EVDO-A vs Hughesnet/ WildBlue

[unitychild]

Absolutely on the AV. Norton bites for speeds and security. Go AVG too, you will love it. Go for their anti-spyware too.

Norton killed 1 and almost 2 of my computers. AVG saved the second one. 

Ok, then, I will definitely get rid of Norton and go with AVG! lol

Steph

[Siryak]

Yep, but after $80 a month for inconsistent satellite and $50 for t-mobile that because of where my house is is only dial up speeds unless I go somewhere else, I don't mind paying the extra $50 a month for the reliability! Just hope I don't have to swallow my words later!

Steph

If you were going to get more than one if I were you I would just get 2. 1 to leave at home and one to use on the road and at home. Because with the router you can share the connection amongst the computers. Sprint does not mind if you do this in fact they sell one of the routers you can use. Just my 2 cents.

O and on the AV we just had a big discussion on this over at wildblue.cc. Basically while AVG is ok Avast is a much better AV. You can see on many AV benchmarks that Avast has a much better detection system than AVG plus it is plenty light on the resources. I have been using it for years and it has never once gave me a problem. I used to use AVG until I got a keylogger that it wouldn't clean. Installed Avast and it zapped it right away. It is free just like AVG, they just require a "free" registration.

[tommie gorman]

There are too many free and very good programs to waste money on Norton. Microsoft Windows Defender, Ad-aware, Spybot S&d, Spyware Blaster, and Edwido online scanner.  

Also save the Norton CD for summer,   they make great coasters.  

AVG is much lighter on resources than Avast. And does just as good a job.  I have had it saving my butt for almost 2 years now. flawlessly. 

[unitychild]

If you were going to get more than one if I were you I would just get 2. 1 to leave at home and one to use on the road and at home. Because with the router you can share the connection amongst the computers. Sprint does not mind if you do this in fact they sell one of the routers you can use. Just my 2 cents.

Well, that would be fine, but my husband and I both take our laptops to work, and sometimes, we take them with us somewhere and the kids are at home(oldest is 14, no worries lol) and they want to surf the net. So, getting the router wasn't a viable option for us...

[Siryak]

There are too many free and very good programs to waste money on Norton. Microsoft Windows Defender, Ad-aware, Spybot S&d, Spyware Blaster, and Edwido online scanner. 

Also save the Norton CD for summer,  they make great coasters. 

AVG is much lighter on resources than Avast. And does just as good a job.  I have had it saving my butt for almost 2 years now. flawlessly. 

I wouldn't say just as good a job. I have actually read several bad reviews on AVG. Here is an example of one. Actually Antivir faired better than both of them looks like. http://www.best-cell-phone-reviews.com/images/Sanyo-scp-8200.jpg

Ok unity now I see why lol.

[granpa]

Yep, but after $80 a month for inconsistent satellite and $50 for t-mobile that because of where my house is is only dial up speeds unless I go somewhere else, I don't mind paying the extra $50 a month for the reliability! Just hope I don't have to swallow my words later!

Steph

I think what they are wondering is with the 2 cards and the USB isn't that 3 lines a $59. 99 each? I just called Sprint and I was told I could get the WRT54G3G-ST for $199.99 and then the card deal you got (but only need one) and it has a port for an external antenna to boost signal. All PC's can connect through the router then, only one line.

[Guest jeffwalker9999]

You'll like EVDO from Sprint

as I have been using it sience June 2006 to Current

here in Las Vegas Nevada (Sin City)

in areas I get to that do not have 802.11 a b g 

( 85% in Sin Cities Wifi / Hotspots are "Open & No Encrypt" )

^# Office Depot, Mac Donald(s), Starbucks, are now hotspots

and Open & No Encrypt

I pay for service (One Account) (novatel s620 pcmcia modem) an monthly fee of $62.57

Adverage Speeed(s) ** from hands on useage **

Download at 650 to 880 K Baud

Upload at 175 to 290 K Baud

Has a bad habbit of ping loss at 2nd hop

and ping times of 220 ms to 1470 ms

In general no major issues

Tech Support is very lacking ,

if you can get to 2nd level of support

they are more helpful

I have been told that the USB Modem is strickly USB 2

( You may need a USB 2 Card - Older Pc's )

and that USB is in need of dual (2) connections to work the best

I have used it with peer to peer applications and foldershare.com

and does work

I have not played any games via evdo service

I think you will like it a lot better than satelite service

Other Note >>> Roaming feature >>>

make sure that roaming is off -  stay on Sprint's network

as if you start to roam the bill will be $$$

( one bill showed 80 cents per meg additional fees - because of roaming )

I have done some cablenut tweaks

but no major effects on connect

-- except for the tos setting of 190 -- tos 190 seams to work the best

In Las Vegas I have had some useage of the other providers

and my 2 cents is below >>>>>>

T-Mobile Service -

some limited hands on via usb cable to phone

was very slow - a smidge faster than dial up - ouch

( was Aug 2006 last hands on use )

AT&T Service -

100 to 280 K baud - useable but slow

( approx same time frame as above )

V- Service

was also slow  - I would say 150 to 400 K baud

useable but slow - too

( a few weeks ago - last hands on use )

On a other note - ---------- Laptop Users  ---------------

check out this url - they have mounts for your car

www.jottodesk.com

$$$ to $$$$ but nice mounts and very useable

*^*^ Cable / Wire *^

check out http://www.graybar.com

as they are an electronic supplier

Good bye to satelite and over to cellular data -

My best wishes >>>>>> Enjoy >>>>>>

[granpa]

You'll like EVDO from Sprint

as I have been using it sience June 2006 to Current

Good bye to satelite and over to cellular data -

My best wishes >>>>>> Enjoy >>>>>>

Thanks for the info. I have been checking my signal on my phone and its near the top outside. I'll probably go with an external antenna and run it outside. I'll research on making it direction for max reception since it correlates with the speed. My Hughey commitment is only a few months now.

[unitychild]

I think what they are wondering is with the 2 cards and the USB isn't that 3 lines a $59. 99 each? I just called Sprint and I was told I could get the WRT54G3G-ST for $199.99 and then the card deal you got (but only need one) and it has a port for an external antenna to boost signal. All PC's can connect through the router then, only one line.

Right, and I understand that, but like I said, someone we (husband and I ) leave the house with both of our laptops(and both cards) and the kids stay home and still want to surf the net... if we had that kind of setup, we would have to leave a card at home for them to do that... which would mean one of us would be out of internet... that doesn't make for a happy couple! LOL

So, I wonder if my t-mobile card would bring anything on ebay... plus, I have all this DW6000 equipment... I don't know if I could sell that in good faith though... since the service is soooo crappy!!! lol

[unitychild]

You'll like EVDO from Sprint

as I have been using it sience June 2006 to Current

here in Las Vegas Nevada (Sin City)

in areas I get to that do not have 802.11 a b g 

( 85% in Sin Cities Wifi / Hotspots are "Open & No Encrypt" )

Adverage Speeed(s) ** from hands on useage **

Download at 650 to 880 K Baud

Upload at 175 to 290 K Baud

I have been told that the USB Modem is strickly USB 2

( You may need a USB 2 Card - Older Pc's )

and that USB is in need of dual (2) connections to work the best

I think you will like it a lot better than satelite service

Other Note >>> Roaming feature >>>

make sure that roaming is off -  stay on Sprint's network

as if you start to roam the bill will be $$$

( one bill showed 80 cents per meg additional fees - because of roaming )

I already like it better than satellite! lol I bought Poser 7 yesterday and it was a download... 1.7 GIGS! Left my computer up all night, but I THINK it only took about 4 hours to DL, and the best thing is I didn't get FAPd!!!

The upload speed is WAY better than satellite and t-mobile... I do 3D art and I have big files to upload(25-50 MB) and I always end up having to go to a hotspot to upload, well no more!

The boys' computer was new at Christmas last year, so usb2 is not a problem. We set them up last night and aside from getting them to run a speed test all looks well. I need to do some major work to their computer though, because I guess it is running pretty slow... my fault, I haven't really messed with it since they got it, and who knows that they have done to it! LOL

Thanks for the roaming tip! I will definitely turn that off!! Do you happen to know where I can go to see and pay my bill online?

Steph

[Guest jeffwalker9999]

I already like it better than satellite! lol I bought Poser 7 yesterday and it was a download... 1.7 GIGS! Left my computer up all night, but I THINK it only took about 4 hours to DL, and the best thing is I didn't get FAPd!!!

The upload speed is WAY better than satellite and t-mobile... I do 3D art and I have big files to upload(25-50 MB) and I always end up having to go to a hotspot to upload, well no more!

The boys' computer was new at Christmas last year, so usb2 is not a problem. We set them up last night and aside from getting them to run a speed test all looks well. I need to do some major work to their computer though, because I guess it is running pretty slow... my fault, I haven't really messed with it since they got it, and who knows that they have done to it! LOL

Thanks for the roaming tip! I will definitely turn that off!! Do you happen to know where I can go to see and pay my bill online?

Steph

On-Line Account Access

Sorry but I do not know

as I get paper bills

[granpa]

I already like it better than satellite! lol I bought Poser 7 yesterday and it was a download... 1.7 GIGS! Left my computer up all night, but I THINK it only took about 4 hours to DL, and the best thing is I didn't get FAPd!!!

The upload speed is WAY better than satellite and t-mobile... I do 3D art and I have big files to upload(25-50 MB) and I always end up having to go to a hotspot to upload, well no more!

Thanks for the roaming tip! I will definitely turn that off!! Do you happen to know where I can go to see and pay my bill online?

Steph

4 hours, that would be somewhat strained at a Starbucks. 

As for pay online I think the first you log-in you would use your #. Do the cards have a # associated with them? Probably find out at sprintpcs.com. 

[unitychild]

4 hours, that would be somewhat strained at a Starbucks. 

As for pay online I think the first you log-in you would use your #. Do the cards have a # associated with them? Probably find out at sprintpcs.com. 

Yep, because I had started the download at Borders using t-mobile, and it was going to be about 4 hours, and then my legs started cramping up(don't ask... when I get really tired, my legs cramp up and I am in a great deal of pain) so I decided to come on home and try it here... of course the download would not resume, so I had to start over... my downloader said it would take 4 hours and some change, and then I just went to bed...

Yeah, they each came with a number, so I will just check online and see if there is an option to pay online...

Steph

[fikester]

Glad you like it, at least unless something changes you wont need to watch usage.....but I don't see where it is any faster.

[tommie gorman]

Glad you like it, at least unless something changes you wont need to watch usage.....but I don't see where it is any faster.

Umm...no 2 second jet lag signal.  (to the satelite and back.) Why dial-up almost keeps up with us. 

[granpa]

Umm...no 2 second jet lag signal.  (to the satelite and back.) Why dial-up almost keeps up with us. 

I think that almost keep up is speed-dial.

[fikester]

yes....that may be, haven't seen a ping test with that system....gotta be lower than 650-900 I'm sure. The ping difference wouldn't make it any faster for downloading or uploading large files. According to the log on here for unity's test results looks like 800 was the highest with a smaller test ...larger test were looking at around 500? I seldom see below 1000. Trust me I know Hughes doesn't compare to DSL at $30 or less, but for what I have been getting there is no way I would spend several hundred bucks on equipment/phones/modems/cards plus a 2yr contract for 500k or less down......sorry

I just don't see the "upgrade"

Did you read the fine print on that contract, they can restrict usage and change the terms if they feel the need to?

In my opinion its not at all any faster than what I'm getting with Hughes now.

[unitychild]

Glad you like it, at least unless something changes you wont need to watch usage.....but I don't see where it is any faster.

Seriously?? lol It is way more consistent than satellite every was... plus no FAP... and it is faster if you count the consistency, and not getting FAPd.... I am not going to get cut down to dialup speed just because I downloaded something I BOUGHT over the internet!!! Plus, my husband has been doing online gaming with no issues! Yes, we like it! lol

[unitychild]

yes....that may be, haven't seen a ping test with that system....gotta be lower than 650-900 I'm sure. The ping difference wouldn't make it any faster for downloading or uploading large files. According to the log on here for unity's test results looks like 800 was the highest with a smaller test ...larger test were looking at around 500? I seldom see below 1000. Trust me I know Hughes doesn't compare to DSL at $30 or less, but for what I have been getting there is no way I would spend several hundred bucks on equipment/phones/modems/cards plus a 2yr contract for 500k or less down......sorry

I just don't see the "upgrade"

Did you read the fine print on that contract, they can restrict usage and change the terms if they feel the need to?

In my opinion its not at all any faster than what I'm getting with Hughes now.

I think it is great that YOU get high speeds with hughes and that you are not having FAP problems, and that your satellite doesn't shut down every once in a while, etc. I would NEVER recommend Hughes to ANYONE!! lol And I think my computer settings may have something to do with not getting as high of speeds as I should be getting, but I am sure someone will help me out with some tweaks(hint hint) so that I can get up to 100%...

I asked about this being unlimited and not having any restrictions, and I was told that yes, it is unlimited and no, there are no restrictions. I was told that I can download and upload as much as I want...

About the equipment costs... um... we paid $500 for satellite... we paid $150 for the three cards for Sprint, and they each have a $50 mail in rebate on them... which means they will be free. Plus, we have 30 days to try everything out and if we don't like it, we can take it all back and get our money back...

[granpa]

kids, lets not get into that who's got the better toy here.

Did you read the fine print on that contract, they can restrict usage and change the terms if they feel the need to?

I'm sure Hughes doesn't have this  in there there fine print do they? And none of the providers can change  things when it goes bad  for them.

[unitychild]

kids, lets not get into that who's got the better toy here.

I'm sure Hughes doesn't have this  in there there fine print do they? And none of the providers can change  things when it goes bad  for them.

LOL, yeah, let's not argue!  Like I said, I am really (honestly, not being sarcastic) that satellite does work for some people, it just didn't for us... for the better part of 2 years! 

[unitychild]

[granpa]

I'm still curious about Sprint EVDO even with this

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

Download Connection is:: 1433 Kbps about 1.4 Mbps (tested with 2992 kB)

Download Speed is:: 175 kB/s

Tested From:: https://testmy.net/ (Server 1)

Test Time:: 2007/02/10 - 8:54pm

Bottom Line:: 25X faster than 56K 1MB Download in 5.85 sec

Tested from a 2992 kB file and took 17.105 seconds to complete

Download Diagnosis:: Awesome! 20% + : 35.83 % faster than the average for host (direcpc.com)

D-Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/stats/id-F9WN3YKPD

User Agent:: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.8.1.1) Gecko/20061204 Firefox/2.0.0.1 [!]

[fikester]

Thats right they can restrict if they choose.....if you didn't buy the router and priced at $60 per card x3, you could have got a  business plan with Hughes getting 2MB /500k or a small office plan with 1.5/300. A few post down a user mentioned pings between 220-1400ms(looks like not always better than sat).....thats not comsistent at all? I see unity last download with a small file even shows only 397 (not faster than sat)

My mother still has dial up which I use when there at times, not even close to Hughes speed....26.4k (no thanks waiting 4-6hours to update a few programs)

This Sprint system is not available where I live, but so far what I have seen compared to what I have, this would not be an upgrade to me.

I'm sure your problem with Hughes was the FAP and not knowing what the total MB's the other PC's were eating up.

I know very well if DSL came buy here or anybody who has it is far superior to Hughes satellite service. My point here is the speeds in the testmy log/price/contract/higher pings than DSL (the big picture) ....this Sprint plan would not be an "upgrade" for all sat users in my opinion. 

[unitychild]

Thats right they can restrict if they choose.....if you didn't buy the router and priced at $60 per card x3, you could have got a  business plan with Hughes getting 2MB /500k or a small office plan with 1.5/300. A few post down a user mentioned pings between 220-1400ms(looks like not always better than sat).....thats not comsistent at all? I see unity last download with a small file even shows only 397 (not faster than sat)

My mother still has dial up which I use when there at times, not even close to Hughes speed....26.4k (no thanks waiting 4-6hours to update a few programs)

This Sprint system is not available where I live, but so far what I have seen compared to what I have, this would not be an upgrade to me.

I'm sure your problem with Hughes was the FAP and not knowing what the total MB's the other PC's were eating up.

I know very well if DSL came buy here or anybody who has it is far superior to Hughes satellite service. My point here is the speeds in the testmy log/price/contract/higher pings than DSL (the big picture) ....this Sprint plan would not be an "upgrade" for all sat users in my opinion. 

I never said it would be an upgrade for ALL sat users... I said it was an upgrade in MY situation, where we have several users and me having high downloads and uploads because of the 3D art thing... I can't deal with FAP anymore... even if I had gone with a business plan, I still would not have been able to download a program I needed to be able to do what I am doing with my art... I would have been FAPd for sure. I am not trying to SELL anyone on Sprint, I was just giving MY opinions... of the situation *I* have been dealing with for 2 years!

How do I do a ping test, I am curious... because my husband is on playing an online game without any lag problems... and I agree fully, if I could get DSL or cable, I would totally be there, but I don't see that happening out here for at least 10 years!!!