Re: Ameritech.net

Re: Ameritech.net

[Adam Bertram]

I work at an ISP in Indiana that has dialup and cable modems.  We, also, 
do not support anything other that Windoze.  Windoze is what almost 
everyone uses.  Well..at least all of the consumers that know nothing 
about anything. :)  We would just spend too much on training because about 
half of the staff already doesn't know anything other than removing a 
dialer in DUN and reinserting.  Way too much money for something that is 
not that popular with our market.  

A

---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 10:05:27 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Janina Sajka <janina@afb.net>  
>Subject: Re: Ameritech.net  
>To: <blinux-list@redhat.com>
>
>John:
>
>I hope I didn't come across as anti-DSL. I love my DSL. There are 
>certainly good providers out there--folks who provide quality and 
service. 
>And, maybe the telco's are even right for some people. I suppose my point 
>is to consider what one is buying. All providers are not equal.
> On Fri, 7 
>Sep 2001, John J. Boyer wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>> We have had DSL from TDS Metrocom for about three months and have never 
had
>> down time. I think they us HPCH or some other bit of alphabet soup, but 
it's
>> not PPOE. It supports our entire office with five computers. We only had
>> tweak Windows' network settings to make it work.
>> Just a positive note amid all the negative ones.
>> John
>> 
>> Computers to Help People, Inc.
>> http://www.chpi.org
>> 825 East Johnson; Madison, WI 53703
>> 
>> 
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Janina Sajka" <janina@afb.net>
>> To: <blinux-list@redhat.com>
>> Sent: Friday, September 07, 2001 09:29
>> Subject: Re: Ameritech.net
>> 
>> 
>> > I was a Verizon DSL customer when the company was still called Bell
>> > Atlantic and when consumer DSL service was still very new beginning in
>> > February 1999. In those days, DSL customers were assigned static IPs. 
My
>> > personal experience was that the service was great when it worked, 
which
>> > wasn't quite enough of the time. I had long periods of down time--
about
>> > two weeks every three months or so. Calling tech support was a 
nightmare.
>> > First, I would sit on hold listening to the same clip of Vivaldi for 
tens
>> > of minutes. A half-hour wait was common, and the Vivaldi never
>> > changed--always the same snipit from the first movement of Spring. 
Once I
>> > got first level tier support my problems only got worse. Clearly, it 
was
>> > my fault because I wasn't in Windows. Clearly, when I rebooted into
>> > Windows, it was the screen reader. Once I pushed up to second, and 
even
>> > third tier support, it was, of course, never my fault. At least twice 
they
>> > moved me to ppoe without even telling me they were doing it. Mostly, 
they
>> > just couldn't explain it--system upgrades at the CO, please call back 
if
>> > the problem persists.
>> >
>> > I will not be a Telco DSL customer again, mostly because of their 
terrible
>> > track record with me, but also because they've moved away from DSL
>> > technology I care to buy. They have indeed found ways to provision 
DSL in
>> > ways I don't fully understand--and don't care to. It's more than 
dynamic
>> > IPs. I was surprised recently when a friend was installing Verizon 
DSL on
>> > his Windows computer--surprised to learn that the install added an 
icon to
>> > his Dial Up Networking program group.
>> >
>> > In essence, I suspect the telco's judge ip space and general network
>> > resources insuficient to support the millions of customers they want 
to
>> > sell. They want the customers money, but expect they will not use
>> > persistent connections any more than they use dial up connections. My
>> > friends DUN based DSL would disconnect on inactivity. Voice phone 
service
>> > network capacity is based, as I understand it, on the expectation 
that the
>> > average phone call will last four minutes. I'm sure they also have a
>> > number of calls per month in mind as an average. Of course, they have 
to
>> > make those kinds of predictions in order to build out adequate
>> > infrastructure. But, I have no desire to be part of a broadband 
service
>> > that expects casual and occasional web surfing. So, no more telco DSL 
for
>> > me.
>> >
>> > My advice is to seek a quality provider. My answer, for myself, was
>> > speakeasy.net for two crowning reasons:
>> >
>> > 1.) They actively support linux. In fact, I believe their servers run
>> > Redhat;
>> > 2.) They actively have no problem with home networks;
>> >
>> > Most providers have problems over linux even if their technology 
doesn't,
>> > and have fine print that prohibits multiple machines accessing the
>> > service. So, I choose to go with the provider that supports the OS and
>> > features I want and support.
>> >
>> >
>> >  On Thu, 6 Sep
>> > 2001, Karl Dahlke wrote:
>> >
>> > > For what it's worth, and it isn't worth much,
>> > > I used Ameritech dial-up service for almost a year,
>> > > and was very happy with it.
>> > > I left only because I wanted a cable modem.
>> > >
>> > > Of course I was happy because everything worked for me straight 
away,
>> > > and I didn't have to ask their technical department for help.
>> > >
>> > > I'm a bit confused by this whole thread.
>> > > I thought dsl was a static always on connection.
>> > > Why ppp?
>> > > Why pppd?
>> > > Why ppp0?
>> > > Don't they give you a box that looks like a cable modem,
>> > > with a nic interface,
>> > > and don't you just plug into that, like an ethernet?
>> > > Don't you just set up for an ethernet connection and go?
>> > > I guess I don't know much about dsl,
>> > > so I'll stop talking now,
>> > > before I do more harm than good.
>> > >
>> > > Karl
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > _______________________________________________
>> > > Blinux-list mailing list
>> > > Blinux-list@redhat.com
>> > > https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
>> > >
>> >
>> > --
>> >
>> > Janina Sajka, Director
>> > Technology Research and Development
>> > Governmental Relations Group
>> > American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
>> >
>> > Email: janina@afb.net Phone: (202) 408-8175
>> >
>> > Chair, Accessibility SIG
>> > Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF)
>> > http://www.openebook.org
>> >
>> > Will electronic books surpass print books? Read our white paper,
>> > Surpassing Gutenberg, at http://www.afb.org/ebook.asp
>> >
>> > Download a free sample Digital Talking Book edition of Martin Luther
>> > King Jr's inspiring "I Have A Dream" speech at
>> > http://www.afb.org/mlkweb.asp
>> >
>> > Learn how to make accessible software at
>> > http://www.afb.org/accessapp.asp
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Blinux-list mailing list
>> > Blinux-list@redhat.com
>> > https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
>> >
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Blinux-list mailing list
>> Blinux-list@redhat.com
>> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
>> 
>
>-- 
>	
>				Janina Sajka, Director
>				Technology Research and Development
>				Governmental Relations Group
>				American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
>
>Email: janina@afb.net		Phone: (202) 408-8175
>
>Chair, Accessibility SIG
>Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF)
>http://www.openebook.org
>
>Will electronic books surpass print books? Read our white paper,
>Surpassing Gutenberg, at http://www.afb.org/ebook.asp
>
>Download a free sample Digital Talking Book edition of Martin Luther
>King Jr's inspiring "I Have A Dream" speech at
>http://www.afb.org/mlkweb.asp
>
>Learn how to make accessible software at
>http://www.afb.org/accessapp.asp
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Blinux-list mailing list
>Blinux-list@redhat.com
>https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list

Ameritech.net

[Karl Dahlke]

For what it's worth, and it isn't worth much,
I used Ameritech dial-up service for almost a year,
and was very happy with it.
I left only because I wanted a cable modem.

Of course I was happy because everything worked for me straight away,
and I didn't have to ask their technical department for help.

I'm a bit confused by this whole thread.
I thought dsl was a static always on connection.
Why ppp?
Why pppd?
Why ppp0?
Don't they give you a box that looks like a cable modem,
with a nic interface,
and don't you just plug into that, like an ethernet?
Don't you just set up for an ethernet connection and go?
I guess I don't know much about dsl,
so I'll stop talking now,
before I do more harm than good.

Karl

Re: Ameritech.net

[Cheryl Homiak]

Yes, what you say is true as far as it goes; dsl is done by ethernet with
an ethernet modem.  However, you have to have software to make this work;
for windows users, this software comes with the installation kit, but for
linux users it means installing packages.  In this case, it was pppoe
(roaring penguin version).  Aparently, pppoe works in combination with
pppd for linking; if all went well, this would happen at boot and there
would be no problem.  However, in this case, all did not go well and I
don't know why.  I am sure lots of people have good experiences with
ameritech; I was only relating my experience so people could be warned
that they might have a problem.

Cheryl

Re: Ameritech.net

[Cheryl Homiak]

I should add that there are actually several kinds of dsl connections; if
you become interested, the dsl howto would be a good place to start.

Cheryl

Re: Ameritech.net

[Janina Sajka]

I was a Verizon DSL customer when the company was still called Bell 
Atlantic and when consumer DSL service was still very new beginning in 
February 1999. In those days, DSL customers were assigned static IPs. My 
personal experience was that the service was great when it worked, which 
wasn't quite enough of the time. I had long periods of down time--about 
two weeks every three months or so. Calling tech support was a nightmare. 
First, I would sit on hold listening to the same clip of Vivaldi for tens 
of minutes. A half-hour wait was common, and the Vivaldi never 
changed--always the same snipit from the first movement of Spring. Once I 
got first level tier support my problems only got worse. Clearly, it was 
my fault because I wasn't in Windows. Clearly, when I rebooted into 
Windows, it was the screen reader. Once I pushed up to second, and even 
third tier support, it was, of course, never my fault. At least twice they 
moved me to ppoe without even telling me they were doing it. Mostly, they 
just couldn't explain it--system upgrades at the CO, please call back if 
the problem persists.

I will not be a Telco DSL customer again, mostly because of their terrible 
track record with me, but also because they've moved away from DSL 
technology I care to buy. They have indeed found ways to provision DSL in 
ways I don't fully understand--and don't care to. It's more than dynamic 
IPs. I was surprised recently when a friend was installing Verizon DSL on 
his Windows computer--surprised to learn that the install added an icon to 
his Dial Up Networking program group.

In essence, I suspect the telco's judge ip space and general network 
resources insuficient to support the millions of customers they want to 
sell. They want the customers money, but expect they will not use 
persistent connections any more than they use dial up connections. My 
friends DUN based DSL would disconnect on inactivity. Voice phone service 
network capacity is based, as I understand it, on the expectation that the 
average phone call will last four minutes. I'm sure they also have a 
number of calls per month in mind as an average. Of course, they have to 
make those kinds of predictions in order to build out adequate 
infrastructure. But, I have no desire to be part of a broadband service 
that expects casual and occasional web surfing. So, no more telco DSL for 
me.

My advice is to seek a quality provider. My answer, for myself, was 
speakeasy.net for two crowning reasons:

1.)	They actively support linux. In fact, I believe their servers run 
Redhat;
2.)	They actively have no problem with home networks;

Most providers have problems over linux even if their technology doesn't,
and have fine print that prohibits multiple machines accessing the
service. So, I choose to go with the provider that supports the OS and
features I want and support.


 On Thu, 6 Sep 
2001, Karl Dahlke wrote:

> For what it's worth, and it isn't worth much,
> I used Ameritech dial-up service for almost a year,
> and was very happy with it.
> I left only because I wanted a cable modem.
> 
> Of course I was happy because everything worked for me straight away,
> and I didn't have to ask their technical department for help.
> 
> I'm a bit confused by this whole thread.
> I thought dsl was a static always on connection.
> Why ppp?
> Why pppd?
> Why ppp0?
> Don't they give you a box that looks like a cable modem,
> with a nic interface,
> and don't you just plug into that, like an ethernet?
> Don't you just set up for an ethernet connection and go?
> I guess I don't know much about dsl,
> so I'll stop talking now,
> before I do more harm than good.
> 
> Karl
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list@redhat.com
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> 

-- 
	
				Janina Sajka, Director
				Technology Research and Development
				Governmental Relations Group
				American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

Email: janina@afb.net		Phone: (202) 408-8175

Chair, Accessibility SIG
Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF)
http://www.openebook.org

Will electronic books surpass print books? Read our white paper,
Surpassing Gutenberg, at http://www.afb.org/ebook.asp

Download a free sample Digital Talking Book edition of Martin Luther
King Jr's inspiring "I Have A Dream" speech at
http://www.afb.org/mlkweb.asp

Learn how to make accessible software at
http://www.afb.org/accessapp.asp

Re: Ameritech.net

[John J. Boyer]

Hello,
We have had DSL from TDS Metrocom for about three months and have never had
down time. I think they us HPCH or some other bit of alphabet soup, but it's
not PPOE. It supports our entire office with five computers. We only had
tweak Windows' network settings to make it work.
Just a positive note amid all the negative ones.
John

Computers to Help People, Inc.
http://www.chpi.org
825 East Johnson; Madison, WI 53703


----- Original Message -----
From: "Janina Sajka" <janina@afb.net>
To: <blinux-list@redhat.com>
Sent: Friday, September 07, 2001 09:29
Subject: Re: Ameritech.net


> I was a Verizon DSL customer when the company was still called Bell
> Atlantic and when consumer DSL service was still very new beginning in
> February 1999. In those days, DSL customers were assigned static IPs. My
> personal experience was that the service was great when it worked, which
> wasn't quite enough of the time. I had long periods of down time--about
> two weeks every three months or so. Calling tech support was a nightmare.
> First, I would sit on hold listening to the same clip of Vivaldi for tens
> of minutes. A half-hour wait was common, and the Vivaldi never
> changed--always the same snipit from the first movement of Spring. Once I
> got first level tier support my problems only got worse. Clearly, it was
> my fault because I wasn't in Windows. Clearly, when I rebooted into
> Windows, it was the screen reader. Once I pushed up to second, and even
> third tier support, it was, of course, never my fault. At least twice they
> moved me to ppoe without even telling me they were doing it. Mostly, they
> just couldn't explain it--system upgrades at the CO, please call back if
> the problem persists.
>
> I will not be a Telco DSL customer again, mostly because of their terrible
> track record with me, but also because they've moved away from DSL
> technology I care to buy. They have indeed found ways to provision DSL in
> ways I don't fully understand--and don't care to. It's more than dynamic
> IPs. I was surprised recently when a friend was installing Verizon DSL on
> his Windows computer--surprised to learn that the install added an icon to
> his Dial Up Networking program group.
>
> In essence, I suspect the telco's judge ip space and general network
> resources insuficient to support the millions of customers they want to
> sell. They want the customers money, but expect they will not use
> persistent connections any more than they use dial up connections. My
> friends DUN based DSL would disconnect on inactivity. Voice phone service
> network capacity is based, as I understand it, on the expectation that the
> average phone call will last four minutes. I'm sure they also have a
> number of calls per month in mind as an average. Of course, they have to
> make those kinds of predictions in order to build out adequate
> infrastructure. But, I have no desire to be part of a broadband service
> that expects casual and occasional web surfing. So, no more telco DSL for
> me.
>
> My advice is to seek a quality provider. My answer, for myself, was
> speakeasy.net for two crowning reasons:
>
> 1.) They actively support linux. In fact, I believe their servers run
> Redhat;
> 2.) They actively have no problem with home networks;
>
> Most providers have problems over linux even if their technology doesn't,
> and have fine print that prohibits multiple machines accessing the
> service. So, I choose to go with the provider that supports the OS and
> features I want and support.
>
>
>  On Thu, 6 Sep
> 2001, Karl Dahlke wrote:
>
> > For what it's worth, and it isn't worth much,
> > I used Ameritech dial-up service for almost a year,
> > and was very happy with it.
> > I left only because I wanted a cable modem.
> >
> > Of course I was happy because everything worked for me straight away,
> > and I didn't have to ask their technical department for help.
> >
> > I'm a bit confused by this whole thread.
> > I thought dsl was a static always on connection.
> > Why ppp?
> > Why pppd?
> > Why ppp0?
> > Don't they give you a box that looks like a cable modem,
> > with a nic interface,
> > and don't you just plug into that, like an ethernet?
> > Don't you just set up for an ethernet connection and go?
> > I guess I don't know much about dsl,
> > so I'll stop talking now,
> > before I do more harm than good.
> >
> > Karl
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Blinux-list mailing list
> > Blinux-list@redhat.com
> > https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> >
>
> --
>
> Janina Sajka, Director
> Technology Research and Development
> Governmental Relations Group
> American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
>
> Email: janina@afb.net Phone: (202) 408-8175
>
> Chair, Accessibility SIG
> Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF)
> http://www.openebook.org
>
> Will electronic books surpass print books? Read our white paper,
> Surpassing Gutenberg, at http://www.afb.org/ebook.asp
>
> Download a free sample Digital Talking Book edition of Martin Luther
> King Jr's inspiring "I Have A Dream" speech at
> http://www.afb.org/mlkweb.asp
>
> Learn how to make accessible software at
> http://www.afb.org/accessapp.asp
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list@redhat.com
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
>

Re: Ameritech.net

[Janina Sajka]

John:

I hope I didn't come across as anti-DSL. I love my DSL. There are 
certainly good providers out there--folks who provide quality and service. 
And, maybe the telco's are even right for some people. I suppose my point 
is to consider what one is buying. All providers are not equal.
 On Fri, 7 
Sep 2001, John J. Boyer wrote:

> Hello,
> We have had DSL from TDS Metrocom for about three months and have never had
> down time. I think they us HPCH or some other bit of alphabet soup, but it's
> not PPOE. It supports our entire office with five computers. We only had
> tweak Windows' network settings to make it work.
> Just a positive note amid all the negative ones.
> John
> 
> Computers to Help People, Inc.
> http://www.chpi.org
> 825 East Johnson; Madison, WI 53703
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Janina Sajka" <janina@afb.net>
> To: <blinux-list@redhat.com>
> Sent: Friday, September 07, 2001 09:29
> Subject: Re: Ameritech.net
> 
> 
> > I was a Verizon DSL customer when the company was still called Bell
> > Atlantic and when consumer DSL service was still very new beginning in
> > February 1999. In those days, DSL customers were assigned static IPs. My
> > personal experience was that the service was great when it worked, which
> > wasn't quite enough of the time. I had long periods of down time--about
> > two weeks every three months or so. Calling tech support was a nightmare.
> > First, I would sit on hold listening to the same clip of Vivaldi for tens
> > of minutes. A half-hour wait was common, and the Vivaldi never
> > changed--always the same snipit from the first movement of Spring. Once I
> > got first level tier support my problems only got worse. Clearly, it was
> > my fault because I wasn't in Windows. Clearly, when I rebooted into
> > Windows, it was the screen reader. Once I pushed up to second, and even
> > third tier support, it was, of course, never my fault. At least twice they
> > moved me to ppoe without even telling me they were doing it. Mostly, they
> > just couldn't explain it--system upgrades at the CO, please call back if
> > the problem persists.
> >
> > I will not be a Telco DSL customer again, mostly because of their terrible
> > track record with me, but also because they've moved away from DSL
> > technology I care to buy. They have indeed found ways to provision DSL in
> > ways I don't fully understand--and don't care to. It's more than dynamic
> > IPs. I was surprised recently when a friend was installing Verizon DSL on
> > his Windows computer--surprised to learn that the install added an icon to
> > his Dial Up Networking program group.
> >
> > In essence, I suspect the telco's judge ip space and general network
> > resources insuficient to support the millions of customers they want to
> > sell. They want the customers money, but expect they will not use
> > persistent connections any more than they use dial up connections. My
> > friends DUN based DSL would disconnect on inactivity. Voice phone service
> > network capacity is based, as I understand it, on the expectation that the
> > average phone call will last four minutes. I'm sure they also have a
> > number of calls per month in mind as an average. Of course, they have to
> > make those kinds of predictions in order to build out adequate
> > infrastructure. But, I have no desire to be part of a broadband service
> > that expects casual and occasional web surfing. So, no more telco DSL for
> > me.
> >
> > My advice is to seek a quality provider. My answer, for myself, was
> > speakeasy.net for two crowning reasons:
> >
> > 1.) They actively support linux. In fact, I believe their servers run
> > Redhat;
> > 2.) They actively have no problem with home networks;
> >
> > Most providers have problems over linux even if their technology doesn't,
> > and have fine print that prohibits multiple machines accessing the
> > service. So, I choose to go with the provider that supports the OS and
> > features I want and support.
> >
> >
> >  On Thu, 6 Sep
> > 2001, Karl Dahlke wrote:
> >
> > > For what it's worth, and it isn't worth much,
> > > I used Ameritech dial-up service for almost a year,
> > > and was very happy with it.
> > > I left only because I wanted a cable modem.
> > >
> > > Of course I was happy because everything worked for me straight away,
> > > and I didn't have to ask their technical department for help.
> > >
> > > I'm a bit confused by this whole thread.
> > > I thought dsl was a static always on connection.
> > > Why ppp?
> > > Why pppd?
> > > Why ppp0?
> > > Don't they give you a box that looks like a cable modem,
> > > with a nic interface,
> > > and don't you just plug into that, like an ethernet?
> > > Don't you just set up for an ethernet connection and go?
> > > I guess I don't know much about dsl,
> > > so I'll stop talking now,
> > > before I do more harm than good.
> > >
> > > Karl
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Blinux-list mailing list
> > > Blinux-list@redhat.com
> > > https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> > >
> >
> > --
> >
> > Janina Sajka, Director
> > Technology Research and Development
> > Governmental Relations Group
> > American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
> >
> > Email: janina@afb.net Phone: (202) 408-8175
> >
> > Chair, Accessibility SIG
> > Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF)
> > http://www.openebook.org
> >
> > Will electronic books surpass print books? Read our white paper,
> > Surpassing Gutenberg, at http://www.afb.org/ebook.asp
> >
> > Download a free sample Digital Talking Book edition of Martin Luther
> > King Jr's inspiring "I Have A Dream" speech at
> > http://www.afb.org/mlkweb.asp
> >
> > Learn how to make accessible software at
> > http://www.afb.org/accessapp.asp
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Blinux-list mailing list
> > Blinux-list@redhat.com
> > https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> >
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list@redhat.com
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> 

-- 
	
				Janina Sajka, Director
				Technology Research and Development
				Governmental Relations Group
				American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

Email: janina@afb.net		Phone: (202) 408-8175

Chair, Accessibility SIG
Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF)
http://www.openebook.org

Will electronic books surpass print books? Read our white paper,
Surpassing Gutenberg, at http://www.afb.org/ebook.asp

Download a free sample Digital Talking Book edition of Martin Luther
King Jr's inspiring "I Have A Dream" speech at
http://www.afb.org/mlkweb.asp

Learn how to make accessible software at
http://www.afb.org/accessapp.asp

Re: Ameritech.net

[S. Massy]

On Fri, 07 Sep 2001, Janina Sajka <janina@afb.net> wrote:

> I was a Verizon DSL customer when the company was still called Bell 
> Atlantic and when consumer DSL service was still very new beginning in 

Oh yes, oh yes... I'm not a verizon user myself but a person close to
me is, and it is a total nightmare. Their dial-up service is barely
decent and their DSL service is anything but decent. I hate to smash a
company like that, even though it's a tremendously big one, but just
don't deal with them if you can help it, well, at least not in
anything that concerns computers.

By the way, this is a rather common problem since cheap internet access
has come around. Companies can make a lot of profit with relatively
small investments; of course their customer pool grows very quickly,
often more quickly than they expand, and they, the companies, often
prefer to have greater profits than to invest back in their systems as
they should. The result is a service whose resources are always
strained to the very limit and then things can easily go amiss.  So
when you consider a service, such as DSL, consider rather the company
with which you will deal than the technology itself. Computers
still require people to make them work, and if they are managed by
incompetent people or people whose sole interest is profit they will
grow faulty.

Also, the open non-support of linux seems to be a very common practice
among ISPs. In my ISP's case it's even worse, I know for a fact that
they use linux, at least on their web server, but they won't support
it: funny way to pay back the community, don't you think?

Just my two pennies.

> February 1999. In those days, DSL customers were assigned static IPs. My 
> personal experience was that the service was great when it worked, which 
> wasn't quite enough of the time. I had long periods of down time--about 
> two weeks every three months or so. Calling tech support was a nightmare. 
> First, I would sit on hold listening to the same clip of Vivaldi for tens 
> of minutes. A half-hour wait was common, and the Vivaldi never 
> changed--always the same snipit from the first movement of Spring. Once I 
> got first level tier support my problems only got worse. Clearly, it was 
> my fault because I wasn't in Windows. Clearly, when I rebooted into 
> Windows, it was the screen reader. Once I pushed up to second, and even 
> third tier support, it was, of course, never my fault. At least twice they 
> moved me to ppoe without even telling me they were doing it. Mostly, they 
> just couldn't explain it--system upgrades at the CO, please call back if 
> the problem persists.
> 
> I will not be a Telco DSL customer again, mostly because of their terrible 
> track record with me, but also because they've moved away from DSL 
> technology I care to buy. They have indeed found ways to provision DSL in 
> ways I don't fully understand--and don't care to. It's more than dynamic 
> IPs. I was surprised recently when a friend was installing Verizon DSL on 
> his Windows computer--surprised to learn that the install added an icon to 
> his Dial Up Networking program group.
> 
> In essence, I suspect the telco's judge ip space and general network 
> resources insuficient to support the millions of customers they want to 
> sell. They want the customers money, but expect they will not use 
> persistent connections any more than they use dial up connections. My 
> friends DUN based DSL would disconnect on inactivity. Voice phone service 
> network capacity is based, as I understand it, on the expectation that the 
> average phone call will last four minutes. I'm sure they also have a 
> number of calls per month in mind as an average. Of course, they have to 
> make those kinds of predictions in order to build out adequate 
> infrastructure. But, I have no desire to be part of a broadband service 
> that expects casual and occasional web surfing. So, no more telco DSL for 
> me.
> 
> My advice is to seek a quality provider. My answer, for myself, was 
> speakeasy.net for two crowning reasons:
> 
> 1.)	They actively support linux. In fact, I believe their servers run 
> Redhat;
> 2.)	They actively have no problem with home networks;
> 
> Most providers have problems over linux even if their technology doesn't,
> and have fine print that prohibits multiple machines accessing the
> service. So, I choose to go with the provider that supports the OS and
> features I want and support.
> 
> 
>  On Thu, 6 Sep 
> 2001, Karl Dahlke wrote:
> 
> > For what it's worth, and it isn't worth much,
> > I used Ameritech dial-up service for almost a year,
> > and was very happy with it.
> > I left only because I wanted a cable modem.
> > 
> > Of course I was happy because everything worked for me straight away,
> > and I didn't have to ask their technical department for help.
> > 
> > I'm a bit confused by this whole thread.
> > I thought dsl was a static always on connection.
> > Why ppp?
> > Why pppd?
> > Why ppp0?
> > Don't they give you a box that looks like a cable modem,
> > with a nic interface,
> > and don't you just plug into that, like an ethernet?
> > Don't you just set up for an ethernet connection and go?
> > I guess I don't know much about dsl,
> > so I'll stop talking now,
> > before I do more harm than good.
> > 
> > Karl
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Blinux-list@redhat.com
> > https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> > 
> 
> -- 
> 	
> 				Janina Sajka, Director
> 				Technology Research and Development
> 				Governmental Relations Group
> 				American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
> 
> Email: janina@afb.net		Phone: (202) 408-8175
> 
> Chair, Accessibility SIG
> Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF)
> http://www.openebook.org
> 
> Will electronic books surpass print books? Read our white paper,
> Surpassing Gutenberg, at http://www.afb.org/ebook.asp
> 
> Download a free sample Digital Talking Book edition of Martin Luther
> King Jr's inspiring "I Have A Dream" speech at
> http://www.afb.org/mlkweb.asp
> 
> Learn how to make accessible software at
> http://www.afb.org/accessapp.asp
> 
> 
> 
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