I got my cable modem!

Anna Jayne Metcalfe

The phone and modem (only 128k sadly - I'm a little poor at the moment) were installed late this afternoon. The phone worked first time. NTL being the efficent well staffed mob they are leave you to install and configure the software themselves. Of course their installer didn't work...it bitched the modem wasn't working correctly even though it had a valid IP and was receiving traffic. X| Of course there's a very easy way to finish the registration process but they don't tell you what it is in the manual or help (it's pitched at doughnut level users). :rolleyes: The result? All I needed to be told was the IP of their registration server, and to find that out I spent an hour in a phone queue (which of course, being a tech support call isn't free). The tech I talked to said they received on average 1.5 support calls per installation, which is a bit of an improvement on the 4 per install they were apparently receiving last year. However, even accounting for users who can't tell the difference between a power cable and a keyboard, this still strikes me as frighteningly high. I suspect my experience is fairly typical, regardless of supplier. What sort of experience have you had recently with ISPs and so on, and what could they do to improve things? Anna :rose: www.annasplace.me.uk

"Be yourself - not what others think you should be"
- Marcia Graesch

Trouble with resource IDs? Try the Resource ID Organiser Add-In for Visual C++

l a u r e n

i just been thru the hoops trying to get dsl in and working ... what a nightmare!! im still limping along at 192kb/sec instead of 1.5mb/sec but its an improvement over the modem (i hate modems) the install is fairly painless if u know what ur doing but i feel sorry for joe or jane user who doesnt even know what an ip address is :~

"traffic lights are for people who can't make their own decisions"
biz stuff about me

David Wulff

Congratulations! ** Dave puts on his jealous cap ** Anna-Jayne Metcalfe wrote: However, even accounting for users who can't tell the difference between a power cable and a keyboard, this still strikes me as frighteningly high. I agree - wouldn't it be easier just to get the installation guys to set it all up? Oh no wait - then they wouldn't screw you for an hour on a 50ppm support line. I bet the bean counters are really pissed off at the tech guys for making it so much easier this year. :(

David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk

Le centriste

Not that I want to brag, I just got my Extreme High Speed cable modem: 4Mb/s download, 640Kb/s upload ;P

Anna Jayne Metcalfe

Thanks Dave. :) The one thing I will say for them is at least the support line is local call rate, so it won't have cost me that much to get it sorted. The worst bit is not knowing how long you're going to have to wait. Now here's a horrible thought - imagine if ISPs made Operating Systems...:omg: Anna :rose: www.annasplace.me.uk

"Be yourself - not what others think you should be"
- Marcia Graesch

Trouble with resource IDs? Try the Resource ID Organiser Add-In for Visual C++

Matt Newman

At my university you have to register your computer (my guess is the MAC address as you have to do it with every NIC) and it has a nice little wizard that "guides" you through it. The problem is it DHCP assigns you a private space IP which requires a minimum of one reboot, however the system was screwed up so you couldn't get a public IP and you therefore could not access any websites including the ISP's online tech support :rolleyes: -:suss:Matt Newman / Windows XP Activist:suss:
"Well, the guy that's giving you a hard time is a f***in moron, and you can tell him thats straight from another Linux user." - John Simmons on Linux Users
Just do the American thing and shoot him... - Jim Crafton on Linux Users
...no matter where you wear your towel, the law is the law... - Christian Graus on the law

Nitron

lauren wrote: i feel sorry for joe or jane user who doesnt even know what an ip address is ...so I had this part-time job a few years ago for a flight school. (I was an IT guy at the time) And this guy calls up and asks if we needed any IP's. Me being the geek I am thought all the computers are working and everyone's on the internet... So I told him we didn't need any. He continued on getting very frustrated at the fact I adamentally insisted we had enough IP's. Anyway... when the director lady got back, I told her some idiot insisted we needed more IP's... Well, come to find out, IP in av-world means "Instructor-Pilot"! Sheesh! :rolleyes: - Nitron

"Those that say a task is impossible shouldn't interrupt the ones who are doing it." - Chinese Proverb

retZ

are we talking about DSL or cable modem here ??? There are no failures; there are only extended learning opportunities.

l a u r e n

:laugh:

"traffic lights are for people who can't make their own decisions"
biz stuff about me

ColinDavies

retZ wrote: are we talking about DSL or cable modem here From what Anna said, I think its a Capped ADSL Modem, So its one line that runs a max of 128 both ways and a phoneline on the normal frequencies. Regardz Colin J Davies

Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin

You are the intrepid one, always willing to leap into the fray! A serious character flaw, I might add, but entertaining. Said by Roger Wright about me.

carrie

damn yeah, I'll throw my jealous cap on too David. If the winds right I can nearly spit into a broadband area from my roof but they don't want my custom it seems :(

Marc Clifton

I have Cox cable in the US (Rhode Island) and had it in San Diego California where I used to live. I've never had any problems, installation is a breeze, performance is great! I recently decided to call tech support about why I couldn't get onto Code Project (an HTTP1.1/500 error--many were experiencing that), and I used their live chat on their web page. Someone came on in about 10 minutes, the queue showed me how many were ahead of me (only 2), and the resolution worked! Very happy. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
Sensitivity and ethnic diversity means celebrating difference, not hiding from it. - Christian Graus
Every line of code is a liability - Taka Muraoka

Anna Jayne Metcalfe

Nope...it's an NTL cable modem. I could get cable TV, but as I don't have a TV there's no point! I think the modem will do 1Mbit/s, but that costs a lot more and right now I'm saving as much as I can. Anna :rose: www.annasplace.me.uk

"Be yourself - not what others think you should be"
- Marcia Graesch

Trouble with resource IDs? Try the Resource ID Organiser Add-In for Visual C++

Todd Smith

I had DSL at my old place. A tech came out and installed everything including the software. He seemded to love his job and it showed. Everything worked perfectly. (PacBell DSL) I have cable at my current place and again, a tech came out and installed everything. It worked flawlessly the first time. (Time Warner Cable Modem) Todd Smith

Anna Jayne Metcalfe

Wow! I reckon quite a few companies could learn a thing or two from that...they could start a sideline "advising" them. :laugh: Anna :rose: www.annasplace.me.uk

"Be yourself - not what others think you should be"
- Marcia Graesch

Trouble with resource IDs? Try the Resource ID Organiser Add-In for Visual C++

Navin

Anna-Jayne Metcalfe wrote: Now here's a horrible thought - imagine if ISPs made Operating Systems... Maybe that explains MSN... :rolleyes: Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Navin

I've had DSL for a while now (maybe 2 years) and have had very few problems. Most of the time when I call tech support, I find out there really IS an outage, and I'm not just an idiot. :-O (And I haven't had one of those in a while...) Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Shaun Wilde

Anna-Jayne Metcalfe wrote: The result? All I needed to be told was the IP of their registration server, and to find that out I spent an hour in a phone queue (which of course, being a tech support call isn't free). good at that aren't they - I got my details of the guy when he came to put in the extra point and then had to test it - the rest I pulled of the website - but they may have changed all that by now. why give oinfo away for free when you can charge for it - ps what registration server is it you needed? most of it seemed automatic.

Technically speaking the dictionary would define Visual Basic users as programmers.
But here again, a very generalized, liberal definition is being employed and it's wrong
- just plain wrong - Tom Archer 5/12/02

jerry0davis

I've never had to phone ntl cable modem help, but there's a trick with phoning their telephone, and TV fault and support lines. When the automated voice says "Press # twice" - DON'T!! The system thinks you haven't got a touch tone phone, and you get answered within a few mins!!! :rolleyes:

I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe Jeremy Davis http://www.astad.org
http://www.jvf.co.uk

Steve Murrell

Hi, Anna My NTL Cable modem is being installed this Saturday (so they claim). I am having an upgrade from analog cable to digital cable and decided to go for the broadband while I was at it (actually the updgrade was just an excuse to get a cable modem ;)). >All I needed to be told was the IP of their registration server, >and to find that out I spent an hour in a phone queue >which of course, being a tech support call isn't free). Can you save me few quid an let me in on the secret IP of the registration server in case I suffer the same problem you did :rose: BTW does it connect to the NTL phone line or the actual cable TV feed ? On the early version I saw the digital cable box had a network connector on it, however I have a feeling that the newer version is a USB device. Cheers Steve M