Having dropped my connection in Feb of 2005, and started again in
October of 2005, it sure hasn't taken SBC very long to bring me to the
maximum disgust level again. Receiving a snail mail this morning that
made me wonder if they were talking about my past connection or this
one, I decided I'd better call and find out. That part is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that from 11:30 until 1:30, I was on the phone,
going from one damned worthless computer menu to another, and when I
did speak to a human, they were more interested in trying to sell me
on a cell phone that I neither need or want.

Sorry, corporate idiots, if you can't give me a simple answer to a
simple question, meaning how bad have you screwed the records this
time, I'm not buying. At 1:25, I finally got an answer to my
question, and could have ignored it, the subject had been taken care
of in March of 2005.

I got the answer when I called and cancelled my dsl connection,
effective Monday, the billing date. It's gonna cost me, $200,
stinking corporations will get the money no matter what, but if that's
what I have to pay to avoid hours of frustration trying to find out
anything, it's cheap. Even after I had gotten the answer from the
jerk on the other end, and had told them to cancel the connection, I
got yet another damn sales pitch for a different calling plan. These
idiots have to be totally brainwashed to try that, common sense should
tell them that I'm thoroughly fed up with what is a monopoly here,
they're the only phone company in town.

Anyhow, I'm going off line again, but this time I think I'll forget
about getting back on. Not worth the hassles, and the phone lines out
here stink, with a dial up you get very slow and unreliable
connections.

Common sense and corporate "wisdom" are at opposite ends of the entire
spectrum.

Rich (AKA Lennie)

Richard wrote:

Having dropped my connection in Feb of 2005, and started again in
October of 2005, it sure hasn't taken SBC very long to bring me to the
maximum disgust level again.

Uh, why did you wait so long? After they dicked me around for 30 days I
called Cox and they had me up with a 10 Mb/sec line 3 days later.

Receiving a snail mail this morning that
made me wonder if they were talking about my past connection or this
one, I decided I'd better call and find out. That part is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that from 11:30 until 1:30, I was on the phone,
going from one damned worthless computer menu to another, and when I
did speak to a human, they were more interested in trying to sell me
on a cell phone that I neither need or want.

Sorry, corporate idiots, if you can't give me a simple answer to a
simple question, meaning how bad have you screwed the records this
time, I'm not buying. At 1:25, I finally got an answer to my
question, and could have ignored it, the subject had been taken care
of in March of 2005.

I got the answer when I called and cancelled my dsl connection,
effective Monday, the billing date. It's gonna cost me, $200,
stinking corporations will get the money no matter what, but if that's
what I have to pay to avoid hours of frustration trying to find out
anything, it's cheap. Even after I had gotten the answer from the
jerk on the other end, and had told them to cancel the connection, I
got yet another damn sales pitch for a different calling plan. These
idiots have to be totally brainwashed to try that, common sense should
tell them that I'm thoroughly fed up with what is a monopoly here,
they're the only phone company in town.

Anyhow, I'm going off line again, but this time I think I'll forget
about getting back on. Not worth the hassles, and the phone lines out
here stink, with a dial up you get very slow and unreliable
connections.

Common sense and corporate "wisdom" are at opposite ends of the entire
spectrum.

Rich (AKA Lennie)

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Richard wrote:
Having dropped my connection in Feb of 2005, and started again in
October of 2005, it sure hasn't taken SBC very long to bring me to the
maximum disgust level again. Receiving a snail mail this morning that
made me wonder if they were talking about my past connection or this
one, I decided I'd better call and find out. That part is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that from 11:30 until 1:30, I was on the phone,
going from one damned worthless computer menu to another, and when I
did speak to a human, they were more interested in trying to sell me
on a cell phone that I neither need or want.

Sorry, corporate idiots, if you can't give me a simple answer to a
simple question, meaning how bad have you screwed the records this
time, I'm not buying. At 1:25, I finally got an answer to my
question, and could have ignored it, the subject had been taken care
of in March of 2005.

I got the answer when I called and cancelled my dsl connection,
effective Monday, the billing date. It's gonna cost me, $200,
stinking corporations will get the money no matter what, but if that's
what I have to pay to avoid hours of frustration trying to find out
anything, it's cheap. Even after I had gotten the answer from the
jerk on the other end, and had told them to cancel the connection, I
got yet another damn sales pitch for a different calling plan. These
idiots have to be totally brainwashed to try that, common sense should
tell them that I'm thoroughly fed up with what is a monopoly here,
they're the only phone company in town.

Anyhow, I'm going off line again, but this time I think I'll forget
about getting back on. Not worth the hassles, and the phone lines out
here stink, with a dial up you get very slow and unreliable
connections.

Common sense and corporate "wisdom" are at opposite ends of the entire
spectrum.
Well, thanks for the experiences. I have had Covad for 3 years, and
pay a fortune for it, but I need static IP and the permission
to run servers. I run my own mini-ISP here, with email, web servers,
ftp, etc. I own my own domain name registration, so I can move to
another ISP if I get mad at them, and my web and email addresses
don't have to change. I finally had to give up on Covad's news server
and pay someone else for a service Covad is charging me for, but at
least the third-party news service actually works.

I have at times considered moving to a different ISP to save money.
Well, at least SBC certainly won't be on my list!

Jon

Interesting. I've been on SBC DSL for about 3 years now. I pay $16.95 per
month for a 1.3 meg upstream and 340k downstream connection (BTW - the speed
I quote is the ACTUAL speed I get as measured by the dslreports.com line
speed test, not some quoted theoretical maximum. And, this bandwidth is ALL
MINE - no sharing with others on the same cable pool node). I started out
paying $29.95 then $26.95 then $19.95 and now $16.95. Every time SBC ran a
promotion I simply called them and they switched me over to the lower rate -
no questions asked.

In that 3 years I have not had one single outage. None. Period. I'd call
that pretty good service! Of course, I'm only about 100 yards from the SLIC
so maybe that's why I have it so good.

Bottom line is that I'm not sure if I am the exception or if Richard is but
I'd hate to see anyone choose to not even look at SBC DSL without at least
hearing the opposing experience.

Robert

"Richard" wrote in message
news
Having dropped my connection in Feb of 2005, and started again in
October of 2005, it sure hasn't taken SBC very long to bring me to the
maximum disgust level again. Receiving a snail mail this morning that
made me wonder if they were talking about my past connection or this
one, I decided I'd better call and find out. That part is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that from 11:30 until 1:30, I was on the phone,
going from one damned worthless computer menu to another, and when I
did speak to a human, they were more interested in trying to sell me
on a cell phone that I neither need or want.

Sorry, corporate idiots, if you can't give me a simple answer to a
simple question, meaning how bad have you screwed the records this
time, I'm not buying. At 1:25, I finally got an answer to my
question, and could have ignored it, the subject had been taken care
of in March of 2005.

I got the answer when I called and cancelled my dsl connection,
effective Monday, the billing date. It's gonna cost me, $200,
stinking corporations will get the money no matter what, but if that's
what I have to pay to avoid hours of frustration trying to find out
anything, it's cheap. Even after I had gotten the answer from the
jerk on the other end, and had told them to cancel the connection, I
got yet another damn sales pitch for a different calling plan. These
idiots have to be totally brainwashed to try that, common sense should
tell them that I'm thoroughly fed up with what is a monopoly here,
they're the only phone company in town.

Anyhow, I'm going off line again, but this time I think I'll forget
about getting back on. Not worth the hassles, and the phone lines out
here stink, with a dial up you get very slow and unreliable
connections.

Common sense and corporate "wisdom" are at opposite ends of the entire
spectrum.

Rich (AKA Lennie)

Don't pay the $200.00 fee. You signed up for SERVICE, if they didn't
provide it, you don't owe them squat.

I went thru a similiar deal with SBC when they first started offering DSL
service in SoCal a few years ago.

I should have known I was in trouble when the technician told me that I was
his first installation job since completing his rushed training. In short,
the service never worked properly, I never got any email service as
promised. I finally called them in disgust and told them to discontinue my
service, they tried to bring up the $200.00 early cancellation fee and I
told them that I wouldn't pay it as they hadn't fulfilled their end of the
agreement per the contract. Lots of blustering and posturing on their part
but in the end I didn't pay them a dime.

They never came back and got their equipment either.

If they don't perform, don't pay.

John E.

"Richard" wrote in message
news
Having dropped my connection in Feb of 2005, and started again in
October of 2005, it sure hasn't taken SBC very long to bring me to the
maximum disgust level again. Receiving a snail mail this morning that
made me wonder if they were talking about my past connection or this
one, I decided I'd better call and find out. That part is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that from 11:30 until 1:30, I was on the phone,
going from one damned worthless computer menu to another, and when I
did speak to a human, they were more interested in trying to sell me
on a cell phone that I neither need or want.

Sorry, corporate idiots, if you can't give me a simple answer to a
simple question, meaning how bad have you screwed the records this
time, I'm not buying. At 1:25, I finally got an answer to my
question, and could have ignored it, the subject had been taken care
of in March of 2005.

I got the answer when I called and cancelled my dsl connection,
effective Monday, the billing date. It's gonna cost me, $200,
stinking corporations will get the money no matter what, but if that's
what I have to pay to avoid hours of frustration trying to find out
anything, it's cheap. Even after I had gotten the answer from the
jerk on the other end, and had told them to cancel the connection, I
got yet another damn sales pitch for a different calling plan. These
idiots have to be totally brainwashed to try that, common sense should
tell them that I'm thoroughly fed up with what is a monopoly here,
they're the only phone company in town.

Anyhow, I'm going off line again, but this time I think I'll forget
about getting back on. Not worth the hassles, and the phone lines out
here stink, with a dial up you get very slow and unreliable
connections.

Common sense and corporate "wisdom" are at opposite ends of the entire
spectrum.

Rich (AKA Lennie)

On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 03:45:02 GMT, "Siggy"
wrote:



Bottom line is that I'm not sure if I am the exception or if Richard is but
I'd hate to see anyone choose to not even look at SBC DSL without at least
hearing the opposing experience.

You are. Rates depend on states, mine starts at $29.95, in a years
time it would go up to $49.95. Hardly worth it at the lower rate,
idiocy at the higher.

My download speed has never exceeded 156K at peak, usually much lower.
The service, or actually the lack of service is what's ****ed me off.
SBC has a monopoly here, and they act like they have one everywhere.
The lack of service, first the number they gave me to call doesn't
work, their screw up. the area code is wrong. Brilliance at the
corporate level.

Then when you do get a working number, what you get is a damned
computer generated voice that can't answer a simple question. "Does
this matter concern my previous connection or this one?" One answer
that should have taken ten seconds with a human, if they bothered to
hire any, ended up taking the better part of two hours and was offered
as a consolation prize.

When the person talking to you has a voice that's flat, dead flat,
even and cold, after you've cancelled what he's just told you to, it
takes the brain of a rotifer to offer a sales pitch for a calling
plan, "That will save you money", even though you know it's a damn
lie, and so does the now irate customer. They can add services I
don't want and give me a better rate? Pigs can fly?

Yeah, we've got road runner, but time warner is even more screwed in
the head than sbc, and between the two of them you have a total of a
halfwit or just a little less.

Rich (AKA Lennie)

I'm surprised! SBC have been my heroes! One live-in health-care worker that
was with us for a couple of months charged her daughter's AOL to one of my
numbers, lied about it was fired for a number of reasons. AOL said I
couldn't cancel without the login and PW...someone in India. After weeks of
trying to deal with AOL I called SBC and this sweet little girl called AOL
with me on the line, she told me to be quiet. This sweetie cut through the
red tape and got to somebody up the ladder. She started getting a
run-around and turned into an "Uber Bitch"!!! she threatened legal action,
negative publicity and, I swear, she actually threatened to cut the guy's
balls off.! He capitulated and charged back all funds. Then she turned
back into a sweetie and asked if I was pleased with SBC, I was laughing my
ass off. She said she enjoyed it too. I've changed my service plan and DSL
around for home and shop a number of times and they have always been sharp
and made suggestions to save money. I've never been on hold for more than a
minute. Next time you call them, don't tell them you are you...you might be
on the "List"...can you blame them?

BTW, I think the battery is dead on the Kowa and the auto-winder
hangs-up...It survived the dishwasher just fine!



"Richard" wrote in message
news
Having dropped my connection in Feb of 2005, and started again in
October of 2005, it sure hasn't taken SBC very long to bring me to the
maximum disgust level again. Receiving a snail mail this morning that
made me wonder if they were talking about my past connection or this
one, I decided I'd better call and find out. That part is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that from 11:30 until 1:30, I was on the phone,
going from one damned worthless computer menu to another, and when I
did speak to a human, they were more interested in trying to sell me
on a cell phone that I neither need or want.

Sorry, corporate idiots, if you can't give me a simple answer to a
simple question, meaning how bad have you screwed the records this
time, I'm not buying. At 1:25, I finally got an answer to my
question, and could have ignored it, the subject had been taken care
of in March of 2005.

I got the answer when I called and cancelled my dsl connection,
effective Monday, the billing date. It's gonna cost me, $200,
stinking corporations will get the money no matter what, but if that's
what I have to pay to avoid hours of frustration trying to find out
anything, it's cheap. Even after I had gotten the answer from the
jerk on the other end, and had told them to cancel the connection, I
got yet another damn sales pitch for a different calling plan. These
idiots have to be totally brainwashed to try that, common sense should
tell them that I'm thoroughly fed up with what is a monopoly here,
they're the only phone company in town.

Anyhow, I'm going off line again, but this time I think I'll forget
about getting back on. Not worth the hassles, and the phone lines out
here stink, with a dial up you get very slow and unreliable
connections.

Common sense and corporate "wisdom" are at opposite ends of the entire
spectrum.

Rich (AKA Lennie)

Jon Elson writes:

I need static IP and the permission to run servers ...

I rent a Linux virtual server, 1 GB system with 50 GB/mo data with a
gigabit connection off a backbone. $20/month. You can't even pay for the
power to run your own server for that. No floorspace, no noise, no
hardware maintenance.

"John Emmons" wrote in message
...
Don't pay the $200.00 fee. You signed up for SERVICE, if they didn't
provide it, you don't owe them squat.

I went thru a similiar deal with SBC when they first started offering DSL
service in SoCal a few years ago.

I should have known I was in trouble when the technician told me that I
was
his first installation job since completing his rushed training. In short,
the service never worked properly, I never got any email service as
promised. I finally called them in disgust and told them to discontinue my
service, they tried to bring up the $200.00 early cancellation fee and I
told them that I wouldn't pay it as they hadn't fulfilled their end of the
agreement per the contract. Lots of blustering and posturing on their part
but in the end I didn't pay them a dime.

They never came back and got their equipment either.

If they don't perform, don't pay.

John E.


Way, way cool! That, too, would be my attitude.

Harold

Siggy wrote:

Interesting. I've been on SBC DSL for about 3 years now. I pay $16.95
per month for a 1.3 meg upstream and 340k downstream connection

??? You're able to transmit faster than you can receive?

(BTW - the
speed I quote is the ACTUAL speed I get as measured by the dslreports.com
line
speed test, not some quoted theoretical maximum. And, this bandwidth is
ALL
MINE - no sharing with others on the same cable pool node).

So? I get 10 down and 2 up on cable, measured by clocking
transfers--dslreports isn't fast enough to test my line. As for sharing,
well, my connection, shared or otherwise, is still almost ten times faster
than yours.

I started out
paying $29.95 then $26.95 then $19.95 and now $16.95. Every time SBC ran
a promotion I simply called them and they switched me over to the lower
rate - no questions asked.

You get what you pay for.

In that 3 years I have not had one single outage.

Lucky you. I had outages every time it rained, and finally one that was
clearly their fault (and they finally admitted as much--at least the repair
guy did) that they couldn't fix. If they had been up front about it and
told me that it would take a month and a half to get it fixed I'd have
dumped their service but I wouldn't be this angry with them--instead they
told me "two weeks", two weeks rolled around and nothing, so call and they
say "wednesday", nope, "next tuesday", nope, you get the picture? Cox had
me up from a cold start (there wasn't even a cable in place) in 3 days.

None. Period. I'd
call
that pretty good service! Of course, I'm only about 100 yards from the
SLIC so maybe that's why I have it so good.

Yes, you're lucky.

Bottom line is that I'm not sure if I am the exception or if Richard is
but I'd hate to see anyone choose to not even look at SBC DSL without at
least hearing the opposing experience.

You seem to be the exception.

Robert

"Richard" wrote in message
news
Having dropped my connection in Feb of 2005, and started again in
October of 2005, it sure hasn't taken SBC very long to bring me to the
maximum disgust level again. Receiving a snail mail this morning that
made me wonder if they were talking about my past connection or this
one, I decided I'd better call and find out. That part is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that from 11:30 until 1:30, I was on the phone,
going from one damned worthless computer menu to another, and when I
did speak to a human, they were more interested in trying to sell me
on a cell phone that I neither need or want.

Sorry, corporate idiots, if you can't give me a simple answer to a
simple question, meaning how bad have you screwed the records this
time, I'm not buying. At 1:25, I finally got an answer to my
question, and could have ignored it, the subject had been taken care
of in March of 2005.

I got the answer when I called and cancelled my dsl connection,
effective Monday, the billing date. It's gonna cost me, $200,
stinking corporations will get the money no matter what, but if that's
what I have to pay to avoid hours of frustration trying to find out
anything, it's cheap. Even after I had gotten the answer from the
jerk on the other end, and had told them to cancel the connection, I
got yet another damn sales pitch for a different calling plan. These
idiots have to be totally brainwashed to try that, common sense should
tell them that I'm thoroughly fed up with what is a monopoly here,
they're the only phone company in town.

Anyhow, I'm going off line again, but this time I think I'll forget
about getting back on. Not worth the hassles, and the phone lines out
here stink, with a dial up you get very slow and unreliable
connections.

Common sense and corporate "wisdom" are at opposite ends of the entire
spectrum.

Rich (AKA Lennie)

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Jon Elson writes:

Well, thanks for the experiences. I have had Covad for 3 years, and
pay a fortune for it, but I need static IP and the permission
to run servers. I run my own mini-ISP here, with email, web servers,
ftp, etc. I own my own domain name registration, so I can move to
another ISP if I get mad at them, and my web and email addresses
don't have to change. I finally had to give up on Covad's news server
and pay someone else for a service Covad is charging me for, but at
least the third-party news service actually works.

I have at times considered moving to a different ISP to save money.
Well, at least SBC certainly won't be on my list!


I use covad as well... also relatively expensive though it has been
trouble free and the static ip is helpful. The big win was going with a
smaller local ISP. They're not big enough to have huge phone menus-
choose sales/support/marketing by pushing a button and then you're
talking to a person, and all their tech support is local instead of some
Bangalore sweatshop. It makes a BIG difference.

We first got DSL via Earthlink and they were awful- unresponsive, spam
direct from them that you couldn't stop, etc... This new local ISP has
been the exact opposite.

Gregm

Richard wrote:

On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 03:45:02 GMT, "Siggy"
wrote:



Bottom line is that I'm not sure if I am the exception or if Richard is
but I'd hate to see anyone choose to not even look at SBC DSL without at
least hearing the opposing experience.

You are. Rates depend on states, mine starts at $29.95, in a years
time it would go up to $49.95. Hardly worth it at the lower rate,
idiocy at the higher.

My download speed has never exceeded 156K at peak, usually much lower.
The service, or actually the lack of service is what's ****ed me off.
SBC has a monopoly here, and they act like they have one everywhere.
The lack of service, first the number they gave me to call doesn't
work, their screw up. the area code is wrong. Brilliance at the
corporate level.

Then when you do get a working number, what you get is a damned
computer generated voice that can't answer a simple question. "Does
this matter concern my previous connection or this one?" One answer
that should have taken ten seconds with a human, if they bothered to
hire any, ended up taking the better part of two hours and was offered
as a consolation prize.

When the person talking to you has a voice that's flat, dead flat,
even and cold, after you've cancelled what he's just told you to, it
takes the brain of a rotifer to offer a sales pitch for a calling
plan, "That will save you money", even though you know it's a damn
lie, and so does the now irate customer. They can add services I
don't want and give me a better rate? Pigs can fly?

Then there was the SBC person who tells me (on my next to the last call to
them, the one in which they told me for the third time in three days "we
have no idea if your DSL account is even _supposed_ to be active and even
if it is you won't be able to register because our database is down") "I
don't like your tone, this is your first warning", to which I replied
"Warning about _what_? What are you going to do about it, cut off my DSL?"

Osama, if you're listening, I have three letters for you, S-B-C.

Yeah, we've got road runner, but time warner is even more screwed in
the head than sbc, and between the two of them you have a total of a
halfwit or just a little less.

Rich (AKA Lennie)

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Richard wrote:
Having dropped my connection in Feb of 2005, and started again in
October of 2005, it sure hasn't taken SBC very long to bring me to the
maximum disgust level again. [...]

The widely advertised Yahoo DSL seems attractive -- but every time I've
had to call SBC it has been a joke, as you describe. SBC has apparently
retrained all their operators to be robotic sales machines rather than
rational and potentially helpful human beings.

On Thu, 15 Dec 2005 23:47:48 -0600, with neither quill nor qualm,
Richard J Kinch quickly quoth:

Jon Elson writes:

I need static IP and the permission to run servers ...

I rent a Linux virtual server, 1 GB system with 50 GB/mo data with a
gigabit connection off a backbone. $20/month. You can't even pay for the
power to run your own server for that. No floorspace, no noise, no
hardware maintenance.

Damn hard price to beat. Who caliber persuasion do you use? g

--
Vidi, Vici, Veni
---
http://diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development

had to call SBC it has been a joke, as you describe. SBC has apparently
retrained all their operators to be robotic sales machines rather than
rational and potentially helpful human beings.

I think all their support is off shore. I have had problems and the
next problem will result in canceling SBC service and switching to
cable for phone service.

On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 04:44:25 GMT, "Tom Gardner"
wrote:
I've never been on hold for more than a
minute. Next time you call them, don't tell them you are you...you might be
on the "List"...can you blame them?

I wasn't on hold, it was just an endless succession of "For _ _ _ _
press 1,,,,,,," ad nauseum, seeming to go around in a circle. Their
website is a little less than useful, unless you want to buy
something, but no link to get any answers. Click on their "contact
us" link and you start through another succession of pages that will
eventually get you nowhere.

BTW, I think the battery is dead on the Kowa and the auto-winder
hangs-up...It survived the dishwasher just fine!

New batteries are available from Kenworth or Peterbuilt. Autowinder
motor might need maintaining, or replacement from Mack.

It's a beast, but pretty easy to use. Enough weight that it doesn't
jiggle much when hand held.

Rich.

On 16 Dec 2005 05:32:42 -0800, "Dave" wrote:

Richard wrote:
Having dropped my connection in Feb of 2005, and started again in
October of 2005, it sure hasn't taken SBC very long to bring me to the
maximum disgust level again. [...]

The widely advertised Yahoo DSL seems attractive -- but every time I've
had to call SBC it has been a joke, as you describe. SBC has apparently
retrained all their operators to be robotic sales machines rather than
rational and potentially helpful human beings.

Then forget the SBC interface and use a smaller company for the
service. I wanted DSL but the only provider around here is SBC. But I
backed away from the Yahoo (I don't want any of that thank you kindly
or not so kindly). Some searching turned up my current ISP of DSL
Extreme. They're leasing the DSL line from SBC but being a smaller
supplier they're much more responsive on the phone and best of all I
don't have to put up with the Yahoo c**p.

I get 10 e-mail accounts, 10ea 25MB web page accounts, a news feed
from Supernews, good spam, virus, firewall, etc. blockers. Overall I'm
very pleased with them.

I admit to having some trouble with my DSL line on occasion. But I
expected it from the beginning considering that I'm 2 miles from the
central office with some rather old phone lines between us. I did have
a round of trouble earlier this year but it was finally solved by them
sending me a new modem free of charge.


Wayne Cook
Shamrock, TX
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm

Richard wrote:

Having dropped my connection in Feb of 2005, and started again in
October of 2005, it sure hasn't taken SBC very long to bring me to the
maximum disgust level again. Receiving a snail mail this morning that
made me wonder if they were talking about my past connection or this
one, I decided I'd better call and find out. That part is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that from 11:30 until 1:30, I was on the phone,
going from one damned worthless computer menu to another, and when I
did speak to a human, they were more interested in trying to sell me
on a cell phone that I neither need or want.

Sorry, corporate idiots, if you can't give me a simple answer to a
simple question, meaning how bad have you screwed the records this
time, I'm not buying. At 1:25, I finally got an answer to my
question, and could have ignored it, the subject had been taken care
of in March of 2005.

I got the answer when I called and cancelled my dsl connection,
effective Monday, the billing date. It's gonna cost me, $200,
stinking corporations will get the money no matter what, but if that's
what I have to pay to avoid hours of frustration trying to find out
anything, it's cheap. Even after I had gotten the answer from the
jerk on the other end, and had told them to cancel the connection, I
got yet another damn sales pitch for a different calling plan. These
idiots have to be totally brainwashed to try that, common sense should
tell them that I'm thoroughly fed up with what is a monopoly here,
they're the only phone company in town.

Anyhow, I'm going off line again, but this time I think I'll forget
about getting back on. Not worth the hassles, and the phone lines out
here stink, with a dial up you get very slow and unreliable
connections.

Common sense and corporate "wisdom" are at opposite ends of the entire
spectrum.

Rich (AKA Lennie)

Not sure where you are located, but the best way to get their attention
is to keep detailed records of all their screw ups and then when you are
talking to them, indicate that you are going to send those detailed
records to your state utility regulators.

Pete C.

Now that's funny. I had a hotel manager in Holland tell me that thru a
series of emails, his hotel charged my VISA card 3 separate times for a one
time charge, which put me over my spending limit while I was still in
Europe. It took over 3 months to get them to fix it during which he sent me
a message saying he didn't appreciate my tone...

They charged me almost $1000.00 incorrectly, took months to fix the problem
which was entirely their fault as they finally admitted, and they don't like
my "tone"?

John E.

"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
Richard wrote:

On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 03:45:02 GMT, "Siggy"
wrote:



Bottom line is that I'm not sure if I am the exception or if Richard is
but I'd hate to see anyone choose to not even look at SBC DSL without at
least hearing the opposing experience.

You are. Rates depend on states, mine starts at $29.95, in a years
time it would go up to $49.95. Hardly worth it at the lower rate,
idiocy at the higher.

My download speed has never exceeded 156K at peak, usually much lower.
The service, or actually the lack of service is what's ****ed me off.
SBC has a monopoly here, and they act like they have one everywhere.
The lack of service, first the number they gave me to call doesn't
work, their screw up. the area code is wrong. Brilliance at the
corporate level.

Then when you do get a working number, what you get is a damned
computer generated voice that can't answer a simple question. "Does
this matter concern my previous connection or this one?" One answer
that should have taken ten seconds with a human, if they bothered to
hire any, ended up taking the better part of two hours and was offered
as a consolation prize.

When the person talking to you has a voice that's flat, dead flat,
even and cold, after you've cancelled what he's just told you to, it
takes the brain of a rotifer to offer a sales pitch for a calling
plan, "That will save you money", even though you know it's a damn
lie, and so does the now irate customer. They can add services I
don't want and give me a better rate? Pigs can fly?

Then there was the SBC person who tells me (on my next to the last call to
them, the one in which they told me for the third time in three days "we
have no idea if your DSL account is even _supposed_ to be active and even
if it is you won't be able to register because our database is down") "I
don't like your tone, this is your first warning", to which I replied
"Warning about _what_? What are you going to do about it, cut off my
DSL?"

Osama, if you're listening, I have three letters for you, S-B-C.

Yeah, we've got road runner, but time warner is even more screwed in
the head than sbc, and between the two of them you have a total of a
halfwit or just a little less.

Rich (AKA Lennie)

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 16:33:57 GMT, "Pete C."
wrote:


Not sure where you are located, but the best way to get their attention
is to keep detailed records of all their screw ups and then when you are
talking to them, indicate that you are going to send those detailed
records to your state utility regulators.

Wisconsin, where the PSC is a rubber stamp for anything the utilities
want. I think if I'd kept records, someone would have died by now.

Seven miles from here, I could have TDS, smaller, but far more
responsive. SBC won't allow them access to our phone lines, here in
town they don't have any real competition except Road Runner, which is
not a viable option as long as TW has their fingers in it. Road
Runner gave me a user name that was the same as someone in Milwaukee,
were advised of their screw up the next day. There answer was I would
have to go on line to straighten it out, but without a password, and
the one I had given didn't work, I couldn't get on line. More
brilliance from our corporations. They were told where to stick it
that same afternoon. The last option for high speed connections, the
wireless, my house is blocked from their antenna by a school. Living
in a small town that wants to be a big city can be nothing but
frustration. Strange how a "franchise" is legal and a "monopoly"
isn't. Both mean the same things, no competition.

Rich

Richard wrote:

On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 16:33:57 GMT, "Pete C."
wrote:


Not sure where you are located, but the best way to get their attention
is to keep detailed records of all their screw ups and then when you are
talking to them, indicate that you are going to send those detailed
records to your state utility regulators.

Wisconsin, where the PSC is a rubber stamp for anything the utilities
want. I think if I'd kept records, someone would have died by now.

Way back in the early days of cable modems, I was one of the first to
get one from then TCI in CT. Worked well for about six months until
there were some severe storms in the area, after that it was very
intermittent. Having worked for a cable company myself previously, I did
what I could to help the local techs resolve the problem, but
unfortunately the cable modems were so new they really didn't have a
clue.

This intermittent service went on for some time, and each call I kept a
log of the date, time and summary of the call. Eventually I had enough
and called and canceled service. As should be expected, they didn't even
get that right and a little over a month later I was on the phone with
them again to get them to cancel the service properly.

They started arguing with me about $17.77 worth of credit for their
screw up. I simply told them that I had a two page log of every call I
made about the service problems, and that if they did not give me my
credit then, I would send a letter to my credit card company along with
that two page log and would also CC it to the state DPUC. I had my
credit in about 30 seconds.

I then noted that I was not going to inconvenience myself and bring the
cable modem to them after I canceled service due to their inability to
supply said service reliably. I told them that since they have techs in
the area every day, I would wrap and label the modem and place it by the
basement door where they could have a tech pick it up at their
convenience. The modem sat there for about 10 weeks before I finally
brought it back inside and put it in my misc. junk pile.


Seven miles from here, I could have TDS, smaller, but far more
responsive. SBC won't allow them access to our phone lines, here in
town they don't have any real competition except Road Runner, which is
not a viable option as long as TW has their fingers in it. Road
Runner gave me a user name that was the same as someone in Milwaukee,
were advised of their screw up the next day. There answer was I would
have to go on line to straighten it out, but without a password, and
the one I had given didn't work, I couldn't get on line. More
brilliance from our corporations. They were told where to stick it
that same afternoon. The last option for high speed connections, the
wireless, my house is blocked from their antenna by a school. Living
in a small town that wants to be a big city can be nothing but
frustration.

I'm in a pretty small town and I have a cable modem with CableOne. They
have been surprisingly good for service the few times I've had issues.
DSL hasn't quite reached this area yet, but it's close. Satellite is
available as well, but doesn't work well with VPN.

Strange how a "franchise" is legal and a "monopoly"
isn't. Both mean the same things, no competition.

Nope, franchise does not equate with monopoly. For voice in many areas
you have a choice between the traditional telco, a cable company and the
broadband providers. In many cases cell phones are now competitive with
landlines for general voice service. For TV type entertainment, you have
free broadcast TV (soon pay broadcast as well), cable TV, several
satellite options and the local video rental options. For high speed
internet you have cable, DSL, satellite and sometimes other wireless
options.

Pete C.


Rich

On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 20:15:49 GMT, "Pete C."
wrote:

I'm in a pretty small town and I have a cable modem with CableOne.

The choice here is Time Warner, no alternative available.

Strange how a "franchise" is legal and a "monopoly"
isn't. Both mean the same things, no competition.

In many cases cell phones are now competitive with
landlines for general voice service.

And every one we have available here goes back to be owned by SBC.
Others "might" be available, but I'd have to drive into Milwaukee to
find one. Cell phone is something I don't want anyhow, if I'm not
next to the phone, it means I don't want to be contacted. Benefit of
retirement.

For TV type entertainment, you have
free broadcast TV

The only one I'm willing to part with cash for. Mine is on now, the
weather is about to come on, when it's over, the TV gets turned off
until tomorrrow afternoon. Fifteen minutes a day, maybe, if I
remember it, assuming I don't have something more interesting. (Had to
pay for an antenna, don't really care how good it is.)

Anyhow, to eliminate the frustration of dealing with a huge,
unresponsive, uncaring corporation with trained monkeys at their end
of the phone line, the obvious answer is dump it. In the time I was
off, the only thing that bothered me was not having downloaded the
Cahto stories from Four Directions Institute, which I now have, both
in the Wailakan and English.

Rich (AKA Lennie)

You're right - I had the #s reversed. It should have said 1.3meg down and
340k up.

BTW - I asked around at work today and found about a dozen of my peers who
are also on SBC and every single one, without exception, has had the same
kind of experience as I. On the other hand, I heard a number of complaints
about cable users that outages were fairly common although users were
generally satisfied. However, cable users pay at least $44.95 per month for
the base RoadRunner compared to SBC's $16.95 base DSL So, at least in the
Austin, TX area it is fairly clear from my quick poll that SBC seems to have
a higher satisfaction that the local cable outfit, which is Time Warner's
RoadRunner service, and a dramatically lower price too.

Robert

"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
Siggy wrote:

Interesting. I've been on SBC DSL for about 3 years now. I pay $16.95
per month for a 1.3 meg upstream and 340k downstream connection

??? You're able to transmit faster than you can receive?

Richard wrote:

On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 16:33:57 GMT, "Pete C."
wrote:



Not sure where you are located, but the best way to get their attention
is to keep detailed records of all their screw ups and then when you are
talking to them, indicate that you are going to send those detailed
records to your state utility regulators.



Wisconsin, where the PSC is a rubber stamp for anything the utilities
want. I think if I'd kept records, someone would have died by now.



Even in the case of a "rubber stamp" commission, they don't like to be
embarrassed by a disgruntled
customer and will tell the SBC people to clear up this case.. They may
not try to keep other cases
from happening, but if you have records that means you are dangerous.

Bill K7NOM

Seven miles from here, I could have TDS, smaller, but far more
responsive. SBC won't allow them access to our phone lines, here in
town they don't have any real competition except Road Runner, which is
not a viable option as long as TW has their fingers in it. Road
Runner gave me a user name that was the same as someone in Milwaukee,
were advised of their screw up the next day. There answer was I would
have to go on line to straighten it out, but without a password, and
the one I had given didn't work, I couldn't get on line. More
brilliance from our corporations. They were told where to stick it
that same afternoon. The last option for high speed connections, the
wireless, my house is blocked from their antenna by a school. Living
in a small town that wants to be a big city can be nothing but
frustration. Strange how a "franchise" is legal and a "monopoly"
isn't. Both mean the same things, no competition.

Rich

Richard wrote:

On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 20:15:49 GMT, "Pete C."
wrote:

I'm in a pretty small town and I have a cable modem with CableOne.

The choice here is Time Warner, no alternative available.

Satellite - StarBand. I researched it before I moved. Every indication
is that it works fine for normal surfing, just not well for encrypted
VPN due to latency. Full two way as well, not like the early version
that used dialup for upstream. Available throughout North America, you
could get it at a cabin in the middle of nowhere.


Strange how a "franchise" is legal and a "monopoly"
isn't. Both mean the same things, no competition.

In many cases cell phones are now competitive with
landlines for general voice service.

And every one we have available here goes back to be owned by SBC.
Others "might" be available, but I'd have to drive into Milwaukee to
find one. Cell phone is something I don't want anyhow, if I'm not
next to the phone, it means I don't want to be contacted. Benefit of
retirement.

You don't have to always have it, that's not the point. The point is
with some of the cell plans available now they are a viable alternative
to a land line for typical low level voice use. They also have the
benefit of going with you when you want, or you can turn them off
anytime you don't want to be available.


For TV type entertainment, you have
free broadcast TV

The only one I'm willing to part with cash for. Mine is on now, the
weather is about to come on, when it's over, the TV gets turned off
until tomorrrow afternoon. Fifteen minutes a day, maybe, if I
remember it, assuming I don't have something more interesting. (Had to
pay for an antenna, don't really care how good it is.)

I didn't have cable TV for years. Now I have it since the package price
with the cable modem is good and work pays for the cable modem. I spend
a lot more time in the shop than watching TV, but when I do feel like
watching TV it's usually one of the various Discovery Networks channels
when it isn't a rerun.


Anyhow, to eliminate the frustration of dealing with a huge,
unresponsive, uncaring corporation with trained monkeys at their end
of the phone line, the obvious answer is dump it. In the time I was
off, the only thing that bothered me was not having downloaded the
Cahto stories from Four Directions Institute, which I now have, both
in the Wailakan and English.

Rich (AKA Lennie)

After I dumped TCI I did ok with dial for quite a while. Dial works just
fine for newsgroups and a fair amount of surfing. Big downloads were ok
if I started them before dinner and they completed while I was eating.
I'd still never go back to dial if high speed was available. Much easier
to host my feeble little web site that gets about 10 hits a month on
high speed.

Pete C.

On Sat, 17 Dec 2005 00:38:28 GMT, Bill Janssen
wrote:


Even in the case of a "rubber stamp" commission, they don't like to be
embarrassed by a disgruntled
customer and will tell the SBC people to clear up this case.. They may
not try to keep other cases
from happening, but if you have records that means you are dangerous.

In this day and administration, I'm not sure I want any government
agency to consider me "dangerous."

Grumpy, grouchy, cantankerous, fine. But not dangerous.

Rich

On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 04:44:25 GMT, "Tom Gardner"
wrote:

I'm surprised! SBC have been my heroes! One live-in health-care worker that
was with us for a couple of months charged her daughter's AOL to one of my
numbers, lied about it was fired for a number of reasons. AOL said I
couldn't cancel without the login and PW...someone in India. After weeks of
trying to deal with AOL I called SBC and this sweet little girl called AOL
with me on the line, she told me to be quiet. This sweetie cut through the
red tape and got to somebody up the ladder. She started getting a
run-around and turned into an "Uber Bitch"!!! she threatened legal action,
negative publicity and, I swear, she actually threatened to cut the guy's
balls off.! He capitulated and charged back all funds. Then she turned
back into a sweetie and asked if I was pleased with SBC, I was laughing my
ass off. She said she enjoyed it too. I've changed my service plan and DSL
around for home and shop a number of times and they have always been sharp
and made suggestions to save money. I've never been on hold for more than a
minute. Next time you call them, don't tell them you are you...you might be
on the "List"...can you blame them?

BTW, I think the battery is dead on the Kowa and the auto-winder
hangs-up...It survived the dishwasher just fine!


DSL? Whats that? The closest thing we have here, is RoadRunner
(Time Warner) cable modem at $49 a month.

Which is why I have dialup.

Sigh..and until I can pay the phone bill in LA..not even dialup
there..which is why Im off the newsgroup for 3-4 days at a time.

Accounts recievable , lately, has been only promises...damnit

Gunner




"Richard" wrote in message
news
Having dropped my connection in Feb of 2005, and started again in
October of 2005, it sure hasn't taken SBC very long to bring me to the
maximum disgust level again. Receiving a snail mail this morning that
made me wonder if they were talking about my past connection or this
one, I decided I'd better call and find out. That part is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that from 11:30 until 1:30, I was on the phone,
going from one damned worthless computer menu to another, and when I
did speak to a human, they were more interested in trying to sell me
on a cell phone that I neither need or want.

Sorry, corporate idiots, if you can't give me a simple answer to a
simple question, meaning how bad have you screwed the records this
time, I'm not buying. At 1:25, I finally got an answer to my
question, and could have ignored it, the subject had been taken care
of in March of 2005.

I got the answer when I called and cancelled my dsl connection,
effective Monday, the billing date. It's gonna cost me, $200,
stinking corporations will get the money no matter what, but if that's
what I have to pay to avoid hours of frustration trying to find out
anything, it's cheap. Even after I had gotten the answer from the
jerk on the other end, and had told them to cancel the connection, I
got yet another damn sales pitch for a different calling plan. These
idiots have to be totally brainwashed to try that, common sense should
tell them that I'm thoroughly fed up with what is a monopoly here,
they're the only phone company in town.

Anyhow, I'm going off line again, but this time I think I'll forget
about getting back on. Not worth the hassles, and the phone lines out
here stink, with a dial up you get very slow and unreliable
connections.

Common sense and corporate "wisdom" are at opposite ends of the entire
spectrum.

Rich (AKA Lennie)


"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

Richard J Kinch wrote:
Jon Elson writes:


I need static IP and the permission to run servers ...


I rent a Linux virtual server, 1 GB system with 50 GB/mo data with a
gigabit connection off a backbone. $20/month. You can't even pay for the
power to run your own server for that. No floorspace, no noise, no
hardware maintenance.
Yeah, but what happens if you become dissatisfied with the service?
How big a mess is it to move to another server/service? Does this
service provide the domain name for you? If so, you need a new
domain name, and everyone who looks at your server needs to be
informed of the change. What if this service goes out of business
without any warning?

$240/year? And, you still need to have your own internet service.
I combine it all. At one time, the server and my personal surfing
and all-other-uses computer were the same. Right now, my server is
on an otherwise useless 133 MHz Pentium classic computer with a
couple-GB disk drive. I do have to pay electricity for it, but
it can't use a whole lot.

Jon

You have another : Dish network is bi-directional now - no phone wires.
Martin
Martin Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder



Gunner Asch wrote:
On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 04:44:25 GMT, "Tom Gardner"
wrote:


I'm surprised! SBC have been my heroes! One live-in health-care worker that
was with us for a couple of months charged her daughter's AOL to one of my
numbers, lied about it was fired for a number of reasons. AOL said I
couldn't cancel without the login and PW...someone in India. After weeks of
trying to deal with AOL I called SBC and this sweet little girl called AOL
with me on the line, she told me to be quiet. This sweetie cut through the
red tape and got to somebody up the ladder. She started getting a
run-around and turned into an "Uber Bitch"!!! she threatened legal action,
negative publicity and, I swear, she actually threatened to cut the guy's
balls off.! He capitulated and charged back all funds. Then she turned
back into a sweetie and asked if I was pleased with SBC, I was laughing my
ass off. She said she enjoyed it too. I've changed my service plan and DSL
around for home and shop a number of times and they have always been sharp
and made suggestions to save money. I've never been on hold for more than a
minute. Next time you call them, don't tell them you are you...you might be
on the "List"...can you blame them?

BTW, I think the battery is dead on the Kowa and the auto-winder
hangs-up...It survived the dishwasher just fine!



DSL? Whats that? The closest thing we have here, is RoadRunner
(Time Warner) cable modem at $49 a month.

Which is why I have dialup.

Sigh..and until I can pay the phone bill in LA..not even dialup
there..which is why Im off the newsgroup for 3-4 days at a time.

Accounts recievable , lately, has been only promises...damnit

Gunner




"Richard" wrote in message
news
Having dropped my connection in Feb of 2005, and started again in
October of 2005, it sure hasn't taken SBC very long to bring me to the
maximum disgust level again. Receiving a snail mail this morning that
made me wonder if they were talking about my past connection or this
one, I decided I'd better call and find out. That part is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that from 11:30 until 1:30, I was on the phone,
going from one damned worthless computer menu to another, and when I
did speak to a human, they were more interested in trying to sell me
on a cell phone that I neither need or want.

Sorry, corporate idiots, if you can't give me a simple answer to a
simple question, meaning how bad have you screwed the records this
time, I'm not buying. At 1:25, I finally got an answer to my
question, and could have ignored it, the subject had been taken care
of in March of 2005.

I got the answer when I called and cancelled my dsl connection,
effective Monday, the billing date. It's gonna cost me, $200,
stinking corporations will get the money no matter what, but if that's
what I have to pay to avoid hours of frustration trying to find out
anything, it's cheap. Even after I had gotten the answer from the
jerk on the other end, and had told them to cancel the connection, I
got yet another damn sales pitch for a different calling plan. These
idiots have to be totally brainwashed to try that, common sense should
tell them that I'm thoroughly fed up with what is a monopoly here,
they're the only phone company in town.

Anyhow, I'm going off line again, but this time I think I'll forget
about getting back on. Not worth the hassles, and the phone lines out
here stink, with a dial up you get very slow and unreliable
connections.

Common sense and corporate "wisdom" are at opposite ends of the entire
spectrum.

Rich (AKA Lennie)


"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Jon Elson writes:

Yeah, but what happens if you become dissatisfied with the service?
How big a mess is it to move to another server/service? Does this
service provide the domain name for you? If so, you need a new
domain name, and everyone who looks at your server needs to be
informed of the change. What if this service goes out of business
without any warning?

The various unreliabilities of a decent server farm are far less than
anything you could do yourself.

You do backups and move elsewhere if need be.

Domain name registration has no connection to the services hosted at
that name. You can move the hosting around, or have multiple hosts if
you like, with the same domain name. Maybe you're confused by outfits
that bundle hosting and domain name registration together to hold you
hostage. You should instead register the name yourself independently
with Tucows or GoDaddy or the like.

If the rented host disappears without warning, you set up a new host and
just point your DNS there.

$240/year?

What your server PC uses in AC power alone.

And, you still need to have your own internet service.

No, you get more with less IP service. You don't have to pay for static
IP ($) or server TOS ($$). The server bandwidth is no longer spoiled by
your surfing and vice versa. The virtual server is hooked to a gigabit
connection, instead of a puny kilobit DSL line in your bedroom.

I do have to pay electricity for it, but it can't use a whole lot.

Huh? 10 cents/KWH = $1/watt-year. (What does your utility charge?)
Your 24/7/365 homebrew host costs you $100s/year just in AC power. You
can't compete with the economy of shared virtual servers on IP
backbones. It's like running your own generator versus buying utility
power. See http://www.linuxvirtualserver.org/

For a few years like you I ran my own server off static IP DSL. It
seemed kind of clever until I found it was cheaper and faster to let
someone else care and feed for the thing. I don't regret the switch.

I won't name the outfit I've successfully used for 3 years now. Do a
reverse IP lookup on my email domain if you want to know.

Richard J Kinch wrote:
Jon Elson writes:

Domain name registration has no connection to the services hosted at
that name. You can move the hosting around, or have multiple hosts if
you like, with the same domain name. Maybe you're confused by outfits
that bundle hosting and domain name registration together to hold you
hostage. You should instead register the name yourself independently
with Tucows or GoDaddy or the like.

That is exactly what I have done. I had my registration with Network
Solutions before those outfits even existed.
If the rented host disappears without warning, you set up a new host and
just point your DNS there.


$240/year?


What your server PC uses in AC power alone.
Oh, for gosh sakes. My old MicroVAX used that kind of power, but not
this little PC. A 150 W PC power supply, at 100% rated load, will draw
1314 KWH over a full year, at my current electric rate that comes to
$91. I still need a local network caching DNS and local router, so
I'd still have a machine on, anyway.
I do have to pay electricity for it, but it can't use a whole lot.


Huh? 10 cents/KWH = $1/watt-year. (What does your utility charge?)
Seven Cents, on average, over the year.
Your 24/7/365 homebrew host costs you $100s/year just in AC power. You
can't compete with the economy of shared virtual servers on IP
backbones. It's like running your own generator versus buying utility
power. See http://www.linuxvirtualserver.org/

For a few years like you I ran my own server off static IP DSL. It
seemed kind of clever until I found it was cheaper and faster to let
someone else care and feed for the thing. I don't regret the switch.

I won't name the outfit I've successfully used for 3 years now. Do a
reverse IP lookup on my email domain if you want to know.

Well, I guess this means I'm a "Control freak". I like to be in
"control", and see EXACTLY what is going on. I also get all the logs,
and can find out how many times a particular page is used by who.
For instance, there's some guy in eastern europe who apparently uses a
47 MB file on my web server as a daily check on network performance.
At least, I can't come up with any other reason the SAME guy has
downloaded that same one file thousands of times.

Jon

Jon Elson writes:

A 150 W PC power supply, ...

You might consider a monitor and all the wall warts.

Seven Cents, on average, over the year.

Well, that's super cheap. That's really your marginal rate, with taxes and
all? Where?

I like to be in
"control", and see EXACTLY what is going on. I also get all the logs,
and can find out how many times a particular page is used by who.

You fully control a Linux virtual server just like your own PC, root and
all, and you can load your own hard drive images if you like. The only
difference is you have a Web page with a reset button instead of a physical
one, and a IP connection instead of a CRT and keyboard.