Computers & Technology

• Tech Bytes: Local Broadband Up-Date

• Computer Tutor: Auto Recovery & Recent Files

• Links to Computers & Technology On-Line: Local Cable & Satellite Internet Services

Tech Bytes: Local Broadband Up-Date --
   Cable & Satellite Services

A few months back, in our premiere Fall Harvest/Election Day issue, we ran an article on speeding up your internet connection  --  "Net Connection Not Fast Enough for You? Consider a Cable Modem."  ...

We'd reported on Adelphia's PowerLink option, which, at the time, was only available in cable service areas of Middlebury, S. Burlington, and some towns to the North of there.  We also mentioned satellite service -- the only real option on the horizon for rural residents without cable service -- as well as one of the drawbacks of satellite, viz., that it was a one-way service, with download only.  In order to connect to the internet, as well as send mail, or up-load files or attachments, you still needed to have your modem and ISP [Internet Service Provider].

Well, times change.  And in the world of telecommunications, they change pretty rapidly.  ...  

Cable Service Is Coming! 
According to at least a couple of Adelphia sources on the lines, Addison County should start to see a pretty steady rollout of cable internet service over the coming months.  Our unofficial sources say that Vergennes is going to be first on the list, starting some time in February, with the remainder of the Adelphia service area being phased in after that ... "every couple of weeks."

If you don't know what cable service can mean for your internet experience, we urge you to read our previous article.  Here, suffice it to say that things can be 50-100x faster than what you're experiencing now with 56k.  And the cost is only about twice what you're probably paying now for your ISP modem service.

As of press time, we were still trying to get hold of someone official at Adelphia for a more specific rollout schedule.  If we do manage to get through, we'll simply up-date this page as soon as we get the info.   ...  Meanwhile, the techs we spoke to suggested calling Adelphia in order to "get on the list."  Sounds like a first come, first served scenario.

Satellite Becomes a Two-Way Street

While we were tooling around in the van a week or so ago, we heard an ad for Pegasus Satellite service which announced that two-way internet service was now available.  Up here in the Bristol Notch, that was good news to us.  So we tried to track down more info.

First we tried the Pegasus web site.  Sure enough, there was info in press releases about the partnership with Hughes DirecPC, which is moving from the older one-way satellite internet service to full two-way -- which is referred to either as DirecDuo or Return DirecPC.  ...  However, we couldn't find any more info about it.  So we went to the DirecPC site.  Same thing.

Next we tried calling Pegasus at their offices down in Mass.  But when we finally got someone on the horn, they said that the service was being planned for later this year, though not yet available.

Next we tried a few of the local satellite service installers.  But all we got was answering machines or voice mail.  {Maybe we dreamed that radio ad?!?}  So we went back on the net to do a little more research.  As a result, we can tell you this much for now:

• At Yahoo's Business Archives, we found a news clip dated December 21st that confirmed it.  The headline read "Hughes Network ships first two-way satellite system."
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• The StarBand service does appear to be ready to go, with two options:  Either the Radio Shack route, which requires that you buy the pre-configured PC as part of the package with MSN internet service, or a combo option through the DISH Network for TV programming.  There does not, however, appear to be an end run around the $200 installation fee, without which service and warranty will be void.  The service is available by purchasing the equipment directly from StarBand, with a subsequent service call for installation, or through a local dealer.  The two we found closest to our readers were Rebound Video in New Haven and Audio-Video Authority in S. Burlington.
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• In another article that was posted a week later on IDG.net -- a top-flight tech site -- the headline read "Broadband From Above: Satellite Services Beam High-Speed Access Anywhere."  ...  This piece, scheduled for release in the Feb. issue of PC World Magazine, not only confirmed the availability of two-way satellite, it actually included some stats on preliminary tests of two systems -- both the Hughes' DirecPC service, and the newer StarBand service, a Microsoft offering.  {They're everywhere!  They're everywhere!!}
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  What about the nitty gritty?.

  • The StarBand service touts download speeds up to 500 kbps and uploads at 150 kbps, while the Hughes' DirecPC 4.0 boasts transfer rates up to 400 kbps downstream and 125 kbps upstream.

  • StarBand offers a USB modem and dish for about $400 -- plus $200 for installation.  The basic service sells for $70 per month.  StarBand partner EchoStar also resells StarBand hardware and service at the same rates.

  • Hughes and partner, Pegasus, both sell DirecPC 4.0 for existing PCs. The hardware cost is about $400, and installation, $200. Pegasus charges $70 per month; Hughes charges $60 per month.

  • On the tech end, both systems performed fairly well, with StarBand beating out an early pre-production version of Hughes' DirecPC 4.0 on download, and both systems coming in surprisingly less on the up-load end.  Also, weather can be a factor.  In our experience with satellite TV, we have lost reception several times over as many years, usually in the midst of fairly torrential downpours up here in the Bristol Notch.  ... If you'd like to know more about the results reported in the IDG.net tests, click here.

You should also realize that, even if you currently have a small dish satellite system, it won't do you any good, since the receiver is just that -- something to bring it in, not send it out, too.  So you'll have to spring for some bucks for new equipment.  Also, the IDG.net piece suggested waiting for a couple of more versions to roll out before investing, giving the folks at Hughes' and Microsoft's StarBand a chance to work some of the bugs out.
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In any case, two-way satellite may be your only answer to bandwidth bottlenecks if you live beyond cable's reach.  ...  We'll keep you up-dated with any additional info we get.

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