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When you become a dad or mom, your life changes completely... you will then realize that before you were a dad... you didn't know what happiness is... and you can never go back the way you were. Then when you are talking to single non-parents about kids, or even life in general, you'll be thinking [LOL this guy doesn't know shit!]. Seriously... you don't know the meaning of life until you have children. Especially when they turn about 16 YO and they start giving *you* advice : ) It happened to me that way

Sorry- I didn't pick up right away you are using vista... good luck to you.. maybe it's not too late to upgrade to XP SP2

IE sucks... the newer the version, tghe more so. Try firefox or any other browser. You'll be less prone to hacker attacks and it will perform better for you. Last thing I heard was you can't even downgraqde IE once you have upgraded. Microsoft kinda sucks cuz once they get something working ok, it's "good enough"

The only port that fartbro blocks is port 25 for outgoing email, because they want you to use their own smtp mail server. That thing sucks buttermilk, and told me they block port 25 to stop spam relays.. good concept, but that approach is like using a shotgun to kill a mouse. However, there is another port I use so that I can use my own remote pop server (I'm not going to say publicly what it is, you can google it and find one). Other than that, I don't know of any specific port they block, unless you are trying to use VPN... in that case you have to do some fancy footwork to set it up because you are in their NAT, like a big internet cafe. And, no you can't have access to the smartblow NAT router... you're lucky they feature call center agents to offer copious apologies when you call for a problem. So, they can't help you either because they probably think a port is a place that ships come in from the sea

My html / ftp downloads through my browser only connect to one server. Download managers connect to as many mirrors as possible. So it's only natural the download will be faster especially since the server you are connected to can only dish out maybe 5 or 10 Kbps. Torrent programs, by nature, are a form of download manager, so the same concept will apply. However, I've experienced problems before wherein my http / ftp speed was great, but something was wrong with my TCP connectivity, so my torrents were dead slow, due to lack of peers and the rate I could download from them. Like I advised before, the best thing for him to do is to optimize his connection by following coolbusters 20 steps. I doubled my download speed just by using 10 or 12 of them. So, you're probably right... I would put the probability at about 80% (or more) that there is some small setting, or a bunch of them, causing the problem. So until that is eliminated as the cause, I wouldn't be so quick to blame the ISP.

Your speed is AWESOME for smartblo... 83.29% faster than I'm able to get through them.

Download managers are specifically designed to use all the download bandwidth possible by connecting to as many sources as possible. Your browser downloads are only from ONE source. That's why you're getting a different result on that issue. I've been on the internet since dialup was a baby (1993). TCP, especially using in PTP sharing, is VERY settings-sensitive. Please do yourself a favor and perform coolbusters 20 steps for a better connection. You'll learn alot, and you'll accomplish alot. Just search for "coolbusters 20" on this board and you'll find it. Even if you just perform half of his suggestions, you will be much happier with your connection. He's a Digital Buddha to many people here Good luck to you, I'm sure you'll hash it all out in no time

I assure you, they did NOT cap your connection. Fartbro just SUCKS and they don't know what the hell they are doing. The problem is that everybody not on the executive corporate throne has "save money!" beaten into their heads, and they need several levels of authorization just to spend a damn piso even if it's an emergency. In your case, I'd say the color code you are on is probably wrong or they got some other setting completely screwed up. The first thing they would do is change your antenna (they changed mine 5 times before it occurred to them their base satation may be the culprit). I would suspect that wouldn't make any difference since your antenna does work at 30kbps so it should work at 40 or 50 no problem. I know they didn't cap your speed cuz when I was dealing directly with the engineer in charge of the base stations here, he even tweaked a few things at his end to give my connection priority over others. And by golly it DID work. But the problem here remains- they need to replace some routers, switches, hubs and cabling at a cost of at least 200,000p ($5000 US) GASP!!!! They won't do it because that can be spent for one small donation to a senators campaign or a few rounds of golf with him.. kissy kissy!

Thanks.. the problem is I'm up in the mountains of Cebu and the only other service is DSL and it's so overloaded it's worse than dial-up. As for my canopy, the installer let me watch him set it up, and even took my suggestions I got from coolbusters advice for the settings. The problem here is the basestation. They don't want to upgrade anything because they are such tightwads. We only have 25 subscribers on this tower, compared to towers in the city that have 500+. When we have a connection it's great. But our downtime is about 30%. I'm looking at satellite internet but it's about 3 or 4x as expensive for the same service

You need to be more creative when dealing with these crooks. Firstly, tell them your problem is much worse than it appears- when I have a problem like yours, I tell them it's "slower than a dialup." And it has been happening all the time... your connection resets several times a day, and you can't get an IP address half the time. Also you always have to reboot your SM to get the IP address, so at night when it happens, your connection is lost while you are trying to download stuff overnight. Secondly, if they give you the "just wait 24 hours" BS line, tell them you already waited a frigging week and you're not waiting anymore. BE ASSERTIVE and BE STRICT with them, but DO NOT be abusive or cuss at them. Demand to speak to a supervisor. Tell the supervisor that if the problem isn't fixed within a day or 2 you will go up on the roof, disconnect smartblow, remove the antenna and your attorney will be sending them a letter demanding a full refund for the downtime, and any extra days you paid for, as well as the attorney fees. Also tell him that you will be filing a complaint with the smartbro division of the NTC (yes, there are so many problems with smartbroke that the government telecommunications office has a special division just for them). Tell him if it gets to that point, they will have 10 days to refund your money in CASH, and if they do not, they will lose by default, since they are the ones who breached the contract, and the antenna will belong to you to do with as you please. You can sell it on ebay for 8000p or 10000p, or just smash it with a hammer and feed it to the chickens This technique works for me every time

For those of you who do not know: It doesn't matter which number you press on the phone keypad, as long as you choose one to press. They ALL lead to the SAME CS reps (call center agents). I know this because I pressed 2 (for billing) by accident instead of1 (for tech support) the call agent asked me what my concern is, and I told them. She proceeded just like the tech support, not even mentioning billing. Now they have that robot answering machine that checks you connection, by making you put in your service ref code, etc. If you want to avoid that stupid thing, just press 2 for billing and it will bypass that crap. But to be honest, when their diagnostic system is working well, that robot will report to you that they are "currently performing enhancements to make your service better" and it may "affect" your connection (meaning the base station is broken) . Have a pen ready because that thing will blurt out a service report number incredibly fast and it will not repeat it. So write it down, and just hang up after that. Because that's all you need to get the rebate later. Remember-- smartblow is only interested in your money. If you start applying for rebates for daily problems, that will get their attention and they will try to fix it so they don't lose a few precious pisos. The execs use lots of those when they play golf with the senators. It does no good to bicker with the CSR -- because he/she is just a calling center agent- they have NO tech knowledge, and they have no access to ANY diagnostics other than their "support team." Neither one has any interest in talking to you anyway. If you need a technician to come out, make sure you speak to a supervisor first. Tell him to send a TECHNICIAN NOT an installer. If you don't tell them that you will be sorely disappointed when the part-time installer / chicken farmer comes and just changes your SM only to have the same problem. When they send a tech, there will be at least 4 or 5 standbys that will be with him, and they will arrive in an official fartbro truck. Good luck

I've had Fartbro for about a year. In that time period, I've had no internet for 110 days. I learned to demand a report be made, and that they give me the report number. I got a book a write down all the dates, names of the reps, and the numbers. Then I apply for rebate, which usually takes 3 or 4 months and several calls to get. My favorite Smartblow excuse is that they are making "enhancements" to the base station so I "may experience minor issues" but don't worry it will all be better in "24 hours. " Last time they told me this (last week) it was broken for 5 days. Anytime I call them now, I cut them no slack. Especially since they implemented that stupid answering robot that asks for your account number and sometimes "ends the call" for no reason, wasting about 10 or 20 minutes of your time just to speak to somebody. Whoever programmed that thing is a retard

Greetings I have been a smartbro(ke) subscriber since Sept 2007. I am very familiar with their poor service and support. In November of 2008, they issued a new bill format. They sent a brochure highlighting the change- just a simple change that shows the actual cost of service and the VAT tax separately. At least that's what they want you to think. Get your October bill and November bill and compare them. Look at the top left of the bill- where it says "statement of account." Under that it says "Statement date" then it gives the date of the bill. Under that it says "billing period covering." That is what you need to compare. The October bill says "Billing period covering: Oct 26 2008 - Nov 25 2008." On the November bill the "Billing period covering" date has been altered... it says Oct 26 2008- Nov 25 2008... the SAME period as the October bill says! I wasn't aware of any billing problem until they told me in November that I owed p999 more than I thought. I always pay 2 months in advance because I am 1 hour away from the payment center. When I called them about this, they gave me a big song and dance saying that the payment for August wasn't received so they applied it to that month. But I have the receipt for the August bill payment. I spoke to a supervisor whgo promised to email me an accounting. I never received it. I was too busy to follow up at the time, so I put it on the back burner. Friday, Feb 6, I called to follow up on a rebate that was already 4 months overdue. They asked me to look at the bills for the rebate... of course it wasn't there. But that's when I noticed the billing period change. I spoke to a supervisor who quickly admitted that there had been "many, many complaints" about the problem and smartbro was going to issue a "mass rebate" because they discovered the billing error caused the computer to wrongly double bill ALL SUBSCRIBERS for the period of Oct 26 2008 - Nov 25 2008! I told her to FAX me the details of the rebate. She said she had to wait until Monday, Feb 9 because the billing department was closed for the weekend. On Monday she called me, and began the most incredible excuse-filled, apologetic pile of horse crap I have ever heard- she said that I was "not affected" by the billing scam, so I would not be getting my 999 back. I told her she had 24 hours to have the "support team" who told her that to call me directly and explain the billing error to me. If she did not, I told her I would presume that I am correct, because of their silence, and post the scam on every forum I could find, and also contact the NTC (Mrs Briones is the one in charge of the Smartbro division). I waited 2 days, and nothing else happened. So here I am, reporting to all subscribers to CHECK YOUR BILLS and make sure smartbroke has not double billed you for that time period. I am now going to log off, and write a letter to Mrs Briones of the NTC complete with the clear evidence on their bills, and my receipts. I apologise for the long post, but I feel that smart should not get away with this scam

In that case, test away! But since you're having so much trouble perhaps you should ponder the question "why?"

Vista is a BETA program, meaning it's in the testing mode. Too bad M$ is too dumb / conceited to simply admit that when it was released. Here's what I would do in your situation: 1. Reformat your C drive 2. Install Windows XP 3. Download all the updates except for WGA (Windows genuine advantage) If you're paranoid about screwing everything up, then install the XP OS on a new hard drive and if you don't like it, put the vista OS hard drive back in. This will take a few hours to do, but afterward you'll be much happier As far as Windows 7 goes, it's also in the beta mode, and is just a build-up from Vista. So I'll let other people do the testing and just see where the cards fall. Best of Luck Craig

There are too many variables for anybody to give you the help you need online. You need to call smart customer support *1888 on your smart cell. Tell them your problem, let them troubleshoot it with you on the phone. If they can't fix it, tell them you want a technician - NOT an installer - to come and fix it. Have them make a report and get the "service reference number". WRITE IT DOWN. For everyday you are having problems, call again and get another report number. This is so you can get a refund later for those days, because you don't have to pay if it doesn't work right. Smart WILL send some qualified techs to your place and they WILL fix it. The same thing happened to me as is happening to you. They sent FOUR technicians to my place. My problem was caused by a base station network trouble. It could be your antenna is not aligned right, a network problem, a dhcp server problem... the list is long. After they fixed the base station, my speed changed to 45kbps (about 450 kilobits/sec) +

Call smartbro service at *1888 on your cell. Ask to speak to a supervisor. They will say none is available. Tell them you won't hang up until you speak to one. If after 15 minutes of this, they still say the same thing, tell them to have one return your call. They will do that for you. Tell the supervisor your problem. They may ask you to do a few simple troubleshooting tasks, just do what they say. If the problem is still not fixed, tell him you want a technician (NOT an installer) to come and fix it. If you get any resistance to this, tell him if they don't get it fixed in 24 hours, you will go up and tear the smart antenna down, and you will not give it back until they give you a cash refund. You will give them 7 days to do that, after that you will sell the smartbro antenna for 8000p to somebody (hell... I'll buy it from you for that!). Make sure they make a service report, and make them give you the service report number and WRITE IT DOWN, cuz you may need it again when you follow up

I have my stuff connected to: from the mains, I connected a voltage regulator. It's just the relay kind (the servo type is better). Connected to the output of that, I have a UPS unit. Just a small one that will last maybe 30 minutes. While your computer will operate fine on 100v, the problems arise from the power going off, only for a second and then coming back on immediately. Any kind of fast variations in the power outside the limits of what your computer can take, can cause electronic problems and cause possible damage to your components. I have a UPS simply to protect against any abnormal fluxuations in the power. It's cheap insurance!

LATENCY is the problem, not bandwidth. I've had both wildblue and starband, both of them will tell you that VOIP and many online gaming wont work very good. Back in 1996, I used a VOIP on a 56k dialup.. it worked pretty good, but dialup doesn't have good enough bandwidth to do it right. On the other hand, if you don't mind a second or 2 delay, your wildblue should have PLENTY of bandwidth to use VOIP, and you don't need the more expensive package for that.

A cautionary note on cloning mac addresses- If you don this and you try to communicate over the network with any cloned mac computer the network will go through something like this: You type (for example) the IP address for one of the cloned computers, say 192.168.0.3. The network will broadcast "who has 192.168.0.3?" Because TWO computers have the same mac, BOTH will answer with their mac address, which is the same. The network will become confused and will not be able to connect you to either because of the conflict. It will NOT tell you what the problem is, it will just hang, and hang, finally timing out. This will happen especially if you try to network one cloned computer to the other one. The same problem can happen if you allow Smartbro to give the SAME IP address to 2 cloned mad computers. Smartbro will expect ONE computer to answer, but it will get TWO answers. This can cause their network to become seriously confused, maybe even thinking it has been hacked by another user, cloning your mac. I have been through all of this stuff already. I finally spoke to an engineer from smart, and he traced the problem to the duplicate mac address. He kept saying, "hmmm... this is weird... I see 2 replies to everything the smart network transmits...do you have more than one computer connected?" I played dumb, not wanting him to know that I cloned a mac. I told him it must be a smart network problem. After that, I hooked up a router to my smartbro cable. I changed the mac addresses back to normal on both my computers. Now, smartbro sees ONLY the router mac address. I made sure that the router firewall was activated so that my 2 computer mac addresses didn't come through to the smartbro network, because that would cause the network to make me login to the portal each time I switched computers. The same goes for routers. If you are using more than one router, make sure you don't clone the macs. Just hook the 2nd router into the output of the 1st as if it were just another computer. Right now I'm using 4 computers on my smartbro connection, but it only sees the one mac address of my router. I can even access my canopy through my router, although the installer made all the settings correct so I didn't have to change anything

If you have any problems with smartbroke, call the *1888 service center. Make them make a service report about your problem. They may want to put you through some basic troubleshooting like renew your IP, etc. DEMAND they make a report, and GET THE REPORT NUMBER. Write it down. Tell them thanks, and goodbye. Each day you have the problem report it again, get another number. I have a notebook full of these. I suggest get your own little notebook, you will need it. After the problem appears solved, call again, give them all the report numbers and dates, and tell them you are applying for a rebate. Get that report number and WRITE IT DOWN with the date. Call them every few days to find out if they issued the rebate yet. Keep on them and they WILL give you a rebate. DO NOT accept any rebate less than it should be. They will almost always offer you only 100p for 500p worth of days of bad service. Tell them "not good enough!" you want the FULL REBATE. If you must, speak to a supervisor. They will say none is available. Tell them you will not hang up until you speak to one. Believe me, your problem won't last long when they realize you will not be paying for the bad service. It worked for me, I had about 100 days of bad service last year, and I got a rebate for it all. Now they know me on a first-name basis, and I very seldom have any problems ( :

Increasing "max half-open TCP connections" to somewhere between 60 and 100 worked wonders for me no matter which Torrent program I used. Windows generally sets this at only 10 default. Experiment with the number. I found 90 works best on one computer but 100 works best on another. Most torrent progs have a setting under the connections options, and there is also a way to tweak your registry to make the change global on your computer. See the thread in testmy.net called something like "20 steps for tweaking smartbro" for details about doing that and more.. Read ALL of it and read it again until you understand. Ask questions if you don't understand. I increased my smartbro speed from 200kbs to 400kbs just by following the 20 steps. I would recommend that everybody read it, smartbro or DSL or cable users can gain useful info for making your computer optimal for internet usage. Cablenut (a program) is recommended in that article, I use it myself, and as long as you are careful it will really help your internet speed and stability. Google is great for searching for help, thats how I found testmy.net

I tried every setting I could find with uTorrent, and could never get it to work with smartbroken. I studied dozens of sites an blogs until my eyes fell out. Out of desperation I tried several other torrent programs, among them- BITLORD. Bitlord somehow is able to conduct activities through the smartbro NAT without any frustrating tweaking. I have been getting awesome speeds both up and down with it for 2 months now. And the number of peers I can connect to is phenomenal compared to uTorrent. I could NEVER get anything but a red or yellow connection status with any other torrent program. You don't even have to set any port range, it finds the ports by itself! I get 20x the peers and seeds I used to get. i LOVE Bitlord- and it's FREE

I tried Utorrent, bittorrent, and a couple other torrent clients with smartbroKE, but because the smartbro NAT we are locked in blocks direct access to most ports, my speeds SUCKED and I could never get a normal connection. Now I use Bitlord... somehow it's able to work around the NAT problem, and I get much better results consistently! I LOVE IT! I don't know why or how it does it, and I don't care as long as it thwarts the stupid smartbroke constraints. Give it a try, it's not a memory hog and doesn't use up your CPU speed either.

The best color code is determined mainly by: RSSI: 500 or higher is good, the higher the better... you will find that the Power Level usually is also strong when the RSSI is high (example: -60 is stronger and better than -80) Jitter: The lower, the better, below 5 is good. Sectorusercount: The lower the better. In your case, it looks like you are on an excellent color code, even though the usercount is a bit high. But most people don't use the connection intensively so that shouldn't be a problem. There is another thread topic in the Smartbro forum that deals exclusively with tweaking your subscriber module. This is a MUST READ if you plan on fooling with it. Be VERY careful what you do in there-- you can seriously screw things up and also get into trouble with smartbroke if they find out. Chances are the installer set it up correctly in the first place, as was the case with mine.