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Old 06-18-14, 02:51 PM   #21
Higgy
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Originally Posted by jeff5may View Post
Y'all do what you feel is best... Feel free to vote with your wallet. But if you believe a forty dollar black box is going to protect you from Jason Bourne or Morpheus, you're wrong. What it will protect you from is your fear. You can sleep at night knowing the 12-year old next door isn't playing halo or command and conquer on your connection. And, of course, the multitudes of technically illiterate individuals randomly surfing the most common websites on the planet will have to find their own way. Don't worry, they will never learn how to crack that cisco router.

As for me, I will continue mercilessly leeching off the large corporate chains who have decided to offer a free connection in 99% of their storefronts, as well as the giving souls who don't lock their wifi connections. You can continue to pay three bills, totaling hundreds of dollars every month. I just don't see the value in it.
But you ARE the one paying those bills...

All I'm doing is warning you. I don't live in fear, I live smart, because I know there are stupid people out there. It's the same reason we teach our kids not to talk to strangers.

I show my generosity in different ways, but because I don't hand out my internet connection to every Tom, Dick and Harry, doesn't mean I'm not charitable. My internet, on the other hand, is locked down to keep me and my data safe, same way I lock the doors to my home.

You can do whatever you want to your wifi, I don't care. All I was just trying to do was be a good samaritan by letting you know the dangers of doing so.

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Old 06-19-14, 01:30 PM   #22
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Well, we did make it to 13 posts before going off topic... Pretty good for EcoRenovator.

* * *

But I wanted to report on my Ooma experience so far, since for me, a cell phone is not currently an option.

I still have the land line and Ooma, to see if I really want to do this.

So far, my experience is that the IP Phone calls are clearer that what I was experiencing with my land line. I was getting many reports of echoing on the line.

Also lots of small extras like caller ID, etc. are nice.

However, I am noticing that it can take a long time (1 to 2 sec) for the IP Phone to 'train up', in other words, to establish a duplex connection. But then the duplex conversation works just fine.

I have only a 5Mbps Internet connection, so the longer trainup time may be because of how it handles QoS issues, especially when I have a heavy download going on.

I also am having sporadic trouble calling a friend who has a MagicJack system. He hears the phone ring, but can't hear a voice, or see who the call is from. He is apparently having similar issues when he is called by many people who use cell phones, so I think the problem is actually on his end.

I also had an odd problem with one call, where I had reached a 'phone tree' (horrible invention) and when the choices were given, the robot would not respond to my button pushes. I called back on my 'land line' and it worked just fine. This problem has happened only once.

So my original, old POTS phone is looking less and less like a dear old friend, and more like a deal gone sour.

-AC
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Old 06-19-14, 01:53 PM   #23
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Voice communication really shouldn't take much bandwidth at all. The minimum speeds recommended by republic wireless is 80kbps. More bandwidth gives better quality, but that is all that is required. I only have 3 mpbs download and 1 upload and I have zero issues.
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Old 06-19-14, 08:05 PM   #24
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... I only have 3 mpbs download and 1 upload and I have zero issues.
Do you have any kind of QoS operating on your system? Perhaps your download activity is such that you don't really need QoS.

I guess the big issue is what I call 'heavy download'.

Sometime I have trouble getting a response to an http request, because I have what I am describing as 'heavy download' happening. Even in the midst of this, I can still make a clear call, but the penalty I pay is 1 to 2 sec. buffering time when the call initiates. I'm pretty sure that is how the Ooma box clears bandwidth for the call.

I don't have this kind of noticeable 'training up' when I have my full band width available.

As an aside, I learned about a month ago, that the FCC defines "Broadband" as greater than 3.5 Mbps.

And here's a picture to start another thread. We are paying more and getting less.

USA! USA! USA! (Canada, too!)

Best,

-AC



Notice that the OECD defines broadband as 45 Mbps or greater. Daox, I think that we are hillbillies.

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Old 06-20-14, 09:07 AM   #25
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I am not sure if there is a QoS or not.

Haha, a hillbilly I am then, and more happy for being one.

I not horribly long ago downgraded my cable internet from 20 mpbs download ($58/mo) to 3 mpbs download ($16/mo). I have barely noticed the surfing speed, buffering time for videos is a little slower, downloading large files is noticeably slower. Worth it? Absofreakinlutely.
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Old 06-20-14, 01:22 PM   #26
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I not horribly long ago downgraded my cable internet from 20 mpbs download ($58/mo) to 3 mpbs download ($16/mo). I have barely noticed the surfing speed, buffering time for videos is a little slower, downloading large files is noticeably slower. Worth it? Absofreakinlutely.
I guess the point of the graph I posted is that for the same $15/mo you are now fairly happy with paying, Korea is able to offer it's citizens 1Gbps for the very same price... that's over 300x faster.

Still absofreakinlutely happy?

I think we're being milked.

-AC
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Old 06-20-14, 03:08 PM   #27
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I think we're being milked.

-AC
Well dang, AC, somebody has to pay for all those TV ads. Just think of all the poor little children in South Korea who go to bed every night without any Charter Cable commercials.

I'm working with two engineers from Estonia right now and I can tell by the sad countenance that they don't get to watch Xfinity promos back home. We really should be grateful.
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Old 06-21-14, 04:40 PM   #28
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I'm working with two engineers from Estonia right now and I can tell by the sad countenance that they don't get to watch Xfinity promos back home. We really should be grateful.
Yep, I understand.

I think there might be a tiny corner in this dust-bin that I call my mind that does need filling with Xfinity promo trash!

-AC
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Old 06-28-14, 10:24 PM   #29
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I've been using Ooma now for 5-6 years, haven't really had any issues. Lately, I've been thinking about dropping it, just because we don't use it much. However, my rural house is in a bit of a cell phone hole, and I have foil-faced insulation so cell service isn't great. My wife also works from home quite a bit, and spent 5-6 hours this week on conference calls using ooma. That would work OK with her contract (lots o' minutes) cell, but not so good on my prepaid tracfone.

I like the blacklist function in Ooma, so I can block all those calls from companies wanting to install free solar on my roof. I just built my own blacklist for a while, but recently subscribed to the community blacklist to save myself some time. Any number that calls without leaving a message gets a quick search then usually blacklisted. I have blacklisted numbers set to ring forever, so maybe it ties up their computer for a few more seconds before bugging someone else.

I started with ooma premier, but the blacklist was the only feature i really used. Ooma premier started at $100/year, I dropped it after they bumped it to $120. I was pretty happy to see the blacklist still working after dropping to a basic subscription.

If I dropped Ooma, I would use the bluetooth feature of my v-tech cordless phone set more. That would enable us to use our cordless phone handsets to answer our cell phones, and not have to carry the cell around the house with us or find it when ringing. Meanwhile, the cell phone could sit in a windowsill in the den near the v-tech base for a good cellular and bluetooth connection. Of course, we would have to remember to put them there, which might not be an issue with my charging station located in the den.

Pat
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Old 06-28-14, 10:44 PM   #30
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I haven't had any experience with cable and power outages.

-AC
A couple of years ago, I was running a generator to keep our fridge and freezer cold during a winter power outage (yes, we have winter and blackouts here in California). On a whim, I added another extension cord and plugged in my cable modem and router and was pleased to find comcast cable/internet still working. I didn't hang out to see how long it worked, but this had to be 6-7 hours into a blackout for me to be running the generator. I suspect this have everything to do with comcast wanting to be equal to landline for phone service. Their combo modem/voip gateway boxes also have an internal battery.

Pat

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