Tag Archives: internet

Down But Not Out or: Without the Net

03 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by in Life as We Know It, Podcasting

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Salutations™!!

When I went into the studio today, the internet was down. Nate at X1 Communications figured that the main router was just unplugged as it wasn’t showing up internally. It was showing that the signal was getting to the building. I asked if it was located in the telecommunications room where most of the stuff like that was and they said yes. What they thought it was was an old server room on the other side of the building. But, I had to get the key to open the door to the communications room, then the other room had a keycode lock and we had to figure that code out (by calling the building owner).

It turns out that someone over the weekend tore all the stuff out of that old server room because it was (mostly) just that, old. The router wasn’t old, but they didn’t know that. Plus, the whole cable system was removed (or eliminated). I don’t think anyone was at fault, but it happened. Well, what I do is an internet-based business and without it, it was hard to do work.

We did Fan Interference without the intro (although I haven’t loaded that, yet) or any sound effects because I couldn’t get to the internet. We recorded The Man Who Ate the Town, but as I was without the internet, I couldn’t upload it to the server, so it will be a day late, tomorrow. We recorded The Beer Dads tonight and finally was able to put stuff on the ‘net. It worked. But, I’m thrown behind. Again, this is no one’s fault. Just a lot of inconvenience and miscommunication. So, The Beer Dads got up and the others will tomorrow.

But the point I wanted to make was that I knew but didn’t know how reliant I have become to the internet. Without it today, it crippled my business and it crippled my ability to communicate with our listeners. That was rough. But, for now, it’s back up as we had to be a little creative (running a cable the length of the building to my wi-fi router). It was just rough, as I said. Thanks to Nate and Josh at X1 Communications for going above and beyond.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Technology is neutral; it depends on how it’s used.” – Rick Smolan

A New Sponsor or: X1 Marks the Spot

29 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by in Blogging, Life as We Know It, Podcasting, The Less Desirables Network

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Salutations™!!

So, the entire The Less Desirables Network got a new sponsor this week! I am so very proud to announce our partnership with X1 Communications, the standard of internet providers in the downtown WSNC area!X1 Logo

Nathan Geipel, the owner-operator of X1 Communications is a member of TBD Referral Group that I’m part of (that stands for The Best Damn Referral Group) and I know that most of the businesses in the downtown area rely on them for their internet needs. So, when I was going into The Lab at Industry Hill, I called on him to see if they serviced that location. Wait, what? Don’t all internet providers in the area service all the area?

Nope.

X1 Communications are different than traditional internet providers in town. First of all, X1 uses “Fixed Wireless” technology. According to their website: Fixed Wireless is the process of enabling communications between two locations, using a radio as a wireless link. Say what!? Yes, they do not use wired technology. They’re not renting lines from bigger communications companies. They have radios on a few of the taller buildings downtown. In order for them to service your business, they have to have a line-of-sight connection with your business from those points. At that point, the data is transferred between radios using passwords and high-level encryption to ensure fast and secure data transfer. This stuff is high speed!

Does the line-of-sight provision limit their reach? Well, kind of, but what it does is allows Nate and Josh to take care of and provide high-level service to the folks they do serve. I think that’s important.

They own their entire network. Unlike their competitors who rent wires from the phone company, they are not beholden to those primitive measures and can guarantee 99.99% uptime. Which, is imperative to business owners, especially those like me who are internet-based. I didn’t have to buy any special equipment, either. They put the radio on the roof of the building and the building was already wired internally. I plugged my router into the port and BAM! I’m surfing and uploading.

I don’t have to worry about weather problems, either. Their network is on the 5Ghz bandwidth so it is “weather resistant.” I’m not really sure what that means and it doesn’t matter if I know or not, it’s taken care of.

I know what you’re asking. “Is it safe?” Oh yes. X1 uses AES 256 Encryption – the same
level of security as the Dept. of Defense. So, my info, data, properties and all that are quite secure. And, man… it’s fast. The only thing worse than slow internet is no internet. X1 guarantees consistently high speeds, so you focus on your work, not your broadband service. That helps.

Are you like me and tired of dealing with Spectrum and AT&T? Well now, you don’t have to. No more hassle in dealing with the major telecommunications companies. You’re in the capable hands of a local provider, with a history of excellence.

Have I done an ample job of pushing X1 Communications? I hope so, because not only are they my sponsors, I think they have a great product and we know that I love promoting local businesses, especially the ones that I can get behind. But, if you’re looking for more testimonials, I’m sure you can ask Alma Mexicana, Krankie’s, Inmar, BB&T Ballpark, The Ramkat, WBFJ, Camino Bakery and fellow TLD sponsor, Underdog Records. I am sure all of them would give you raving reviews of X1 Communications, too. If you’re in line-of-sight of the taller buildings downtown WSNC and want high-speed broadband internet, contact X1 Communications at (336) 773-9950.

Here’s welcoming X1 Communications to the CrewTLD family! Thanks, Nate and Josh!

Until tomorrow, broadcasting at breakneck speeds…
Scorp out!

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“With more than 20 years of combined experience in the field of Digital Communications, X1 is proud to provide custom internet solutions to a variety of businesses and residents.” – X1 Communications

Prodigy No More or: So Long Old Friend

11 Tuesday Aug 2015

Posted by in Life as We Know It

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Salutations™!!

For years, close to twenty, actually, I’ve had an auxiliary email account which used to be my main email that was an @prodigy.net email. Many years ago, 1994ish, I was part of Prodigy, the online service that, much like AOL, had everything self contained. It had bulletin boards (I was a member of the KISS Board, it was my main one), weather, shopping and a Sabre booking system. As a matter of fact, I booked my first ever air ticket, to Orlando, of course, from that service. I spent a lot of time listening to that handshake sound running over that 14.4k modem signal. I had a @prodigy.com email at that time. I believe that was my first ever email. There was a “web browser” available to us users but it was kind of rough. Websites weren’t very popular or abundant at the time, anyway. But, you couldn’t play Quake on it because it wasn’t a true ISP.

PLogIn

Login screen for Prodigy Classic

In 1996 or so, Prodigy started their very own ISP and I was part of that. $15.95 a month, I believe. They kept the self-contained service for a bit, calling it Prodigy Classic, but most everyone was ported to Prodigy Internet and its email domain, @prodigy.net, to differentiate that this was actually an ISP and not just a networked community. Prodigy Classic was phased out in 1999, due to “incompatibility to Y2K,” (I was one of the 209k subscribers that was still left when it went dark) and we were able to move about freely with the “net.” I used dial up for a good bit until I grew into the broadband/cable world and Prodigy Internet was my vessel.

Once I had moved on to broadband, I had gained a lot of use for and of the @prodigy.net address so when I moved over, I continued to pay for the Prodigy Internet dial-up service to keep the address. Eventually Prodigy was purchased by SBC in 2001. SBC also formed a “strategic alliance” with Yahoo not long after that. When that happened they stopped allowing new Prodigy accounts and put people over to Yahoo instead. We were allowed to keep our Prodigy email address. Then, eventually, SBC purchased AT&T and our beloved address was held under the AT&T brand.

Eventually, I think my credit card had been declined or something and from what I remember I just left it at that. However, my email address was still working. I figured all was in the clear. About a year ago, I was going over the company’s (that’s my ‘Rents’ company) credit card and there was a charge for $29.95 to AT&T Internet Services and I called AT&T to figure out what it was. NO ONE was able to figure out what it was for. I complained to AmEx and eventually (after a year) they acquiesced my request to put a block on that charge. We had canceled all services with AT&T at that point and since no one could tell me what it was, we put a block on it. Well, you get three guesses as to what that charge was really for and the first two don’t count. Yep, it was for my “AT&T Dial Up” service. Somewhere along the line I had added that CC to take care of it.

Well, things being what they are now, I can’t afford it any longer and almost 20 years later (I’m counting the Prodigy Classic time, too), I’m having to give up my @prodigy.net address. Everything that requires a subscription over the years, this has been my go to. I’m sick to my stomach, too. I know that’s silly but I have been very, very proud of my longevity and it’s almost like a loss of a pet or something. Almost. Still, Dear Reader, I’m sad, but I’ve already made another @yahoo.com address to replace that for my subs and such.

I feel, too, like I’m turning my back on an old friend. I was once part of AOL and that was okay (it was a better service really), but it didn’t have the charm of Prodigy. I stayed true to it. I still miss the time in the old KISS boards, really. Those were awesome times. I’m sighing and I’m moving on.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“The Internet will win because it is relentless. Like a cannibal, it even turns on it own. Though early portals like Prodigy and AOL once benefited from their first-mover status, competitors surpassed them as technology and consumer preferences changed.”

Caught by the Net or: Quite the Disruption

28 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by in Life as We Know It, Rant

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Salutations™!!

I’m in an industry that is internet-based. Actually, I’m in two industries that are. The travel agency I own is about 90% internet and only a few people actually call me anymore; it’s all online. The podcast industry is the internet. You have to be online to get any content beyond your own house. The same goes for the video production part, too.

Another thing that I do is review films for the “Movie of the Week” for The Less Desirables. 95% of those are watched via Netflix and Amazon. That, too, obviously requires the internet. Research that I do for The Less Desirables show material is all done on the internet. Right now, I’m talking to you, Dear Reader, via the internet with this blog.

So, when the haven of the interwebs is interrupted for whatever reason, it throws the universe out of balance and things are bad. It’s bad on the travel side, it’s bad on the podcast side, it’s bad on communications. Sure, we can use the telephone, still, but I prefer to do my business via email. Not because of the lack of human interaction, but because everything I do then has a readable record and “paper trail” if you will. So, yes, I do still use the phone, but I’d rather use Skype to talk to the person I’m communicating with in the business world.

When I’m on my “own” time (which technically is never since all my jobs I consider my “half time” jobs) the loss of connectivity is really just an annoyance more than anything. But, like I said, I’m not on “personal” time because I’m always working. I’m working on research (everything is pop culture if you look at it right), films, music, etc. Everything is reliant on that internet. So, the inconvenience is more than just annoying.

I use two different internet companies right now. I’m going to call them out because they both give me grief whilst giving me “life.” They are Time Warner Cable and X1 Communications. I have TWC at home and X1 in the studio. I’m not placing blame on either individually but on both at the same time. I will say that TWC does it more than X1 anymore.

I’ve never had a problem with TWC at home until the last few months. Netflix and Amazon are constantly buffering because, somehow, as much as I pay for internet, it doesn’t seem to be getting enough back end to push through the signal. I never really believed the “throttling” thing and I’m not so sure it’s real now, but something is definitely going on. Last night the internet went down and I couldn’t do anything. I was stuck. I could watch regular TV and did, but I had things that I wanted to watch but couldn’t. Stuff happens and I get that. Can TWC help it? Maybe or maybe not.  But it’s not helpful.

I want to reiterate that I love technology and I love what I do. It just shows that I am so reliant on tech and the internet and really, I’m okay with that. But, I also reserve the right to be upset when the companies let me down. Just how it is. How reliant are you on tech? Social media? Let’s talk about it!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.” – Bill Gates