[SLL] Nationwide Internet: melting down?

[Glenn Stone]

On Fri, Aug 10, 2007 at 07:52:55AM -0700, Brian Lane wrote:
>-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>I'd suggest giving cable a try. I've been using it over here in Port
>Orchard for around 5 years now and there have been minor problems, but
>nothing as bad as you are describing with DSL. My theory is that since
>cable internet shared with cable TV users the response to outages is so
>overwhelming that it forces them to act quickly :)

That only works if the problem is in the part of the system that is shared
between TV and data.  If the DHCP server goes tango uniform, as was
semi-frequently the case on the old Roadrunner link I had back in
Atlanta....

Of course, if they were running Linux-based DHCP servers in a proper network
architecture the way St. Torvalds intended it... 

Nevermind the whole business of sharing bandwidth with the skript kiddie
next door, the fact that since cable is an entertainment business it will be
the last utility restored when the fertilizer hits the ventilator, and the
fact that cable is a brazenly openly government-subsidized monopoly with
*zero* competition (at least Microsoft and the telcos have some) and thus
little incentive to provide much more customer service than keeps their
constituents happy enough not to unelect their pet government officials... 

For some people it works well enough.  I was about to give it a swing
myself... but only as the court of last resort.  Thankfully, Qwest has a
habit of dropping DSL repeaters in neighborhoods where they've got demand
but no signal.  

(And FWIW, I've had one little issue with Qwest in two months, and bouncing
the DSL box fixed it.  My IP changes from time to time, but *shrug* for
$26/mo, I'm not gonna get too picky about the IP.  Besides, that's what
ddclient is for. :)

-- Glenn