Tech Inspector » computers

Verizon DSL questions?

The Inspector — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:22:32 +0000

I was at my father-in-law’s last night. While initially there to help with a new flat panel tv setup, I eventually found out that his internet service (which he gets thru Verizon DSL) is appalingly slow: using the java speed test on this website, I measured 18 Kbs downloads (oddly enough, I also measured > 500 Kbs uploads; strange, very strange…). I called Verizon tech support twice, and the people were polite but technically ignorant, as if they were reading from scripts. But they did verify that there were no service issues in the area, and that the line quality to the apt looked good. So, the slow speed is likely due to some problem with our equipment or setup.

Questions
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1) Can I buy any third party DSL modem and expect it to work with Verizon, or do I need to buy a model from them or at least endorsed by them to expect things to work?

2) will all modern DSL modems have web interfaces that you can access over your LAN?

3) what kind of manual configuration do I need to do on my new DSL modem? Do I need to enter stuff like username, password, DNS etc?

4) instead of manual configuration, is auto configuration possible, as in, simply run a Verizon DSL installation CD? (See below for some more discussion)

5) assuming that I need to buy a DSL modem endorsed by Verizon, which such model do you guys like best? One of the tech people mentioned the Westell 7500, which it looks like I can buy used for $25
»newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/sys/9···830.html
Do you guys like this model? A brief web search turns up tons of people complaining about issues with it (of course, there is self selection here: people with success stories do not post, only people with problems).

6) if any modern DSL modem can be used with Verizon, what models do you guys like and why?

DSL slower?

The Inspector — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:42:52 +0000

I noticed a dramtic slowing down with my DSL connection, I started to run Verizon speed test: http://infospeed.verizon.net/index.asp everyday monitoring my connection. The service I supposed to get is 3MB, however, during the days, my connection, according the the speed test, dropped down to something like 56K/126k/256k in variations. I started to spend large amount of time with Verizon DSL Tech Support. And eventually, after my case was full of remarks, Verizon’s first tier and second tier support had enough with me…refused to give me help any more, asked me to take my computers back to the manufactures. Right now at 2/3 am in the morning, my DSL speed is excellent, my speed test is showing a perfect score, 3MB! Does DSL have traffics like the dail-ups?What happened? Does it something to do with Verizon/Yahoo deal that changed some configuration from their end?

Vista

The Inspector — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:40:41 +0000

Vista just plain drives me crazy. It seems like each time I walk away from my computer it automatically disconnects from the internet. For some reason I can never log back onto the net unless I restart my computer. This does not happen with my other systems that have XP on them so I know it Vista that is doing it. Had I know Vista would be such a hassle I never would have purchased a machine with it on it.

The Wii is here!

The Inspector — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:19:50 +0000

My dear wife finally relented in her opposition to video games and ordered my son a Wii for Christmas. Really it is for our family but he will be the one to open it. We also got a Wii Fit as part of the package. I was caught in the act of trying to open the box last night and threatened with it being returned to the store in exchange for a new Scrabble game. She knows how much I hate playing Scrabble and has promised this action if I so much as tear the cellophane on the box. You see she saved the money from her earnings to buy the Wii and put away a little bit over a period of time so technically I don’t have a say in this one. BUT the Wii is here is really is here!

Resource hogs.

The Inspector — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:23:11 +0000

On one of the forums I frequent there was a very long discussion of anti-virus software. I had never considered anti-virus software to be a “resource hog” but apparently some people are very opposed so certain programs because of this. Several people felt very strongly that unless you have ample computer memory that programs like Norton use to many resources. I would never consider going without anti-virus software but some people out there are doing it. One fellow says he simply scans using an online tool every day? How he gets away with this I have no idea. Certainly he must not be using his computer in quite the same way as the rest of us!

Back away with that drink!

The Inspector — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:44:38 +0000

A couple of months ago I invested in a great new ergonomic keyboard. It was wonderful until one day it just stopped working. After trying everything I knew of to fix it I decided to take it apart. This is when I discovered a sticky mess. Apparently someone in my house spilled a drink onto the keyboard and never said anything. As irritated as this made me I am thankful it was not my laptop who was on the receiving end of the drink! Fixing a laptop is much more costly than replacing a keyboard and a hundred times more inconvenient. I suppose I could have looked into a temporary laptop rental had this happened. There is now a rule in our house that no one is allowed to drink or eat near any of the computers again!

New desktop on the way.

The Inspector — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:23:25 +0000

Last week I finally broke down and upgraded our desktop computer. It didn’t seem like it but when I looked through my records I realized that this one is 6 years old. For the most part it does the job but we are now reaching the point where there simply isn’t enough memory. The new system is a Dell Vostra that I ordered through the small business side of Dell. The price seemed to good to pass up. I only hope it comes with everything I need to set it up in the same way as my old system. I hate trying to set something up only to realize I need patch cables and various connectors to make everything run smoothly. Our desk is situated in such a way that the cables that come with most of my equipment are never quite long enough. Maybe, just maybe, I will get lucky and the ones I have will work.

Choosing IT as a career.

The Inspector — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:14:54 +0000

A friend of mine has been debating about going back to school for a computer degree. He has been asking me to offer an opinion about whether this is a good decision. On a very basic level I think that working in IT is a good field to be in. When you think about it every company needs IT people. It doesn’t matter if a company sells term life insurance or manufactures automobiles there is going to be an IT department. If you are someone who is willing to relocate to an area where there are IT jobs and have worked to make sure you have the right kind of training this can be a sound career decision. For someone like my friend I am not so sure that his plan is a sound one. His school of choice will be a local community college that is not well known for its computer department. The degree he hopes to obtain is not even an entry level diploma and he has no intentions of relocating out of the area to find work. In an economically depressed and highly competitive job market I do not think he will have an easy time finding work upon graduation.

Computer Q & A

The Inspector — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:33:19 +0000

Q: I have a new 22″ lcd widescreen. It displays some websites full screen and some only half screen and also jams some lines together. Any ideas how to correct this????

A: MSN’s site will fille the browser window if you screen resolution is 800×600. Any higher and the site has gaps on the sides. I noticed that when I went from 800×600 to 1024×768. The same is probably true for other sites as well.

Some sites, like MSN, most likely use tables to put their whole pages into and tables you can make any size you want. Other sites don’t use tables so they will end up filling the window, regardless of your screen resolution. The only thing you can really do about it is change your screen resolution, but there’s nothing wrong with your computer. As long as you can see everything on the page, that’s all that matters.

How does it work?

The Inspector — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:25:18 +0000

We recently upgraded to a spiffy new optical mouse. This device has utterly fascinated my oldest son. After answering one question after another I decided to post how these devices work. Maybe this will save the other parents of the world a few minutes in case their child is as inquisitive as mine~

An optical mouse uses a light-emitting diode and photodiodes to detect movement relative to the underlying surface, rather than moving some of its parts — as in a mechanical mouse. Modern surface-independent optical mice work by using an optoelectronic sensor to take successive pictures of the surface on which the mouse operates. Most of these mice use LEDs to illuminate the surface that they track over; marketers often mislabel these LED optical mice as laser mice, confusing them with true laser mice. Changes between one frame and the next are processed by the image processing part of the chip and translated into movement on the two axes using an optical flow estimation algorithm.