Stop Dropping Me!!!
Written: Sep 10 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: fast downloads, easy installation, no contract :-}
Cons: slow uploads, get dropped when idle, software's a lil' clunky
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| anachronism's Full Review: Infospeed BA |
All in all, I've been very pleased with BellAtlantic's Infospeed DSL. Installation was a LOT faster than FlashCom, who left me in the dark about the fact I couldn't get DSL that by the time I found out I could. (Go fig.) The performance aspect has been great, with consistent down and up streams. (I have the 600k down/90k up home DSL.) And there are no restrictions to what you can put up, unlike a lot of other home DSL providers.
I was first drawn to BellAtlantic because Flashcom dropped me, and afterwards the bandwidth was very enticing. (For $50, you get double or quadruple what other providers based from Covad were offering.) Installation was a breeze, and the software installed smoothly. There was no contract, so I felt a lot safer going with BellAtlantic than other company's who's consumers had filled bulletin boards with gripes about downed service and no escape from their 3 year contract, and the modem was mine to keep, so if they screwed me, or if FreeDSL actually started providing service, I could switch.
The speed has been excellent. I would recommend broadband cable for those who can get it, but a 600kbps downstream keeps those MP3s, movies, and websites coming, as well as my ping nice and low for internet games. I generally get 40 to 60k per second down, which is plenty fast. I just wish BA would offer more upspeed; 90k up means something like 8k per second for me, tops. And uploading slows down downloads considerably. If you're looking to sponser a website on your computer, this might not be the right service for you.
The software is not that good, but thankfully it's only used to logon. The installation process is very goofy, involving the installation of Netscape Communicator 4.5, even though I have 4.7. (And yes, that's required. Of course you can uninstall it after the installation process is over, but I spent a long time scratching my head trying to figure out why it kept installing 4.5. It keeps your higher version intact, though.) THe software is only used to logon, and your familiar modem indicator from windows' Dial-up networking sits in the systray showing it's activity. The program used to logon can't seem to save my password, but that's a minor inconvenience, and probably local to my machine.
The one major gripe I have with InfoSpeed so far, is that if I wait around for a few minutes idling, often I will be disconnected from the internet! My computer still looks connected, but no more content comes in. Then not only do I have to disconnect and reconnect my connection, I have to do the same for most of my programs. I thought this was supposed to be an always on connection.
For instance, last time I was writing an epinion (of about this length) I went to send it, and my connection had been dropped. BELLATL!!! QUIT DROPPING ME!!!
If you want fast internet, I recommend cable. If you can't get cable, I'd recommend Infospeed DSL. It's pretty fast, pretty reliable (I always reconnect back up right away.), and there's been no trouble with unavailability. I have yet to talk to Bell after having this configured. And it's great to know that I have no commitment to this at all, and can switch providers at the drop of a hat, a nice thought every time they drop my connection.
Great for home, forget having any kind of server on your computer, and it's slower than cable. But all in all, the price is right, and the down bandwidth is nice.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
anachronism
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Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 5 members
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