Apologies for being unusually quiet this last week. A certain family member [who shall remain nameless] used up our 60 GB monthly broadband allowance in three weeks, so we spent the last week being ‘shaped’.
Shaping is when your ISP [Internet Service Provider] cuts your broadband speed down to dial-up levels. Actually I tell a lie, dial-up is a little faster. With shaping you open your browser, and then go put the washing out while you wait for it to load. Then you google something, and make a cup of coffee while you wait for the search results to load. Clicking on one of the search results gives you enough time to start dinner and go to the loo… 😦
Okay, I may have exaggerated just a teensy weensy bit, but my internet speeds truly were unusable. In fact, at one point I became so desperate I forced myself to look up my own blog on my phone!* This allowed me to at least read the comments you guys had left. Tapping out replies to your comments, however, was beyond me; I don’t have very big fingers but the ‘keyboard’ seems to be made for Lilliputians!
Anyway, I just wanted to say I haven’t been ignoring you, and normal programming will resume this afternoon. 😀
cheers
Meeks
*I hate my smart phone, and still don’t know how to use it properly. I only learn something new when I’m desperate.
Authors' favourite books
NANO 2012
October 18th, 2014 at 3:24 am
Like being on bread and water for the duration.
Over now, right?
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October 18th, 2014 at 9:57 am
Yes, and in an odd twist of fate, I baked a cake last night so I’ve been on a cake diet since yesterday. 😀
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October 17th, 2014 at 6:32 pm
I’m greatful that they don’t throttle us down yet. No ISP does that here, though i don’t know if it’s because they actually care about the client (not being sarcastick – more on that later on) or that they are afraid of all the clients the first ISP to try that will lose.
About the client thing, i went to one of the customer service stores for combining two different bills into one and i heard an employee there trying to convince a customer to pay. It went like this: “Sir you have 4 different phone lines, that you paid none of them for months now. We have to start cutting them. We’ve been sending you warnings for sometime now.” customer talks. (it was over the phone) “I know you probably need them, but nothing has been paid. Can you atleast pay a small amount from each one? A month’s bill to show that you are not just ignoring the bills”.
Thing is, there wasn’t a policy like that. When the whole situation with the banks occured, the phone company started doing that on its own. They are the last ones to ask for their bill to get paid.
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October 17th, 2014 at 7:46 pm
Wow….if we didn’t pay our utilities bills they’d give us a couple of warnings and then bang, they’d be switched off – electricity, gas, water, comms. you name it.
I think you’re very lucky! I’d better not say any more though in case I jinx everyone. 🙂
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October 17th, 2014 at 10:42 am
Oh my goodness!
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October 17th, 2014 at 2:41 pm
Yup. It’s been fun. Not.
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October 17th, 2014 at 10:06 am
And of course the service provider sends an email !!! advising you that your data allowance has been chewed up… 60 GB, wow.
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October 17th, 2014 at 2:40 pm
Yup. I got an email at 48 GB. “Offspring!” I yelled. “Stop whatever you’re doing or we’ll run out of bandwidth!”
In one ear and out the other. I asked, fairly politely, what she’d been doing. Just streaming some movies, and music and a bit of Skype…. -face palm-
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October 18th, 2014 at 6:33 am
It have a MUCH smaller data allowance and twice it’s happened but no email from Big T, the first instance they had an email address I never used, and the second, a huge whack of data got sucked up quickly when I bought the new Ultrabook. I’ve asked can they notify me via SMS but even though they notify me about phone data usage via SMS not possible for mobile broadband… They do offer one-off top up if they can’t persuade you into buying a larger data allowance. I’ve changed to prepaid on principle, and because my usage is variable a standard monthly hit wasn’t effective. I think I’m slightly ahead…
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October 18th, 2014 at 9:59 am
Ah… the Big T…
I’m with Internode and they’re wonderful. Started out as the ISP for gamers but now they’re just a solid, all round good ISP.
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October 17th, 2014 at 9:15 am
PS A new one called the Hudl is out and has people wetting themselves with joy since it’s as good as any ipad and a quarter the cost.
Hugs
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October 17th, 2014 at 2:38 pm
Hudl?
LMAO! You must be channeling Mike! But I will look it up, thank you. 🙂
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October 18th, 2014 at 2:22 am
It’s the new HUDL2
Blog award
http://barsetshirediaries.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/blog-award/
xxx Huge Hugs xxx
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October 18th, 2014 at 9:56 am
Aaaaaah!
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October 17th, 2014 at 9:13 am
Pay attention now, you may never again hear me say anything remotely technical. Look at getting a tablet ( they’re cheap honestly). You can do almost as much as with your computer but it’s as portable as your phone, AND, the keyboard is finger sized on screen. You can get apps that you can’t get on the computer even ( pho.to lab is the obvious one for me).
As long as you go for 4.2 or above you should be fine and we have them starting at around £50 though the ASUS memo pad is great.
xxx Huge Galore from a Luddite xxx
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October 17th, 2014 at 2:37 pm
David? Is that really YOU??? I keep getting this buzzing in my ears that sounds vaguely like you recommending a tablet…. ^.o
If that was you, I’ve thought about it but my issue with both tablet and smart phone is the cost of the bandwidth. I honestly don’t know how most people can afford to use their devices all the time.
That said, I really should get one just in case someone asks me to teach them…. hmmm
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October 17th, 2014 at 8:37 am
Dial-up speed? Shudder. May we never return to that hell. 😉
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October 17th, 2014 at 2:34 pm
“Amen!”
This is the first [and last time] it’s happened to me and I do NOT like it one bit.
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October 17th, 2014 at 8:16 am
Hilarious. That was my funny for the day.So you now have normal service back? Our system doesn’t do that, instead it either charges you for the moon or cuts you off completely.
I have had my own computer problems. Mine crashed completely last Friday. So, until my genius (I hope) son fixes it (more hope) I am linping along on this old derelict one that has only a few of my most used files on it. My books and covers are backed up but there is more, so much more, that isn’t. And this things is so slow it times out before I access external sites. But I have FAITH my son (the genius, I hope) will retrieve all those files for me (hope again). And it’s very difficult to type when all my fingers, toes and other appendages are double crossed.
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October 17th, 2014 at 2:31 pm
I’m giggling at the thought of you looking like a pretzel, but I do feel your pain. We get so reliant on these damn beasts, and then they betray us at the worst possible moment.
Btw I like your strategy. -waves at Genius Son- I’m sure he’ll have you up and running in no time. 😀
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October 17th, 2014 at 2:33 pm
Oh and p.s.! Our ISP aren’t allowed to charge extra when we go past our limits but they compensate for that by charging like a wounded bull for the normal bandwidth. -sigh- They get you coming and they get you going.
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