Does anybody here rent DVDs of movies or TV shows?
If you could download and watch an unlimited number of DVDs or even TV shows for 15$ a month, would you do it?
Or, would you whine and complain saying, "Oh, but if I stop paying, I can't watch those shows anymore. Wah wah."
For those of us who listen to a wide variety of music, the Napster deal is great. I've been a member of Napster's all-you-can-download service for about six months. It is freaking awesome!
As soon as I can get a compatible player (or a firmware update is ready for mine) I'll be loving Napster To Go.
Welcome to the future.
Bye bye iTunes.
iLosers
See ya.
I teach programming (among other things) to students in grades 6, 7, 8, and 9.
I teach languages in this order: Grade 6-DRAPE Grade 7-LOGO Grade 8-BASIC Grade 9-JAVASCRIPT
I highly recommend DRAPE as a way to teach programming concepts in a simple fashion. It is a FREE programming language with a simple point and click interface. Check it out!
From 1stopkorea.com
World Leader in Broadband?
Now how about broadband? With more people, as a percentage, using broadband Internet service in Korea than any other country in the world you would expect that to be pretty painless. Right?
Well . . .
The whole time I've been writing this article I've been trying to log onto my Hotmail account to check my e-mail. I've also been trying to log into Yahoo to do some updates on a website I work for. It's been nearly two hours now and still no luck. I've called my service provider, Korea Telecom (Korea's national phone company), for the umpteenth time in the past few weeks but all I got was the same old story.
"Our customers are having problems accessing some foreign sites right now. We know about the problem but have no idea when it will be fixed. Is there any chance you can just use Korean sites until then?"
"Well, I signed up for Internet service, not some kind of Korea-only service. I have work I need to get done. Why do you keep charging me full-price when you're not giving me full-service?"
"We're sorry. We know our customers have been having some problems with foreign sites. Do you think you could e-mail us the exact URL and some other information about the sites you're having trouble with?"
"Uh, hello!??! It's Hotmail, my e-mail provider, that I'm having the problem with. How do you suggest I e-mail you?"
"Right, could you hold please?"
If I only had a buck for every time I've had that conversation recently . . . Three trips out by a technician ("whoa, your computer uses English Windows. Could you translate this for me?"), endless phone calls and hours spent on the phone with tech 'support' have all been a waste of time. All I've gotten for my trouble is the same old story about problems connecting to some foreign sites. About how they're, "aware of the problem but don't know when it will be fixed." Always left unsaid, "keep paying your bill or we'll cut the whole thing off and take away your phone service . .."
But hey, at least it's only Yahoo and Hotmail. It's not like anyone uses those sites . . .
I switched to KT's 'Megapass' service last year after using another provider called Thrunet (a.k.a. 'DownNet') for a couple of years. I finally gave up on Thrunet because it was down so much as to be nearly useless. I figured Korea Telecom, as Korea's national phone provider, would offer a lot more reliability.
At first KT was fine. It was maybe a little slower than Thrunet but at least it was usually up and running. That is, until the past couple of months. Now I'm to the point where the sites I need to use are down at least as much as Thrunet ever was. Which means trouble for me trying to get my job done.
For whatever reason KT, the national phone company and largest Internet service provider in Korea, can't seem to get its servers straight with those of Hotmail, Yahoo and several other foreign sites. Each time I call they insist they are working on the problem. Each time I call they also insist they have no idea when they'll get it fixed. Each time I call . . .
Perhaps it's time to try Korea's other broadband provider, Hanaro . . .
The next time you go through Inchon Airport and see one of those ads praising 'e-Korea', or hear some Korean proudly patting themselves on the back for being such a telecom utopia, please remember that underneath all the hype there can be a lot of problems. Those of you living here and thinking of buying one of these services please be aware of what can go wrong and the hassles involved, especially for non-Korean speakers. For those of you thinking of investing in one of these companies, good luck. Thrunet's recent bankruptcy filing and SK's huge accounting problems should mean you're in for an interesting time!
These have been my experiences. I'm sure others have something to add, pro or con. Please head to the feedback page and let me know. I'll post the replies in a future update.
Slashdot Mirror
In all fairness, the article is dated March 2003. So, it's good to see things have improved.
Check out this post from a guy who lives in Korea. You won't believe the trouble he went through with his Internet service and getting a cellphone.
'E-Korea' - Myth versus Reality
Here is a brief excerpt:
Buying a Cell Phone
"Hi, I'd like to buy a cell phone."
"B . . . b . . . but you're a foreigner."
"Yeah, thanks, I'm aware of that. Now, can I buy the phone?"
"Well no, we don't sell to foreigners."
"Really? I printed this out from your website. It says you do."
"I don't care what our website says. We don't sell to foreigners."
He then goes on to describe his problems with broadband internet access. Check it out!
I second that motion. I would gladly pay a quarter for a tv show download. DRM or not, just let me see it!
Does anybody here rent DVDs of movies or TV shows? If you could download and watch an unlimited number of DVDs or even TV shows for 15$ a month, would you do it? Or, would you whine and complain saying, "Oh, but if I stop paying, I can't watch those shows anymore. Wah wah." For those of us who listen to a wide variety of music, the Napster deal is great. I've been a member of Napster's all-you-can-download service for about six months. It is freaking awesome! As soon as I can get a compatible player (or a firmware update is ready for mine) I'll be loving Napster To Go. Welcome to the future. Bye bye iTunes. iLosers See ya.
I teach programming (among other things) to students in grades 6, 7, 8, and 9.
I teach languages in this order:
Grade 6-DRAPE
Grade 7-LOGO
Grade 8-BASIC
Grade 9-JAVASCRIPT
I highly recommend DRAPE as a way to teach programming concepts in a simple fashion. It is a FREE programming language with a simple point and click interface. Check it out!
Click HERE to go to the DRAPE homepage.
From 1stopkorea.com World Leader in Broadband? Now how about broadband? With more people, as a percentage, using broadband Internet service in Korea than any other country in the world you would expect that to be pretty painless. Right? Well . . . The whole time I've been writing this article I've been trying to log onto my Hotmail account to check my e-mail. I've also been trying to log into Yahoo to do some updates on a website I work for. It's been nearly two hours now and still no luck. I've called my service provider, Korea Telecom (Korea's national phone company), for the umpteenth time in the past few weeks but all I got was the same old story. "Our customers are having problems accessing some foreign sites right now. We know about the problem but have no idea when it will be fixed. Is there any chance you can just use Korean sites until then?" "Well, I signed up for Internet service, not some kind of Korea-only service. I have work I need to get done. Why do you keep charging me full-price when you're not giving me full-service?" "We're sorry. We know our customers have been having some problems with foreign sites. Do you think you could e-mail us the exact URL and some other information about the sites you're having trouble with?" "Uh, hello!??! It's Hotmail, my e-mail provider, that I'm having the problem with. How do you suggest I e-mail you?" "Right, could you hold please?" If I only had a buck for every time I've had that conversation recently . . . Three trips out by a technician ("whoa, your computer uses English Windows. Could you translate this for me?"), endless phone calls and hours spent on the phone with tech 'support' have all been a waste of time. All I've gotten for my trouble is the same old story about problems connecting to some foreign sites. About how they're, "aware of the problem but don't know when it will be fixed." Always left unsaid, "keep paying your bill or we'll cut the whole thing off and take away your phone service . . ."
But hey, at least it's only Yahoo and Hotmail. It's not like anyone uses those sites . . .
I switched to KT's 'Megapass' service last year after using another provider called Thrunet (a.k.a. 'DownNet') for a couple of years. I finally gave up on Thrunet because it was down so much as to be nearly useless. I figured Korea Telecom, as Korea's national phone provider, would offer a lot more reliability.
At first KT was fine. It was maybe a little slower than Thrunet but at least it was usually up and running. That is, until the past couple of months. Now I'm to the point where the sites I need to use are down at least as much as Thrunet ever was. Which means trouble for me trying to get my job done.
For whatever reason KT, the national phone company and largest Internet service provider in Korea, can't seem to get its servers straight with those of Hotmail, Yahoo and several other foreign sites. Each time I call they insist they are working on the problem. Each time I call they also insist they have no idea when they'll get it fixed. Each time I call . . .
Perhaps it's time to try Korea's other broadband provider, Hanaro . . .
The next time you go through Inchon Airport and see one of those ads praising 'e-Korea', or hear some Korean proudly patting themselves on the back for being such a telecom utopia, please remember that underneath all the hype there can be a lot of problems. Those of you living here and thinking of buying one of these services please be aware of what can go wrong and the hassles involved, especially for non-Korean speakers. For those of you thinking of investing in one of these companies, good luck. Thrunet's recent bankruptcy filing and SK's huge accounting problems should mean you're in for an interesting time!
These have been my experiences. I'm sure others have something to add, pro or con. Please head to the feedback page and let me know. I'll post the replies in a future update.
Check out this guy's story about Korean broadband might.
www.1stopkorea.com
Click on www.1stopkorea.com/korean-internet.htm
or click on the Link
'E-Korea' - Myth versus Reality on the above page.