Well it likes Comcast will be getting rid of DIY and FineLiving here in the
Houston area at the end of the month. Bummer! -Oscar

Oscar Garcia wrote:

Well it likes Comcast will be getting rid of DIY and FineLiving here in
the
Houston area at the end of the month. Bummer! -Oscar

Take a look at DirecTV or the other satellite vendor. Generally cheaper
than cable, more channels, and better service.



--
If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough

"Mark & Juanita" wrote in message
...
Oscar Garcia wrote:

Well it likes Comcast will be getting rid of DIY and FineLiving here in
the
Houston area at the end of the month. Bummer! -Oscar

Take a look at DirecTV or the other satellite vendor. Generally cheaper
than cable, more channels, and better service.


Except when it rains, and only if you have DSL for your bandwidth
alternative.

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 10:59:38 GMT, "George" wrote:


Except when it rains,

In 11 years of DirecTV, I've lost the signal far less than when I had
cable. I can remember two weather related DTV issues:

#1 - A chunk of ice resembling a water glass had formed over the LNB.

#2 - During an extremely heavy t-storm, complete with hail, we lost
the signal for ~ 5 minutes. ONE rain-related failure in 11 years!

I'm at a higher US lattitude, where my dish has a rather low aim, so I
would have thought I would have had more problems.

My CATV failed a few times a year, when people hit telephone poles,
the power failed feeding line amps along the way, and when they just
plain screwed up at the head end. Cable also provided me with analog
channels of varying picture quality and audio volume.

You're right about the broadband, though! If no DSL is available,
you need the wire anyway.

"B a r r y" wrote

Except when it rains,

In 11 years of DirecTV, I've lost the signal far less than when I had
cable. I can remember two weather related DTV issues:

Listening to an "expert" radio show about TV reception in general, and ATSC
in particular, I was surprised to hear that the 2nd best of all possible
worlds for picture quality was DirectTV ... the first was the old fashion
antenna, and TW/Comcast cable was last on the list.

It could be that, and $3.95, will get a cup of mocha at Starbucks, but it
sure sounded good. Then again, since it wasn't on the Internet, it couldn't
possibly be right, eh?

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 12/14/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"B a r r y" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 10:59:38 GMT, "George" wrote:


Except when it rains,

In 11 years of DirecTV, I've lost the signal far less than when I had
cable. I can remember two weather related DTV issues:


Every once in a while I check and Direct TV is no bargain. For me, I'd have
a lot of startup costs for HDef and my "savings" is only about $3 a month
depending on what taxes and hidden fees they may slip in there.

"B a r r y" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 10:59:38 GMT, "George" wrote:


Except when it rains,

In 11 years of DirecTV, I've lost the signal far less than when I had
cable. I can remember two weather related DTV issues:

#1 - A chunk of ice resembling a water glass had formed over the LNB.

#2 - During an extremely heavy t-storm, complete with hail, we lost
the signal for ~ 5 minutes. ONE rain-related failure in 11 years!

I'm at a higher US lattitude, where my dish has a rather low aim, so I
would have thought I would have had more problems.

My CATV failed a few times a year, when people hit telephone poles,
the power failed feeding line amps along the way, and when they just
plain screwed up at the head end. Cable also provided me with analog
channels of varying picture quality and audio volume.

You're right about the broadband, though! If no DSL is available,
you need the wire anyway.

More years on DTV that you by a couple, and I don't have to look at the
computer to find out there's Towering Cumulus thirty miles south or so, I
just lose my signal. When it actually rains here, it's less time normally
before return of signal.

Not too high a latitude at 46 and change, but those clouds get me every
time. BTDT on ice, once, too.

We live in middle Tennessee.
EVERY time it rains heavily, with thunder and lightening and lots of water,
we lose our signal for a moment or so. Sometimes it lasts for for a few
minutes.
I kinda think "so what" It's just TV.
We've gotten so that we use it as a kind of forcasting device. When a big
one is about to hit the screen pixelates and we know we're about to get hit
with a deluge of water.
For emergency weather watching we have one little TV with an antenna on it
to watch a local station.
Don't know what we'll do when it goes all digital, the older TVs in our
house won't pick it up.

We DO have DSL for our internet connection. It took two years of my
badgering BellSouth to get it in our area though.

Personally, I'll put up with a few outages (including our electricity about
twice a month) rather than put up with the cable company.

Kate



"B a r r y" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 10:59:38 GMT, "George" wrote:


Except when it rains,

In 11 years of DirecTV, I've lost the signal far less than when I had
cable. I can remember two weather related DTV issues:

#1 - A chunk of ice resembling a water glass had formed over the LNB.

#2 - During an extremely heavy t-storm, complete with hail, we lost
the signal for ~ 5 minutes. ONE rain-related failure in 11 years!

I'm at a higher US lattitude, where my dish has a rather low aim, so I
would have thought I would have had more problems.

My CATV failed a few times a year, when people hit telephone poles,
the power failed feeding line amps along the way, and when they just
plain screwed up at the head end. Cable also provided me with analog
channels of varying picture quality and audio volume.

You're right about the broadband, though! If no DSL is available,
you need the wire anyway.

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 10:34:42 -0600, "Kate"
wrote:

We live in middle Tennessee.
EVERY time it rains heavily, with thunder and lightening and lots of water,
we lose our signal for a moment or so. Sometimes it lasts for for a few
minutes.
I kinda think "so what" It's just TV.
We've gotten so that we use it as a kind of forcasting device. When a big
one is about to hit the screen pixelates and we know we're about to get hit
with a deluge of water.

What do you folks have for signal strengths in good weather?

George wrote:


"Mark & Juanita" wrote in message
...
Oscar Garcia wrote:

Well it likes Comcast will be getting rid of DIY and FineLiving here in
the
Houston area at the end of the month. Bummer! -Oscar

Take a look at DirecTV or the other satellite vendor. Generally cheaper
than cable, more channels, and better service.


Except when it rains, and only if you have DSL for your bandwidth
alternative.

I have very rarely had trouble with rain (yeah, I know, I live in the
desert, but even when living in Dallas); it has to be a very heavy rain.
.... yes, one needs another broadband solution, but they do exist. Just
depends upon how badly you want to be rid of the likes of Comcast.


--
If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough

WHAT??? Except when it rains??? Do you have Direct TV?
If you do and you have problems with it when it rains then you have a
problem, I have had Direct TV for over 4 years now and I can count the times
it went out on one hand. 3 of the 4 times was due to snow the other time was
when we had very high winds and my dish got turned. I have had impeccable
service with Direct TV. Its cheap and reliable

SD

"SHOPDOG" wrote in message
I have had impeccable service with Direct TV. Its cheap and reliable

It maybe reliable, but I don't see it any cheaper than any other service.

Mark & Juanita wrote in
:

Oscar Garcia wrote:

Well it likes Comcast will be getting rid of DIY and FineLiving here
in the
Houston area at the end of the month. Bummer! -Oscar

Take a look at DirecTV or the other satellite vendor. Generally
cheaper
than cable, more channels, and better service.


May not be universally available, but I like Verizon's triple play here in
NJ (~95/mo + STBs and fees, taxes) for phone, TV and 20/5 Mbps internet.
Service is something you don't want to need in general. With Verizon it is
hit or miss, billing sucks.

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

"Han" wrote in...

May not be universally available, but I like Verizon's triple play here in
NJ (~95/mo + STBs and fees, taxes) for phone, TV and 20/5 Mbps internet.
Service is something you don't want to need in general. With Verizon it is
hit or miss, billing sucks.


I'm considering their triple play here in Oregon ($105 +,+,+,+,+) but I
can't seem to get an answer out of them to some simple questions:
Who is the newsgroup provider?
Is there any bandwidth limit on NG downloads per month?
If yes, what is the limit?
Where can I go to find out what NG's are available?

Since some of you already have FIOS maybe you can answer these?
Art

"Artemus" wrote in
:


"Han" wrote in...

May not be universally available, but I like Verizon's triple play
here in NJ (~95/mo + STBs and fees, taxes) for phone, TV and 20/5
Mbps internet. Service is something you don't want to need in
general. With Verizon it is hit or miss, billing sucks.


I'm considering their triple play here in Oregon ($105 +,+,+,+,+) but
I can't seem to get an answer out of them to some simple questions:
Who is the newsgroup provider?
Is there any bandwidth limit on NG downloads per month?
If yes, what is the limit?
Where can I go to find out what NG's are available?

Since some of you already have FIOS maybe you can answer these?
Art

Verizon has their own servers (one in NY, I belive the other in DC, but I
may be wrong). Verizon also has their own, limited access newsgroups -
you should not crosspost between "regular" newsgroups and the 0.verizon
hierarchy.

Jeremy is the newsgroup admin, posts weekly on Thirsdays about new
additions.

AFAIK there is no limit on how much you download (yet), but the servers
are a fraction of the speed of Giganews et al.

All newsgroups that are listed are carried, or can be added. This was
Jeremy's last post:


alt.binaries.crackhead will be added 01-18-08. Listed at
isc.org.

alt.binaries.pictures.clip-art will be added 01-18-08. Listed at
isc.org.

alt.binaries.sounds.lossless.reggae will not be added. Not listed
at isc.org nor Google: Usenet groups.

Thanks,

Jeremy - Verizon News Admin

I'm not into heavy binaries downloading, so Verizon is fine by me. If
you want more faster, use your Verizon pipe for another newsserver.

Hope this helps

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

"Han" wrote in message
...
"Artemus" wrote in
:


"Han" wrote in...

May not be universally available, but I like Verizon's triple play
here in NJ (~95/mo + STBs and fees, taxes) for phone, TV and 20/5
Mbps internet. Service is something you don't want to need in
general. With Verizon it is hit or miss, billing sucks.


I'm considering their triple play here in Oregon ($105 +,+,+,+,+) but
I can't seem to get an answer out of them to some simple questions:
Who is the newsgroup provider?
Is there any bandwidth limit on NG downloads per month?
If yes, what is the limit?
Where can I go to find out what NG's are available?

Since some of you already have FIOS maybe you can answer these?
Art

Verizon has their own servers (one in NY, I belive the other in DC, but I
may be wrong). Verizon also has their own, limited access newsgroups -
you should not crosspost between "regular" newsgroups and the 0.verizon
hierarchy.

Jeremy is the newsgroup admin, posts weekly on Thirsdays about new
additions.

AFAIK there is no limit on how much you download (yet), but the servers
are a fraction of the speed of Giganews et al.

All newsgroups that are listed are carried, or can be added. This was
Jeremy's last post:


alt.binaries.crackhead will be added 01-18-08. Listed at
isc.org.

alt.binaries.pictures.clip-art will be added 01-18-08. Listed at
isc.org.

alt.binaries.sounds.lossless.reggae will not be added. Not listed
at isc.org nor Google: Usenet groups.

Thanks,

Jeremy - Verizon News Admin

I'm not into heavy binaries downloading, so Verizon is fine by me. If
you want more faster, use your Verizon pipe for another newsserver.

Hope this helps

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

Thanks Han.
Art

On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 21:11:11 -0700, Mark & Juanita
wrote:

Oscar Garcia wrote:
Well it likes Comcast will be getting rid of DIY and FineLiving here in
the
Houston area at the end of the month. Bummer! -Oscar

Take a look at DirecTV or the other satellite vendor. Generally cheaper
than cable, more channels, and better service.

Absolutely. I had DirecTV for years and it's got DIY (not sure about
FineLiving) in it's second tier programming package. Last week, I
switched to Verizon FiOS-TV and it's got both DIY and FineLiving in
it's basic package, cheaper than DirecTV and a lot more channels.

Get rid of cable, it sucks.


Blog Me! http://BitchSpot.JadeDragonOnline.com

"Oscar Garcia" wrote in message
...
Well it likes Comcast will be getting rid of DIY and FineLiving here in
the Houston area at the end of the month. Bummer! -Oscar

One more reason I'm glad I dumped Comcast. Bought into the whole AT&T
bundle including DISH satellite.
--
NuWave Dave in Houston

"Dave in Houston" wrote in message
t...

"Oscar Garcia" wrote in message
...
Well it likes Comcast will be getting rid of DIY and FineLiving here in
the Houston area at the end of the month. Bummer! -Oscar

One more reason I'm glad I dumped Comcast. Bought into the whole AT&T
bundle including DISH satellite.
--
NuWave Dave in Houston


Is that Dish Satellite by any chance Dish Network?

"Leon" wrote in message
et...

Is that Dish Satellite by any chance Dish Network?

Yessir.

they did that to us here in central MD too. then brought it back on a pay
package with other channels I do not want. so I do without. the good news
is my local pbs station suddenly has brought back American
woodworker,woodwrights shop,router workshop,new Yankee workshop to air I
have had to suffer with occasional and infrequent runs of new Yankee
workshop(not in order) for the past few years


Len

Comcast is pure evil. Run as fast as you can to some other service/TV
provider. You will never regret it.


"Oscar Garcia" wrote in message
...
Well it likes Comcast will be getting rid of DIY and FineLiving here in the
Houston area at the end of the month. Bummer! -Oscar

"Oscar Garcia" wrote in message news:
Well it likes Comcast will be getting rid of DIY and FineLiving here in
the Houston area at the end of the month. Bummer! -Oscar

.... and, being fed up to the max with Comcast and their faceless, corporate
mindset, I'm getting rid of them to give u-verse a try, which just hit our
area of the city (West side of West U) the first week of January.

Despite all the horror stories, a friend about mile away, where u-verse has
been available for about a year, has been touting it as being faster than
her cable on the broadband internet side, with which she has had no
problems.

I'll keep Comcast broadband, which has been more or less solid, until I see
whether vdsl actually has more throughput, despite being a tad bit slower
than my Comcast broadband in the advertisement ... really could care less
about the TV side.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 12/14/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Swingman wrote:
"Oscar Garcia" wrote in message news:
Well it likes Comcast will be getting rid of DIY and FineLiving here in
the Houston area at the end of the month. Bummer! -Oscar

... and, being fed up to the max with Comcast and their faceless, corporate
mindset, I'm getting rid of them to give u-verse a try, which just hit our
area of the city (West side of West U) the first week of January.

Despite all the horror stories, a friend about mile away, where u-verse has
been available for about a year, has been touting it as being faster than
her cable on the broadband internet side, with which she has had no
problems.

I'll keep Comcast broadband, which has been more or less solid, until I see
whether vdsl actually has more throughput, despite being a tad bit slower
than my Comcast broadband in the advertisement ... really could care less
about the TV side.

I've been trying to get AT&T to give me a straight answer about whether
U-verse is available at my house, but so far without luck. I live in a
brand new development, and the neighbors all around me are getting set
up with it, but the website claims that it's not available at my
address. It also shows that the two houses on either side of mine don't
get it, but the houses two doors down on either side *do*! Go figure...

--
See Nad. See Nad go. Go Nad!
To reply, eat the taco.

Steve Turner wrote in news:01Jkj.1460$nK5.454
@nlpi069.nbdc.sbc.com:

I've been trying to get AT&T to give me a straight answer about whether
U-verse is available at my house, but so far without luck. I live in a
brand new development, and the neighbors all around me are getting set
up with it, but the website claims that it's not available at my
address. It also shows that the two houses on either side of mine don't
get it, but the houses two doors down on either side *do*! Go figure...

It seems that AT&T U-verse is similar in principle to Verizon Fios. As
such, it would be limited to so many points of distribution per wire or
strand of fiber. If the available number are spoken for, you'd have to
remove an old customer to get a new one, or string a new wire from a new
distribution point.

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:47:11 GMT, Han wrote:

Steve Turner wrote in news:01Jkj.1460$nK5.454
:

It seems that AT&T U-verse is similar in principle to Verizon Fios. As
such, it would be limited to so many points of distribution per wire or
strand of fiber.

It is.

"Steve Turner" wrote

I've been trying to get AT&T to give me a straight answer about whether
U-verse is available at my house, but so far without luck.

My wife had the same situation at her office, which is less than 300 yards
from the aforementioned friends residence, who has had u-verse for about a
year.

Being a hybrid combination of IP/DSL/fiber optic/twisted pair (most places
it's just "fiber to the node" (FTTN), then copper the rest of the way to the
residence), it apparently has the same "distance from the CO/DSLAM"
limitations that DSL has (unless you happen to be lucky enough to actually
have fiber all the way to your residence).

They've also been having a devil of a time with the technology, apparently.

A lot of technical wizards claimed it wouldn't work and are still convinced
AT&T is making a mistake, but AT&T defends u-verse by saying that, whereas
cable broadcasts the entire neighborhoods traffic to every router in the
neighborhood, their system, being IP based, routes only what is actually
destined for each individual router/location.

That, theoretically, should give you more throughput, despite the 2Mb/sec
less advertised speed for the fasted u-verse "broadband" ... we'll see.

(Like I said, I could care less about the TV side)

What I would really like to see available here is Verizon's FIOS ... that's
some awesome "broadband"!

Basically, until we get FTTH (fiber to the home), I'm just viewing U-verse
as a way to shoot a BIG middle finger at Comcast.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 12/14/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:09:02 -0600, "Swingman" wrote:

"Steve Turner" wrote

I've been trying to get AT&T to give me a straight answer about whether
U-verse is available at my house, but so far without luck.

My wife had the same situation at her office, which is less than 300 yards
from the aforementioned friends residence, who has had u-verse for about a
year.

Being a hybrid combination of IP/DSL/fiber optic/twisted pair (most places
it's just "fiber to the node" (FTTN), then copper the rest of the way to the
residence), it apparently has the same "distance from the CO/DSLAM"
limitations that DSL has (unless you happen to be lucky enough to actually
have fiber all the way to your residence).

That's what those new refrigerator sized boxes on the poles are for.

U-Verse actually has a more stringent distance limitation than data
DSL, so the boxes aren't far from the customer. The usable distances
change based on the exact cable makeup and quality in a specific
'hood, and in some cases, the presence of certain other types of
circuits in the cables. Individual neighborhoods are
"pre-conditioned", where bridgetaps are manually removed, records are
verified, and bad pairs are cleared.

There are also times when two neighbors might actually be fed from
different crossboxes. In this case, he's got it and you can't get it.
Sometimes, these borders make not make sense, as the cable stubs were
laid out based on dialtone and "proposed" development , and some
undergrounds can run through back yards.

In other cases, cable records are inaccurate, so a specific customer's
U-Verse applicability is not available to the rep on the phone, or the
self-serve web lookup utilities. "at&t" still has different record
keeping facilities at the different companies absorbed by SBC, and
then with SBC's purchase of AT&T. There is no nationwide record
keeping system, so accuracy of availability quotes can vary.

rOn Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:09:02 -0600, "Swingman"
wrote:

Being a hybrid combination of IP/DSL/fiber optic/twisted pair (most places
it's just "fiber to the node" (FTTN), then copper the rest of the way to the
residence), it apparently has the same "distance from the CO/DSLAM"
limitations that DSL has (unless you happen to be lucky enough to actually
have fiber all the way to your residence).

Warning: I have a friend who tried out the AT&T hybrid system and had
nothing but trouble. If it's just internet, he gets about 6Mbps, but
if they try to put TV on top of it, he gets all kinds of digital
breakup, lockups, artifacts, etc. A lot of that is trying to shove
all that data down copper lines.

I agree with you, wait until you get fiber to your door like I did. I
get 15Mpbs plus FiOS TV that doesn't break up at all (except for the
first day, but they were upgrading the system and everyone in the area
had problems). I'm finally completely off the copper grid.


Blog Me! http://BitchSpot.JadeDragonOnline.com

"Brian Henderson" wrote

had problems). I'm finally completely off the copper grid.


You suck!


--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 12/14/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)

In ,
Brian Henderson spewed forth:
rOn Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:09:02 -0600, "Swingman"
wrote:

Being a hybrid combination of IP/DSL/fiber optic/twisted pair (most
places it's just "fiber to the node" (FTTN), then copper the rest of
the way to the residence), it apparently has the same "distance from
the CO/DSLAM" limitations that DSL has (unless you happen to be
lucky enough to actually have fiber all the way to your residence).

Warning: I have a friend who tried out the AT&T hybrid system and had
nothing but trouble. If it's just internet, he gets about 6Mbps, but
if they try to put TV on top of it, he gets all kinds of digital
breakup, lockups, artifacts, etc. A lot of that is trying to shove
all that data down copper lines.

I agree with you, wait until you get fiber to your door like I did. I
get 15Mpbs plus FiOS TV that doesn't break up at all (except for the
first day, but they were upgrading the system and everyone in the area
had problems). I'm finally completely off the copper grid.


Blog Me! http://BitchSpot.JadeDragonOnline.com

Yup, FIOS is great. I've been on 2 years now and there has not been one day
that they were down.
Not even as much as a hiccup. When I was on Comcast it was a regular event

They're dumping DIY here in CT as well. AND they just raised their rates
again. So far, it appears neither FIOS nor U-Verse is available in my
neighborhood. Looks like I'll have to choose between Dish and DirecTV.

Lee

--
To e-mail, replace "bucketofspam" with "dleegordon"

_________________________________
Lee Gordon
http://www.leegordonproductions.com

Oscar I live in Houston too, I hace comcast for my internet but have refused
to let them handle my TV or phone. I have Directv and have had it for
several years and am very happy. The only outages have been in the heavest
rain storms. Other wise no complaints.
Lynn

"Oscar Garcia" wrote in message
...
Well it likes Comcast will be getting rid of DIY and FineLiving here in
the Houston area at the end of the month. Bummer! -Oscar

"Oscar Garcia" wrote

Well it likes Comcast will be getting rid of DIY and FineLiving here in
the Houston area at the end of the month. Bummer! -Oscar

I uncrossed my u-verse fingers this morning, freeing a big middle one to
show to Comcast ... at last!

U-verse looks like it's going to work ... broadband is consistently faster,
even though the throughput is rated at 1 meg less ... until next month when
AT&T supposedly ups u-verse to 10 megs with their new "Max" tier.

Bye bye, Comcast ... and a virulent pox on your business model!

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 12/14/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)