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Don't do it. Download speed is in the neighborhood of 150K,

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150k !! Right now were downloading at 5k. I cant imagine 150k!
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 01-15-2003, 12:50 AM:
 
Satellite is also very laggy. Meaning while the download speeds seem "quick" by the time they are going, it may be awhile from the time you actually click on a link until anything actually happens.
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 01-15-2003, 01:27 AM:
 
Keep in mind that download speed also depends on upload speed in that your computer has to return a checksum for each packet received. So, if you have a really crappy upload speed, it will adversely affect your download. And you're also uploading when you send emails, etc., but you probably already knew all that.

Dish Network actually contracts to Starband for satellite access. Starband booted us off the network a couple of times for someone with our IP address trying to "hack into their system". Um, yeah, whatever.
 

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Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 01-15-2003, 01:46 AM:
 
DirecWay satellite internet is ludicrously expensive compared to cable and DSL. Avoid it like the plague!

-Aaron
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 01-15-2003, 02:24 AM:
 
24.0kbps! I wish I could connect at that speed when using dial-up during the summer.
 

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Posted by Nate Lehrke (Member # 1460) on 01-15-2003, 03:41 AM:
 
I'm also curious if it's affected by weather. For example: when it's a bad storm I always get a less than perfect DirectTV signal, So am I right assuming that the internet connection would be affected too?
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-15-2003, 05:03 AM:
 
From what I've seen of it, the Directv picture is far less than perfect even in good weather. The compression artifacts drive me nuts, especially for sports programming.
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 01-15-2003, 05:36 AM:
 
Yes, the weather also affects the Rx/Tx of your internet connection. Ironically, every time Starband thought we were scanning their network, we were in the middle of a big storm. And the satellite connection would drop out for hours in the middle of the sunniest Northern California day, too. All of this was happening with no noticable difference in the television signal coming in for the lobby monitors.

Now we get 192k up and down on the cheap DSL connection in the box office. At home, I can get a DSL line with 384 up and 1.5Mb down +/-.

You mentioned "5k" earlier and compared it to my 150k. You're likely seeing 5 kiloBYTES there and I'm seeing 150 kiloBITS. Multiply your number by 8 to compare properly.
 

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Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 01-15-2003, 09:34 AM:
 
Too bad satellite is the only option for those of us who live in the country. No cable, no DSL, and very very crappy dial up. I think I will be biting the bullet and buying satellite as soon as we move into our new house in about a month. BTW, the theatre has satellite to maintain the website and seems to very pretty stable and fairly fast.. but no comparison to a T1 or anything like that.
 

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Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 01-15-2003, 09:59 AM:
 
I've considered satellite internet, but always choked at the expense and limitations. I would want to use it for hosting my own web site but the last time I checked you couldn't do that. So then I think to myself "how fast do I really NEED to surf the net?" Right now my connect speed is 26.4 rarely I get 28.8. Would it be worth the money? I keep answering no to that question.
The phone company says we're do for an upgrade to "DSL capable" in 12-24 months (sure)
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 01-15-2003, 11:18 AM:
 
Satellite internet should be your "last resort". It's expensive, and it has technical limitations due to lag time transmitting & receiving. And yes it can be interrupted by weather. DirectWay specifically mentions (or at least they did 6 months ago) that satellite is not good for online gaming or other real-time 2-way uses due to latency or delay issues. If I lived in the country and had no other options, I would do it, but if you can get DSL, cable, or wireless, those should be your first choice.
 

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Posted by Kris Brunton (Member # 432) on 01-16-2003, 08:44 AM:
 
Due to our location being on the fring area of Bell High Speed we recently installed LinkSat for our internet at the office. Download and Upload is from the dish.

As Joe mentioned earlier it is very laggy. For surfing it is just a bit better than dialup. Downloading is great and extremly fast(for us that just finally come out of the dial up world.)

The only other problem is that whenever it snow's someone has to make the climb to the roof and use our trusty satelite repair tool. (Broom)

I belive the LinkSat uses a Hughes Satelite.
 

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Posted by Nate Lehrke (Member # 1460) on 01-17-2003, 12:48 AM:
 
I'm in an area that can't get anything except satellite service,(besides dial-up) is it worth the extra cost or should I just settle with the dial-up?

Kris - About how much do you pay monthly?
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 01-17-2003, 01:08 AM:
 
Last I checked, for Bell Sympatico one-way satellite, it was $60 CDN for 60 hours PLUS the cost of a dial-up account.
 

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Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 01-17-2003, 12:43 PM:
 
Here its $60-80/mo. unlimited access for a 2 way satellite and purchasing about $600.00 worth of equipment and modems.
 

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Posted by Lance C. McFetridge (Member # 95) on 01-18-2003, 02:06 PM:
 
I use the starband system. Only problem is when snow builds up on the dish. I have been extremely happy with the download times and upload is a great deal faster than dial-up. About $70/ month but I networked 5 computers in my house and now the phone actually rings when they are all on.

lance
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 01-18-2003, 06:18 PM:
 
Mount your mini dish LNB on a 10' C-Band dish and you'll never have to worry about snow.
 

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Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 11-06-2003, 11:59 AM:
 
OK...is this worth looking into, or is just a "come-on"?

MSN is partnering with other companies to offer Broadband services starting November 12, 2003. Companies partnering with MSN are Verizon, Qwest, SBC, Bellsouth, Charter, Directway, Comcast, and Sprint.

Please be informed that the availability of Broadband in your area will not necessarily be connected with MSN, the results are all broadband service offered in your area based on your address and home number.

The monthly subscription cost will depend on the phone company that offers Broadband DSL in your area.

I don't know if this is what is being discussed, but I have to do something about the dinasour technology I have in my area. The modem dial-up just plain sucks the big red one.

Looking further, it is Satellite. It is available....but the so-called Standard Plan (up to 500K download) has a set-up fee of $599.98 with a monthly fee of $59.99.

I guess I just answered part of my question...

NOT with a 100-meter pole!!!!
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 11-06-2003, 12:16 PM:
 
Hey, I thought delivery of digital data was FREE!
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 11-06-2003, 02:49 PM:
 
Delivery IS free, receiving it'll cost you a fortune.
 

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Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 11-07-2003, 12:13 AM:
 
Yeah, Daryl....I have one thing to say about MicroShaft's solution...."B" as in Bull and "S" as in Sugar...There is no way I will pay 699 smackers for some funky horse's butt slip-shod service that probably does not work...especially in sunspots...

On Honeymoon night, a certain lady discovered why a certain CEO called his company "Microsoft"....
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 11-07-2003, 12:27 AM:
 
By the sounds of that somewhat scatter-brained article, it sounds like MSN is only providing mail service and authentication. The actual access would be provided by your local provider.

They say costs depend on your phone company... which is weird, since the $600 setup cost would tell me that it's two-way (FCC regs require 'professional' installation) satellite, which wouldn't require a dial-up account.

If it's one way, a $600 setup fee is stupid, especially when most mini-dish TV companies will install a dish for free. Even then, it's much easier to do it yourself. It'll take all of five minutes to point the thing in the right direction, a few more minutes to secure it to something.
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 11-07-2003, 01:00 AM:
 
We used to have Starband's satellite crap here. Download was mediocre and upload speed was less than my dialup account. Our current piggyback on the box office's 192k dsl connection is much better and vastly more reliable.

I wouldn't wish satellite internet on my worst enemy.
 

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Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 11-07-2003, 10:03 AM:
 
Because of the distance between our house and the street, I had to get the cable company to run their drop to my main screen, where I have the cable modem & a router. I use a radio link to get the data to the house.

Just prior to that (and am I glad I didn't go that way), a salesman from Direcway stopped by to see if he could "hook us up". Not wanting to get stuck with the $600+ install and whatever service term might come along with the deal, I asked him for some local installs where I could actualy see this marvelous technology in action. He gave me one name, then went away... and I never saw him again.

I checked with his "reference". They reported pretty much what's on this thread... lousy throughput, sensitivity to weather... and airplanes flying through the path.

The local Radio Shack told me that they'd sold both services (Direcway & Dish)... They got so many complaints... all directed at them (because they were the storefront)... they yarded it all out & used the display furniture to hold DVD players.

If you can't get DSL from the phone company... IDSL from some outfit like Covad, ISDN or cable service, this might be your only alternative... but from the look of it, you'd have to be pretty desperate...

... like Paul!
 

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Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 11-07-2003, 11:26 AM:
 
It isn't just the "country" that gets shafted. The only satellite user I know has a company in an older commercial/industrial area in Toronto. The cable company flatly refuses to run a line to him - even though a Future Shop with their service is about 150M away. The telephone wiring is old and the exchange is quite a distance away, so DSL is not available. The CN tower is over the horizon and a tower to see it for the local microwave internet service is prohibitively expensive.
Getting a dedicated T1 line or similar costs a huge amount to install plus a high monthly lease charge, plus ISP costs.
So he has satellite internet. As well as the already mentioned problems, the service as supplied was already NAT subrouted, so he couldn't share it in his office. Not mentioned before the installation was the extra charge for a real routable IP number.
He's just waiting for any reasonable alternative to be available.
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 11-07-2003, 07:49 PM:
 
Running ZIP disks back and forth between your location and your ISP, by foot, is often faster. Seriously.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 11-07-2003, 08:04 PM:
 
Hmmm...for some reason I envision the scene from "Used Cars" where they hijack the satellite feed....I mean, it is a cost-cutting measure...

>>> Phil
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 11-07-2003, 08:08 PM:
 
Daryl--true, but the latency sucks. (Of course, the same can be said of satellite internet access.)

Does anyone actually still use zip disks?
 

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Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 11-07-2003, 08:42 PM:
 
Yeah, Scott. I still have a USB Zip Disc plugged into this machine....but I never use it. It is just sitting there like the Maytag repairman collecting dust.
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 11-09-2003, 07:15 AM:
 
I've got an old Novell server running off of an original zip drive Scott. It's been nearly 10 years since I told them I'd install a replacement hard drive next week.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 11-09-2003, 10:02 AM:
 
An *original* Zip drive? Ten years old and still works? YIKES! I thought most of those things would have been junked by now.

Now, a ten-year-old Novell server -- That's a thing of beauty.
 

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Posted by Don Bruechert (Member # 1538) on 11-10-2003, 02:54 PM:
 
I have a friend who got the new satellite internet, and he couldn't say enough good about it.... until he found out a little item in the fine print... They give you a wide open throttle until you hit like 2 GB of downloads or so, and then they throttle the piss out of you for the rest of the month... apparently they call it "load sharing" or something like that... Now he says "Don't get it!"
 

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