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OT: Clearwire ISP Service and TW Rant

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OT: Clearwire ISP Service and TW Rant

#1

OT: Clearwire ISP Service and TW Rant

Robert Hutchins

>Anyone here use Clearwire? Can you compare it with cable modem, Time Warner to be specific? Clearwire and TW are priced about the same in my area.

I don't need portability; I'm just unhappy with TW, but don't want to go back to DSL or dial-up. I don't have a land line; and, besides, I've already experienced the crappy service that SBC gives on DSL. I don't dislike TW that much. I just wish there were more choices.

RANT MODE ON:

My complaints against TW are: 1) They don't allow enough addesses in email to handle distribution lists. I'm not a spammer; everyone in my lists is a subscriber. That means nothing to TW, but it means I spend considerable time and effort managing my periodic mailings; 2) TW has started sending promotional messages to all my email addys. There is no way I can block them. To me it's just spam (and they limit my address list!); 3) They send nag messages about downloading my email if I have more than about 25 messages before I access their mail server. This is irritating at the very least. For someone who supports several subscription lists and a couple of websites and spends much time online, it's a PITA. Maybe its just my native distrust and dislike for corporate conglommerates - wish they were illegal like they were in times past - but if there were more service providers of high speed Internet access and TV signal delivery, I would bet the ranch that consumers would pay less and get better service. In addition to being a source for consumer education, the 'Net can be a check and balance - albeit a usually a minor one - against megalithic corporate power.

RANT MODE OFF (Yeah, me and Rod are about the same age - I'm a little older):

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone the clearwire route. Pros, cons, complaints, kudos - all are welcome. PM me if you like.

Re: OT: Clearwire ISP Service and TW Rant

#2

I'm with you, Bob.

Don Henthorn

>I now firmly believe that any time you see a valuable service with little competition you are seeing a company or a very limited number of companies who have manged to buy our legislators. As Will Rogers said so aptly, "Don't criticize our congressmen. We have the best money can buy."

Re: OT: Clearwire ISP Service and TW Rant

#3

Re: OT: Clearwire ISP Service and TW Rant

Glenn Madsen near San Francisco

>Here's a thought, and don't throw rocks at me for making this suggestion. That's what it is.

You are limited in the range of service providers who can get you a satisfactory connection. So choose your provider, and use them for that.

Now find a provider who can and will handle your other needs. Specifically, a provider of email services used to working with small and medium sized businesses, where your sending or receiving 50 to 200 messages a day is no big deal. There are literally hundreds of these folks, many local, and usually tied in some way toa services group you can hire to help you, when you get a task too hard or nasty for your own resources. Earthlink at one time had such a group, but I don't know any more. Ask around.

You'll pay a little extra, possibly. You'll have your own domain name, and your own email addresses. And your own work arounds.

Our woodworkers club now uses Google for the mass email that gets sent. The mailing list is pretty clean, but still maybe 450-600 names, and maybe 15 to 20 emails a week. No included pictures, but links to elsewhere work. It's not perfect, but it beats the challenges we faced with Comcast as an email service provider.

So split your tasks, and look for specialists in each. Life's too short to be steamed for very long. Even for LRod.

Re: OT: Clearwire ISP Service and TW Rant

#4

Excellent Advice, Glenn. Thanks!

Robert Hutchins

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