Like hospital care, broadband may be “available,” but whether one can afford to take advantage of it is another question. But another is telecom deregulation that has allowed commercial infrastructure providers to engage in redlining and price-fixing. Broadband is still not available in certain sparsely populated rural areas where the cost/benefit ratio is unappealing to an infrastructure provider, and in urban areas, price-fixing puts broadband beyond the reach of increasingly large sectors of downwardly mobile consumers.

Most foreign and even domestic commentators on Cuba and the Internet are unaware that the United States government is subsidizing connectivity to numerous sectors of American society. In fact, in 2010 the U.S. government spent no less than $7.2 billion to make broadband*

 available to a larger number of people in the United States who could not afford it on their own.

Last year the U.S. government funded 120,000 miles of broadband networks, providing 24,000 communities with broadband access who otherwise could not afford it – including 7,000 K-12 schools, 2,000 libraries, 600 community colleges and 700 public universities. It was the U.S. government that made it possible for 40 million households and 4 million businesses to have broadband. [2] And that huge investment was made to try to close the divide.

In other words, the U.S. government paid for a “socialist” entitlement program benefiting all, regardless of merit. Why? To subsidize the commercial aspects of the highway in the same way that it gives away FCC licenses to subsidize radio and television advertising media.

That is the reality in the United States, which happens to have profoundly more resources than the poor island of Cuba, which also happens to have been blockaded since the 1960s.

And YET foreign observers expect that Cuba should offer some equivalent to that which is available to Americans!

In Latin America (2009) only 6.8% of the total population connects through  broadband. [4] Just 3% of all Latin Americans have access to mobile broadband. In all of Latin America it is a costly proposition to enter the world of ADSL. ADSL runs over the fixed-line telecom infrastructure that, in the United States, was installed many decades ago when AT&T was granted a regulated monopoly in order to achieve universal provision of this “essential service.” It was the only way to achieve the economies of scale necessary for such a massive undertaking and insure against the redlining that is commonplace today in a deregulated market.

Latin America had no such thing, and to develop this kind of infrastructure today is so astronomically expensive, that alliances between private telecommunications and energy enterprises along with national, regional and municipal governments are necessary. But even that is not enough. Trans-regional corporations are needed to supply capital as  well. [5]

Perhaps someday Internet access will be cheaper. And perhaps, one day, Cuba will be able to have connectivity at the same price as its Latin American counterparts. At the moment, none of the Latin American countries confront the difficulties imposed by a U.S. economic blockade.

* For the purposes of Government stimulus funding, broadband was defined at the low end of the threshold: 768kbps down and 200kbps up. Commercial providers can offer much higher speed but the federal authorities had neither sufficient financial resources to go to the high end of the threshold for the so-called “highway” nor political capital to expend on a regulatory regime that would have mandated that providers themselves provide broadband subsidies for low income customers, funded through their excess profits.

Sue Ashdown was the director of the Washington DC based American ISP Association from 2000-2004, where she worked to educate reporters, regulatory and legislative agencies about the realities of Internet service provision in a nominally competitive market.

Nelson P Valdés, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of New Mexico and director of the Cuba-L Direct project, where this essay also appeared.

[1] Michel Chossudovsky,  ”Conversations with Fidel Castro: the Dangers of Nuclear War,” Global research (Canada), November 13, 2010

[2] NTIA, Exploring the Digital Nation: Home Broadband Internet Adoption in the United States, November 2010.

[3] Remarks of Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Federal Communications Bar Association Luncheon Washington, DC October 21, 2010

[4]http://www.budde.com.au/Research/Latin-American-Broadband-and-Internet-Market.html

 [5]https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eclac.cl%2Fpublicaciones%2Fxml%2F9%2F43289%2FCapitulo_IV_IED_2010_WEB_FINAL.pdf

DIGISOL has launched DG-BG1100U, a high performance ADSL2/2 + Combo Broadband Router. DG-BG1100U is said to provide high speed download up to 24 Mbps and upload speed up to 1 Mbps.

It is supposed to be an ideal solution for SOHO users who wish to share high speed Internet access. DG-BG1100U is claimed to be a combo router providing one RJ-11 interface for ADSL Internet link, one RJ-45 Ethernet/USB interface for connecting to a notebook/desktop computer. The DG-BG1100U ADSL2/2+ router can also be used for sharing the Internet among LAN users by connecting the Ethernet interface to a switch.

The product is available all across India with lifetime warranty.

There is a small catch though, which is you still have to pay for your actual telephone line rental which is jut over R100 per month. This is unfortunately a necessary evil with Telkom in South Africa and even though I will never use a “home telephone” I have to pay the rental anyway. I wasn’t too bothered though because hey, it’s a good deal.

The first week went by great and all was well. Then my line speed began to drop. It dropped to a point where I was certain I could get faster speeds using a dial up. I then got my first bill. It was higher than I thought, a little over R2000… Which I now know is because Telkom ‘forgot’ to credit my account as per the special I had signed up for.

To cut a VERY long story short I have opened a dispute with Telkom about my account and I’m still waiting for a response. I haven’t paid the bill yet and I’m not really sure what to do at this point. I have since then moved my account and line over to Mweb and my line speed has jumped back up to normal and thankfully they’re a bit easier to deal with.

My advice,

If your considering getting ADSL you will unfortunately have to deal with Telkom at first to get a phone line or ADSL line installed. I would not recommend using them for anything other than the mandatory home telephone line which you don’t have a choice in anyway. Don’t bother with their special either because you will, like me, regret it. So far Mweb has been just above average and they’re fairly quick to respond to my grievances and so I would recommend them as a decent ISP.

Tipe koneksi ke internet dengan kabel

1.Dial-Up (Kecepatan Akses Internet-Dial Up melalui Jalur PSTN)

Apakah di rumahmu sudah terpasang saluran telepon? Jaringan telepon yang sudah merambah dengan luas. Jika sudah dan kita memiliki komputer maka kita dapat terkoneksi dengan internet. Cara menghubungkan komputer kita ke internet menggunakan kabel telepon biasa atau lebih sering disebut dengan dial up. Dial-up melalui jalur PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) yaitu cara kita. terhubung ke ISP (Internet Service Provider) melalui jaringan telephone reguler (PSTN) contohnya adalah “Telkomnet Instan” dari ISP Telkom.

Dial-up Connection ini pada umumnya digunakan oleh pribadi-pribadi yang menginginkan untuk mengakses Internet dari rumah. Komputer yang digunakan untuk dial-up pada umunya adalah sebuah komputer tunggal (bukan jaringan komputer). Kecepatan akses internet menggunakan dial up dapat mencapai maksimal dengan kecepatan 56 kilo byte persecond (kbps).

2.ADSL (Kecepatan Akses Internet-ADSL)

ADSL (Asymetric Digital Subscriber Line) adalah suatu teknologi modem yang bekerja pada frekuensi antara 34 kHz sampai 1104 kHz. Inilah penyebab utama perbedaan kecepatan transfer data antara modem ADSL dengan modem konvensional (yang bekerja pada frekuensi di bawah 4 kHz). Keuntungan ADSL adalah memberikan kemampuan akses internet berkecepatan tinggi dan suara/fax secara simultan (di sisi pelanggan dengan menggunakan splitter untuk memisahkan saluran telepon dan saluran modem).

Berapakah Bandwith maksimum yang didapat apabila kita menggunakan akses internet menggunakan ADSL: Untuk line rate 384 kbps, bandwidth maksimum yang didapatkan mendekati 337 kbps, Untuk line rate 384 kbps, throughput rata-rata (kecepatan download) yang bisa didapatkan sekitar 40 Kb/s, Untuk line rate 512 kbps, bandwidth maksimum yang didapatkan mendekati 450 kbps. Untuk line rate 512 kbps, throughput rata-rata (kecepatan download) yang bisa didapatkan sekitar 52 Kb/s.

3.LAN (Kecepatan Akses Internet-LAN)

Salah satu cara untuk terhubung ke internet adalah dengan menghubungkan komputer Anda ke jaringan komputer yang terhubung ke internet. Cara ini banyak digunakan di perusahan, kampus-kampus, dan warnet-warnet. Sebuah komputer yang dijadikan server (komputer layanan) di hubungkan ke internet. Komputer lain di jaringan tersebut kemudian dihubungkan ke server tersebut. Biasanya komputer yang berfungsi sebagai server dihubungkan dengan sebuah Internet Service Provider (ISP) melalui kabel telepon atau melalui antena. Sedangkan untuk menghubungkan komputer ke komputer server dilakukan dengan menggunakan kartu LAN (LAN Card) dan kabel koaksial (UTP).

Local Area Network biasa disingkat LAN adalah jaringan komputer yang jaringannya hanya mencakup wilayah kecil. Saat ini, kebanyakan LAN berbasis pada teknologi IEEE 802.3 Ethernet menggunakan perangkat switch, yang mempunyai kecepatan transfer data 10, 100, atau 1000 Mbit/s. Selain teknologi Ethernet, saat ini teknologi 802.11b (atau biasa disebut Wi-fi) juga sering digunakan untuk membentuk LAN.

4. TV Kabel (Kecepatan Akses Internet)

Pernahkan Anda mendengar Televisi/TV kabel? Siaran TV sering menwarkan perangkat TV kabel. Jaringan TV kabel untuk menghubungkan komputer ke internet telah banyak digunakan. Televisi kabel dinilai cocok terutama untuk pengguna internet dari kalangan keluarga (rumah tangga). Kelebihan mengakses internet dengan menggunakan jaringan TV kabel dapat mengakses internet setiap saat dan bebas dari gangguan telepon sibuk.

Jaringan TV kabel ini dapat dipakai untuk koneksi ke internet dengan kecepatan maksimum 27Mbps downstream (kecepatan download ke pengguna) dan 2,5Mbps upstream (kecepatan upload dari pengguna). Agar dapat menggunakan modem kabel, komputer harus dilengkapi dengan kartu ethernet (ethernet card).

Di dalam jaringan rumah, kabel dari “TV kabel” menggunakan kabel koaksial dan dipasang sebuah “pemisah saluran” (splitter) kabel. Setelah kabel dari jaringan (cable network) melewati splitter, kabel tersalur dalam dua saluran, satu ke TV dan satu lagi ke modem kabel. Dari modem kabel baru menuju kartu ethernet dan kemudian ke komputer.

Tipe koneks ke internet dengan Tanpa kabel (wireless)

1.GPRS (Kecepatan Akses Internet-GPRS)

Tentu Anda mengenal handphone (HP) bukan? Kebutuhan industri akan komunikasi bergerak menyebabkan GPRS menjadi salah satu teknologi komunikasi data yang banyak digunakan saat ini. GPRS adalah kepanjangan dari General Packet Radio Service yaitu komunikasi data dan suara yang dilakukan dengan menggunakan gelombang radio. GPRS memiliki kemampuan untuk mengkomunikasikan data dan suara pada saat alat komunikasi bergerak (mobile).

Sistem GPRS dapat digunakan untuk transfer data (dalam bentuk paket data) yang berkaitan dengan e-mail, data gambar (MMS), dan penelusuran (browsing) Internet. Layanan GPRS dipasang pada jenis ponsel tipe GSM dan IS-136, walaupun jaringaan GPRS saat ini terpisah dari GSM.

Dalam teorinya GPRS menjanjikan kecepatan mulai dari 56 kbps sampai 115 kbps, sehingga memungkinkan akses internet, pengiriman data multimedia ke komputer, notebook dan handheld computer. Namun, dalam implementasinya, hal tersebut sangat tergantung faktor-faktor sebagai berikut:

• Konfigurasi dan alokasi time slot pada level BTS
• Software yang dipergunakan
• Dukungan fitur dan aplikasi ponsel yang digunakan

Ini menjelaskan mengapa pada saat-saat tertentu dan di lokasi tertentu akses GPRS terasa lambat, bahkan lebih lambat dari akses CSD yang memiliki kecepatan 9,6 kbps.

2. 3G (Kecepatan Akses Internet-3G)

3G (dibaca: triji) adalah singkatan dari istilah dalam bahasa Inggris: third-generation technology. Istilah ini umumnya digunakan mengacu kepada perkembangan teknologi telepon nirkabel (wireless).

3G sebagai sebuah solusi nirkabel yang bisa memberikan kecepatan akses:

• Sebesar 144 Kbps untuk kondisi bergerak cepat (mobile).
• Sebesar 384 Kbps untuk kondisi berjalan (pedestrian).
• Sebesar 2 Mbps untuk kondisi statik di suatu tempat.

Jaringan 3G tidak merupakan upgrade dari 2G; operator 2G yang berafiliasi dengan 3GPP perlu untuk mengganti banyak komponen untuk bisa memberikan layanan 3G. Sedangkan operator 2G yang berafiliasi dengan teknologi 3GPP2 lebih mudah dalam upgrade ke 3G karena berbagai network element nya sudah didesain untuk ke arah layanan nirkabel pita lebar (broadband wireless). Jaringan Telepon Telekomunikasi selular telah meningkat menuju penggunaan layanan 3G dari 1999 hingga 2010. Jepang adalah negara pertama yang memperkenalkan 3G secara nasional dan transisi menuju 3G di Jepang sudah dicapai pada tahun 2006. Setelah itu Korea menjadi pengadopsi jaringan 3G pertama dan transisi telah dicapai pada awal tahun 2004, memimpin dunia dalam bidang telekomunikasi.

3.Wifi (Kecepatan Akses Internet-WiFi)

Pernahkan kalian melihat sambungan komunikasi tanpa kabel? Teknologi itu dikenal dengan Wirelless Fidelity (WiFi). Teknologi jaringan tanpa kabel menggunakan frekuensi tinggi berada pada spektrum 2,4 GHz. Wi-Fi memiliki pengertian yaitu sekumpulan standar yang digunakan untuk Jaringan Lokal Nirkabel (Wireless Local Area Networks – WLAN) yang didasari pada spesifikasi IEEE 802.11. Standar terbaru dari spesifikasi 802.11a atau b, seperti 802.16 g, saat ini sedang dalam penyusunan, spesifikasi terbaru tersebut menawarkan banyak peningkatan mulai dari luas cakupan yang lebih jauh hingga kecepatan transfernya.

Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) adalah koneksi tanpa kabel seperti handphone dengan mempergunakan teknologi radio sehingga pemakainya dapat mentransfer data dengan cepat dan aman. Wi-Fi tidak hanya dapat digunakan untuk mengakses internet, Wi-Fi juga dapat digunakan untuk membuat jaringan tanpa kabel di perusahaan. Karena itu banyak orang mengasosiasikan Wi-Fi dengan “Kebebasan” karena teknologi Wi-Fi memberikan kebebasan kepada pemakainya untuk mengakses internet atau mentransfer data dari ruang meeting, kamar hotel, kampus, dan café-café yang bertanda “Wi-Fi Hot Spot”. Juga salah satu kelebihan dari Wi-Fi adalah kepraktisan,tidak perlu repot memasang kabel network. Untuk masalah kecepatan tergantung sinyal yang diperoleh.

Wireless Broadband (Kecepatan Akses Internet-Wireless Broadband)

Wireless Broadband memungkinkan akses internet broadband ke berbagai perangkat. Termasuk ponsel, komputer notebook, dan PDA. Dari segi mobilitas, Wireless Broadband juga dinilai lebih efisien ketimbang WiFi yang sekarang menjadi standar internet nirkabel. Jangkauan WiFi masih terbatas kira-kira sampai 100 meter, sementara Wibro diklaim dapat diakses sampai jarak 1 kilometer dari stasiun pemancarnya.

Akses Wireless Broadband juga disebut masih bisa diterima di dalam kendaraan berkecepatan 60 kilometer per jam. WiBro dikembangkan Samsung bersama dengan Electronics and Technology Research Institute (ETRI) dan telah mendapat sertifikat dari Wimax Forum. Teknologi ini mampu mengirim data dengan kecepatan hingga 50 Mbps. Kecepatan transfer data mampu mengungguli kecepatan transfer data berplatform HSDPA yang memiliki kemampuan mengirim data hingga 14 Mbps.

Berbagai tipe tersebut hanyalah beberapa contoh saja, masih ada tipe-tipe koneksi yang lain, dan semakin majunya perkembangan teknologi tentunya akan semakin berkembangn juga teknologi akses intetnet dalam segi kecepatan akses dll.

Frontier Communications Corporation (NYSE: FTR) today announced an expansion of Metro Ethernet (MetroE) service to more than 55 new markets in 10 states. The expansion addresses the increasingly bandwidth-heavy needs of Frontier’s mid-size and large business customers.

Frontier MetroE is a scalable solution offering these business customers customizable, secure and reliable solutions that include next-generation Internet access and wide area networking. “Speed, capacity and flexibility give businesses more control over the customer experience and greater opportunities to reduce costs. Medicine, education, banking, tourism and entertainment are among the sectors that can realize immediate benefits from the simplicity and scalability of Frontier MetroE,” states Kerri Lusk-Barnes, Vice President of Commercial Product Marketing for Frontier.

Frontier’s Metro Ethernet delivers voice, data, video and other applications at speeds up to 600 times faster than current ADSL or cable connections. The company’s networks, designed by Frontier engineers and installed by highly-trained local technicians, are supported by centralized service centers that provide continuous 24x7x365 customer support. In addition, Frontier’s local managers offer customers rapid and personal response times for system adjustments or expansion.

The following now have Frontier MetroE service:

• Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
• Bloomington, Carbondale, DeKalb, Freeport, Jacksonville, Lincoln, Marion and Olney, Illinois
• Elkhart, Fort Wayne, Lafayette, Richmond, Terra Haute and Valparaiso, Indiana
• Adrian, Coldwater, Mount Pleasant, Muskegon and Sturgis, Michigan
• Bryson City, Burnsville, Cherokee, Creedmoor, Durham , Hayesville, Marion and Murphy, North Carolina
• Gardnerville, Nevada
• Athens, Bowling Green, Delaware, Jackson, Marion, Medina, Troy and Wilmington, Ohio
• Beaverton, Coos Bay, Gresham and Hillsboro, Oregon
• Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
• Everett and Kennewick, Washington
• Merrill, Sun Prairie and Wausau, Wisconsin

For more information about Frontier’s MetroE, contact Bill Fuesz, Director, Commercial Marketing, toll free at (855) 733-0096 or email William.fuesz@ftr.com.

About Frontier Communications

Frontier Communications Corporation (NYSE: FTR) offers voice, High-Speed Internet, satellite video, wireless Internet data access, data security solutions, bundled offerings, specialized bundles for small businesses and home offices, and advanced business communications for medium and large businesses in 27 states and with approximately 15,200 employees. Frontier is included in the S&P 500 Index and is the largest provider of communications services focused on rural America. It has a 100 percent U.S.-based workforce. Frontier’s landline service is reliable, safe and accessible. More information is available at www.frontier.com and www.frontier.com/ir.

Courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons. Original location and license information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fibreoptic.jpg

I am always keen to see new technology being rolled out and even as a youth (in the 80s) I

remember getting excited about fibre optic technology. So, has it finally arrived? And is it as exciting as it sounds, or is it like Virtual Reality or 3D (yes, I remember 3D movies in the 1980s too, I predict it will fail to take off again this time too)

Firstly, what are the main advantages of fibre optic?

A major advantage is that its signal does not degrade over distance as much as copper. This allows for long cable runs without the need for attenuators / repeaters every few miles to boost the signal .

Another advantage is the huge speeds it is capable of (up tp 111Gigabits/sec) - however, copper is also capable of great speeds. A Cat 6 cable (available for less than £5) is capable of transmitting 10Gigabits/sec,  more than 1000 times faster than a typical broadband connection of 8Megabits/sec.

A third, little discussed advantage is security. Copper is much easier to eavesdrop on than fibre optic. A device can be placed on a telephone cable to tap an ADSL connection. This cannot be done with Fibre optic as it doesn’t leak an electric or magnetic field. Eavesdropping would only be possible at cable junctions.

Practical Rollout Of Fibre Optic Broadband (BT Infinity)

BT Infinity is the product BT is rolling out across the UK that plans to offer speeds of up to 300Megabits/sec.

How will this affect consumers in Pembrokeshire? Well, it will be a while before it arrives here. No exchanges are currently on the list for 2011/2012 and BT plans for two-thirds UK coverage by 2014. So, I fear Pembrokeshire is likely to be the 1/3 not to get it.

Does it matter?

Not really. Most home users have little need for speeds in excess of 8Meg. For larger organisations, such as government, and large offices, faster speeds would give benefits when 100s of users have to share a single line.

My gripe is that the marketing material by BT and other providers gives the impression that the main benefit of fibre optic is speed. This is definitely not the case for current usage as copper is capable of speeds 1000s of times greater than its current usage.

I went to bed tired – the feeling had been gathering all day – I’d come home from a Weight Watchers meeting and walk wiped out, snuggled down with the neighbours dog barking down the hill, a chick flick that made me homesick and I was hoping to nap but it didn’t happen.

Cooked dinner, helped my youngest boy bake a cake – with minimal input from me (not the nicest of cakes but that was down to the recipe not his technique which was spot on), sat for a moment with the usual tv chatter and kids and when a movie, The Mask, came on tv I split.  I’m not interested in The Mask, Jim Carey in it just irritates me.

I tried blogging the first post on this site and was getting mighty frustrated with our shackled internet speed.  Don’t you just love when you exceed your usual ADSL limit and the ISP put the brakes on to dial-up speed!?! WordPress seemed particularly affected by the lag.

So I was tucked up in bed by 9pm, read a chapter of a book and out.  Next thing I know it’s 10.22pm and my husband has come to bed, iPhone glowing in the dark and I’m awake and now starting to toss and turn and dream weird dreams that I had another blog I was writing about depression or something that clashed with this one.  Toss and turn some more and it’s midnight and I realise that this may be a side effect of the meds.  Yay! :-/

I know already that I don’t do well on sleep deprivation.  As a new mum my second boy didn’t sleep through the night until he was 2 and I was too exhausted to care about getting him a bottle when he woke (I just had to hand it to him and he’d go back to sleep).  During those 2 years I was a wreck.  Hence me enforcing a year of sleep before becoming pregnant again with our 3rd.

So I know my body at least – which has to be a good thing surely?  I don’t normally have trouble sleeping – well until this last year I guess when my husband’s snoring began to wake me, the cats decided they wanted to use our bedroom door to get in around 1am in the morning and would meow outside until they could get in and whatever other bathroom visits then necessitated getting up for.  I’m also a full-time shiftworker so already struggle with either late nights, early mornings or night shift as the shift dictates.  My tolerance level dropped remarkably – probably accelerating this depression thing (or maybe it’s all tied in).

When I’d had trouble sleeping in the past I wouldn’t often get up and make myself even more awake – like this typing a blog, reading or anything.  I tended just to lie, rest and doze, knowing I was looking at the clock every couple of hours.

My husband was concerned that I’d been back to the doctor and had more time off work and wondered if it was something more than a cold (which I have too).  He even went as far to mention depression but I tried not to bite.  I don’t want to tell him I’m on anti-depressants because then he’ll use it to release himself of blame in a struggling marriage (from my point of view).  Maybe my tolerance is much lower due to this but he’s still a child in so many ways and I’ve had enough so that added stress doesn’t help and my perspective of what marriage is all about has been shot with my social withdrawal.  Sigh – I feel like my life is Archimedes screwed… lol

I came down just after midnight to minimal lights and popped some Valerian sleep aids (can’t get not script sleeping tablets that actually seem to work and I forgot to get into a pharmacy in the US at the beginning of the year to buy some Simply Sleep over the counter) – Argh!!  I don’t believe the Valerian worked in the past either but I’ll give anything a go at this stage, although I should have had some milk too and was lax in that regard – milk always seems to help me sleep…

It’s been nearly an hour of typing, thought processing and I need to think about heading back to bed before my husband wakes and comes down himself wondering what’s wrong.  I think he has depression but if I broach it he rejects the idea.  Thing is that when I said my symptoms to my Doc he didn’t just want to medicate me he wanted me to see a Psych too – when my hubby was put on anti-d’s before that was never suggested to him (which he really needed and now we’re worse off as he’s off the tabs a long time and his temperament has deteriorated)

Time to swig some warmed milk and head back to the cosiness of a warm feather duvet :)

Night

Pip

La banda ancha es la palabra de moda en estos días, pero ¿qué es y cuáles son los beneficios?

¿Qué es banda ancha?

La banda ancha es una conexión a Internet de alta velocidad que está siempre disponible. Esto significa que usted no tiene que conectarse cada vez que quiera enviar un e-mail o navegar por Internet. Hay más de un tipo de conexión de banda ancha, he aquí algo de información que le ayudará a tomar la decisión correcta.

ADSL

La forma más fácil y más rentable para obtener rápida a Internet es con ADSL. En pocas palabras, es un ADSL de alta velocidad, una conexión digital siempre a disposición de la internet que funciona utilizando la línea telefónica existente.

¿Cómo trabaja la linea ADSL?

Cuando la línea ADSL está activada y que tiene el hardware necesario en el lugar (un PC y un módem ADSL), la señal de la línea telefónica se divide en dos canales – uno para voz o fax y la otra para una conexión de datos de alta velocidad.

¿Por qué debo elejir ADSL?

ADSL es hasta 9 veces más rápido que un estándar de conexión de acceso telefónico.

o Está siempre disponible. Usted nunca tendrá que esperar para marcar, de nuevo, ya que con ADSL que están permanentemente conectados a Internet.

o Usted no paga por una llamada cada vez que use el Internet, por lo que su factura telefónica reflejará una tarifa fija mensual para su acceso ADSL.

o Es rentable. Si usted encuentra que usted está gastando más de US $ 20 al mes en el acceso a Internet, ADSL será más rentable (y rápido) de conexión para usted.

Banda Ancha Inalámbrica

La banda ancha inalámbrica le ofrece la posibilidad de estar conectado a Internet esté donde esté. Es el acceso a Internet en cualquier momento y lugar.

¿Cómo funciona la banda ancha inalámbrica?

Le permite acceder a Internet desde cualquier lugar donde se pueda obtener cobertura de telefonía móvil, con su ordenador portátil y la tarjeta de datos 3G – ideal para aquellos que viajan habitualmente o para una persona de negocios. Si usted tiene una tarjeta de datos que se encaja en su computadora portátil , entonces usted tiene Internet en movimiento. Si quieres usarlo en casa, pero sólo tiene un PC en casa no hay necesidad de preocuparse porque usted puede comprar un router inalámbrico, inserte la tarjeta de datos 3G en el router y proceda a conectarlo a su PC y listo.

¿Por qué debo escojer la banda ancha inalámbrica?

o La banda ancha inalámbrica es ideal para usuarios que quieren la conectividad a Internet en movimiento.

o No hay dependencia de una línea telefónica física, sin costes de instalación y sin cargos de acceso telefónico. Con una tarjeta de datos que simplemente se encaja en una computadora portátil, es rápido de instalar. No hay que esperar a estar conectado.

Orange goes bananas

It was sad to wake up after the ‘Mashujaa Day’
not a hero and the happy feeling, stack of hay
the ADSL service in Ongata Rongai went bad.
Their landlines were vandalized, so sad.
I don’t like Kenya Power that much to say
but their outages resume within a day.
The Orange customer care sounds mellow
yet turns yellow on the caller saying hello!
Friday 21st no internet, forget it, we hang-out
Saturday 22nd Orange takes a day off, no doubt
Sunday 23rd still no service, Orange the Almighty

Cut the crap! I need to resume work in the city
In Ongata Rongai about 30 use ADSL mostly cybers
because it is fast and economically stable like fibres.
Monday 24th in Rongai it’s usually dust and donkeys
This day was very different with mud and monkeys
No Orange ADSL service, not anymore and if I may
lose customers to competition, with Orange it’s okay!

Orange behaves like a bad banana

Tuesday 25th I make a call to Orange technical guys
the customer care are not helping either, emotional sighs
Its true and it’s not the first time since the days of TELKOM
Improvements in technology, not in manpower like SAFARICOM
Wednesday 26th huge business loses yet Orange hasn’t turned green
I personally visit their facility and they make my head spin
Ten cybercafé operators and owners sign a petition to Orange
Seeking some form of compensation, talk of revenge
Yeah nothing much done, these are 8 to 5 apprentices
Bureaucratic culture reveals their ‘blame game orifices’
Thoughtful Thursday all about reflection, taking consolation
in seeking for other new service provider’s information.

Orange Kenya

No ADSL service for a week now, my bet is to go Fibre-optic
than the conventional WIMAX broadband also fantastic.
I think I have been rigid for long in the Orange comfort zone
For change is good and it’s time to give the dog a bone

If the Orange experience teaches one to be tolerable,
patience pays. I think of Orange as my last date so bearable.
Yet I speak for over 30 who help Orange Kenya make over
Ksh. 200,000 a month. Check the facts whenever sober.
For your information, ADSL service tops in Ongata Rongai,
as well as telephone that rivals no other company, I can’t deny
but technology-wise Fibre-optic is catching up so fast.
We can only count the number of days that Orange will last.

ADSL broadband router

Friday 28th still no internet yet rent and workers need to be paid
The boring fanfare and the Orange circus go on and on unsaid
Today it’s 29th October; I forgot all about internet, a dull Saturday
Your guess is as good as mine, the darkness at dawn, no sun, no ray
There is no landline, no internet and therefore no business
The ‘hyped’ ADSL service not working as Orange goes bananas

Orange looks good on the outside

Tomorrow it’s the end of October, the day of reckoning
If by the end of this day the ADSL doesn’t work and I get nothing,
then to Orange my dear, t’was nice a date with thee to have

diluted sweetness

cut my losses, looked for a new suitor, and moved on with love