I just switched to Vonage.

It's a mixed bag but seems to be getting better as I straighten out my
problems. For me it was not as straight forward as I had hoped.

The sound quality at times is very good and at other times it is very
poor. Seems like if my kid is playing a game on the internet and
streaming video, the band width is sufficient but some dastardly
firewall is slowing the packets down and causing sound problems. The
firewall is built into the router and the router is not programmable
because it's pretty old -- Verizon DSL estimates its 8 years old.
That's the biggest issue but will be fixed in "2 to 3 business days"
when the new router gets here.

The second sound issue came and went and I finally tracked it down to
Carbonite. So I had to throw Carbonite into Low Priority mode. That
seems to fix it.

So it's up and working. I guess my biggest issues are that I have the
older router because I've had DSL for so long.

If it wasn't for those two issues, it would have been a much easier
install.

Anyway, I thought I would throw it out there in case anyone else is
considering switching. In the long term, I think it'll be good. In
the short term, it could be an easy install but it was a on the tough
side for me.

Good luck if you're trying it.

On May 15, 10:55*am, Pat wrote:
I just switched to Vonage.

{snip}

Anyway, I thought I would throw it out there in case anyone else is
considering switching. *In the long term, I think it'll be good. *In
the short term, it could be an easy install but it was a on the tough
side for me.

Good luck if you're trying it.

I just edited the subject line, Pat. Transposing letters in an
acronym would make it less likely someone searching would find your
post.

R

Pat wrote:
I just switched to Vonage.

It's a mixed bag but seems to be getting better as I straighten out my
problems. For me it was not as straight forward as I had hoped.

The sound quality at times is very good and at other times it is very
poor. Seems like if my kid is playing a game on the internet and
streaming video, the band width is sufficient but some dastardly
firewall is slowing the packets down and causing sound problems. The
firewall is built into the router and the router is not programmable
because it's pretty old -- Verizon DSL estimates its 8 years old.
That's the biggest issue but will be fixed in "2 to 3 business days"
when the new router gets here.

The second sound issue came and went and I finally tracked it down to
Carbonite. So I had to throw Carbonite into Low Priority mode. That
seems to fix it.

So it's up and working. I guess my biggest issues are that I have the
older router because I've had DSL for so long.

If it wasn't for those two issues, it would have been a much easier
install.

Anyway, I thought I would throw it out there in case anyone else is
considering switching. In the long term, I think it'll be good. In
the short term, it could be an easy install but it was a on the tough
side for me.

Good luck if you're trying it.
Hi,
Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will know
where you are calling from like land line?

On May 15, 11:24*am, Tony Hwang wrote:

Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will know
where you are calling from like land line?

Yep. It has to be registered, and if you move and take the line with
you, you have to re-register. You also need a UPS or other form of
battery backup so you won't lose phone service during a power outage.

R

On May 15, 11:03*am, RicodJour wrote:
On May 15, 10:55*am, Pat wrote:

I just switched to Vonage.

{snip}

Anyway, I thought I would throw it out there in case anyone else is
considering switching. *In the long term, I think it'll be good. *In
the short term, it could be an easy install but it was a on the tough
side for me.

Good luck if you're trying it.

I just edited the subject line, Pat. *Transposing letters in an
acronym would make it less likely someone searching would find your
post.

R

Knaht ouy.

On May 15, 12:54*pm, wrote:
On Fri, 15 May 2009 09:29:29 -0700 (PDT), RicodJour

wrote:
Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will know
where you are calling from like land line?

Yep. *It has to be registered, and if you move and take the line with
you, you have to re-register. *You also need a UPS or other form of
battery backup so you won't lose phone service during a power outage.

R

The real problem is the cable company will be down too if you have a
very big power failure. After any garden variety storm my cable is out
a day or two. I have yet to see how DSL will do.

I have DSL and it the phone lines are up, the DSL is up.

There is also an option for "network failure" of DSL or the Vonage box
going down. If that happens for if you don't answer in a given time,
it will forward to another phone (like my cell phone).

"RicodJour" wrote:
Tony Hwang wrote:

Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will know
where you are calling from like land line?

Yep. It has to be registered, and if you move and take the line with
you, you have to re-register. You also need a UPS or other form of
battery backup so you won't lose phone service during a power outage.

I can count on one finger the number of times my land line has been down in
the last 20 years.

I need both hands and both feet to count the number of times my internet
service (Comcast) has been down in the last six years.

The internet is fun and all, but I sure as hell wouldn't trust it when I
need it most.

Jon

Pat wrote:
I just switched to Vonage.

It's a mixed bag but seems to be getting better as I straighten out my
problems. For me it was not as straight forward as I had hoped.

The sound quality at times is very good and at other times it is very
poor. Seems like if my kid is playing a game on the internet and
streaming video, the band width is sufficient but some dastardly
firewall is slowing the packets down and causing sound problems. The
firewall is built into the router and the router is not programmable
because it's pretty old -- Verizon DSL estimates its 8 years old.
That's the biggest issue but will be fixed in "2 to 3 business days"
when the new router gets here.

The second sound issue came and went and I finally tracked it down to
Carbonite. So I had to throw Carbonite into Low Priority mode. That
seems to fix it.

So it's up and working. I guess my biggest issues are that I have the
older router because I've had DSL for so long.

If it wasn't for those two issues, it would have been a much easier
install.

Anyway, I thought I would throw it out there in case anyone else is
considering switching. In the long term, I think it'll be good. In
the short term, it could be an easy install but it was a on the tough
side for me.

Good luck if you're trying it.

We have VOIP here. Our cable speeds are 8.5/2.6 Mbps.

We also have DSL from AT&T. It's about 750kpbs.

We use cable internet for regular stuff and the VOIP plugs into the DSL. We
got the DSL when the cable went down for six days! Heck, man, we couldn't
even buy stamps (although I did score a personal best at Solitare during
that time).

Anyway, on the third day of cable outage, we signed up for DSL. We now have
redundant capability - like having a spare tire.

In ordinary usage, nothing interferes with the VOIP connections. If the DSL
goes down, we simply plug the VOIP input wire into our cable-connected
router and we're back in business.

In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:


In ordinary usage, nothing interferes with the VOIP connections. If the DSL
goes down, we simply plug the VOIP input wire into our cable-connected
router and we're back in business.

You wear both a belt and suspenders. Am I right ? (G)

--
"Distracting a politician from governing
is like distracting a bear from eating your baby."

--PJ O'Rourke

On May 15, 2:09*pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
"RicodJour" wrote:
Tony Hwang *wrote:

Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will know
where you are calling from like land line?

Yep. *It has to be registered, and if you move and take the line with
you, you have to re-register. *You also need a UPS or other form of
battery backup so you won't lose phone service during a power outage.

I can count on one finger the number of times my land line has been down in
the last 20 years.

I need both hands and both feet to count the number of times my internet
service (Comcast) has been down in the last six years.

The internet is fun and all, but I sure as hell wouldn't trust it when I
need it most.

When have your internet and cell phone both been down at the same
time? Things have changed since the days of phone-only phone lines.

R

Kurt Ullman wrote:
In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:


In ordinary usage, nothing interferes with the VOIP connections. If
the DSL goes down, we simply plug the VOIP input wire into our
cable-connected router and we're back in business.

You wear both a belt and suspenders. Am I right ? (G)

A belt and a thong.

On May 15, 5:02�pm, "HeyBub" wrote:
Kurt Ullman wrote:
In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:

In ordinary usage, nothing interferes with the VOIP connections. If
the DSL goes down, we simply plug the VOIP input wire into our
cable-connected router and we're back in business.

� You wear both a belt and suspenders. Am I right ? (G)

A belt and a thong.

I have FIOS with verizon.

The internet part has been rock solid.

unfortunately the phone service hasnt, and sadly verizon tech support
sucks.

once with noise on incoming calls, which the first tech documented it
took over 6 weeks and calling EVERY BUSINESS DAY FOR 3 WEEKS, and
esclated to verizon presidents office, to say nothing of their
refusing to put us back on copper, they futher refused to cancel the
phone part which wasnt working because we were under contract.

I finally threated bto ngetn the mnedia involved when I found out the
problem effected every FIOS customer in our central office.

Network techs foundn it was a noisey router but it took WEEKS

After that the battery in the brand new FIOS box failed, they wanted
ME to mpay for it, I refused they finally did but it took 2 weeks, of
the stupid box beeping alarm 24/7 they kept promising a battery in a
few more days, I finally said if the battery isnt dropped at my door
today I am canceling EVERYTHING VERIZON.

battery magically appeared......

then we have a large tree thats on a abandoned right of way left over
when the homes were built in 1950. the tree is being supported by the
main FIOS line./

its against their company policy to trim a tree, they wait till the
line breaks then fix it.

verizon sent fios tv sales reps to my door, after the 3rd visit I
showed him the tree, and meant it when I said the next saleasman is
harrasement, I called the police and reported him, he lacked the
solicitation permit, complained to verizon presidents office, and the
daily phone calls finally stopped.

The mail contnues in bulk so just for the heck of it i am sending
the marketing guy who signed the last flyer i letter about my crappy
experience. i wonder if anyone will answere?

In october my contract is up

My one line will be a identi ring number on my existing copper line.

I will go elswehere for internet, or if I keep just the FIOS internet
part will NEVER be under contract with them EVER!!

with nearly everyone having a cell phone how many really need a home
line?

incidently vonage is the highest cost VOIP provider..........

other service providers charge less and perople appear happy.

Heck magic jack is basically free...........

On May 15, 4:13*pm, RicodJour wrote:
On May 15, 2:09*pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:



"RicodJour" wrote:
Tony Hwang *wrote:

Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will know
where you are calling from like land line?

Yep. *It has to be registered, and if you move and take the line with
you, you have to re-register. *You also need a UPS or other form of
battery backup so you won't lose phone service during a power outage.

I can count on one finger the number of times my land line has been down in
the last 20 years.

I need both hands and both feet to count the number of times my internet
service (Comcast) has been down in the last six years.

The internet is fun and all, but I sure as hell wouldn't trust it when I
need it most.

When have your internet and cell phone both been down at the same
time? *Things have changed since the days of phone-only phone lines.

R

Around here, which is rural, our phones are seldom down but when cells
and land lines go down, it is for different reasons. Land lines go
down because of storms but cell phones stay up because of generators.
Cells go down more or less randomly when a tower goes down. But
neither goes down for long or very often.

RicodJour wrote:
On May 15, 2:09 pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
"RicodJour" wrote:
Tony Hwang wrote:
Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will know
where you are calling from like land line?
Yep. It has to be registered, and if you move and take the line with
you, you have to re-register. You also need a UPS or other form of
battery backup so you won't lose phone service during a power outage.
I can count on one finger the number of times my land line has been down in
the last 20 years.

I need both hands and both feet to count the number of times my internet
service (Comcast) has been down in the last six years.

The internet is fun and all, but I sure as hell wouldn't trust it when I
need it most.

When have your internet and cell phone both been down at the same
time? Things have changed since the days of phone-only phone lines.

R
If you use any cell carrier other than VZW it is very likely your
service will be gone soon after a power failure. Also many cable systems
do not have battery out on their line equipment. So when commercial
power disappears cable TV/Internet does too because there is no power
for the various amplifiers and converters. "Phone only phone lines" are
quite robust. Regular handsets are powered by the loop current and
typically they have lots of battery and a generator in the CO.

George wrote:
RicodJour wrote:
On May 15, 2:09 pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
"RicodJour" wrote:
Tony Hwang wrote:
Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will know
where you are calling from like land line?
Yep. It has to be registered, and if you move and take the line with
you, you have to re-register. You also need a UPS or other form of
battery backup so you won't lose phone service during a power outage.
I can count on one finger the number of times my land line has been
down in
the last 20 years.

I need both hands and both feet to count the number of times my internet
service (Comcast) has been down in the last six years.

The internet is fun and all, but I sure as hell wouldn't trust it when I
need it most.

When have your internet and cell phone both been down at the same
time? Things have changed since the days of phone-only phone lines.

R
If you use any cell carrier other than VZW it is very likely your
service will be gone soon after a power failure. Also many cable systems
do not have battery out on their line equipment. So when commercial
power disappears cable TV/Internet does too because there is no power
for the various amplifiers and converters. "Phone only phone lines" are
quite robust. Regular handsets are powered by the loop current and
typically they have lots of battery and a generator in the CO.

If they're so damn robust why have I had more problems with POTS lines
than my cell, cable, and internet (cable modem) combined?

Same deal with my parents, their POTS line was down for something like
two weeks straight last year.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Jon Danniken wrote:
"RicodJour" wrote:
Tony Hwang wrote:

Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will
know where you are calling from like land line?

Yep. It has to be registered, and if you move and take the line
with you, you have to re-register. You also need a UPS or other
form of battery backup so you won't lose phone service during a
power outage.

I can count on one finger the number of times my land line has been
down in the last 20 years.

I need both hands and both feet to count the number of times my
internet service (Comcast) has been down in the last six years.

I agree with you there. Our internet service can be good but has a habit of
going down most mornings for an hour or so, it appears they are working on
upgrades, which result in downgrades these days.

Also we had a bad storm a couple of weeks ago, power was out for 18 hours
(this is in a large city). The POTS phone kept working, internet went down
after about 8 hours. A friend up the street with VOIP phone had no service
after about 2 hours. He needed help as is basement was flooding and couldn't
call out to his son, I don't know if he had a cell phone or if his battery
also died.

HeyBub wrote:
Kurt Ullman wrote:
In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:

In ordinary usage, nothing interferes with the VOIP connections. If
the DSL goes down, we simply plug the VOIP input wire into our
cable-connected router and we're back in business.
You wear both a belt and suspenders. Am I right ? (G)

A belt and a thong.



I would find suspenders and a thong to be impressive.
Just be careful doing jumping jacks.

TDD

On Fri, 15 May 2009 18:16:59 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

You wear both a belt and suspenders. Am I right ? (G)

A belt and a thong.



I would find suspenders and a thong to be impressive.
Just be careful doing jumping jacks.

LMAO!

The Daring Dufas wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
Kurt Ullman wrote:
In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:

In ordinary usage, nothing interferes with the VOIP connections. If
the DSL goes down, we simply plug the VOIP input wire into our
cable-connected router and we're back in business.
You wear both a belt and suspenders. Am I right ? (G)

A belt and a thong.



I would find suspenders and a thong to be impressive.
Just be careful doing jumping jacks.


I used to threaten nude jumping jacks when the boss assigned me a room-mate
on out of town business trips. I always ended up with a single...

In a true DISASTER a regular phone line will likely work.

Your cell phone is coded at activation as to access during
emergencies.

Other than calling 911 a cell phone will likely go busy during a
emergency so first responders can use their cell phones

On May 15, 10:55*am, Pat wrote:
I just switched to Vonage.

I have had Vonage for 4 years now. Once in 4 years we were without
Internet for a day. My cell phone worked fine that day. Also once
during that time our power went out but I plugged in the generator and
we had phone and internet. My Vonage bill is $20 a month because we
pay for it a year at a time. The features you get with Vonage are
great and land lines don't even come close to what they offer. I
would never go back to a land line.

bob haller wrote:
In a true DISASTER a regular phone line will likely work.

Your cell phone is coded at activation as to access during
emergencies.

Other than calling 911 a cell phone will likely go busy during a
emergency so first responders can use their cell phones

That's okay. I have no desire to talk to anyone other than 911 during an
emergency.

wrote:
On May 15, 10:55 am, Pat wrote:
I just switched to Vonage.

I have had Vonage for 4 years now. Once in 4 years we were without
Internet for a day. My cell phone worked fine that day. Also once
during that time our power went out but I plugged in the generator and
we had phone and internet. My Vonage bill is $20 a month because we
pay for it a year at a time. The features you get with Vonage are
great and land lines don't even come close to what they offer. I
would never go back to a land line.

We have one office land-line.

A couple of weeks ago we got a call from AT&T. They said they wanted to
reduce our bill because they wanted to keep our business. "How much" I
asked?

"For the services you currently get, your new monthly charge will be $24.00
(down from $60.00)."

"Well.... okay, we'll give it a try," said I.

Nate Nagel wrote:
George wrote:
RicodJour wrote:
On May 15, 2:09 pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
"RicodJour" wrote:
Tony Hwang wrote:
Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will know
where you are calling from like land line?
Yep. It has to be registered, and if you move and take the line with
you, you have to re-register. You also need a UPS or other form of
battery backup so you won't lose phone service during a power outage.
I can count on one finger the number of times my land line has been
down in
the last 20 years.

I need both hands and both feet to count the number of times my
internet
service (Comcast) has been down in the last six years.

The internet is fun and all, but I sure as hell wouldn't trust it
when I
need it most.

When have your internet and cell phone both been down at the same
time? Things have changed since the days of phone-only phone lines.

R
If you use any cell carrier other than VZW it is very likely your
service will be gone soon after a power failure. Also many cable
systems do not have battery out on their line equipment. So when
commercial power disappears cable TV/Internet does too because there
is no power for the various amplifiers and converters. "Phone only
phone lines" are quite robust. Regular handsets are powered by the
loop current and typically they have lots of battery and a generator
in the CO.

If they're so damn robust why have I had more problems with POTS lines
than my cell, cable, and internet (cable modem) combined?

Same deal with my parents, their POTS line was down for something like
two weeks straight last year.

nate

But thats a pretty small statistical sample. I think it is reasonable to
say that in general POTS lines just work.

On May 16, 8:46�am, "HeyBub" wrote:
bob haller wrote:
In a true DISASTER a regular phone line will likely work.

Your cell phone is coded at activation as to access during
emergencies.

Other than calling 911 a cell phone will likely go busy during a
emergency so first responders can use their cell phones

That's okay. I have no desire to talk to anyone other than 911 during an
emergency.

no interest in calling family or friends? check in with close family?

to each his own i guess..........

bob haller wrote:
In a true DISASTER a regular phone line will likely work.

Your cell phone is coded at activation as to access during
emergencies.


They were only doing that for a short time until someone realized the
law of unintended consequences applied. What if you are trapped or had
some valuable information or whatever and your phone doesn't work
because of some prioritization scheme?

Other than calling 911 a cell phone will likely go busy during a
emergency so first responders can use their cell phones


Thats why they need to use their own systems.

bob haller wrote:
On May 16, 8:46�am, "HeyBub" wrote:
bob haller wrote:
In a true DISASTER a regular phone line will likely work.
Your cell phone is coded at activation as to access during
emergencies.
Other than calling 911 a cell phone will likely go busy during a
emergency so first responders can use their cell phones
That's okay. I have no desire to talk to anyone other than 911 during an
emergency.

no interest in calling family or friends? check in with close family?

to each his own i guess..........

I hate to tell you but in a large emergency the regular phone ;one may
not be much good either! Why??? Because the system is not able to
handle a large number of calls at once.

Lou

HeyBub wrote:
wrote:
On May 15, 10:55 am, Pat wrote:
I just switched to Vonage.
I have had Vonage for 4 years now. Once in 4 years we were without
Internet for a day. My cell phone worked fine that day. Also once
during that time our power went out but I plugged in the generator and
we had phone and internet. My Vonage bill is $20 a month because we
pay for it a year at a time. The features you get with Vonage are
great and land lines don't even come close to what they offer. I
would never go back to a land line.

We have one office land-line.

A couple of weeks ago we got a call from AT&T. They said they wanted to
reduce our bill because they wanted to keep our business. "How much" I
asked?

"For the services you currently get, your new monthly charge will be $24.00
(down from $60.00)."

"Well.... okay, we'll give it a try," said I.


LOL

George wrote:
Nate Nagel wrote:
George wrote:
RicodJour wrote:
On May 15, 2:09 pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
"RicodJour" wrote:
Tony Hwang wrote:
Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will know
where you are calling from like land line?
Yep. It has to be registered, and if you move and take the line with
you, you have to re-register. You also need a UPS or other form of
battery backup so you won't lose phone service during a power outage.
I can count on one finger the number of times my land line has been
down in
the last 20 years.

I need both hands and both feet to count the number of times my
internet
service (Comcast) has been down in the last six years.

The internet is fun and all, but I sure as hell wouldn't trust it
when I
need it most.

When have your internet and cell phone both been down at the same
time? Things have changed since the days of phone-only phone lines.

R
If you use any cell carrier other than VZW it is very likely your
service will be gone soon after a power failure. Also many cable
systems do not have battery out on their line equipment. So when
commercial power disappears cable TV/Internet does too because there
is no power for the various amplifiers and converters. "Phone only
phone lines" are quite robust. Regular handsets are powered by the
loop current and typically they have lots of battery and a generator
in the CO.

If they're so damn robust why have I had more problems with POTS lines
than my cell, cable, and internet (cable modem) combined?

Same deal with my parents, their POTS line was down for something like
two weeks straight last year.

nate

But thats a pretty small statistical sample. I think it is reasonable to
say that in general POTS lines just work.

It may be small, but covers four different residences. Either I'm
colossally unlucky, or Verizon doesn't give a **** about its customers.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On Fri, 15 May 2009 18:20:18 -0400, George
wrote:

RicodJour wrote:
On May 15, 2:09 pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
"RicodJour" wrote:
Tony Hwang wrote:
Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will know
where you are calling from like land line?
Yep. It has to be registered, and if you move and take the line with
you, you have to re-register. You also need a UPS or other form of
battery backup so you won't lose phone service during a power outage.
I can count on one finger the number of times my land line has been down in
the last 20 years.

I need both hands and both feet to count the number of times my internet
service (Comcast) has been down in the last six years.

The internet is fun and all, but I sure as hell wouldn't trust it when I
need it most.

When have your internet and cell phone both been down at the same
time? Things have changed since the days of phone-only phone lines.

R
If you use any cell carrier other than VZW it is very likely your
service will be gone soon after a power failure. Also many cable systems
do not have battery out on their line equipment. So when commercial
power disappears cable TV/Internet does too because there is no power
for the various amplifiers and converters. "Phone only phone lines" are
quite robust. Regular handsets are powered by the loop current and
typically they have lots of battery and a generator in the CO.

The cable here has battery backup at their node. It lasted 4 hours
after a power failure. Then there was another 28 hours of it not
working before they brought out a generator.

BTW, It can be really hard to use the keyboard with this cat
"helping".
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us

"Properly read, the Bible is the most potent
force for atheism ever conceived." -- Isaac Asimov

Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Fri, 15 May 2009 18:20:18 -0400, George
wrote:

RicodJour wrote:
On May 15, 2:09 pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
"RicodJour" wrote:
Tony Hwang wrote:
Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will know
where you are calling from like land line?
Yep. It has to be registered, and if you move and take the line with
you, you have to re-register. You also need a UPS or other form of
battery backup so you won't lose phone service during a power outage.
I can count on one finger the number of times my land line has been down in
the last 20 years.

I need both hands and both feet to count the number of times my internet
service (Comcast) has been down in the last six years.

The internet is fun and all, but I sure as hell wouldn't trust it when I
need it most.
When have your internet and cell phone both been down at the same
time? Things have changed since the days of phone-only phone lines.

R
If you use any cell carrier other than VZW it is very likely your
service will be gone soon after a power failure. Also many cable systems
do not have battery out on their line equipment. So when commercial
power disappears cable TV/Internet does too because there is no power
for the various amplifiers and converters. "Phone only phone lines" are
quite robust. Regular handsets are powered by the loop current and
typically they have lots of battery and a generator in the CO.

The cable here has battery backup at their node. It lasted 4 hours
after a power failure. Then there was another 28 hours of it not
working before they brought out a generator.

BTW, It can be really hard to use the keyboard with this cat
"helping".

There are small stun guns available.

TDD

wrote:
On May 15, 10:55 am, Pat wrote:
I just switched to Vonage.

I have had Vonage for 4 years now. Once in 4 years we were without
Internet for a day. My cell phone worked fine that day. Also once
during that time our power went out but I plugged in the generator and
we had phone and internet. My Vonage bill is $20 a month because we
pay for it a year at a time. The features you get with Vonage are
great and land lines don't even come close to what they offer. I
would never go back to a land line.


I've had a Magicjack for about two years, it's gotten
better with upgrades and such but I would not recommend
one as a primary phone. I've used it in some odd situations,
like I used it on a wireless network to link to a neighbor
who had a WiFi router plugged into a stand alone G3 modem
that actually got close to 3meg download speeds at times.
The Magigjack works very well on this 10meg cable connection
I'm on now. It's fun to go someplace that has open WiFi and
sit there with a standard phone and a laptop and carry on
conversations with folks.

TDD

bob haller wrote:
On May 16, 8:46?am, "HeyBub" wrote:
bob haller wrote:
In a true DISASTER a regular phone line will likely work.

Your cell phone is coded at activation as to access during
emergencies.

Other than calling 911 a cell phone will likely go busy during a
emergency so first responders can use their cell phones

That's okay. I have no desire to talk to anyone other than 911
during an emergency.

no interest in calling family or friends? check in with close family?

to each his own i guess..........

No interest. No checking. What provident purpose would be served?

They are dead, injured, or well, and there's nothing I can do about it. Not
worrying is a skill that can be learned.

Admittedly, in the case of, say, rioting, we could coordinate our
responses - like getting the goblins in a crossfire so they are wiped out
entirely - but that's a pretty rare situation. All my friends and family are
already primed to report to the fortress in such an eventuality, bringing
with them as much of their ammunition stores as they can carry.

wrote:
On Sat, 16 May 2009 09:44:24 -0400, Nate Nagel
wrote:

It may be small, but covers four different residences. Either I'm
colossally unlucky, or Verizon doesn't give a **** about its customers.

That may be the case. A lot of the older "plants" are showing their
age. We had everything upgraded here when Sprint bought out the mom
and pop telco we had before then and my POTS is rock solid. It is all
underground fiber backbone with new underground copper to the houses
in the late 90s. I do understand some old Ma Bell installations may
still be running on WWII vintage "pulp" cables hanging on rickety
poles. When the nitrogen bottles run out of gas and it rains you might
lose your line until it dries out.

that actually sounds a lot like what was happening at my last place...

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

wrote:
On Sat, 16 May 2009 09:42:01 -0400, LouB wrote:

Other than calling 911 a cell phone will likely go busy during a
emergency so first responders can use their cell phones
That's okay. I have no desire to talk to anyone other than 911 during an
emergency.
no interest in calling family or friends? check in with close family?

to each his own i guess..........
I hate to tell you but in a large emergency the regular phone ;one may
not be much good either! Why??? Because the system is not able to
handle a large number of calls at once.


In my 62 years on the earth I have really only seen that happen once
when the "DC Midtown" exchange locked up, after the JFK assassination.
My mom was still able to get a call through but it took over an hour
to get dial tone. By then I had walked home :-(

Saw it at the same event. Point is it does happen right after big events.

On May 16, 9:44*am, Nate Nagel wrote:
George wrote:
Nate Nagel wrote:
George wrote:
RicodJour wrote:
On May 15, 2:09 pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
"RicodJour" wrote:
Tony Hwang *wrote:
Can you call out 911 for emergency and the 911 dispatcher will know
where you are calling from like land line?
Yep. *It has to be registered, and if you move and take the line with
you, you have to re-register. *You also need a UPS or other form of
battery backup so you won't lose phone service during a power outage.
I can count on one finger the number of times my land line has been
down in
the last 20 years.

I need both hands and both feet to count the number of times my
internet
service (Comcast) has been down in the last six years.

The internet is fun and all, but I sure as hell wouldn't trust it
when I
need it most.

When have your internet and cell phone both been down at the same
time? *Things have changed since the days of phone-only phone lines.

R
If you use any cell carrier other than VZW it is very likely your
service will be gone soon after a power failure. Also many cable
systems do not have battery out on their line equipment. So when
commercial power disappears cable TV/Internet does too because there
is no power for the various amplifiers and converters. "Phone only
phone lines" are quite robust. Regular handsets are powered by the
loop current and typically they have lots of battery and a generator
in the CO.

If they're so damn robust why have I had more problems with POTS lines
than my cell, cable, and internet (cable modem) combined?

Same deal with my parents, their POTS line was down for something like
two weeks straight last year.

nate

But thats a pretty small statistical sample. I think it is reasonable to
say that in general POTS lines just work.

It may be small, but covers four different residences. *Either I'm
colossally unlucky, or Verizon doesn't give a **** about its customers.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel

They are not mutually exclusive. Just because Verizon doesn't care
about its customers doesn't mean that you are not, in fact, colossally
unlucky.

They are not mutually exclusive. �Just because Verizon doesn't care
about its customers doesn't mean that you are not, in fact, colossally
unlucky.-

dont get verizon FIOS the phone part is sucky, and they really dont
care.

heck it took 2 months, with me finally calling every day for 3 weeks
and esclating the call to the verizon presidents office to get a bad
router fixed in my central office that effected every FIOS customet.

about 1 of 12 calls was unusable

they refused t put me back on copper, and wouldnt let me cancel a
service that didnt work.

cancel fee was hundreds of dollars

bob haller wrote:
They are not mutually exclusive. �Just because Verizon doesn't care
about its customers doesn't mean that you are not, in fact, colossally
unlucky.-

dont get verizon FIOS the phone part is sucky, and they really dont
care.

heck it took 2 months, with me finally calling every day for 3 weeks
and esclating the call to the verizon presidents office to get a bad
router fixed in my central office that effected every FIOS customet.

about 1 of 12 calls was unusable

they refused t put me back on copper, and wouldnt let me cancel a
service that didnt work.

cancel fee was hundreds of dollars

That sounds like the Verizon I know and love... I may show your post to
SWMBO, she was complaining about how high the cable bill was... well at
least the cable works...

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Nate Nagel wrote in
:

bob haller wrote:
They are not mutually exclusive. �Just because Verizon doesn't
care about its customers doesn't mean that you are not, in fact,
colossally unlucky.-

dont get verizon FIOS the phone part is sucky, and they really dont
care.

heck it took 2 months, with me finally calling every day for 3 weeks
and esclating the call to the verizon presidents office to get a bad
router fixed in my central office that effected every FIOS customet.

about 1 of 12 calls was unusable

they refused t put me back on copper, and wouldnt let me cancel a
service that didnt work.

cancel fee was hundreds of dollars

That sounds like the Verizon I know and love... I may show your post
to SWMBO, she was complaining about how high the cable bill was...
well at least the cable works...

nate

We had a few annoying problems with the FiOS installation (switch from
copper to fiber), but persistent and polite calling fixed them fairly
fast. Key is to have records of what was promised at every step. Also,
it is important to spend the time, very unfortunately.

Our problems:
Phone: the annunciator light on our Panasonic phone that announces that
there is a voice message on the Verizon voicemail was not working right
after the switch to FiOS. It had worked on POTS, so there was no reason
it wouldnt work on FiOS. Took a couple of calls, butit was fixed within
a week and has worked ever since.

Internet: The f'ing router's radio broke after a week. Took 3 hours
for 2 techs to get the replacement to work, because they didn't know how
to release the IP address so the new router with the new MAC address was
recognized. The radio is still weak, so we have another router hooked
up as a switch in the living room, and have strung ethernet cables
around.

Email: The idiots made our FiOS account a new account, rather than a
switch from our DSL. Therefore the DSL email addresses were "lost". I
was rather persistent and (probably) annoying to Verizon that I wanted
he old addresses. They then indeed managed to "point" the old addresses
to the new ones. That cost a whole morning, but has worked ever since -
at least I do get spam.

TV: We are still having occasional dropouts of the signal on some
channels. Much was fixed by unfastening and refastening the coax
connector to the settop box. Probably the old Cablevision coax isn't
quite up to snuff. Maybe when I get a new TV I will buy some new
wiring.

Billing: This was the most annoying. They couldn't for the life of
them get the bills right. I took from August till next February to get
it straightened out. I suspect VZ is making oodles of money from
erroneously billing people who give up.

We are now saving at least $50/mo in total costs compared with before
FiOS. Mainly because we now don't pay the exorbitant Cablevision fees
for extras that come free on FiOS TV. Also, we now have nationwide
phone service for the monthly fee. No more LD fees on our landline.

Just my experiences. YMMV.
--
Best regards
Han
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