Jᴀᴄᴜʀᴜᴛᴜ - Tʜᴇ Cᴀsᴛ Oᴜᴛ

Currently we're using U-verse and its become a nightmare. the cable side is fine but seeing as how 90% of what I watch is available within hours to days online for free I'm willing to give that up. the Wireless service from U-verse is decent but on my main pc I'm forced to use a wireless USB adapter whose drivers are more poorly designed than a KJA novel. That leaves my laptop for all my internet activity.

I don't want to have to fight my ISP and Windows Vista just to get online on my home desktop for what averages out to be 5 mins of actual working connection a day. Uverse customer service is virtually non existent, we've had them out several times to fix problems with the service and its still crap.

So who out there is very happy with their ISP? (Oh, and lives in the US)

I've had almost no problems with Comcast. I've had to schedule an appointment once for them to come to the house but that was for the cable, the on-demand wasn't working. Broadband coaxial cable is great.

Well, the wireless problem you have with your main PC is independent of your ISP, so you'll need to deal with that anyway. If your wireless router has ethernet ports, and you can move it near your PC, I'd go wired; that's what I do. Laptop is wireless, but the device is built-in with the manufacturer's own driver, so no problems there.

I know it's unfashionable, but I don't use one company for everything.

I have Internet and phone with AT&T, cable with Comcast. The Internet is DSL, one of the lower tiers, but it just works, and is fast enough for downloading stuff and streaming video. I have my own wireless router that I had to buy (a linksys), and it just works, too.

AT&T keep trying to shift me over to U-verse, but I'm not going. I probably pay way too much for a slow connection, but I favour reliability over speed.

[Edited to correct spelling]

HBJ

I can tell you not to go with SureWest (Everest) if they have that in your region. Our connection would stop working for hours at a time, we'd call and they'd tell us there was nothing wrong with it on their end, then suddenly and mysteriously it would start working as soon as we hung up the phone. That happened two or three times.

Finally, they sent someone out to look at our outlet, and it was decided that it needed to be replaced. Of course, the guy that came to check isn't the guy that actually replaces stuff, so we had to reschedule. The appointment came and went, and nobody ever showed. Fun stuff.

Also, my sister signed up for the fastest connection they had, and they were more than happy to charge her for it. But when it crashed, the cable guy came out and said that she still had her old, slow connection. They'd been charging her for six months for a service they weren't providing, and were unwilling to refund her money. It worked out to about $300...they gave her a $50 credit. She's in the process of reporting them to the BBB, but it seems highly unlikely they'll step up and do the right thing.

Hunchback Jack wrote:Well, the wireless problem you have with your main PC is independent of your ISP, so you'll need to deal with that anyway. If your wireless router has ethernet ports, and you can move it near your PC, I'd go wired; that's what I do. Laptop is wireless, but the device is built-in with the manufacturer's own driver, so no problems there.

He speaks the turth - wires are a lot less temperamental, even big fuckoff long ones (faster too)

DuneFishUK wrote:

Hunchback Jack wrote:Well, the wireless problem you have with your main PC is independent of your ISP, so you'll need to deal with that anyway. If your wireless router has ethernet ports, and you can move it near your PC, I'd go wired; that's what I do. Laptop is wireless, but the device is built-in with the manufacturer's own driver, so no problems there.

He speaks the turth - wires are a lot less temperamental, even big fuckoff long ones (faster too)

The first thing I did when I bought my house was wire every room for ethernet and cable tv. I've been thinking about getting wireless adapters so I can move things around in the rooms, though.

I just ditched Surewest and went with AT&T wireless. Decently fast enough. Surewest sucked.

The wireless problem comes from the fact that the wireless router gives a decent signal within 10 feet and is otherwise completely unreliable. the USB-wireless adapter they provided will connect only if I reset it several times and often fails before I can load my browser.

we've been waiting 4 weeks now for them to come hang up the new cable they ran to the house. They want to bury it (and charge to bury it) rather than hang it with the phone lines. They showed up twice to repair it without letting us know they are coming and no one was home. The one time a repairman called I told him the problem and he said they had sent him out mistakenly, he was the wrong kind of repairman. He said he called it in to have them send out the right type and we're still waiting.

When I can actually connect I get decent speeds, but the customer and tech service have been pretty lacking.

--When I find the right new ISP i think having a wire ran to at least my own room (where my desktop is) will be worth it just to stop any future headaches.

Freakzilla wrote:The first thing I did when I bought my house was wire every room for ethernet and cable tv. I've been thinking about getting wireless adapters so I can move things around in the rooms, though.

Nice. My house has ethernet throughout, but the cable situation is not so good.

I use wireless for computers that move (i.e. laptops), and wired for computers that don't (i.e. desktops).

HBJ

I don't have any laptops. We're not allowed to have nice things at my house.

I've had to use a laptop since my aging desktop chucked it and I hate it. Small screen, small keyboard, slow harddisk and laughable graphics chipset, it's only a year old. But beggars can't be choosers.

inhuien wrote:I've had to use a laptop since my aging desktop chucked it and I hate it. Small screen, small keyboard, slow harddisk and laughable graphics chipset, it's only a year old. But beggars can't be choosers.

That's actually the real reason I haven't gotten a laptop. They're not nearly as upgradeable as a desktop.

Which wireless version is it? B? G? N? is it a combo router with the U-Verse Box?

Wireless USB adapters are underpowered and often have problems with distance.
Try getting a PCI SLot Wireless adapter, see how that goes.

Have you upgraded your Windows Vista to SP1? Vista sucks in general, but really sucks without SP1 try that.

All wired in my past houses, currently a mix of wired/wireless because of rental and cant drill holes.

Prefer DSL, had ATT in past. Use COMCAST now and the speed on Interent side is up and down, and the TV side sucks for the most part. Signal breaks up often, channels not available, etc. Had the out twice to look at it, havent fixed it yet, working on it. Had dish tv of some sort since 1996 back in the PRimestar days, but stuck with cable because of living situation and rental( Long story, dont ask)

trang wrote:All wired in my past houses, currently a mix of wired/wireless because of rental and cant drill holes.

All but myself are forbidden from putting holes in my house. That doesn't always stop the kids, thought.

I came home one day and my wife had put screws in the tracks of the double-hung windows to keep the kids from opening them all the way. I freaked out and went and bought keyed sash locks for all the windows.