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Thanks for the info, tstillery. So you would probably recommend Sirius since they seem to have fewer commercials? How about the sound quality, are they both comparable?

Both are insane...

I am thinking about signing up for satellite radio. I was wondering who was experienced out there with it, and which service you might recommend. I have heard that the quality is not the greatest (even with my own ears, but could have been that particular receiver). Any one else heard this, too?

That is arguable, but not necessarily incorrect. I'm sure Fios is still using a cheaper transmitter at the customer side than they are using at the CO side. Probably the reason that their Upload speeds are lower than the Download speeds. This is only an assumption, though. Another reason for all ISPs to limit upload is the obvious - Why does the consumer need all that upload bandwidth - excuse. Some day that mind set will change, we here in the USA just need more competitors to offer synchronous speeds, therefore forcing most ISPs to follow suit.

Another reason: A Docsis modem, for example, is receiving its downstream (or the data you are downloading) from a high end and very costly CMTS in a climate controlled head end or hub site. This downstream signal is being delivered over the optical network using again some high end and pricey DFB transmitters (if not DFB, then a higher level) at $6,000 to $10,000 a piece. And lastly, the downstream carriers are generally in a much cleaner spectrum (~80MHz thru 750MHz). The upstream or the upload side is being transmitted from a $30 cable modem through the upstream spectrum (5-42MHz) which is by nature noisy and difficult to keep clean. This is due to the fact that the upstream is susceptible to all the interfering signals that can originate from every single home or business in a node, which then travels back upstream to a common point at the node and then on back to the head end. All funneling back to one point at the receiver in the CMTS. The upstream transmitters are generally a cheaper type of transmitter that is located in the field and are susceptible to temperature extremes and severe weather. The most common modulation profiles used in Docsis are: Downstream: 64 QAM = ~27Mbps 256 QAM= ~38Mbps Upstream: QPSK= ~5Mbps 16 QAM= ~10Mbps The reason behind the lower data rates on the upstream is due to the difficulty in delivering that quality signal from the cheap cable modem through the noisy plant and through the cheaper node transmitters back up to the CMTS at the head end/hub. As time goes on, the error correction hardware will improve and allow the cable companies to place higher level modulation schemes and also multiple channels on the upstream which in turn will allow for higher speeds. My brain hurts now - sorry for rambling..lol. Hope this info helps. I am sure that the reasoning holds pretty similar for DSL users, also.

Only in one place; Omaha, Nebraska. It was a test back in the 90's with all the telecom de-regulation and so on. Anyways, xceptional1, I would take viperc0n's advice, Cox rules..... Wish I could help with your problem, I believe Qwest still uses an older proprietary modem system, not Docsis.

Fire is still growing......bummer. Red Eagle (Glacier National Park): 22,000 acres at zero percent contained. The fire is eight miles southwest of St Mary. Glacier National Park Visitor Center, park residences, and the community of St Mary is threatened. Evacuations are in place for St Mary. Portions of the Going to the Sun Road and Highway 89 remain closed. Extreme fire behavior was reported. Information: Visit http://gacc.nifc.gov/nrcc/information/information.htm Webcam link again: http://www.nps.gov/glac/webcams/smcam.htm

They have the helicopters fighting the fire, now. Notice the twin rotor Chinook (I think).

I'll have to remember to check back after dark to see what it looks like after dark. Hope everyone is out of the way up there; I doubt there's any homes, but it is obviously close to that visitor's center.

I was bored surfing the net and stumbled on to a Glacier National Park webcam showing a forest fire live up there: http://www.nps.gov/glac/webcams/smcam.htm Here is a website with more info; it is called the Red Eagle fire: http://gacc.nifc.gov/nrcc/information/information.htm It is 6000 acres so far and 0% contained.

What version of Outlook Express do you have? I have 6.0 and I don't see any setting. Maybe it's tied to IE, are you seeing the Cleartype font when using Internet Explorer?

I am with you on that Cleartype crud, MS can keep that for themselves, it gives me a headache. Let me look around..............

Hey, Kingknight67, here is a diagram of the ideal way to have your modem wired up. Your levels are on the edge of optimum, but the modem should still work with those levels. Re-configuring your wiring to the diagram below may help, though. It would be helpful to know the downstream SNR, but you will have to call cust service to get that since your diagnostic page doesn't show it.

Looking pretty good to me: :::.. Upload Stats ..::: Upload Connection is:: 947 Kbps about 0.95 Mbps (tested with 1496 kB) Upload Speed is:: 116 kB/s Tested From:: http://hem.bredband.net Test Time:: 2006/07/26 - 5:52pm Bottom Line:: 17X faster than 56K 1MB Upload in 8.83 sec Tested from a 1496 kB file and took 12.9456 seconds to complete Upload Diagnosis:: Awesome! 20% + : 37.85 % faster than the average for host (cox.net) U-Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/stats/id-5WVTUOCE3 User Agent:: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.0.5) Gecko/20060719 Firefox/1.5.0.5 [!] COX 9/1

I see it this way; if there are not alot of members here from the North San Diego area looking for help, then that is a good sign that they are pretty solid. I know they are solid in Nebraska where I am.

Nice speeds!! Did you tweek anything, or is it just another random speed test?

I agree with you on the Clear Type, the Half, I hate it even on my LCD. That is also the first thing I did. The one main complaint I have with IE7 is that you cannot right click anything from your favorites menu or bar and "open in new tab" or "open in new window" like I can with FF. Other than that, I like it, it is still beta, so I have a few quirks like most others do.

I still think you have a signal level issue. Try getting your levels using the guide you found on the net. You do have to be connected directly to the modem, not thru any hub or router. Post them back here if you are able to obtain them. (which is unlikely, it is rather difficult with the Toshiba modems).

I used only Cablenut and I used VanBuren's 10000kbps file and get good results. I do have to stop the Avast AV On-Access protection, though to get my max results. It even helps me to stop the Windows Firewall, also. With AV and Firewall up: :::.. Download Stats ..::: Download Connection is:: 5100 Kbps about 5.1 Mbps (tested with 5983 kB) Download Speed is:: 623 kB/s Tested From:: https://testmy.net/ (Server 1) Test Time:: 2006/07/08 - 9:18pm Bottom Line:: 89X faster than 56K 1MB Download in 1.64 sec Tested from a 5983 kB file and took 9.61 seconds to complete Download Diagnosis:: Looks Great : 8.28 % faster than the average for host (cox.net) D-Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/stats/id-3IU9EFO6V User Agent:: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.0.4) Gecko/20060508 Firefox/1.5.0.4 [!] With AV and Firewall down: :::.. Download Stats ..::: Download Connection is:: 7060 Kbps about 7.06 Mbps (tested with 12160 kB) Download Speed is:: 862 kB/s Tested From:: https://testmy.net/ (Server 1) Test Time:: 2006/07/08 - 9:24pm Bottom Line:: 123X faster than 56K 1MB Download in 1.19 sec Tested from a 12160 kB file and took 14.109 seconds to complete Download Diagnosis:: Awesome! 20% + : 49.89 % faster than the average for host (cox.net) D-Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/stats/id-VREFDSHBC User Agent:: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.0.4) Gecko/20060508 Firefox/1.5.0.4 [!] Must be a busy night, 7.06Mbps is the best I can do.

The astronauts are currently on a spacewalk working on the robot arm. I don't see a tether, better hang on tight. Check it out: http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1369080 edit: After watching it for a few minutes, I do see their tethers..

Cool site, Thanks.

Anyone watching the feed? All sytems are go.

They just started the 3 hour clock again. Let's hope they lift off safely today. Apparently they are not too worried about the crack in the foam.

Thanks for the info, just looked fishy at first from my end, I will look deeper now....

This looks so BS to me, REVOLUTIONIZED. Is this a legit site?