zalternate

Wow. The inside of the Ipad sure looks familiar.

Is there any exclamation marks(during startup) in the Windows error logs?

In Admin tools, Event viewer.

Well in the past year I recently moved to Smith Mountain Lake (http://smith-mountain-lake.com/)

It's great living on a lake, waking up and hearing fish jump and ducks quack. But... I had to switch ISPs. WHICH SUCKS. I used to get almost 20MBPS down from Cox.

Now with verizon DSL. I'm getting 2-MBPS.

Could of been worse.

You could of gotten stuck with over-subscribed wireless or Laggy over-subscribed satellite.

Are you trying to watch "high definition" video's? They need about 1.5Mbps(or slightly more) speed to stream cleanly.

If watching normal video resolution, maybe your wireless ISP connection is dropping out? You could try some ping testing to see if you are losing packets.

Wi-Fi anxiety. Real or Fake?

So what do people think of this anyways?

Even people emit energy of some form.

Would the person who says he gets sick with wireless emissions around him, not have gone into a tirade, if he did not know(his sub-conscious knew) his female friend was a big user of wireless electronics?

Just don't tell the guy that the electrical wiring in his home also emits electronic noise as well. So maybe he should move out into the desert with no electricity and a water tower.

Oh and all those satellites bombarding the earth in radio waves on various frequencies.

And the weather doppler radar dish sending out beams of energy to reflect off of rain or snow or mountains.

Even the Sun sends various waves of energy that hit the Earth in low to high energy levels.

latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-hometown-santa-fe28-2010mar28,0,2528354.story

Wi-Fi anxiety: Man sues neighbor to shut off electronics

The Santa Fe plaintiff claims to suffer from 'electromagnetic sensitivities' set off by cellphones, routers and other electronic devices.

Arthur Firstenberg, who says he is hypersensitive to certain frequencies of electromagnetic radiation, saw the house at the end of a narrow lane as a refuge from physical and neurological symptoms that have plagued him for three decades.

"It's been difficult because of my electromagnetic sensitivities," he said. "I had a lot of difficulty finding a house that I could be comfortable in."

So in September 2008, he bought the home on Barela Street, a few blocks from the newly redeveloped downtown rail yard here.

But last October, when a friend of his rented a house on the next block that backed up to Firstenberg's property, the familiar waves of nausea, vertigo, body aches, dizziness, heart arrhythmia and insomnia returned -- all, he says, because she was using an iPhone, a laptop computer, a wireless router and dimmer switches.

Firstenberg, 59, wanted Raphaela Monribot to limit her use of the devices. "I asked her to work with me," he said. "Basically, she refused."

So he sued Monribot in state district court, seeking $530,000 in damages and an injunction to force her to turn off the electronics.

"Being the target of this lawsuit has affected me very adversely," Monribot said Friday in response to e-mailed questions. "I feel as if my life and liberty are under attack for no valid reason, and it has forced me to have to defend my very basic human rights."

Firstenberg's claim has occasioned plenty of only-in-Santa-Fe eye-rolling. This is, after all, a town as known for its abundance of New Age healers, anti-nuclear activists and wealthy, turquoise-wearing expatriates as it is for spectacular sunsets and centuries-old adobe architecture.

"It makes me miss living in Santa Fe more than I have in a long time," one former resident wrote on a local newspaper blog. "When my brother sent me this link I wanted to cry from laughing so hard. I wonder if Blu-Ray players send him into convulsions? Would Bluetooth give him nosebleeds?"

Not everyone was laughing.

Nearly 400 people signed an online petition that Firstenberg helped organize against plans to add Wi-Fi antennas around town. The City Council postponed the project last month.

Dr. Erica Elliott, who treated Firstenberg and testified at a hearing on a preliminary injunction, said she signed the wireless petition because she's convinced electromagnetic hypersensitivity is a real disorder that may affect the nervous system.

Mainstream scientists object to the notion that microwaves and radio waves emitted by consumer electronics could cause the reported health problems.

Bob Park, a University of Maryland physics professor who has published a book on the subject, says that although such radiation can heat tissue, it lacks the energy to knock loose electrons and alter human DNA or otherwise cause the reported symptoms.

"It's totally implausible," Park said. The varied complaints, he said, are likely psychological in origin.

District Judge Sarah Singleton is expected to rule soon on a defense motion to dismiss the case, as well as the preliminary injunction sought by Firstenberg. She already dismissed a claim involving Monribot's iPhone because federal law prevents state courts from taking up cellphone issues.

On Friday, Monribot declined to step outside her home -- barely 30 feet from Firstenberg's house -- but agreed in a phone call to answer questions via e-mail.

She keeps in touch, she said, with relatives in the U.S., Asia, Europe and the Middle East. "Because my family members live in different time zones, I have always made myself available to them at all hours," she said. "We communicate often through Skype, Gmail chat, video and audio sessions."

Firstenberg knew this when he mentioned to her that the Casados Street house was for rent, but after Monribot moved in, he and a friend insisted that she turn off her Wi-Fi router and other equipment. She tried to comply, but felt harassed.

"I decided to bring it all to an end, stop trying to accommodate a neighbor and attempted to start concentrating on my own life again," she wrote.

Firstenberg said he was staying with friends and occasionally sleeping in his car. He finds the attention surrounding the lawsuit embarrassing, he said.

"I'm not after publicity," he said. "I just want to live. I want my home."

Heres another good article. And an attached pic.

Daily mail link of the story below..

http://www.quackometer.net/blog/2007/04/electrosensitivity-caused-by-wi-fi-and.html

The Daily Mail brings us the story of Sarah Dacre who suffers terribly from a range of symptoms including “hair loss, sickness, high blood-pressure, digestive and memory problems, severe headaches and dizziness. ” Sarah believes the symptoms are caused by the effects of the ‘electrosmog’ in our environment, the electromagnetic radiation (EMR) given out by mobile phones and Wi-Fi networks. She is so troubled by these devices that she resorts to wearing a metallic shield over her head. She covers her rooms with tin foil and avoids electrical equipment at all costs.

Sarah is not the only person in this position. More and more people report suffering as a result of electrosmog. The comment section in the Mail article testifies to this. Support groups have been set up and campaigning groups, such a Powerwatch, are on the case. Alasdair Philips of Powerwatch is a regular commentator on the effects of EMR. The newspapers are full of alarming reports about the problem and Alistair is there to offer his views.

As you might expect, some people are eager to cash in on the problem, selling useless devices to cure the problem, such as the QLink, and alternative ‘gurus’ like Patrick Holford selling devices to detect EMR. This could all be quackery as no-one really understands the nature of the illness yet. It may be one illness really caused by EMR exposure, but it could also be a group of unrelated problems where people just believe that it is the EMR causing their symptoms.

People do get upset though if you call an illness psychosomatic. They equate the word with ‘not real’ and see it as a threat. That could not be further from the truth. No-one is doubting that the eletrosensitives are suffering and need help, it is just that we do not need take their explanation of their illness at face value. Part of the problem is that lots is known about EMR and its effects on matter and people, and it is difficult to think up plausible explanations that could account for the wide range of symptoms and types of exposure being reported. Conversely it is quite easy to see how people could falsely believe that EMR was the cause – and be quite passionate about it.

People like explanations in their life. If you are suffering from debilitating symptoms and your doctor, or even your high street quack of choice, has no explanation, then it is easy to see how you might latch onto a ready-made explanation. We are very good at deceiving ourselves, and in particular applying post hoc logic to explain events. “I felt terrible today. It was the neighbours with their Wi-Fi on”, “Big headache came on after all those mobiles around me in town”. And so on. This self-deception may well be part of the psychosomatic illness.

Now, helping these people will depend very much on understanding the nature of the problem. Are they really being hurt by mobiles? Or, is a more subtle psychological problem at the root? Is there another problem that is being masked by their insistence on being electrosenstive? These are answerable questions where we can use science, experiment and observation to help come to some conclusions.

However, for many of the campaigners and the sufferers, there is already and answer – and it is mobile phones, it is WiFi, it is kettles and computers and modern life. No debate.

Powerwatch are already convinced it is EMR that causes these symptoms and they campaign and advise in accordance with that belief. The problem is, that if they are wrong, then they will not help their supporters get better and they will expose them to the quacks that wish to exploit the situation. If the illness is psychosomatic in nature, then it is likely that some form of talking therapy may be more beneficial than calling on governments to ban mobile phone masts and Wi-Fi hotspots.

The Powerwatch position can be seen on its ‘Dispelling the Wireless Myths’ page. It tackles the supposed myth that ‘People only got affected when the scare stories started, it must be psychosomatic’. The page counters this myth by saying,

this is a quickly dispelled myth (often also referred to as a ‘nocebo’ effect — basically a negative ‘placebo’ effect). A quick look at some of the science:

and then goes on to list four papers that we are supposed to take as evidence that the psychosomatic answer is wrong. The trouble is that all four papers appear to have nothing to do with determining if electrosensitivity is caused by EMR or if it is psychosomatic. There are papers on fruit fly eggs, sperm mobility, test-tube cells and stork nesting habits. But none on looking at humans and their exposure to EMR.

This is strange because there are plenty of papers written on the subject. So why do not Alasdair Philips and his team mention them? In fact there are well over thirty published studies looking into this question. The studies typically ask electrosensitive volunteers to record their symptoms in the presence of suspect devices like mobile phones. The trick is though that the researchers and the subjects are not told if the devices are really on or not, i.e. the trial is blinded. The thirty or so studies all do things a bit differently, but around this general theme.

Now of the studies, only seven so far have shown there is a difference between on and off, that is, that the mobile phone had some sort of affect. However, five of these positive results could not be repeated by the same researchers and the other two are thought to be statistical flukes. In other words, the vast majority of the experiments have shown that electrosensitivity has not been demonstrated to be due to exposure to EMR emitting devices.

A systematic review of most of the studies that have been done concluded,

The symptoms described by “electromagnetic hypersensitivity” sufferers can be severe and are sometimes disabling. However, it has proved difficult to show under blind conditions that exposure to EMF can trigger these symptoms. This suggests that “electromagnetic hypersensitivity” is unrelated to the presence of EMF, although more research into this phenomenon is required.

Why does Powerwatch not discuss this? Its a shame. If the people who care and campaign most on behalf of electrosensitive people are selective in their evidence, blind to alternatives and hold strong convictions, then people like Sarah Dacre in the Mail article may go on suffering. Rather than wearing that chain mail hood, perhaps Sarah may benefit from some other sort of therapy.

One thing I do on stories like this, is look for possible conflicting interests that may sway judgments. More often than not, it turns up interesting little facts that need a bit of thinking about.

In this case, I noted that Powerwatch recommend various products to help people like Sarah shield their house from EMR. Powerwatch provide a link to EMFields, a company that supplies all sorts of anti-EMR products. EMFields, also kindly provides a link to ‘consumer interest group Powerwatch that give good, practical advice’.

Now, doing a whois look up on both ‘consumer interest group’ Powerwatch and commercial trading business EMFields, shows that both domains are registered to an Alasdair Philips of Ely. Are they by chance related?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-450995/The-woman-needs-veil-protection-modern-life.html

The woman who needs a veil of protection from modern life

No, she's NOT a beekeeper. This woman believes that her bizarre headgear can save her from the dangerous electrosmog all around us. Can she possibly be right?

Before knocking on Sarah Dacre's door, I take the precaution of checking my mobile phone. It's switched off, as she has requested.

"Last time someone came to visit," she warns, "I started feeling awfully nauseous. It turned out he had a picture phone with him and had left it switched on. A picture phone!"

She pauses, looking genuinely horrified. Apparently, this type of mobile automatically sends signals to a local base station every nine minutes - "No wonder I felt so sick."

We sit down in the living-room of the airy, north London house that, for the past two years, has been Sarah's refuge from modern life. Save for the absence of a television, it looks ordinary enough.

But beneath the coats of magnolia paint, she points out, the walls are lined with a special paper that contains a layer of tin-foil; and upstairs, the windows are hung with a fine, silvery gauze.

These aren't idiosyncratic decorating decisions, though. All these silvery layers are here for a purpose: to keep the 21st century at bay.

Sarah, 51, is one of a growing band of people who claim to be experiencing extreme - and incapacitating - sensitivity to electrical appliances, as well as to certain frequencies of electromagnetic waves.

"Wi-Fi, or wireless broadband networks, seem to be the worst thing," she says.

"Closely followed by mobile phones - particularly if they're being used in an enclosed space - the base stations of cordless telephones and mobile phone masts.

"I have to restrict the amount of time I spend on the computer or watching television, and make sure I don't have too many household appliances on at once, because that sets me off as well."

This may sound bizarre, but there is no doubt that Sarah's symptoms are real.

To date, they include hair loss, sickness, high blood-pressure, digestive and memory problems, severe headaches and dizziness.

They strike with such ferocity that, since diagnosing herself as "electrically sensitive" in May 2005, she has been marooned at home.

She can't work. When she wants to phone friends, she has to use a land-line - a significant advancement, it turns out, because she was so ill at one stage, she says, that she couldn't even touch an ordinary receiver without feeling a violent shock pass up her arm.

Food shopping is done as rapidly as possible, once a week, at a time carefully chosen to avoid younger people and their permanently switched-on mobile phones.

And she can venture into built-up areas only if she is swathed in a net-and-hat ensemble made from a special "shielding fabric" that makes her look like a bee-keeper.

"I'm sure people laugh," she says, "but I don't mind as long as it keeps me well."

Finding her own solutions - however outwardly bizarre - has been essential because, for the moment at least, the medical establishment does not even accept that her condition exists.

Fortunately, some individual doctors have been sympathetic to her plight.

Dr Sarah Myhill, who is registered with the General Medical Council and practises privately in Wales, says: "There is no doubt that electrical sensitivity is a real phenomenon - I have seen too many people affected by electro-magnetic radiation (EMR) to think otherwise.

"Clinically, I nearly always see electrical sensitivity in people who are already suffering from chemical sensitivity.

"There are many symptoms that can be switched on by electrical sensitivity, and it appears that almost any electro-magnetic frequency can be the cause."

Even so, I cannot help feeling a little sceptical. Is there any suggestion that ES could be a psychosomatic illness, I ask Sarah (who, in fairness, does not seem to be particularly highly-strung).

"Inevitably, people suggest that," she says, with a flick of her auburn, Farrah Fawcett-style hair.

"But at one time, ME sufferers were accused of having psychosomatic symptoms and were ignored as a result. Now, the illness is formally recognised.

"Before this, I'd barely had a day ill in my life - I've always been a very energetic, dynamic person.

"I had a career in banking, then in events management, and then I ran my own television production company.

I was always busy and I was always out doing things - skiing, tango lessons, looking after my son, Josh, who's now 17. I had a very active life and I loved it.

"Now, I have no income because I can't work and I have no choice but to devote all my energies to fighting to find out more about my allergies."

The first symptoms started about five years ago. At first, Sarah ignored them, hoping they might be due to tiredness or stress and would simply go away.

Gradually, though, her condition deteriorated. And about two years ago, she says "everything hit at once, like a car crash. As well as the exhaustion and nausea, I even lost the sight in my right eye."

A stream of doctors, complementary practitioners and Chinese herbalists all failed to alleviate any of her symptoms or come up with a diagnosis.

Instead, she found an answer on Google - through websites such as electrosensitivity.org.uk.

All her symptoms seemed to match those of people who believe they are allergic to modern life.

She lists some of the offending items that were in her home: "I had a burglar alarm emitting microwave radiation, I used a mobile phone constantly, I had two cordless phones and countless appliances - all of which have an electromagnetic field associated with them."

Convinced that she had almost certainly found the cause of her illness, she ordered, from the internet, some special rolls of foil wallpaper and a fabric called Swiss bobbinet - a netting made from polyester filaments dipped in silver.

Both promised to "shield" her from any emissions from phone masts or wireless broadband systems.

Within a few weeks of the wallpaper going up and the windows being hung with netting, she began to feel better.

So much so that when she suddenly had an offer on her house, which she had been desperate to sell for seven months, she decided not to sell after all.

Since then, she has gradually managed to find other ways to help her cope.

She can use her computer for up to three hours a day, "but only if I keep myself absolutely detoxed all the time, drinking plenty of water and revolving my meals so that I don't become sensitive to certain types of food as well."

Her long-term (some would say long-suffering) boyfriend, Rod, a gold and silversmith who lives in Kent, has been sympathetic, she says. But there have been unexpected setbacks that might test the happiest of couples.

Last month, she had a relapse and started to panic.

"I'd been feeling quite bright and energetic; then suddenly, for three nights, I couldn't sleep," she says.

"I really felt it was back to how it was in the beginning, when I didn't know what was wrong with me. I was exhausted, developed bladder problems, felt ill. That's when I decided to run some tests."

Using an "electrosmog detector" - the name given to a device that can apparently register levels of electromagnetic activity - she checked her bedroom.

"And there was radiation streaming in through the one wall that I thought I hadn't needed to protect. We have some new neighbours, and I think they must have installed wireless broadband."

To ensure a good night's sleep, Sarah now takes the precaution of swathing herself in her special silver netting.

She is concerned by the increasing spread of wireless networks.

"I think it's a terrible mistake," she says. "Is Wi-Fi going to turn out to be the tobacco, asbestos or Thalidomide of the 21st century? It's looking that way.

"And instead of testing it out properly, what are we doing? We're putting it into schools, exposing small children to it all day long, and opening up entire Wi-Fi areas - they've just created a giant new Wi-Fi zone in the City of London.

"It horrifies me to think of people in small houses or flats who might be affected by several overlapping wireless networks at once."

Yet the scientific case for electrosensitivity (ES) is threadbare. The World Health Organisation's position is that "there is no scientific basis to link ES symptoms to EMR exposure.

"Further, ES is not a medical diagnosis, nor is it clear that it represents a single medical problem."

This week, Professor David Coggan, a member of the Health Protection Agency's advisory group on non-ionising radiation, told BBC's Newsnight: "There is quite a lot of evidence now accumulated on mobile phones and health - and the balance of evidence overall doesn't point to problems.

"There's still uncertainty and there still needs to be further research, but so far we don't have a concern.

"And on that basis, the concern about Wi-Fi is much lower on the scale than, say, that about pan-global influenza."

Other research has backed the view of the medical and scientific establishment.

In one "provocation" study, a number of people who claimed to have electrical sensitivity were placed in a room with a mobile phone and not told whether or not it was switched on.

Asked by a researcher how they felt, they failed to establish any link between physical symptoms and the alleged trigger.

Sarah Dacre believes that this is because the tests were carried out in an area with high background electrosmog.

"Once you are sensitised," she says, "that's it.

"It's like having a glass of wine - it's cumulative in your system.

"You don't stop being drunk once you have finished drinking, so you can't then be tested sober."

She continues to campaign for electrosensitivity to be recognised as a valid medical complaint linked to electromagnetic fields.

"While I'm up and about," she says a little sadly, "I'm going to do something about it."

So I saw another ad on this site that was like Swoopo. Interesting how people are coerced into entering their credit card information for something that is charging extra stuff onto their card. Read the details of what you are actually buying.

But apparently they are on Ebay(as an ad at the bottom, I guess) and people click the link thinking that they can just enter their information and buy a product with no strings attached.

Seems to be spreading like a plague with various names on the Internet.

A whole pile of information via user replies.

http://www.pennyauctionwatch.com/2010/03/is-swipebids-a-scam/

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100301221226AAa2Al2

A complaint about swipebids.com

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=126480

here is a quote on how people are being duped by their own ways.

I was on Ebay looking for a computer. There was one at the bottom of Ebays list and I clicked on it which took me to the Bells n Whistles and clocks counting down called Swipebids.com with a whole bunch of computers to bid on BLARING IN MY FACE. I put in my credit card information which is normal if you want to bid like on Ebay but thats not the way this site works..................

They have to the left of the credit card info ALREADY CHECKED A PACKAGE OF BIDS FOR $150 THAT IF YOU PUT IN YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION YOU AUTOMATICALLY HAVE BOUGHT AND PAID FOR 450 BIDS (LAS VEGAS STYLE) WITHOUT REALIZING IT. NOW YOU MUST USE THESE - WHICH IS A JOKE IN AND OF ITSELF. When I realized that it was a mistake, I immediately called them and said that I thought I was on Ebay and didn't want to bid on this site with all the bells, whistles, clocks going up and down, and I wanted to cancel this and zero out this mistake. Jackie cancelled my membership and said she zeroed out the money, which was a lie. She zeroed out the membership but they billed my Bank for $150 the next day march 12, 2010. I called back and Jackie said she couldn't give me any money back. That it would upset the bidding. March 13, 2010, I called the billing dept and they gave me the same answer. She said that they already cancelled my membership and I don't get any money back. SHE WAS SORRY BUT SAID YOU SHOULD HAVE NOTICED THAT WE ALREADY HAD THE $150 PACKAGE CHECKED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE AS THAT IS THE MOST ORDERED PACKAGE. I explained that I didn't check any package but was just trying to order a computer, the answer was still - OH WELL. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN DO FOR YOU MISS WOODY? YES, YOU CAN REFUND MY MONEY NOW FOR THE 4TH TIME THAT I'VE ASKED.................

I had the same thing happen to me. I hit the button once, it turned my card down. I had the proper "1 dollar for 10" button clicked. I had to fill the info out again and didn't realize that it defaulted back to the $150. I am just calling my bank. They'll remove it. I wouldn't worry about it, they'll remove it for you. The stupid bitch on the chat function is nothing but a scam artist as well.

Yes I was told by Xplornet of the minimum speed B.S. too. The satellite option for rural users around here is the only option because we live in a part of Saskatchewan that has hills, unlike other parts of the prairies. Therefore we are stuck with Satellite, even though I can look out my window right now and see a wonderful Sasktel cell phone tower that could be dishing up Sasktel wireless service to rural customers too. Unfortunately Sasktel does not think there are enough customers for them to make the effort to try wireless instead relying on their wonderful crap service from Xplornet to bring "Higher Speed" internet to all rural Saskatchewan.

You could try to contact Saskatchewan consumer protection for some help. Maybe the Government could give a crap about what SaskTel is dishing out to people.

http://www.justice.gov.sk.ca/cpb

The Consumer Protection Branch is a regulatory agency that investigates consumer complaints, answers consumer inquiries, provides advice and direction to the public on how to resolve their complaint, educates consumers and businesses on their rights and responsibilities, and conducts compliance audits of licensees.

An interesting blog post.

http://countrytowns.ca/blog/index.php/2009/06/27/p39

SaskTel 100% Highspeed Coverage Smoke Screen

They have GOT to be kidding!

SaskTel Satellite Internet powered by Xplornet- June 9, 2009 -

SaskTel today announced the launch of SaskTel Satellite Internet powered by Xplornet providing coverage to all areas of Saskatchewan not able to receive SaskTel High Speed Internet.

And you gotta love this part:

SaskTel Satellite Internet powered by Xplornet provides affordable, fast, and easy Internet access packages with speeds of up to 1.0 Mbps or up to 1.5 Mbps starting from $56.95/month.

[More:]

OK... for those who haven't been suffering along with dial up , hoping Xplornet install costs would go down in our rural SK areas.... lets start with the fact that, before this announcement, Xplornet dealers from Manitoba have been direct mailing SK border residents about those packages starting at $49.95/month. The equipment cost is being promoted as discounted down to $50 (as per the latest flier in my mailbox last week), yet the Xplornet page that tells you about promotions for your local postal code only give you the SaskTel Deal, with equipment costs at the full $250. and $ 7 more per month on the 3 year contract. No deals.

Apparently SaskTel has one sweet smokescreen to redirect the $129 million into cell phone towers. The deal involves SaskTel forking over $6 million to Xplornet to provide the "service". So they are paying them a token amount of their budget for the privilege of jacked up prices to SaskTel customers. Anyone who lives in Rural SK knows there are almost always deals available for reduced cost of equipment from Xplornet. Its the installs that kills you. $200+ for a tech to come from all of 50 km away. The last neighbour I talked to forked out over $700 in the first 30 days, for equipment, install, activation, first months payment and all the other hidden charges, even with a discount deal on her equipment. That's highway robbery! What does it take to install, I've seen it done in 2 hours. And that was on a tough to install situation.

Am I the only one that thinks that if SaskTel is going to do this deal, that these funds should mean lower prices?? Xplornet was already here, SK residents could get there service before this deal.

I've emailed Xplornet (can't get to the right page on SaskTel... their site is not optimized for dial up users), questioning the higher prices. No doubt I'll get a form reply that holds no meaning.

So with the remaining $123 million of the budget will we see 3g cell service? I'd much rather go for the Rogers Rocket.....

A few facts about SaskTel "High Speed" - this deal will mean 100% coverage for the province, but outside the 13 cities most of that will be either DSL or Satellite. DSL only qualifies as high speed is you've never had anything better than true dial up. Satellite is extremely susceptible to weather condition, like prairie thunder storms (not that we get many of those...right!).

Interestingly enough there is yet another bonus for SaskTel NOT providing the true high speed by wireless methods is that both DSL and Satellite Internet mean VoIP phone lines are useless. Too unreliable.

Cool perk for SaskTel, keep the competition out....

Well, I'm sick and tired of waiting for real high speed out here in the country.

Also here is the SaskTel news item. The 100% sure sounds good until you hear how they are gong to achieve that. It's one thing to be on satellite in the middle of nowhere with near zero population, but it's another thing to be in a small town or on the edge of it and get stuck with satellite.

http://www.sasktel.com/about-us/news/2009-news-releases/sasktel-invest-220million-in-network.html

2009 news releases

SaskTel to invest $220 million in its Saskatchewan network Windows Media Player icon

Watch the full announcement.

May 5, 2009

Bringing High Speed Internet to 100% of Saskatchewan population and Cellular to 98%

May 5, 2009 – SaskTel will invest $220 million in its Saskatchewan network in 2009, which includes $42.4 million from the Government of Saskatchewan for year one of a three year Rural Infrastructure Program. Residential and business customers in communities across the province can expect improved and expanded SaskTel services as a result of this latest major capital investment.

“With this major network investment, SaskTel is continuing its commitment to Saskatchewan,” Minister of Crown Corporations Ken Cheveldayoff said. “As SaskTel moves into its second century, residential and business customers can look forward to improved and expanded service in 2009 and beyond.”

“Since 1987, SaskTel has invested more than $3.2 billion in our Saskatchewan network,” SaskTel President and CEO Robert Watson said. “In 2009, we will continue our efforts to deliver expanded coverage, increased bandwidth and even better service to our Saskatchewan customers.”

Highlights of this year’s investment program include:

* In 2009, SaskTel will invest $48.5 million to begin construction of a new $172 million Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)/High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) wireless network, which is the next evolution of GSM technology. UMTS/HSPA is a next generation wireless network which will enable SaskTel customers to enjoy the benefits of using UMTS/HSPA compatible cellular & data devices. The first phase of the new network build, which will provide coverage in the major Saskatchewan centers, is expected to be available early 2010. Full coverage, similar to today’s digital cellular coverage, is anticipated to be available by the end of 2010.

With the continued investment in next generation networks, SaskTel will be shutting down its analog network mid-2010. The majority of cellular service providers across Canada and in the U.S. no longer support analog roaming, vendors have discontinued support of the analog network and device suppliers no longer manufacture analog devices. The continued evolution of our network infrastructure will provide the residents of Saskatchewan with exceptional wireless service.

* In 2009, SaskTel will begin the Rural Infrastructure Program to deliver 100% high speed internet coverage and improved wireless coverage across the province within three years.

o As part of this program, SaskTel will provide digital cellular service to 55 locations by the end of 2011. Please see Appendix A for a list of the 55 locations.

o In 2009, SaskTel will invest $37.6 million to expand and improve its existing wireless network, including the addition of 12 out of the 55 new digital cellular sites across the province.

o This year, SaskTel will invest $43 million to expand rural broadband. This includes upgrading the rural backbone infrastructure to provide an enhanced transport network that will deliver basic high speed internet (5 Mpbs) to approximately 90 out of the 187 communities by the end of 2009.

o Under the Rural Infrastructure Program, SaskTel has recently concluded an agreement with Barrett Xplore Inc, who operates Xplornet Internet Services, Canada’s largest rural broadband provider. The agreement calls on Barrett Xplore to deliver SaskTel Satellite High Speed Internet powered by Xplornet to rural areas that do not have access to SaskTel’s other high speed internet services. Full details regarding the service availability will be announced in June 2009.

o As part of the Rural Infrastructure Program, SaskTel is also seeking private sector partners to make proposals to provide high speed internet to 13 towns out of the 66 new towns that are becoming part of CommunityNet, as well as other unserved areas of the province. SaskTel is exploring partnership options which would allow private sector companies to provide residential high speed internet in the community in return for a subsidy.

* Next Generation Access Infrastructure (NGAI) – Initiated in 2006, NGAI is a five-year $310 million program to offer increased bandwidth by providing fiber optic cable closer to customer homes and businesses. In 2009, the third year of the NGAI program, SaskTel will invest approximately $11.9 million to continue to increase the bandwidth of SaskTel’s access network.

* Evolving SaskTel’s leading-edge Max™ Entertainment Services – Max is full-featured digital television service with over 180 digital TV channels, 40 HD channels, Digital TV Recorder, High Speed Internet, Video-on-Demand, Pay-Per-View and Local on Demand. SaskTel will invest approximately $12.8 million in Max this year to meet customer demand and make ongoing enhancements.

* Basic network growth and enhancements – $61.4 million.

Here is the latest government news release version. Maybe you could find a Saskatchewan government contact somewhere on the site there.

http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=4b5f0610-81f3-4f9d-a1bd-445e71eff430

News Release - March 10, 2010

SASKTEL TO INVEST $239 MILLION IN ITS SASKATCHEWAN NETWORK

SaskTel will invest $239 million in its Saskatchewan network in 2010. Residential and business customers in communities across the province can expect improved and expanded SaskTel services as a result of this latest major capital investment.

"SaskTel's commitment to providing a world class communications network for Saskatchewan is clear with this latest announcement," Minister responsible for SaskTel Don Morgan said. "Saskatchewan residents can look forward to a new 3G wireless network, faster high speed Internet service and MaxTM expansion."

"Since 1987 we've invested more than $3.5 billion in our network," SaskTel President and CEO Robert Watson said. "This year's network investment will help to ensure that Saskatchewan's best network is current and competitive well into the future."

Highlights of this year's investment program include:

* In 2010, SaskTel will invest $88 million to continue construction of a new $172 million Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)/High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) wireless network, which is the next evolution of GSM technology. UMTS/HSPA is a next generation wireless network which will enable SaskTel customers to enjoy the benefits of using UMTS/HSPA compatible cellular and data devices. The first phase of the new network build, which will provide coverage in the major Saskatchewan centers, is expected to be available in mid-2010. Full coverage, similar to today's digital cellular coverage, is anticipated to be available in 2011.

* SaskTel will invest $48 million to continue the Rural Infrastructure Program to deliver 100 per cent high speed internet coverage and to build 55 new cellular towers to improve wireless coverage across the province within three years.

o SaskTel will reach 100 per cent high speed Internet coverage in 2010 following the launch of high speed Internet service from private sector partners RFNow and YourLink in 15 communities.

o In 2010, SaskTel will invest $17 million to expand and improve its existing wireless network, including the addition of new digital cellular sites across the province, scheduled to be complete in 2011. (See Appendix for a list of 2010-2011 locations.)

o This year, SaskTel will invest $31 million to expand rural broadband. This includes upgrading the rural backbone infrastructure to provide an enhanced transport network that will upgrade existing basic high speed Internet service (from 1.5 Mpbs to 5 Mpbs download speeds) in more than 200 communities by the end of 2010.

* Next Generation Access Infrastructure (NGAI) - Initiated in 2006, NGAI is a five-year $310 million program to offer increased bandwidth by providing fiber optic cable closer to customer homes and businesses. In 2010, the fourth year of the NGAI program, SaskTel will invest a total of approximately $11 million to continue to increase the bandwidth of SaskTel's access network.

* Evolving SaskTel's leading-edge MaxTM Entertainment Services - MaxTM is a full-featured digital television service with more than 190 digital TV channels, 42 HD channels, Digital TV Recorder, High Speed Internet, Video-on-Demand, Pay-Per-View and Local on Demand. SaskTel will invest approximately $7 million in MaxTM this year to expand the service to new communities, meet customer demand and make ongoing enhancements. SaskTel recently announced that it will invest $22 million to expand the Next Generation Access Infrastructure program (NGAI) to 14 more communities over the next two years. The project will expand MaxTM Entertainment Services and offer higher Internet speeds to those communities by the end of 2011.

Other network expenditures - $26 million, which includes:

* High speed Internet expansion for First Nations (dependent upon additional federal funding) - $6 million.

* Fiber to the premise (technology to deliver increased bandwidth by connecting fiber optic cable to the customer premise) - $9 million.

Basic network growth and enhancements - $59 million.

Wow, that's really bad. You should be at least 700kb/s on the 1.5.

Without knowing what saskatchewan's network is like for supporting the system, I couldn't tell you what the problem is. But if it's anything like Alberta, it's probably either an over loaded panel (or an omni on the tower which is a big no-no and we've told them to not put omnis on anymore), or it's an interference issue from other carriers in the area.

I know this one time, a new carrier put some 900 equipment on a tower, turned it on, and the other 2 carriers equipment just stopped working because it was broadcasting so powerfully and on the exact same frequencies, that it just made them inoperable. So it does happen. The other thing I would look at, which you can do, is see if the module is loose at all. Sometimes the wind can move them enough in strong winds that it will actually losen the bolts that tighten it to the pole they mount it on. If it seems pretty sturdy, then I don't know what else. :/

SaskTel Internet powered by Xplornet/Telesat/Hughesnet is satellite. So those that converted their billing over to Sasktel from Xplornet and then still get billed by Xplornet are supposed to get a minimum speed of 825Kbps.

It's part of the SaskTel corrupt 100% high speed Internet coverage in Saskatchewan. Some small towns were supposed to get bids from other third parties for wireless towers(WISP's). Otherwise they might get suck with satellite in the long run.

If ya want to see some pics of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State exploding..... Almost anniversary time again. 30 Years ago(May 18, 1980).

Here in British Columbia and Washington State, we are waiting for the "cascadia subduction zone" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_subduction_zone , to let loose. I think we have about 200 more years to go. Give or take.

Some areas are expected to turn to quicksand and sink the homes on them(well since Richmond is a big/long sand bar in the Fraser River). Other areas the Washington State Natives know not to live on, due to old tales of tsunamis in their legends.

Iceland has a Volcano coming to life right now. http://reykjavik.mydestinationinfo.com/en/hekla-volcano-webcam ,This one is supposed to ignite a main volcano. And that may send an entire glacier of water streaming to whatever area it decides to go to.

The earth is a amazing thing if you look at it in geological terms. But the sideways shaking earthquakes are the real killers. Parts of Chile headed west by many yards to the west in their massive quake.

:::.. Download Stats ..:::

Download Connection is:: 4799 Kbps about 4.8 Mbps (tested with 25598 kB)

Download Speed is:: 586 kB/s

Tested From:: https://testmy.net/ (Main)

Test Time:: 2010/03/23 - 6:55pm

Bottom Line:: 84X faster than 56K 1MB Download in 1.75 sec

Tested from a 25598 kB file and took 43.696 seconds to complete

Download Diagnosis:: Awesome! 20% + : 115.78 % faster than the average for host (telus.net)

D-Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/stats/id-FI150CT6K

User Agent:: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2.2) Gecko/20100316 Firefox/3.6.2 [!]

this test was done at about 11:55 am pacific time. Unless the test clock is set to universal standard time? Or Greenwich time.

Edit:

But the verify page shows the correct time.

https://testmy.net/stats/id-FI150CT6K

I was hoping the gargantuan humungoloid signatures would be gone, but alas, they're not. At least my content blocker still works.

I think tommie's is growing by the day. Must be growing season down south. Or else it's that squatter on top of his sig.

I made mine about 78 high by 500 wide. And other than that annoying seal keeps popping up. The next version I might make it a bit lower.

no you have to go to members...join date about page 3500...mouse over the members name...look to the bottom left of your browser...the member number will show there...like you are number...58443...that number will never change...your way includes deleted members...like ca3le is #2 because #1 was a test account that was deleted

that's how we get the member number...

OK. OK. You and that fancy number crunching.

I only did 'stupid math class' in high school. Was nice to not have to do any of that fancy math that would of failed me in a couple of months, especially when I would of walked out the door after failing many tests.

well looks like i missed it...

welcome manaftergod as our 70,000th member

I count Gololont as number 70,000 , by counting backwards of the newest users join list .

Manaftergod joined on.... Mar 19 2010 09:40 PM.. And there been about 2 dozen signup's or so since. minus the 6 users over 70,000 right now.

Up until a week ago the test worked flawlessly. But now, even when I am logged in I receive this at the end on any test.

"Fatal error: Cannot redeclare fatal_error() (previously declared in /home/tmn/public_html/forum/SSI.php:673) in /home/tmn/public_html/forum/SSI.php on line 677"

Mozilla v3.6, Win7 Ultimate 64bit, Cox.net IP

I rely on this website frequently for customer installs. Any help would be appreciated.

da Shizer

Is that on the 50MB test? Until CA3LE finishes the forum conversion/tweaking. The 50MB is currently a registered user function, and that is currently not available due to needing to be signed in for the speed test. And you can't sign in on the speed test board at this time. The 25MB test is a un-registered user test.

The 6MB upload test is also currently for a registered user.

From what I've read is that you don't see an increase in speed, but you can pull down more data at a time, as it splits the data between both connections. Think of it like a 1/2" hose(single ISP) compared to a 1" hose(Dual ISP). More volume can come in, without an increase(pressure) in 'speed test' speed.

Great for sharing the connection with multiple users and if one connection should become unavailable, you default automatically over to the live connection.

Would the timing of the RAM affect crash ability? Just looking at the specs of the two types of RAM..

I suppose if you put one 2gig set in by itself and test and then put the other 2 gig set in by itself and test, is their stability?

The voltage is also not matching in the two sets.

another thing to try is to make sure that each RAM stick pair is paired on the motherboard slots. So the two different sticks are not fighting as they share the data between them. Something like one set in slot 1 and 3 and the other set in slot 2 and 4.

Look through the forum categories. Pick a category. Pick a sub-category if needed. Click "start a new topic" And put a title that will give a quick indication of what the thread is about.

Or do it the easy way and just post your question in "General discussion" and a Mod will move it if needed.

Near the bottom of the main forum page , just above the user names online, click on "Today's active content" to see all the latest posts. It is set to 24 hours by default, but you can make it one week or more.

:::.. testmy.net test results ..:::

Download Connection is:: 1937 Kbps about 1.94 Mbps (tested with 3072 kB)

Download Speed is:: 236 kB/s

Upload Connection is:: 753 Kbps about 0.8 Mbps (tested with 1496 kB)

Upload Speed is:: 92 kB/s

Tested From:: https://testmy.net (Main)

Test Time:: 2010/03/20 - 4:40am

D-Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/stats/id-QVFIOR2NP

U-Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/stats/id-B1GSCU5KT

User Agent:: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2) Gecko/20100115 Firefox/3.6 [!]

Depends on who your ISP is and what your purchased package rate is.

You have real good speeds for the 2Mbps package(xcite).

Is see pldt.net has made a name of myworldmydsl.com

Interesting. It may trigger an addiction to some people who think that they may get a deal for pennies on the dollar, when they actually don't, due to having to buy auction credits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swoopo

The money collected by Swoopo consists of the cost of bids placed and the final auction amount. As an example, a MacBook Pro with a suggested retail price of $1,799 was sold on Swoopo for $35.86. However, a total of 3,585 bids were placed, so the total price to Swoopo customers was $2,151.

A better explanation of the system.

Swoopo model of online auction does generate huge profits. For example an Apple iPhone 32GB purchased through Penny Auction for any value more than £12 clearly indicates that they are selling well above the commercial price. To purchase at £12 the number of bids placed in a Penny Auction is 1200 and at £0.50 it will be £600 which is very much more than the market value.

the bidder bought the bids for $0.60 each, .......

Bid-credits cost $0.60 apiece and are sold in lots (called BidPacks) of 40, 75, 150, 400, and 1000. Each credit is good for one bid.......

There is also in user , settings , forum , check "watch every post I reply too".

See that button up top, just above the first post? "Watch this topic."

Then you can manage the threads you are following. Probably not what you want, but close enough for now.

Since this story features ViaSat, it's going here.

Good to see that Satellite Internet is finally admitting the problems it is facing with over-subscription.

People want a consistent connection and speeds near(80%?)to what the package describes. Nothing worse than having your speed drop to a third of what it should be.

http://www.spacenews.com/satellite_telecom/100318-satellite-broadband-has-reputation-problem.html

WASHINGTON — The U.S. satellite broadband industry has only itself to blame for the fact that the U.S. government’s broadband-stimulus package treats satellite delivery as an unattractive, last-resort alternative, according to the top official of a company that is staking much of its future on the satellite broadband business.

Viasat Inc. Chief Executive Mark Dankberg said early satellite consumer broadband efforts in the United States, to make their profit goals, loaded too many subscribers onto a single transponder, resulting in poor service that tainted the young technology’s image among U.S. policymakers.

“From the U.S. government’s perspective, satellite is a failure,” Dankberg said March 18 here during the Satellite 2010 conference. “That is totally due to perceptions established because of the race to stuff as many people as possible on a transponder. The service was not good, and that gave satellite broadband a poor reputation.”

Dankberg said he recalls when satellite consumer broadband providers used to brag about how many thousands of subscribers they could squeeze onto a given 36-megahertz transponder. With a satellite transponder leasing for $1.5 million or more per year, the economic incentive was clear.

But the performance suffered as insufficient bandwidth was provided to customers, Dankberg said. More recently, the two current satellite-broadband leaders, WildBlue Communications of Denver — which ViaSat purchased in 2009 — and Hughes Network Systems of Germantown, Md., have used their Ka-band satellites to offer customers more bandwidth.

It is still not nearly enough, according to Dankberg, and this accounts for ViaSat’s decision to build its own satellite, called ViaSat-1, to be launched in early 2011. Hughes has also ordered a high-throughput Ka-band satellite, called Jupiter, to be launched in 2012.

ViaSat-1 and Jupiter, both under construction at Space Systems/Loral of Palo Alto, Calif., will provide more than 100 gigabits per second of capacity, which is more than 100 times the capacity offered by a conventional Ku-band satellite.

Paul Gaske, Hughes’ general manager for North America, said March 18 that these new-generation Ka-band satellites should enable satellite broadband to keep up with the ever-increasing speeds offered by terrestrial technologies.

But they will not reach the U.S. government’s announced goal of providing 100 megabits per second of broadband to 100 million U.S. homes. Gaske also said that despite the government’s goal of providing fiber and other terrestrial broadband links to all Americans, Hughes believes that at least 10 million U.S. homes will not have broadband access in the foreseeable future unless they get it by satellite.

Two U.S. government programs have a combined $7.2 billion to spend on broadband infrastructure. So far, only $100 million of that has been reserved for satellite broadband. The rest is for terrestrial technologies, which have the advantage of putting people to work laying fiber.

Numerous satellite industry officials attending the conference here worried that the government’s program unfairly tips the scales in favor of terrestrial links and could threaten deployment of satellite broadband.

Dankberg disagreed, saying “$7 billion is not enough to do much damage” to the satellite broadband market. In a March 18 interview, he said it would take many billions more to deliver high-speed terrestrial broadband to rural communities in the United States.

Maury Mechanick, a partner in the Washington law firm White & Case, said that in Washington, satellite-delivered broadband is “the Rodney Dangerfield of systems: It can’t get any respect.”

“One hundred million out of $7.2 billion is better than zero, but the policy sends a message to Wall Street from the U.S. government: Satellite broadband is not part of the solution. Invest at your peril,” Mechanick said here March 15.

“It’s not an issue of lobbyists,” Mechanick said in explaining the U.S. government’s view of satellite broadband. “The problem is that the politicians are fascinated by downlink speeds that satellites cannot deliver. Also satellites are not labor-intensive. So what we get is a policy — 100 megabits per second — that will satisfy a few uber-gamers who will take precedence over ordinary people.”

So heres the short version.

Used car dealers sell cars to people with bad credit and install 'kill switch' black boxes into the cars, in case the owner is late in a payment. So this guy gets laid off and access the system and puts out the kill command to 100's of cars. And he would of kept going if the company hadn't changed the passwords for all employee accounts.

Imagine if this happened to the 'On-Star' system. And if you have On-Star? Read the privacy agreement.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/03/hacker-bricks-cars/

More than 100 drivers in Austin, Texas found their cars disabled or the horns honking out of control, after an intruder ran amok in a web-based vehicle-immobilization system normally used to get the attention of consumers delinquent in their auto payments.

Police with Austin’s High Tech Crime Unit on Wednesday arrested 20-year-old Omar Ramos-Lopez, a former Texas Auto Center employee who was laid off last month, and allegedly sought revenge by bricking the cars sold from the dealership’s four Austin-area lots.

“We initially dismissed it as mechanical failure,” says Texas Auto Center manager Martin Garcia. “We started having a rash of up to a hundred customers at one time complaining. Some customers complained of the horns going off in the middle of the night. The only option they had was to remove the battery.”

The dealership used a system called Webtech Plus as an alternative to repossessing vehicles that haven’t been paid for. Operated by Cleveland-based Pay Technologies, the system lets car dealers install a small black box under vehicle dashboards that responds to commands issued through a central website, and relayed over a wireless pager network. The dealer can disable a car’s ignition system, or trigger the horn to begin honking, as a reminder that a payment is due. The system will not stop a running vehicle.

Texas Auto Center began fielding complaints from baffled customers the last week in February, many of whom wound up missing work, calling tow trucks or disconnecting their batteries to stop the honking. The troubles stopped five days later, when Texas Auto Center reset the Webtech Plus passwords for all its employee accounts, says Garcia. Then police obtained access logs from Pay Technologies, and traced the saboteur’s IP address to Ramos-Lopez’s AT&T internet service, according to a police affidavit filed in the case.

Ramos-Lopez’s account had been closed when he was terminated from Texas Auto Center in a workforce reduction last month, but he allegedly got in through another employee’s account, Garcia says. At first, the intruder targeted vehicles by searching on the names of specific customers. Then he discovered he could pull up a database of all 1,100 Auto Center customers whose cars were equipped with the device. He started going down the list in alphabetical order, vandalizing the records, disabling the cars and setting off the horns.

“Omar was pretty good with computers,” says Garcia.

The incident is the first time an intruder has abused the no-start system, according to Jim Krueger, co-owner of Pay Technologies. “It was a fairly straightforward situation,” says Krueger. “He had retained a password, and what happened was he went in and created a little bit of havoc.”

Krueger disputes that the horns were honking in the middle of the night; he says the horn honking can only be activated between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

First rolled out about 10 years ago, remote immobilization systems are a controversial answer to delinquent car payments, with critics voicing concerns that debtors could suffer needless humiliation, or find themselves stranded during an emergency. Proponents say the systems let financers extend credit to consumers who might otherwise be ineligible for an auto loan.

some of my friends whom ive told testmy about told me they can no longer log in. is it because they never posted? like me they find this site very informative and helpful. do they need to sign up again?

My guess is they got lost or misplaced in the data base crash if they were a very recent signup. They could see if their name is registered and then do a email recovery of password to re-register if their user name already exists.