On Saturday afternoon our internet stopped working. Tiscali, our isp, have been less than helpful – informing us that their helpline doesn’t support Macs or wireless modems but “have we tried turning it off and then back on again?”. In actual fact I don’t think there is anything wrong at our end, I think it’s a problem with the service itself. This has happened a couple of times in the past and has mysteriously resolved itself after a few of days. It’s probably just a waiting game, and if it’s not then I’ll just switch isp.
But for the time being I’m without web access at home. Which means no blogs, no wikipedia, and no podcasts. I am completely bereft. I’ve even had to resort to reading books and spending time with my family. Oh the humanity.
Still, I’ve got access at work; although the computers here run a 1963 version of Internet Explorer so google reader doesn’t work properly. This means I’ve not been able to keep up to date with my blogroll recently. I’m making an effort to click through as many as I can from the list down the side of the page, but on these antiquated machines it is slow going and the list isn’t all that up to date.
So there you go. I’m not going to be around as much over the next few days until I can get things sorted out, but to be honest you probably wouldn’t have noticed anything if I hadn’t pointed it out.
No saying horrid things about me while I’m gone.
We had the same problem with our internet service provider recently. They said it was a problem on our end as well. My brother is a tech guru and resolved everything. It turned out that it was a problem on their end after all.
The tech people that answer the service lines are nothing more than uneducated idiots that have a script of about three or four troubleshooting protocols. If what they offer as a resolution from the list doesn’t work, it’s automatically a problem on your end and they can’t help you. It’s stupid.
I shall pray to St. Isodore (patron saint of computing and the Internet) on your behalf. Seriously, good luck with getting things resolved. It’s never fun and never goes as fast as you’d like.
Kathy’s last blog post..You Know Your Butt’s Too Big When ….
what was that? I couldn’t hear you… you’re breaking up… are you going through a tunnel or something?
I know someone from your neck of the woods who still cannot get broadband and relies on a 56k modem down a telephone line that has wires fastened to the outside of his house that criss-cross the street - and he runs a huge web site forum on that pathetic 1980’s equipment.
Its what you get for living up in the hills, we city folk snigger behind our hands at you you know…
Gary’s last blog post..A round in one
You can just mail me letters instead.
Avitable’s last blog post..Can you hear me now?
It’s funny how we come to rely so much upon a service that isn’t really a necessity of life. If our refrigerator stopped working I’d probably be less worried than if the Internet stopped.
By the way, nice Thomas Dolby reference. Now I’ve got that song in my head for the next three days.
Strange how we become creatures of habit with san serif fonts and blinking cursors eh? I agree 100%
not having internet (or a pc for that matter..) it’s like getting kicked in the nuts, it hurts.
Arjan’s last blog post..Meme
I miss you.
Whit’s last blog post..Prologue: Another Trip to Market
So you’re saying you’re not going to participate in my Name That TV Show Theme Song contest where you have to listen to 10 different streaming MP3 files? Selfish bastard.
Jeff’s last blog post..Hey wait, I know this one…
So what channel do you use on those fancy walkie-talkies you just got? You seem pretty tech savvy. Maybe you could figure out a way to do a walkie talkie podcast.
zoe’s dad’s last blog post..Carpe diem…..
Judging by the way the walkie talkies worked on the New Year’s Day walk, I reckon we’d need to call THAT helpline too.
Or maybe we just didn’t have anything worthwhile to say to each other over the airwaves, as we were a mere 20metres apart. I resorted to describing lock gates for goodness sake!
Broadband internet isn’t a necessity?!? How wrong can you get? Should we send food parcels? Dudelet believes that if you yell into the speaker end of a baby monitor, the person you’ll yelling at will eventually hear you. He’s right of course. Perhaps that might work with the podcasting?
(un)relaxeddad’s last blog post..The Art of (Children?s) Parties, Part 2
Jason – Tell me about it. I’m 99% convinced this issue is a problem with either the telephone line or their service, but they just keep going through the same old script (re-install your drivers blah blah blah).
I’ve just decided to try and go with another isp, although I’m under no illusions that there level of customer service will be any better.
Kathy – I’ve never heard of St. Isodore. I’d google them but I don’t have any web access. Damn their eyes.
You may ask if I don’t have any web access how is it that I’m responding to your comment. But if I told you I’d have to kill you.
CamiKaos – * crackle *
Gary – We keep coal in the bath as well you know.
Avitable – You’re just touting for more Turkish Delight.
Phil - I have to be honest with you, I have no idea who Thomas Dolby is. I’d google them but …yadda yadda yadda.
Joe – I get up in the morning, turn on the computer to check my emails and then wail in despair when I remember I have no access. I’m like a smoker who has just quit, I can’t find anything to do with my hands.
Arjan – Worst pain there is.
Whit – Who are you again?
Jeff – I ort to charge you for advertising space.
Zoe’s Dad – I’ll send you a handset in the post and we can give it a go.
Oli – I don’t know. I’ve been planning a week of posts based around your eloquent descriptions of the lock gates.
(un)relaxed dad – If I remember rightly broadband internet access is one of the primary requirements in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Most ISPs tend to adopt an “it ain’t me, guv” attitude to problem solving. I had a nightmare with my previous provider who cut me off for no reason at all, then told me I’d have to wait a month to be reinstated. I told them I was going elsewhere. At the end of the month, when I expected my new ISP to kick in, it couldn’t - because the old one was still connected. They’d forgotten to send through the disconnect notice. “It’ll just take another 28 days.”
Idiots.
Rol’s last blog post..Men And Machines
D’oh! You’re on to me.
But don’t bother… my overt attempt to garner all your traffic has only resulted in one visit that I know of so I’m going to pull my advertising from here anyway.
Jeff’s last blog post..Hey wait, I know this one…
Jeff - I hate to tell you this, but that was me:)
I got the ‘we don’t support Mac’s’ bollocks from Virgin over Christmas. I had to laugh when they told me that I should install Internet Explorer. oh, wait. I’ve told this story. Sorry.
Bec’s last blog post..You already are an animal