My Internet connection is currently down so I'll take a few moments to vent my complaints about Windstream and Dish Network (bundled with our phone and DSL service). These moments are brought to you by Windstream, whose incompetence is responsible for this "net-less" time". We put the wheels into motion to cancel the service a few days ago. We're switching to cable, but the installer won't be here for a few more days so we made sure that the Windstream account would remain active until the other service was up and running. So I get up this morning and do my usual mundane routine, then I tried to connect to the Internet. No luck. The DSL light on the modem was not lit, so I knew what the problem was. I tried re-setting the modem at least a couple of times with no luck.
I hate to call tech support. Hate it with a passion, I tell you. Not only that I feel intimidated by the difference between all the tech savvy they have and my own intermediate computer literacy... but almost every tech support guy I've ever spoken to sounded like they were stuck up, like they knew how much smarter they were than I am (in all things related to computers) and it pleased them. Of course, those are only impressions... they're mine, and very likely they are in error. Regardless, that's why I don't like calling them. The guy I just got off the phone with was not so bad, though, I admit.
The guy couldn't do anything for me, but apparently it had nothing to do with connection issues. It seems they had no DSL service records for me. As it turned out, Windstream had already disconnected us, even though we specified that we didn't want to be shut down until August 4 (right around the time when the cable installer will be here). I don't have any idea why they killed it so early, but I don't really care. All I know is that I'm NOT surprised. Not one bit.
We've used Windstream for several (too many) years and I can't count the number of times I've had to call tech support. Their service people probably know how to get to my house without a map. When we first got hooked up with DSL they didn't tell us anything at all about the connection speed. I don't remember how fast our initial connection was, but it was slow. I guess we thought it was good enough because we'd just switched from dial-up. But we couldn't watch tube videos because they took too long to buffer. Lots of "crowded" webpages took a long time to load. I was surprised when I learned that they offered a higher speed option. Like I said, they never mentioned it. Internet drop outs happen so frequently in this house it's not even funny. There were times when our Internet would go down several times a day for varying periods of time. Lately we have been getting disconnected every single time the telephone rings.
I know I can't vent at Windstream for the issues I have with the Dish Network, but since it did come along in a bundle with the Windstream service I might as well. We signed a 2-year contract with Dish or else I swear to God we would have gotten rid of it within the first few months (maybe even WEEKS). The main problem we've had is when the satellite signal is lost. This happens a LOT (though not nearly as much as our DSL drops out). When it's gone you're screwed. If there's a huge storm raging outside, and you need up-to-date weather information, that's too bad because the rain and clouds will invariably cause your signal to go down.
The programming is kind of weak, too, for the price. I mean, we don't have the "America's Top 200", which would remedy this situation completely. But you know what? I'm not gonna pay the kind of money they want for that higher tier. It's ridiculous. We have the "America's Top 100", which is NOT the bottom level tier, I should add. WEAK, that's all I can say. All it would take is something like Turner Classic Movies to make me happy... just one commercial-free channel that you don't have to upgrade your plan to watch. I've got my system set to display only the channels that we might watch, but if I hadn't done that we would have been deluged with infomercials. They are all over the place.
I suppose Dish may be a good thing for people who want to order up pay-per-view movies and events. They seem to have a LOT of options in that arena. Not me. I don't think I've ever ordered a pay-per-view attraction even once in my life. And I don't plan to. I prefer DVDs, where I can stop the film for bathroom breaks and such. Besides, I never could get the sound on my home theater synced with the satellite box. So it's best all around that I choose home video over pay-per-view.
Speaking of "sync"...that is another of my MAJOR complaints about Dish Network. Many, MANY times the audio from a particular program will be so out of synce with the video that only a blind man wouldn't notice. I can't watch it, personally. It drives me crazy. It's bad enough on music programs, when I can tell how screwed up it is by seeing the guitar player's fretting hand play chords before they even make a sound. Drummers who look like their playing out of time. Singers who might as well be lip-synching. But it's even worse when I'm watching the news. I can't even describe it. Disorienting, to say the least.
So, I hope to see the last of all that when we are hooked up to cable. The satellite companies are always ragging on cable... they must be doing something right. All I know is that I've used cable TV since I was a little kid and I've never had these kinds of problems with it. I've heard that a cable connection is much faster than DSL, so I guess I'll have to wait and see about that. Hopefully that is the case, because I really am much more concerned about my Internet service than I am the television.
Okay, so I've waited an hour and, lo and behold, the connection has been re-established. Yippee! At least they do get it fixed eventually...
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