Kill the NBN? Please Don’t!
No Malcolm. This is what we want – fibre to the house !
Been a while since my last post but I had to put pen to paper (well, fire up the PC and hammer the keys anyway) to add my voice to the growing concerns about the Coalition’s intention to stop the NBN.
Here at Shoalhaven Heads, like many smaller regional towns, we are really at the mercy of Telstra. Mobile phone reception is a joke for many who live here and there are ‘dead spots’ where you can forget mobile phone service – let alone wireless internet. So we are dependent on fixed line services for both landline phones and ADSL internet. Continue reading
Bigpond Wireless Problems
Locals and visitors to Shoalhaven Heads are experiencing major problems with their Bigpond Wireless service connections. Here’s the symptoms: Good wireless signal strength but slow / very erratic internet speeds. Many customers are complaining that the service drops out after a few minutes of use and is basically unusable.
Like many regional areas of Australia, broadband coverage and service levels can vary considerably depending on the time of year (and especially this time of year here with the large numbers of tourists and visitors expecting the same level of internet service they are accustomed to at home). However, it seems this year is particularly bad.
One possible explanation Continue reading
Broadband plans explained
by Andy Turner
Coastal Computers & Design
One of the things that really gets to me is how many of my customers are either paying too much for their broadband service or are on a ‘budget’ plan that only gives them slightly faster than dialup speed and they still pay through the nose – especially when they go over their ‘free’ monthly data limit. This article aims to explain in plain english what the technical terms mean so you can make an informed choice.
1. Speed.
The speed of your broadband connection is usually always described as two numbers separated by a ‘dash’. For example 512/128. The first number is your download speed, the second your upload speed. The higher the speed of your connection – the more you can do with it and of course, the greater the cost. The still common 256/64 plans are not really true broadband – the 64k upload speed is barely faster than dial up – and if you wanted to use say, a webcam, the experience for the person viewing it would be very jerky. I recommend a minimum of a 512/128 plan or for around $10 a month more a 1500/256 plan or higher.
I worry about companies that describe their plans as ‘fast’ or ‘superfast’ – why not just make it clear what the plan speeds are rather than confusing customers. If I was cynical I’d say that maybe that is their intention… Continue reading
Guide to Buying a Webcam
By: Andrew Gates
How web broadcasting works
Webcams are those handy little cameras that attach to your PC and send images to a web page that can be viewed by others. This enables you to share daily life events with friends and family in other parts of the country or the world, or to arrange a video-conference with colleagues and maintain long distance relationships of all kinds. Of course the number of ways to use this technology is limited only by your imagination. Continue reading
Online Backup is A Must!
By Calli Smith
A typical college student, my digital camera is one of my favorite gadgets my hard-earned money has bought (right up there with my iPod and cell phone). I take it everywhere I go, snapping away at anyone (and anything) I possibly can. My hard drive is filled to the brim with tender memories, chance meetings, and embarrassing moments.
All computers can be susceptible to failure for a variety of reasons. Not being very technologically adept, all my pictures could be gone in a flash with a just few mouse-clicks, or if my hard drive were to crash (whether or not by my own doing). Although these situations cannot be predicted, they can certainly be planned for. So what is the best solution preserving your priceless documents? Continue reading
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