Maybe we need to have a BackSlashDot, where everyone can bitch about things they read on SlashDot, the SlashDot editors and anything else those people bitch about!
most newspapers' technology writers have to cover everything from electric shavers to warp drive, don't have either the background to understand or the time and energy to learn, work on a ridiculous deadline for anything other than gee-whiz single-source stories and can't research well enough to find alternative sources (not that their bosses would let them hyperlink anything outside their media conglomerate--IF they have a process for adding links at all). And don't get me started on the sad state of newsroom training. On the other hand, most sysadmins and other geeks (including a large share of tech writers) can't write well enough to translate these issues for everyday readers--which more a matter of explaining in small chunks, rather than simply writing at a sixth grade level and ignoring anything more complex (though few of my editors have agreed). This isn't to say there aren't papers doing a good job--letting reporters develop stories, sending them to training that increases knowledge, etc.--but they are the exception, not the rule.
The writer says that 80 percent of homes have access to broadband, whether cable, DSL or satellite. Of course, everyone knows that satellite is the technology that pushes the figure so high (most people have an unobstructed view to the south). But I have had two experiences that shine some light on why satellite's taking off like a lead balloon.
First, let me say that the DSL service I had in New Orleans (Bellsouth) and Little Rock (Southwestern Bell) certainly whetted my appetite for a fat pipe (like 1.8Mbps during peak, woohoo). After installation problems were resolved, I had very few problems.
But now I live near Conway, Ark. (30 miles west of Little Rock) and I'm way too far from the telephone company's central office and I can't get anyone to admit to supplying cable service to my area. (Not that these hillbilly monopolies have likely heard of the Internet, but when thew won't even send TV!)
I began looking into my options, and quickly ruled out T1 or any variant thereof as too expensive, and probably annoying to my landlord, as well.
But lo! Earthlink (which is also the only national ISP with a local POP) was having a sale on satellite equipment and installation. Fat with cash (this was just before the economy really went tits up and I got laid off), I ordered the package.
An installer showed up about a week later (there probably aren't many in Arkansas). He got the dish pointed fine, but ran into snags trying to install the software on my PC. After an hour, he hooked it up to his laptop, set up the account, etc., and left while I was out getting dinner, saying all was well (admittedly, my PC was having heat-related problems at the time, since fixed).
It didn't work then. It may have worked for a half-hour (at maybe 1.5 times dial-up, or 125Kbps) after I spent a good half-day on the phone with tech support, but it might have been a delusion. But then I shut down for the night and the next day, no Internet.
Finally, I called Earthlink customer service and said, "This doesn't work, come get this huge honkin' dish and give me my money back." After jumping through the normal get-out-of-contract hoops, I got my money back, but nobody ever showed up to get the dish.
Being a concerned customer (I still use Earthlink for dial-up)--not to mention scared they'd come down on me if I got rid of the stuff--I pestered their customer service until someone actually did some research (I would give him credit if I remembered his name) and discovered that there wasn't a mechanism for uninstalling the hardware! Bear in mind, these dishes go for just under a grand retail.
So now I've got a free thousand-dollar dish pulling in DirecTV (because I still don't get cable) and a 28.8K dial-up account (thanks for the multiple A-to-D conversions, 53K is but a dream).
Last month, after deciding to return to school for my masters, I thought it would behoove me to get a dial-up return account at the least, so I e-mailed DirecPC about setting up service.
I still haven't heard back.
I didn't major in business, but any company that does such a half-ass job installing, supporting and servicing its equipment and customers isn't going to build market share very fast. Not to mention that the customer service rep (who must have been an avatar of Buddha, since he was the only one I've ever talked to with a clue) said that many people, like me, had been left with free, but useless, hardware bolted to their house.
This reminds me of a PHB-Dogbert exchange--D: "How many of your customers are repeat buyers?" PHB: "Almost all of our customers get a new one within 90 days of purchase." D: "What if you don't count warranty replacements? PHB: "Oh, then we don't look so good."
(That's from memory; I'd look up the cartoon on the 'Net, but I'd like to post this while I'm still young.)
Re: How many times have you watched TV coverage of a subject you know and understand and you find yourself thinking "they're getting it wrong, that's false, they're missing it,..."?
I used to think that constantly while employed at a newspaper and the AP. They'd do a story on something I'd covered, and I'd wonder if we were talking about the same thing. The really fun part is when the use video of a person saying something that's out of context, incorrect or just loony.
is the blurb in the story about the Boys and Girls Club's Internet access centers. I had a similar idea, but couldn't sell it to either the then-local newspaper or TV stations (I thought they'd like the chance to have a portal front page).
This, it seems, is the real issue, the divide between those who own and use a computer and those who don't. Without a computer, this is no big deal since there are already services out there that don't require proof of residency (e.g. Hotmail). With computer access, people can e-mail, set up Web pages, etc.
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe we need to have a BackSlashDot, where everyone can bitch about things they read on SlashDot, the SlashDot editors and anything else those people bitch about!
most newspapers' technology writers have to cover everything from electric shavers to warp drive, don't have either the background to understand or the time and energy to learn, work on a ridiculous deadline for anything other than gee-whiz single-source stories and can't research well enough to find alternative sources (not that their bosses would let them hyperlink anything outside their media conglomerate--IF they have a process for adding links at all). And don't get me started on the sad state of newsroom training.
On the other hand, most sysadmins and other geeks (including a large share of tech writers) can't write well enough to translate these issues for everyday readers--which more a matter of explaining in small chunks, rather than simply writing at a sixth grade level and ignoring anything more complex (though few of my editors have agreed).
This isn't to say there aren't papers doing a good job--letting reporters develop stories, sending them to training that increases knowledge, etc.--but they are the exception, not the rule.
would be taking out large plate glass windows. Resonant frequency, anyone?
Ah, the days of zipping the ball so it arced up and over my friends and down the hill...still one of the best games out.
First, let me say that the DSL service I had in New Orleans (Bellsouth) and Little Rock (Southwestern Bell) certainly whetted my appetite for a fat pipe (like 1.8Mbps during peak, woohoo). After installation problems were resolved, I had very few problems.
But now I live near Conway, Ark. (30 miles west of Little Rock) and I'm way too far from the telephone company's central office and I can't get anyone to admit to supplying cable service to my area. (Not that these hillbilly monopolies have likely heard of the Internet, but when thew won't even send TV!)
I began looking into my options, and quickly ruled out T1 or any variant thereof as too expensive, and probably annoying to my landlord, as well.
But lo! Earthlink (which is also the only national ISP with a local POP) was having a sale on satellite equipment and installation. Fat with cash (this was just before the economy really went tits up and I got laid off), I ordered the package.
An installer showed up about a week later (there probably aren't many in Arkansas). He got the dish pointed fine, but ran into snags trying to install the software on my PC. After an hour, he hooked it up to his laptop, set up the account, etc., and left while I was out getting dinner, saying all was well (admittedly, my PC was having heat-related problems at the time, since fixed).
It didn't work then. It may have worked for a half-hour (at maybe 1.5 times dial-up, or 125Kbps) after I spent a good half-day on the phone with tech support, but it might have been a delusion. But then I shut down for the night and the next day, no Internet.
Finally, I called Earthlink customer service and said, "This doesn't work, come get this huge honkin' dish and give me my money back." After jumping through the normal get-out-of-contract hoops, I got my money back, but nobody ever showed up to get the dish.
Being a concerned customer (I still use Earthlink for dial-up)--not to mention scared they'd come down on me if I got rid of the stuff--I pestered their customer service until someone actually did some research (I would give him credit if I remembered his name) and discovered that there wasn't a mechanism for uninstalling the hardware! Bear in mind, these dishes go for just under a grand retail.
So now I've got a free thousand-dollar dish pulling in DirecTV (because I still don't get cable) and a 28.8K dial-up account (thanks for the multiple A-to-D conversions, 53K is but a dream).
Last month, after deciding to return to school for my masters, I thought it would behoove me to get a dial-up return account at the least, so I e-mailed DirecPC about setting up service. I still haven't heard back.
I didn't major in business, but any company that does such a half-ass job installing, supporting and servicing its equipment and customers isn't going to build market share very fast. Not to mention that the customer service rep (who must have been an avatar of Buddha, since he was the only one I've ever talked to with a clue) said that many people, like me, had been left with free, but useless, hardware bolted to their house.
This reminds me of a PHB-Dogbert exchange--D: "How many of your customers are repeat buyers?"
PHB: "Almost all of our customers get a new one within 90 days of purchase."
D: "What if you don't count warranty replacements?
PHB: "Oh, then we don't look so good."
(That's from memory; I'd look up the cartoon on the 'Net, but I'd like to post this while I'm still young.)
Re: How many times have you watched TV coverage of a subject you know and understand and you find yourself thinking "they're getting it wrong, that's false, they're missing it,..."?
I used to think that constantly while employed at a newspaper and the AP. They'd do a story on something I'd covered, and I'd wonder if we were talking about the same thing. The really fun part is when the use video of a person saying something that's out of context, incorrect or just loony.
is the blurb in the story about the Boys and Girls Club's Internet access centers. I had a similar idea, but couldn't sell it to either the then-local newspaper or TV stations (I thought they'd like the chance to have a portal front page).
This, it seems, is the real issue, the divide between those who own and use a computer and those who don't. Without a computer, this is no big deal since there are already services out there that don't require proof of residency (e.g. Hotmail). With computer access, people can e-mail, set up Web pages, etc.