LukPac.org

8.26.2007

I spent some time organizing my computer empire today.

Anyone have a KVM switch they want to get rid of?

[11:20 PM] post a comment

8.25.2007

Did I miss something?

TDS Metrocom Launches Commercial Broadband Wireless Services
Jan 17, 2006
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Alvarion Ltd, (NASDAQ:ALVR), the world's leading provider of wireless broadband solutions and specialized mobile networks, today announced that TDS Metrocom, a major U.S. competitive local exchange carrier and part of the Telephone and Data Systems family of telecommunications companies providing local, long-distance, and Internet services to more than six million people in 36 states, has begun commercial rollout of wireless broadband services in its markets beginning with Madison, Wisconsin.

TDS Metrocom rolls out WiMAX in Wisconsin
TDS Metrocom has begun the commercial roll-out of wireless broadband services in Madison, Wisconsin. The CLEC will use Alvarion�s BreezeACCESS VL equipment following a trial in the town of Appleton and will offer symmetric speeds up to 4Mbps.
[...]
Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Where do I sign up?

[9:59 PM] post a comment

I apologize for the lack of updates. As usual, I keep thinking of things to write when I'm not around a computer. And then when I am, I either forget or don't feel like it.

Anyway, yesterday I got home from a week in Minneapolis. A coworker and I were up there for a training class. Unfortunately, the software we're going to be using is a different version on a different platform, and we're probably going to be using it quite differently from what was presented in class. Needless to say, we weren't too happy about how it went. Luckily, I did get to get out and do a couple of things. Tuesday evening I took a walk to the Minneapolis Sculpture Gardens, which was nice except for my lens fogging up. And on Thursday I took the light rail line out to the Mall of America. So I did have a little fun.

Today I got some fairly large cacti from someone on Freecycle I already got them repotted, along with a few other plants. I'm told they grow like weeds; we'll see.

TDS has had me royally frustrated lately. Last month there were high winds, which were causing the phone to cut in and out, which was taking the DSL down in the process. After convincing them that yes, there was a problem (they had initially said there was no problem and closed the ticket), AT&T was dispatched to fix the line. They installed a new drop from the pole to the house. At that point, the phone was fine, but the DSL either wouldn't work at all or would take a half an hour to sync up. After going in circles for a week, they finally reset something at the central office and things were more or less fine.

Except for one thing: the download speed was about 200 kbps slower than it had been before (the upload speed was slower as well). Not a huge difference, but I thought a cause for concern. Well, TDS said they couldn't do anything about it. I wasn't happy, but I figured I could live with it. However, a few days later, there was a big storm, and speeds were another 400 kbps lower - that is, 600 kbps slower than what they had been. I called to open a ticket, and was told, yes, this was a problem. The next day, things were back up a bit, but still not great.

Then the download speed dropped to 1216 kbps, or 1300-1400 kbps slower than before all of this started. Upon calling, I was told that we were too far away to get any faster speeds. I pointed out that things had been roughly twice as fast for a year and a half and there hadn't been any major issues. I also pointed out that I was being told the loop length on the circuit was now roughly 2,000 ft longer than it had been before - and that my house had not moved 2,000 ft in any direction. To make a very long story short, I was basically told "it doesn't matter what speeds you got before, what you have now is in spec and there's nothing we can do about it. And your speeds would have to drop below 384 kbps before we can do anything about it." Grrr.

Wireless? Fiber to the house? Anything? Please?

[8:03 PM] post a comment

8.02.2007

The other day Nikki and I were talking about our 10 year high school reunion, which is coming up in a few months. Neither one of us was terribly excited about the prospect - we agreed that while it would be interesting to see people we haven't in a long time, for the most part neither one of us is all that interested in forcing conversations with people we probably weren't all that close to in the first place.

I'm certainly that way in general - not exactly one start the conversation with the random (or not so random) stranger (at least in person; I think to a certain extent I'm a bit more adventurous online). I was thinking how that is an interesting contrast to my grandpa - he knew half of Racine, and he would have been more than willing to meet the other half. On more than one occasion I remember him engaging in colorful conversations with restaurant wait staff, much to the chagrin of my mother. "I'm Howard Ahrndt's grandson" was often an icebreaker.

I guess maybe I wonder why some people are programmed to be outgoing and others aren't. Experience with previous social interactions? Genetics? Just one's general attitude?

[1:27 PM] post a comment