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Tech Support: Post's ISP Guide
With Fast Forward's Rob Pegoraro
Friday, Oct. 26, 2001; 2 p.m. EDT
Whether you want to go online via cable, DSL, satellite or a good old-fashioned modem, you have plenty of
choices--maybe a lot more than you might have thought. Today's Fast Forward issue lists almost 50 Internet
providers that can get you connected one way or another.
Fast Forward columnist Rob Pegoraro talks about the Post's ISP Directory -- the sixth annual edition--how the market has changed over the years, and what you should consider
when you're shopping for an Internet provider.
Problems with your hard drive? Take your question to the Fast Forward instead! It's a repeat engagement of "Tech Support Friday," in which Rob Pegoraro takes your queries, scrambles madly to get answers to them from the collective Fast Forward brain trust and replies within mere minutes.
Below is the transcript.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for
guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Rob Pegoraro: Hey everybody--good afternoon. I'm connecting with a new ISP, so bear with me here. Just a little weird error messagewqtqt. ?>> Oops. what was that? ap09uqt
I think we have 809yuq43ti- -q *****
--- -
NO CARRIER
Rob Pegoraro: Just kidding! My Internet connection seems to working fine at the moment. But I hear many of yours are not. So let's talk about that. Or, if you're happy with your ISP, we can chat about that too.
Alright, let's roll...
Annandale, Va.:
We have been told by Verizon that we cannot get DSL because we live too far from a hub (or node or whatever they call it). Are there other DSL options? Also, we understand that cable will slow down with increased local traffic, is that also true with DSL and how does a slowed down cable hook-up compare to a "normal" dial up?
Thanks.
Rob Pegoraro: Yes, there a great many options besides Verizon--20 in our chart alone. Many of them use telecom carriers besides Verizon, and consequently may have DSL available in more central offices. They may also offer longer-range versions of DSL, which cost more and run slower but are available further out from the CO.
Good luck!
Sterling, Va.:
Ashamed to ask, but are there any good free ISPs out there? Even if they have big banners.
Rob Pegoraro: No. The economics just aren't there to support free dialup anymore--the 10 hours a month Juno or NetZero will give you are about as good as it gets. And I wouldn't place large bets on them continuing to be available either, not in this Internet economy.
Bethesda, Md.:
In your conversations with broadband suppliers and ISP's-- do you find that they understand that their prices are just way too high for most people? People look at the price, $50/month and up, then add that to the things they feel they actually need, like standard phone, cell phone, cable, digital cable, etc. (not to mention food, mortgage, & other entertainment)-- it just adds up to a very large number.
Rob Pegoraro: They may be too high compared to dial-up on your regular phone line, but they're also probably as low as they can afford to charge. All the providers that were offering $30 DSL or cable a year ago are now either charging $10 more or are out of business.
IMHO, $50 broadband *is* a great deal--less than $10 more than the cost of a $20 dial-up account and a second phone line for vastly superior service.
Alexandria, Va.:
My area of Fairfax County, Va., is still without DSL or cable internet service. Should I be considering a satellite ISP?
They are more expensive per month than cable or DSL, require more expensive equipment and are slower on the upload. I object to paying more for less just because the local cable and telephone monopolies cannot get their acts
together. -- Frustrated in Fairfax
Rob Pegoraro: You might. As you note, it does cost a bit more and runs slower. The biggest objection people have to satellite, though, is the latency with it--your packets have a 44,000-mile round trip to the sat, which makes online gaming completely out of the question.
If you're already getting satellite TV, the economics for satellite Internet start to look better, of course.
Boulder, Colo.:
I have WebTV service and have been told I cannot get DSL since I do not have a modem. Can you give me a list of ISPs that work with WebTV and any suggestions how I can get faster access to the Internet? Many thanks for your help.
Rob Pegoraro: No - WebTV only works with dial-up service. You can use another modem-based ISP with WebTV, but I think you still have to pay some sort of fee to WebTV itself (which Microsoft now calls MSN TV).
Vienna, Va.:
Rob,
I've been with AT&T for a few years and have been pretty happy with their service. I would like to move up to a broadband connection. Have you heard anything about AT&T providing DSL services in this area?
Thanks!
Rob Pegoraro: Nothing. AT&T bought Northpoint's assets in March (but not its customers, therefore probably ensuring that those 100,000 will never again buy any sort of Internet service from AT&T)... but has yet to say what it's doing with them or when anything might happen. And AT&T sold its only cable operation--District Cablevisoin--to Comcast. Finally, AT&T just decided to cancel its "fixed wireless" broadband operation.
So you are probably out of luck with AT&T for a while to come if broadband is important to you.
Washington, D.C.:
Hi!
I'm looking for a good broadband ISP for my sister who lives in Annapolis. Any thoughts on DSL versus cable, in terms of simplicity of setup and/or speed? I have had two experiences with high speed cable now, one through Comcast in Alexandria, and one through Starpower in DC, both of which have quite positive. So, I'm tempted to recommend comcast-home to her. I heard the home corporation, though, might be going under. Any thoughts?
Rob Pegoraro: Excite At Home the company isn't in good shape, but I highly doubt the service is going to go away. There are too many customers out there--the cable companies will buy out @Home, or somebody else will, or the cable operators will replace @Home with their own ISP but (if they're at all smart) let customers keep their old e-mail addresses.
Cable vs. DSL? Dunno--if your sister's at all technically inclined, she may be a good deal happier with DSL. Otherwise, Comcast's probably going to be a few bucks cheaper. (Unless she doesn't get cable at all... there are a lot of "on the other hand" answers to this question)
Laurel, Md,:
How slow is the cable modem/DSL connection, say when everyone on your block is connected vs. the slow dial up?
Rob Pegoraro: From what I hear from disgruntled cable users, slow as molasses in January in Greenland--I've seen reports of connections dropping below modem speeds.
Cable ISPs repeatedly deny such a thing could ever happen on *their* system, of course. So this would be a good time for anybody on cable here to report how their service is going...
Silver Spring, Md.:
Over all, I'm pretty well satisfied with the performance of Comcast cable service. After reading about the headaches people have suffered with using Verizon's DSL service, I couldn't imagine going anyway but cable. Has Verizon managed to solve its problems finally?
Rob Pegoraro: There's a perennial favorite topic, eh?
I am not seeing nearly the number of complaints about Verizon DSL downtime that I once did. What people *are* incensed about, however, is Verizon's bizarre e-mail policy, in which you can only use your Verizon domain name on your outgoing e-mail. IF you want to reply using a personal domain name or your work address--forget it.
Verizon says it implemented this policy to cut down on spam, but not a single one of the people we talked to--including the guy who wrote the current Internet standard on sending e-mail--said that made any sense at all.
Adams Morgan, D.C.:
Any companies out there that can provide cable, internet, phone, and combine them in one monthly bill? Also, how much will this cost?
Rob Pegoraro: Starpower's the only game in town there. Other companies have talked about this kind of integrated services, but nobody else has delivered it yet.
Frederick, Md.:
Within the tables of the ISP directory; there appears a "bandwidth column".
My questions are as follows:
1. Is the the aggregate of the carrier's upstream bandwidth availability?
2. How was that information, which is very indicative of the level of QOS a ISP will provide, verified?
Also, please note that many local ISP's aren't necessarily buying bandwidth from a tier 1 carrier. It would be helpful if the directory listed exactly whom the ISP peers with upstream.
Rob Pegoraro: The exact number we requested was the provider's "total upstream bandwidth in megabits per second"--in other words, what you describe in 1.
To answer 2, there is no easy way of verifying this sort of information short of walking into somebody's NOC (Network Operations Center). This is the risk involved in sending out any sort of questionnaire--companies could also make up their subscriber number or years of experience.
But our experience is that people are either going to simply list this number or not offer it at all (you'll note that none of the nationwide providers offering a figure here). Of course, if we do catch anybody trying to slide something phony into the directory--which has happened a few times--they get kicked out.
Annandale, Va.:
I do not understand the pricing of DSL. Why, for example, is the cost of Speakeasy Network's 384/384 the same as 144/144, and why are both of these much more than 608/128?
Rob Pegoraro: This is something I would have explained better if I had more space in that article that ran above the chart :)
The slower services cost more, but also work farther away from the central office. Speeds drop as that distance increases--but if you have no other broadband option, 144/144 IDSL can still look a lot better than the dial-up option.
Washington, D.C.:
Which is the best ISP that has service here in the US, Europe and the Middle East?
Rob Pegoraro: I don't have the slightest idea. If there was a "best ISP," we'd probably all be using it, and our directory would only have one entry.
Somewhere, Md.:
I've had DSL for almost two years ago. It's wonderful. I didn't see the name of the company in your ISP list. I think it's Primus. Anyway my issue is this, during those two years I've stopped receving billings statements since last year in Dec/Jan. Can you tell me if this company just has bad billing system or got bought or something? Also, am I legally obligated to pay for all the months that I guess I've been getting free DSL? I don't want to be surprised when they catch on and then send me a bill for a years worth plus all these penalties for late fees or whatever. Should I be accountable for the late charges?
Rob Pegoraro: Primus's Web site reports that it's no longer offering DSL in this area.
As for your billing question--well, that's between you and the deity of your choice, I guess. But I'd have a backup plan ready too.
Capitol Hill, D.C.:
A few weeks ago the speakers on my Dell decided that they would no longer allow me to control the volume with their volume knob. Now, no matter what I do to the speakers' own volume control, the volume stays constant, and I have to control the loudness with the Sound control panel.
Any ideas what could be wrong? (Please don't tell me it's my sound card.)
Thanks.
Rob Pegoraro: A non-ISP question!
You might think that speaker knob directly controls the speakers, but it doesn't--your Dell runs a small background program to take input from the keyboard controls. If that program isn't there or isn't working, the knob is useless.
So you need to reinstall... something. Dell's tech support ought to be able to say what.
Potomac Falls, Va.:
Rob, Living near Sterling, it seems neither Cox or Verizon offer broadband in this area. What other options do I have that you'd recommend?
Rob Pegoraro: Your local cable company, Adelphia, has started rolling out cable-modem service in Loudoun (we know this from talking to them in August). That's probably your best, if not only, option; as you get into less densely-developed areas, the business model for DSL basically evaporates. You need to have a certain desntiy of subscribers for it to be affordable to hook the central office up for DSL at all.
Check with a competing company, like one of the Covad-based ISPs... but I wouldn't get my hopes up.
Washington, D.C.:
What ever happened to IDSI (Infinite Data Source International)? They started in Virginia, then when to Chicago, and now their phone is disconnected. Are they out of business? They were a terrible service. Always down.
Rob Pegoraro: I talked to a guy with a local ISP yesterday who confirms your report--he can't even get the CEO on his home number. Sounds to me like this company just floated to the top of the fishtank.
Rockville Md.:
Online Gateway, a Prince George's Co. outfit, was heavily advertised in our area for a while. They supposedly had 11,000 customers, but are not included in you survey. Any idea what's up with them?
Rob Pegoraro: US Net, in Laurel, bought them in June of 2000. The Online Gateway page doesn't seem to have been updated to reflect this, but if you click through on US Net's site you'll find yourself landing on Online Gateway pages.
Durham, N.C.:
Hey, Rob!
More a comment than a question: I have Verizon DSL (and must be that one-in-a-million who's actually very satisfied with the service), though that now that Earthlink is providing cable modem service here (via Time-Warner wires), I may switch.
That behind me, I want to stress that anyone, especially with "always on" service like ADSL or cable, should set up a firewall to close off their system to outsiders. I believe you've mentioned in a column or two how Microsoft defaults to an "all open, all the time" install mentality which makes it all the more imperative to use a good firewall.
ZoneAlarm and BlackIce Defender come to mind right away, but there are others. I've heard the firewall in Windoze XP is junk, however.
Then test your system at Steve Gibson's excellent site,
http://grc.com.
Y'all have a good weekend.
Rob Pegoraro: Good point, Durham. ZoneAlarm--a free program, to boot--seems to get the best word of mouth around. The problem here is that PCs just have too many vulnerabilities to worms, viruses and hacking attempts. (I should note that Mac owners don't have nearly as much to worry about in this department.)
San Francisco, Calif.:
I'm not in your area, but just a general comment: consumers should check that their ISP allows them to run a web server. This should be a basic capability that consumers should demand. You may not need it now, but someday later when you want to share photos with friends and relatives (for example) a web site can be the best way. Be careful to choose a provider that allows this.
Rob Pegoraro: I kinda doubt many home users will want to run a Web server directly off their PCs myself. (For one thing, most people just don't keep their PCs running all the time.) But if you're more technically inclined, it's something to consider.
Springtield, Va.:
I live in a part of Springfield, Va. where neither cable modem nor DSL is available.
I suspect that many residents of Third World countries have better internet access than I do, and I live a few miles from the Capitol in one of America's most prosperous counties.
Does Fairfax County have a commitment to ensure that the monopoly cable TV provider gets its act together and hooks up all of the County for high speed access? If so, when?
Rob Pegoraro: FYI, here's Cox's page listing where cable's available in Fairfax today:
http://www.cox.com/FairFax/RoadRunner/Availability.asp
The Ffx government has really let Cox have it in the last few rounds of hearings--the pace of this digital upgrade to the system being one of the major complaints. I think that Starpower has been approved to start offering cable service in Fairfax to compete with Cox, but I also think Cox will have finished their system upgrade well before Starpower gets around to taking care of even half the county.
(Not that Starpower's lazy or anything; rolling out cable is just a slow and expensive process when you have to string your own wiring along poles and underground.)
Arlington, Va.:
Rob,
A few questions/comments for today's chat:
1. I spent 1990-1998 on AOL, 1998-2001 using Earthlink dialup (33K most of the time at my house) and in July went to Comcast Cable for Broadband access. Also, bought a new Dell and gave my old Dell to my folks. Signed my folks up for my free 6 months of AOL (Dell tie-in) and found that AOL still had my credit card on file from 1990-1998. Wouldn't let me sign up using that credit card. I used another credit card to sign-up, but to say the least was displeased. I purchase stuff online all the time and this is the first time I've ever encountered a business that kept my full credit card number. People complain about Microsoft's business practices?
2. Comcast cable modem speed issues. First, I'd rather turn off the water to the house than the cable modem. I'll never go back unless the current speed issue deteriorates further. First, how accurate are the speed test results available through
http://www.cable-modems.org and http://www.dslreports.com?
This morning (around 9:00 a.m.) results from the first two tests on cable-modems.org suggest 990K down, but the DSL java test reported 2500K down and 900K up. The cable-modems.org tests consistently show 800-1000K off-peak download speeds and as low as 150K during peak uses (5:00pm to 12:00pm). Similar reports show up on the DSLreports website for cable-modem access in the area. Who do you complain to about this problem to be effective?
3. Final quick benefit of having a firewall (zone alarm). I require that zone alarm ask before granting any program access to the internet (including MS Outlook and I/E or Netscape). It has all but killed my spam problem. Why? It's amazing how many e-mails (spam in particular) attempt to send information out without your knowledge. Also, amazing how many applications want to do the same thing without notifying you and for no good reason. Great feature.
Thanks and keep up the good work.
Jay
Rob Pegoraro: Good points all... to answer your second question, download-speed benchmarks just aren't that reliable at all. Your throughput depends on too many other things--congestion on the Internet at large, the configuration of your own PC, any intermittent trouble with your ISP, etc.
The only complaining worth doing is to your own ISP if you find that your peak download speeds are consistently short of what you were promised by the company when you signed up.
Springfield, Va.:
Cais/Ardent Communication has filed for chaper 11. What do you feel is the chance of them holding on in this market? And second who would you say is the most solid company for sdsl service in the Northern Virginia area?
Rob Pegoraro: Not sure about Ardent/CAIS. I talked to them for this directory, but they said they were out of the residential market--and it's not a company I've followed much lately. (Although I did have a dial-up account there in another life.)
"Most solid company"? That's an excellent question. There are firms that say they're profitable on DSL; what they seem to have done differently than others is to forget about trying to become the next EarthLink, or even the next Starpower. (See Mike Musgrove's article in today's issue for more on this point.)
Washington, D.C.:
Hi there,
We have two computers, a Mac and a PC. We just got our DSL modem in the mail this week (unfortunately before this great article came out today!). All is hooked up and fantastic. Here's the question: the PC is the only one hooked up to DSL. We want both to be hooked up.
If I understand it correctly, we have to network the PC and the Mac to do that? How do we network them?? They're both new-ish (i.e. bought in the last year).
Thanks!
Rob Pegoraro: Yes, you'd need to set up a home network. Proxim sells a product called HomeLine that can connect a Mac and a PC by borrowing your house's phone wiring (it's about a 10-Mbps connection): http://www.proxim.com/products/all/homeline/
The other option is 802.11b wireless, aka AirPort--which I recommend if either computer is a laptop.
Arlington, Va.:
Rob, Comparing the cable ISP with the others I am considering, I noticed one difference is that Comcast does not offer junk e-mail filter. Can I install such a feature another way? My current provider, AOL, boasts about its child-protection features, which we are using and continue to be important to me.
Rob Pegoraro: Yes, you can set up any current e-mail program to try to screen out incoming junk e-mail--but there is no perfect solution. (Lord knows I've tried...)
For child-protection features, you have two options: using an ISP that offers this at the server level, or buying a filtering program to install on your own PC.
Alexandria, Va.:
Hi Rob!
I've been with a small local ISP for a few years now, and have been quite happy with their service. I still use a dial-up modem, but am thinking about upgrading. According to their web site, my ISP offers ISDN connectivity, but no mention of DSL.
I'm not up with the latest connectivity news, but I can't remember the last time I heard anything about ISDN; it all seems to be DSL or Broadband. Is ISDN still an option in some areas? Or is that technology obsolete? (Or just not worth the bother?)
Rob Pegoraro: You *so* don't want I$DN unless it's the last option available. ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network, aka It Still Does Nothing :) maxes out at 128 kbps and is horrendously overpriced compared to any DSL option. Its sole technical advantage is that it doesn't have DSL's distance limits.
Annapolis, Md.:
RE: Broadband in Annapolis.
We have DSL in our home (in Annapolis/Eastport) which is infinitely cheaper and better than all the other options we have tested (dial-up, ISDN, Cable). We get it through Verizon, and it incudes webspace and a dial up account for travel (cable doesn't have that option). It is billed on our regular phone bill and has had very few problems. Just thought I would send a thought from the field for the person getting broadband for their sister.
Rob Pegoraro: Thanks!
Frederick, Md.:
Rob:
I think it's high time that the LEC's find a better method of providing broadband connections to the residence. DSL is an unreliable technology, and with the utilization of copper, the speeds will unlikely increase in the future.
IMHO, the LEC's need to step up and begin building out their cable plants to include fiber to the home and/or fiber to the curb.
In some areas of the county, experimental trials are positive.
What are your thoughts?
Rob Pegoraro: My thoughts are that fiber to every home would be wonderful. So would free cable TV. Or a new pony.
Unfortunately, they all cost money, and the telecom firms have so little access to capital right now it isn't funny. Some folks have argued that the government should subsidize fiber to the curb, the same way it supported transcontinental railroads. Somehow I doubt this is going to happen anytime soon either, in the current political climate.
New York, N.Y.:
What about the other oddities of ISP land? Like if you want to use your Palm or Pocket PC to connect. I have an IBM workpad Z50 that won't take software that some ISPs requre (AOL, e.g.). One ISP I have only requires that for roaming, but I travel all the time, so I have a backup for travelling...grrr.
Rob Pegoraro: If you have any kind of "non-standard" computer equipment--whether it's a Palm, an Amiga or just a Linux PC--you don't want to deal with any online service that requires its own software. Find somebody who can simply give you the configuration info (DNS, gateway, netmask addresses, etc.), which you can plug into any computer that can run a TCP/IP stack.
Pegoraro FanClub, Washington, D.C.:
Robster, we're ashamed of you. All ya gotta do for these "what ISPs offer DSL in my area questions is mention one site:
www.dslreports.com
Now back to your original Pegoraro FanClub programming.
Rob Pegoraro: Is that you, Mom?
(Or is this Justin from DSLReports? :)
Alexandria, Va.:
I have Comcast and -Home, hardly any problems in 3.5 years. But I'd like to throw another .02 into the recent discussions about Windows upgrades.
I have a Gateway PC that I bought in early '98 which came with Win95. A couple years ago, not long after Comcast replaced the cable modem, I had stability problems to the point where I couldn't even boot half the time. Comcast recommended upgrading to Win98SE, and that solved it.
Then a few months ago I started crashing all the time, within an hour or so after booting. (The Post website seemed to be a problem -- the longer I stayed away from it, the longer I was okay.) Anyway, a few weeks ago I bought WinMe, and then the problem stopped. (Note that I only BOUGHT WinMe -- I haven't installed it yet!)
So now I'll just hang onto WinMe until the machine decides to act up again, and I'll probably buy a new box with XP in a year or so, after they work out all the bugs.
Rob Pegoraro: This is an interesting upgrade strategy! However, if it works... it works, I guess.
Falls Church, Va.:
Anthrax relief! I have used Erols (now Starpower) dial up since 97. When my renewal came up in Apr I found them "receptive" to bargaining. I asked about special promos and stuff then made an offer of 155 lump sum pmt for a year of unlimited and they agreed! Go figure. I have had good tech support including a 25 min call with a support person who tried to track a spam e-mail I got. Interesting journey, the trail ended at a server for a US prison. The the support person had time and was curious to try to track the path.I had no idea what he was doing but just followed his directions while we were on the phone. - Tina
Rob Pegoraro: Great idea with the bargaining!
Alexandria, Va.:
How long do you think it will take before neighborhoods will be able to share broadband connections (via wireless networks) without a skilled netadmin living in the area? I've read a few guides on the subject and they are all way over my head. My neighbors are interested, but nobody's willing to commit signifigant time to do the initial setup or even research it much (I'm a student, they work). Contractors aren't an option unless they won't double the costs to us (equipment isn't cheap in the first place). At least I'm fairly sure there wouldn't be any problem with the FCC, but dynamic routing and firewalls are out of my league (and I have no clue whether GNU/Linux and Windows NT 5+ need anything special to run on a network together).
Thanks,
Matt
Rob Pegoraro: There are actually quite a few folks trying to set up neighborhood wireless nets, most based on 802.11b. (I'll try to dig up the URL for some of these sites in a minute...)
Herndon, Va.:
Rob:
I am in the market to replace my 2+ year old Palm III with a newer model (need more memory) and would like to know your opinon between the Sony N610C and the Pam m505. I am not really sure that I NEED color, but they both look great and I like the capability being there if I ever need it. If I stick with grayscale, the Sony S320 would definetly be my pick.
Rob Pegoraro: The Sony 610's the better deal, no question about it. $50 less with twice the resolution? Yes, the cover is a lot flimsier and the 610 is thicker. But I can't see picking the 505 over the 610.
Rob Pegoraro: Here's a group working on neighborhood wireless networking:
www.novawireless.org
Annapolis, Md.:
Quick question, I hope you can get to it.
Among avergae home users, that is the majority of the country, what percentage do you think will be moving towards broadband, away from Dial-up? Is dial-up soon to be a thing of the past? Do most people use dial-up now, or broadband. And also, among dial-up users, despite recent reports of AOL 7 popularity, why do you think AOL will continue to remain so popular or do you think as more and more people get used to the Internet, they will want direct access, not through AOLs home?
Finally, how many people in the US are online?
Sorry for so many questions, but these are something that have been popping around my head for some time. I really appreciated both the articles and the comparisons today.
Thanks!
Rob Pegoraro: The forecasts vary quite a bit on this. I just got one, somewhat typical, report saying that broadband subscribers will increase from 5.2 million (last year's total) to 35 million in 2006. But I'm not so sure we'll get from here to there so quickly if cable and DSL services continue to exhibit as many problems as I keep hearing about in my e-mail.
The other issue, as somebody else noted, is cost. I wonder if a cable or DSL company might not find a market in slow, but always-on, broadband--give a maximum download of, say, 300 kbps, so you can save on bandwidth costs, and charge a bit less in the bargain.
Alexandria, Va.:
Hi Rob,
Any word on when Earthlink will be able to roll out cable service in our area? I read some press releases about it earlier this week. I have dial-up right now (after having DSL in our old Arlington location that worked fine, until Verizon had to fix our line and screwed it up, then wouldn't fix it for 2 months). I've been really happy with Earthlink; even refunded all of my DSL fees (3 months of service plus the two months that it was dead) when it wasn't even their fault.
Rob Pegoraro: Well, that was certainly nice of EarthLink...
What you're waiting for depends on the progress of the local cable operators at rolling out "open access." This is an immensely politicized situation, and things are going much slower than the technological issues alone would suggest.
Your biggest obstacle is that, ironically enough, AOL doesn't own any of the cable systems here. AOL is under a government mandate to allow other ISPs on its cable--it's a condition of the merger with Time Warner. Comcast doesn't have this, ahem, incentive.
wiredog:
I'm on comcast-home in Reston. I use my Linux box. Comcast doesn't "officialy" support it, but if you use the '-h HOSTNAME' command in the dhcpcd daemon it'll work. Love that broadband.
I use ipchains for firewalling, and check the logs weekly, no problems yet.
Rob Pegoraro: You reminded me of something I could have mentioned in my answer to the guy with the Palm--most ISPs won't support any alternative operating system, but the odds are you can get all the support you need from other users.
(If, that is, you've already gotten far enough into Linux or whatever it is you're using to know where to find these other users in the first place.)
Vienna, Va.:
What is a good DSL provider if you live in Vienna? Verizon and Earthlink does not service my area. I live near the Vienna metro station.
Rob Pegoraro: Vienna appears to be some sort of black hole for broadband access--Cox took a long time to bring cable there, and Verizon still can't reach a good part of the town with cable. I'd check with DSL providers outside those two, particularly those using DSL from a carrier besides Verizon.
(Is there anybody in Vienna who *does* have DSL? I can think of a certain washingtonpost.com producer who'd really like to find an answer to this question.)
La Plata, Md.:
I moved out to Southern Maryland about 6 months ago from Downtown D.C. Had DSL there, and was pleasantly suprised to find that Verizon offers it out here too -- BUT! It is sooo slloowwww most of the time. When I do a trace route, it gets response times in the hundreds, often with significant packet loss. But when I do a "speed test" as they call it, it comes back with decent speed. Numerous phone calls to verizon tech support have yeilded numerous suggestions, a new modem, new phone cables, new NIC card, but no better results.
On the up side: when I was in DC, I could expect to hold for 30 minutes with their tech support before talking to someone. Now it's usually under a minute.
Any suggestions?
Rob Pegoraro: Any problem that shows up in traceroute is ISP-specific. Which means, unfortunately, your sole solution is either to wait for Verizon to move your traffic to a network point of presence closer to LaPlata, or to switch to another ISP.
Winchester, Va:
I'm late into this discussion so you may have covered this already, but:
I use AT&T Worldnet. They are rated #1 by PC Mag. I often have to make 30-50 attempts or more, to connect. Esp. between 4pm to 10pm. They say the local access numbers are saturated, but don't know when they addding modems. This is has been this way for months.
A friend has AOL and connects just about first time, every time. I hate AOL's interface. Is there a way to use their connection but not their mail or browser?
Rob Pegoraro: No, unfortunately. I think this is part of AOL's business model--unlike most other providers, they derive a large chunk of their revenue from selling ads. They can't get those ads to members unless members use their software. Ergo, AOL has little incentive to let people use the service just as conventional Internet dial-up.
I'll also guess that PC Magazine didn't do much testing on your side of the Blue Ridge...
Rob Pegoraro: We're running a little over, but I'm happy to take questions for a while longer. Beats talking about anthrax, right?
Annapolis, Md.:
For people who aen't part of the tech world, but still need help with the PDAs, www.palmblvd.com offers a ton of info, as well as a great bulletin board forum.
Rob Pegoraro: Thanks for the pointer. (I'm more partial to palmstation.com and palminfocenter.com, but I'm a geek and can't resist reading about rumors of whatever model is going to come next.)
Hewlett, N.Y.:
Hi.
Thanks for taking my question
I'm having problems downloading Netscape 6.1.
I am running Windows 98 on a Gateway.
Twice I tried and twice when I tried bringing
up the browser I got Illegal Operation. I've
tried twice and had to remove it twice.
Thank goodness for Go Back. Could you help?
Thanks
Rob Pegoraro: Here's a question I overlooked before, unfortunately. You still there, Hewlett? Is your problem getting the installer to start, or getting the program to run once installed? If the former, I'd try shutting off my anti-virus protection for the install.
Sterling, Va.:
I live in Sterling and have been enjoying cable internet from Adelphia for years with 2 of those when it was Loudoun Cablevision. At times I get speeds up to 1.5 mps but the service requires a dial-up 56k modem to connect. Opting for a single HBO channel I pay $19.95 for unlimited cable internet.
More interesting was my running battle with Adelphia when they began using ORBZ.ORG's listing of so-called "open relay" serving listings. This is an anti-spam method that works BUT also blocks legitimate emails if sent from an ALLEGED "open relay" server. Given the choice, I told them I would rather deal with the spam myself in order to get 100% of my emails, regardless of where they come from. I was notified last week that Adelphia has quit using ORBZ.ORG "open relay" listings.
Anyone changing ISP's should inquire if the ISP uses ORBZ.ORG anti-spamming methods before switching.
Don
Rob Pegoraro: Thanks, Sterling. The cable service you're describing is what's called "phone-line return"--it's something that cable companies offer if their system hasn't been upgraded to support real, two-way access. (Comcast used to offer this in Arlington and Montgomery, for instance.)
I had no idea Adelphia used orbz.org (formerly orbs.org). That's a hard-core geek thing to even know about. I agree that their filtering is a little extreme, compared to simply blacklisting open relays that have already been used to send spam (which is what MAPS, or Mail Abuse Prevention System), does.
Winchester, Va:
Yes. Cell phones and ISP's aren't really serving our area all that great due to population obviously, but it is very frustrating to know a few modems would make a big difference and they won't buy them.
Rob Pegoraro: Agreed, agreed. I wish some of these companies would get some of their customer-service reps lurking in these discussions--they might learn a thing or two.
Rob Pegoraro: I'm told that NewsChannel 8 is now re-airing my interview from noon today. That means I am officially overexposed!
So I'll log off for the day. Thanks again for all the questions. If I missed yours--or if you'd like to suggest an ISP we ought to add to the directory--drop me a note sometime. Talk to you soon...
- R
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