Archive through December 31, 2001
The ClubHouse: Archives: Consumer Issues: Share your experiences:
Archive through December 31, 2001
Babyruth | Wednesday, December 05, 2001 - 10:24 am     Aack! I didn't know that stuff!! I have a cable modem (changed over from 56k this summer) but no firewall that I know of. Why the heck don't they sell ya one when you get cable? How do I get one? At a store, or can I download it? How do I CHOOSE one over another? I have a PC running Windows 98. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. |
Willi | Wednesday, December 05, 2001 - 11:14 am     I have had a Cable modem for going on 2 years now. I love it. No complaints. |
Dahli | Wednesday, December 05, 2001 - 11:28 am     Baby - I went to zonealarm.com and they allowed a download of a free firewall, which seems to work fine for me. With a DSL line, and working out of my home, I have a lot of documented attempts to access my system and it is some feeling of security that this provides...so maybe check that out. |
Mssilhouette | Wednesday, December 05, 2001 - 11:58 am     I've found that in this age of technology, when you have a problem dont just rely on email. It's too easy to ignore and to easy to "say" it got lost or the network was down. When you really have a bug up your butt about something. Sit down and write an actual letter. Send it to the company, heck even send it registered so you KNOW someone has read it. Or email first, fax second and send a letter as follow up. In the actual mailed letter send copies of the email and the fax. Get the name of the head mucky-muck and send it to her/him. Phone calls are nice but more than not you're talking to a service center who are not even in the same state as the corp offices. |
Mssilhouette | Wednesday, December 05, 2001 - 12:04 pm     I thought the deal with DSL vs Cable depended on the amount of cable modem subscribers in the area. If you have a lot then you may experence slow down. Of cours sometimes DSL has its slow down times. Of course I just have the old 56K but at work I'm a T-1 Baby!! Woooooshhhhhhhh! LOL |
Max | Wednesday, December 05, 2001 - 12:22 pm     Here's where you can get the Symantec (Norton) products (disclaimer: I'm biased- I work for Symantec): http://www.symantec.com/consumer_products/home-is.html I highly recommend Norton Internet Security for $69.95. This gives you firewall protection, ad blocking ability (which is wonderful when you surf a lot), content filtering (useful if you have kids and want to limit access), and antivirus (which is CRUCIAL nowadays) all in one package. Of course, there are other products on the market. I just happen to agree with most consumers and reviewers that ours is the best on the market. (If your opinion differs, that's fine, too.) |
Babyruth | Wednesday, December 05, 2001 - 12:38 pm     Max, thanks for the info! Dahli, too! I think all I really need is a firewall, though. I don't care about the ads so much (just a minor annoyance), we need no content filtering (no kids here) and I use web-based email accounts, not outlook, but do want good anti-virus protection. Is there something more basic and less expensive that would serve my needs, or is this it? |
Karuuna | Wednesday, December 05, 2001 - 12:48 pm     Just an FYI, my DSL company provides firewall protection thru their service, at no additional cost. So, even tho I do have Norton Personal Firewall installed, I never see any logged attempts to access my computer. However, when the DSL is down, and I have to dial up thru AOL, I get about a hit every 2-3 minutes on my computer, which Norton successfully blocks. It's a bit scary when you see how much it happens! |
Max | Wednesday, December 05, 2001 - 01:14 pm     Babyruth, You need antivirus no matter how careful you are with email and whether or not you use Outlook. There are more and more ways that viruses/trojan horses/worms are spread and it only takes one time for you computer to be effected and make you nuts. Norton Internet Security is still the best pick for firewall and antivirus in the same package. Separately, Norton Desktop Firewall and Norton Antivirus are $49.95 EACH. Some computers come with antivirus software (Dell uses Norton, so do several other manufacturers). If you already have that, then you could just add the Desktop Firewall. |
Dahli | Wednesday, December 05, 2001 - 03:03 pm     I agree with Max on the antivirus, I got the Norton product last year and it has saved my sorry butt many times... but as far as the firewall, I didn't get it till after the fact and my free zonealarm seems to do the trick. Karuuna is right when you take a look at all the attempts it is pretty startling! |
Discoinferno | Sunday, December 16, 2001 - 10:13 pm     Does anyone here have Worldcomm Wireless? I do, and I hate it! I have terrible reception and a lot of dropped calls. They also stopped sending a bill a couple months ago. I finally get a form letter from them that said they were extremely sorry, but had been doing system upgrades to provide better customer service. The next bill sent would have three months of service on it. I got that a couple days later. Well, I paid that bill, and my check was cashed. However, I get a form letter in the mail saying my account is late. I call and get my balance, and it shows as paid. (I had to wait on hold for 20 minutes) Then, I get the next month's bill and it shows the three prior months as unpaid and added that to my current balance! I called again (30 minutes this time). I got disconnected, sent an email, then called again. I had to call one of the local offices here, the guy was not really helpful.. I called the collections office (which of course did not have a hold time) and they said my account was paid in full. Then, yesterday, I get a response to my email, and it said, "Thank you for your inquiry. In looking at your account, we see that all your questions have been answered." Then it ended with a comment like, "We value your business". I emailed back, "Then why did it take two weeks for you to answer my email?" This contract expires on Dec 31 and will NOT be renewed! I will wake up early that day and sit on hold until I get it done! |
Car54 | Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 07:11 pm     Can anyone here advise me about satellite tv services- and all the special deals? Cable TV in my town is very limited yet expensive. I am looking at Direct TV and see some deals on the web for FREE equipment if you sign up for the service, etc. I would probably get a 2 TV setup with movies and local stations. How can they give it away free? I would want professional installation- Does anyone know much about this? I hate our cable- for an insomniac like me, good late night TV is a big deal. |
Whoami | Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 07:45 pm     Don't have DTV, but from what I've heard, it has it's ups and downs. The equipment is provided "free" cause you will be paying a generous fee for monthly service. Also, don't feel guaranteed you'll get local channels. My sis can't get the local UPN or WGN channel. Often, you have to pay extra to get these local channels. |
Gail | Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 08:33 pm     I have had DirectTV for the past 3 years or so. I live 20 miles out of town so my choices were pretty limited - the one cable company that we had out here had less then 30 channels and there was nothing that I wanted to watch. In the time I have had DirectTV, outages have been extremely rare. I am personally satisfied with the choices of channels but occasionally I still find times when there is nothing I want to watch. I was not permitted to get local channels via DTV - consequently, I do not watch NBC because it comes in a bit snowy. I also can't get WB network so I don't get to watch Smallville and other shows on that network. One thing . . . the onscreen guide is good enough that you really don't need to get a TV Guide or the Direct TV Guide. I have a subscription to both and I am going to cancel them because I never look at them anymore. Depending on what town you live in you might be able to get local channels via your dish - that will need some looking into. If you have kids under the age of 15 that you don't want to be seeing certain "adult" programming, be sure to password some of the channels - especially if you get the premium movie channels. I have all the channels available but am going to cancel the sports pack because I don't seem to have time to watch them. I also get all the movie channels because I really like movies and I also have the family pack because I like the DIY network. If I get rid of the sports pack, i think my bill will be around $70+ a month. I have not rented a video or DVD in over a year. There are enough movies on that I don't need to go out and rent. Be sure to get a dish that has the connections for two separate receivers. From there, you can split each receiver to go into another room - like, I have a receiver in my living room and it is split with a cable into my bedroom. I have a nifty little device that allows me to change the channel for the living room receiver from my bedroom. One of these days, I will buy an extra receiver - but for now, I don't need it. A good place to go is direct tv's web site. www.directtv.com Also, check out dish network - I am not sure of their website. I don't have them and don't know much about them. All in all, I am very happy with my dish. The only time I have problems is during very heavy snow or very, very heavy rain - sometimes, it causes a little interference but nothing that severe. |
Max | Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 09:40 pm     I tossed my cable and got DishTV (aka, EchoStar). They are buying DirectTV, so soon it will all be the same company. I can get all the local channels except UPN, PBS, and WB on the dish. That's changing, too, though come mid-January because they lost a court battle and have been told that they must carry ALL the local channels. I have a small TV in my upstairs office that just operates off an antenna and have been watching UPN, PBS, and WB on that one. It will be nice when all the TVs can get those, too. I've been very satisfied with the performance. I got it installed off a special at a home show, so there was no cost to me. The way they can do that is that you have to sign a 1-year agreement for the service which costs approximately the same as digital cable. I like it better than digital cable for several reasons. The main one is that the picture doesn't take as long to appear. On a friend's digital cable system, you flip to a channel, wait a beat or two, and then watch the pixels start forming the picture. On DishTV, there is a slight delay, but no pixelation. I also like that I can use the remote control to see what's on other channels across the bottom of the currently playing program without interrupting it. On digital cable you can do that, but it puts a solid bar over the picture--on DishTV, it just puts white lettering over the top of the picture so it's less obtrusive. The channel guide, as Gail said, is great and you really don't need a TV guide unless you want to check more than an hour or two ahead to set your VCR. On the digital cable system, the channel guide is also good, but includes some advertisements that DishTV doesn't do. I live in Oregon and the DishTV system gives a toss-up of Eastern and Pacific time zone programming. Took me a little getting used to, but I like it now. If I want to watch Trading Spaces on TLC, I have to remember to tune in at 1:00, not 4:00. The best is that when I subscribed to HBO, I get six different feeds. I can watch the east coast feed 3 hours ahead of what my friend gets on his digital cable. Very nice feature when Six Feet Under, Oz, and the Sopranos are running. I can watch at 6:00 and without worrying about a conflict with any prime-time shows I want to watch. Or, if I miss the 6:00 showing, I get it at 9:00 too. Yes, I'm a TV junkie! I haven't had any service outages, even in heavy rain storms. We haven't had snow to speak of here, so can't speak to what that might do. www.DishTV.com or www.dishnetwork.com (I can't remember which right now) can give you pricing and specials. |
Grooch | Monday, December 31, 2001 - 04:31 am     I have direct tv also. You can pay an extra $6 a month for local channels, or do what we do and use an antenna for them. My sister has it too and she recently moved. She didn't even have to take down the dish. They told her to leave it there and they came and installed a new dish at her new house for free. Why do they give away free equiptment? Because they want more people to buy their services. They make more money off of that then the equiptment. Something to note. When my husband and I first looked into getting direct tv, we were living in an aprtment. The salesman asked us if we would be able to point the dish west. He said the satelitte was located over Texas and if we couldn't point the dish in that direction, we would get bad service. Of course, our apt wasn't facing that direction, so we didn't buy it. When we bought our house, we finally bought it. Our dish is facing west and so is everyone else's around here, so I guess that salesman was correct. The only time we loose service is when we have our summer tropical downpours. But those are pretty bad. But at least with the antenna, I can flip to that. And Gail is right about th eonline tv guide. It is great. P.S. There are 2 different Satellites. One is the one with all the american channels, and there is an international one. Of course we had to get the international one so my husband can get his Chilean channel (the whole reason we got the dish) so I don't all the pacific and east coast channels like everyone else does. (sniff, sniff) |
Car54 | Monday, December 31, 2001 - 04:34 am     This is great. They do have the local channels here, and I probably would do movies not sports, so the price seems to be about the same as my cable except about 30 more channels. Max, I didn't know about the east coast/west coast feed thing. That is cool. Gail, it sounds like the way you have yours set up is how I would do it too. Thanks so much! <I actually want it because Twiggy told me about BBC america Changing Rooms> |
Gail | Monday, December 31, 2001 - 05:36 am     A couple of notes to add: I can not get local channels over my dish -- some legal bullshit - I am not sure if what Max said up there about the law changing in January applies to Colorado but last night my brother said this is supposed to be up for a vote again. I won't hold my breath. The outages during severe storms is not a problem with DirectTV but is caused because the dish gets covered with rain or snow. Like if we have a really bad snow storm - the kind in spring when the snow is thick and heavy and my dish gets covered, I can tell without looking outside because the tv screen is black. I just go out and sweep off the dish and all is fine. During rain storms, it has to be really, really severe and coming from the south (which is very rare) - mostly then, it will just pixelize the screen a bit. This is important to know so you don't go mounting your dish on top of your house. If you are living in an area with extreme snow and have no way to keep your dish out of the direct path of weather, I think there are covers you can buy. |
Car54 | Monday, December 31, 2001 - 07:05 am     I live outside of Boston, and it says they have local channels here. I can get them (no antenna) but they are pretty fuzzy. The mounting is the big deal. It says you have to be able to point it to the south (I am on the north east side of a 2-family house). My landlords are really picky and may not want it on the house. I have to ask them for permission. We do get weather here, but not horrible storms- and we lose the cable then so that would not be any different. I am going to ask my landlord tomorrow if he cares. When you install, if the house is set up with coaxial cable can they tap into that or do you have to re-wire a lot? |
Max | Monday, December 31, 2001 - 10:48 am     Yes, do check with the landlord about mounting. Here, the dish needs to point south, also (it changes depending on where you live in relation to the satellite). In my neighborhood, the CC&Rs are pretty strict about placing the dish where it can't be seen easily from the street. (They are pretty picky about keeping the neighborhood looking good. It's a pain sometimes, but it keeps the property values up. ) I was lucky that they were able to place it in a very discreet spot. It's even accessible from my bathroom window so if we did get a freak snowstorm that filled the dish and blocked the signal, I could easily sweep off the snow. (Not that there's a great chance of that here in Hillsboro, OR, thank goodness.) BBC America is a great reason to get a dish! If you like Changing Rooms, be sure to check out Ground Force, too. Oh, and don't forget the Iron Chef on the Food Channel! |
Car54 | Monday, December 31, 2001 - 11:11 am     Yes, Twiggy told me about Ground Force too! I post on one of the TS boards, and I am always jealous when the conversation is about Changing Rms and Ground Force they sound great! I think they could mount mine on the edge of the back porch, where it would be invisible to anyone but me. |
Weinermr | Monday, December 31, 2001 - 11:27 am     I don't have satellite, but my cable service carries BBC America. Changing Rooms and Ground Force are great. Their news shows are great too, a real different perspective of U.S. and world events, without all the nonsense and hoopla that seems to accompany American news reporting. And of course, Iron Chef is the greatest. It goes without saying! |
Ketchuplover | Monday, December 31, 2001 - 11:28 am     customer service |
Car54 | Monday, December 31, 2001 - 11:53 am     Weinermr, it is so frustrating, I live in a very small country suburb, and most of the towns around us have very good cable, but our town chose a different provider and the selection is very expensive and very mediocre. I don't really know how they chose the provider- but our town is different than the neighboring towns just minutes away. |
Tksoard | Monday, December 31, 2001 - 12:59 pm     I've got DirecTV, and this last weekend, they added more local channels to our list. I have never been able to watch WB channel before. This morning I was checking it out, and Jerry Springer was on. I've heard so much about that show, but never saw it. That is the GROSSEST show I have ever seen!! There was a woman on that gets turned on by screwing food!! Bananas, Cucumbers, champaign bottles and such. Her boyfriend of 3 months didn't know about it, so he came on. She was really UGLY to boot. She took off her MOO-MOO and SHE HAD STEAKS DUCT TAPED TO HER BOOBS!!! And her crotch and her knees!! She was chasing everyone around the stage like that!! I'm not a prissy person, but I have never been so grossed out in my life. I think that now that I have seen JS Show, I've had enough!! just thought I'd share |
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