A colleague sent this email out yesterday:
All---
I've had Verizon DSL for the past several years and have been intermittently dissatisfied with its speed. I see that Comcast is offering up to 16/2 Mbps service, which would be considerably faster than my DSL is spec'd (assuming, of course, that the cable ever achieves anything resembling that kind of performance).
Anyway...
I'm interested in hearing folks' experiences with Comcast broadband service in terms of speed, customer support, and the like. In particular, I'd like to hear from anyone who (1) has switched in either direction between DSL and cable or (2) had experience with Comcast's ability to support Mac OS and Airport WiFi networks. But all input is welcome.
Since most everyone will have to make this choice at some point, I thought I'd share my reply on pittsBLOG.
I just switched from Verizon DSL to Comcast and I have been mostly happy. Cable internet is SO much faster than DSL. That I'm really happy about. But Comcast is another story. First, their modem doesn't come with a built in wireless router, so you have to buy one of your own. I thought this would be a good thing, but apparently the latest and greatest linksys router is a piece of junk, but that's not Comcast's fault. Second, Comcast is notoriously bad at customer support, but they have been striving to improve (see recent articles citing their use of twitter and they've even been known to contact bloggers with problems).
Here's my install (with Mac) experience. Making an appointment was easy, plenty of spots were available immediately, including some on Saturday. The cable guy actually showed up at the early end of the 4 hour window I was assigned. The guy came out and got me wired, but I opted for self-install kit. Now, I have a Masters in Computer Engineering and I couldn't get the thing to work very easily with the Mac. Once I finally figured out where and what software to download there was apparently a computer issue at Comcast that kept me from registering my modem. So I called and waited for 20 minutes only to be told to try again in a couple of hours. A couple hours later I tried again and got further into the install process but still not dice. I called support again and after another 20 minutes I was magically set up by the guy on the phone. So my question is, if the guy on the phone can set me up, why do they even offer self-install?
Anyways, Comcast is mostly reliable in my neighborhood. I've heard people in Sq Hill and Shadyside complain about poor connection. I've heard that Oakland is good. My connection, in Regent Square, is really fast but sometimes around midnight it's intermittent for a few minutes. Overall, I'm happy with the change. Especially since it's, at least psychologically, infinitely faster than Verizon DSL.
GREAT SIGHT .
I was moved when i passed by the little kids that stroll on Long Street
last night, back on a dark street, smoking rocks (crack). These kids
are so addicted. I have always known it. I don’t want to mention names
but two of them have louis vuitton handbags been smoking rocks since they were 5 and 10 years
old. They started smoking with their father. Now they are 13 and 17,
but still look about 5 and 10 because of the hectic drug use over the
past 8 years. To see children’s innocence robbed by the stupidity of
adults, only to lead them to a life trapped in addiction is moving
beyond words!
I was moved when i arrived back to my slaap plek (sleeping place)
and Malibongwe was waiting for me there. I have known Malibongwe the
entire time i have lived here but haven’t seen him in a long time! He
hasn’t been in town for a while and has been living at home, but he
came to town on Friday. I saw him at Crippie. When i got to the flower
stand he was standing there like a worried parent. I asked him how he
was and he said “not good!”. I asked him what was wrong and he said,
“I’m angry”. I asked who he was angry at and he said, “Who do you
think? I am angry at you!”. I asked him why and his eyes filled up with
tears and he began to cry. He couldn’t speak at first. His eye wells
reached their limit and some tears rolled down his face and he said, “I
never thought i would see you like this! I don’t know you like this! I
was shocked to see you here on the streets...when i see you at Crippie
i just stare at you...it doesn’t even look like you! I don’t know you
like this to live on the streets!” Obviously he had not been fully
briefed about what exactly i was doing here. As he continued to cry and
continued to try and gain composure, i explained to him why i was on
the streets, and that is was only for 16 days. He seemed relieved, but
was already in an emotional state and began to talk about the problems
he has recently guess handbags experienced at home (specifically with his step dad),
which is why he came to town again. He doesn’t want to be here. But his
step father doesn’t want him there, and makes his life miserable. To
see someone who is walking through such a dark time show the compassion
and concern that Malibongwe showed to me, last night, is really and
truly moving!
I was moved by “Kleintjie” after he sniffed way too much glue last
night. Kleintjie is one of the younger guys that sleeps near us. He is
from an area called Clark Estate, which is renowned for gangsterism and
violence; many of the kids in town come from there. Kleintjie is fairly
new to town and is a really sweet kid but just needs someone in his
life to be firm with him, love him and put him back on the right path.
He is in town because “it’s lekker” (it’s nice), in his own words. I am
sure it is more lekker than Clark Estate and the freedom town brings is
addictive. I walked around with him the other night and we had a long
chat about his life and future and past...in no particular order. So
last night some of the older guys were sniffing glue and they gave some
to Kleintjie. I had not seen him use glue before. As many kids as i
have seen use glue, and as calloused as i am to it by now, it was
strangely and deeply sad to see Kleintjie and the way the glue was
effecting him. He called me over and tried to talk to me, hugged me,
and then tried to talk some more but was not making much sense. He then
asked me for one rand to go by some chips because he said he was
hungry. I told him if he gave me the glue i would give him one rand. He
looked down, carefully considered, and then decided to make the
exchange. Though he stopped sniffing it, the effects of the glue
lingered until he eventually passed out. Before that he just walked
around a bit and fendi handbags just seemed lost. To see such a young boy with no real
foresight or hope for the future is moving.