[slider]

I was wondering if any provider has a Mac solution. I have a friend who has AT&T for her provider, and they don't see a time when they will wire her part of town for Broadband (yeah, at&t, sad). Of coarse price is an issue, but lets face it broadband internet is a completely different animal. My sister refuses to pay the $50 price tag and uses a modem, but also says the internet has almost become unusable. Anyways, does anyone know where providers are with this, is there something in the works?

[Camelot]

there's inherently nothing that says satellite broadband is PC-only, with the sole exception of satellite providers who use USB-based modems. Even these might work if you can get a driver, but you're better off avoiding USB if you can.

I know for sure Starband works with Macs - just don't tell them you're using a Mac - they're so brain-dead they think they don't support it just because the support-people on the end of the phone have never used one.

One possible caveat is that some of the providers (including, I think, Starband) use a PC-based configuration/setup program. If you have a PC around, you can use this to configure the router and then throw it away and just use your Mac.

If you do have a PC around, your other option is to set that up with the satellite connection and then use connection sharing on the PC to act as a gateway for the Mac (or any other internal system).

[BobW]

Check out OtherWorldComputing;

http://eshop.macsales.com/

Larry, the boss, says they'll be having satelite Mac compatible shortly.

Don't expect anything faster than 56k dialup speed when surfing, but the downloads are much faster.

[slider]

I couldn't find what you were talking about at OWC, perhaps you could tell me how to get there. A mac solution would of course be best.
The Starband looks interesting, and I believe she has two old PC's, how would someone go about setting up the PC and using the connection on a Mac? It would most likely be a wireless network.
I looked at Earthlink too, equipment and installations cost are up there for both services.

[Usama's Carcase]

'net sharing from PC to Mac is simple enough. you will need an available NIC (network interface card, i.e., ethernet or 802.11b) for sharing. I think you will also need Windows 2000 or XP as mininum operating systems.

turn on sharing, plug in a router to the NIC, maybe reboot the PC, and it should work.

[Ray@SAT]

Originally posted by slider:
I was wondering if any provider has a Mac solution. I have a friend who has AT&T for her provider, and they don't see a time when they will wire her part of town for Broadband (yeah, at&t, sad). Of coarse price is an issue, but lets face it broadband internet is a completely different animal. My sister refuses to pay the $50 price tag and uses a modem, but also says the internet has almost become unusable. Anyways, does anyone know where providers are with this, is there something in the works?

I have it ! It's called the 4020hub from Direcway (DirecPC) It's a two-way satellite system, it's OS independent (any op. system will work: Mac, linux, windowz and the others) as long as you have TCP connectivity. Just plug your ethernet cable in, and wham ! your up and running.... realy fast. I think I may have been the first in America to get it. A pc is needed for the set up. In my case it was done by the installer in his shop (no pc is allowed in my home )
hope all you macfriends get this system soon!

[mrchin]

Yeah, a DW4020 is the way but the hardware itself is about $1500. Do you know of a provider that'll just charge you for the connection and not the hardware?

[schalliol]

Short story, I need to know of a solution now that works, and of course an inexpensive one.

Long story:
May 18, 2003 I checked online at SBC (Pacific Bell) and called before we decided to rent the apartment we're now in to be sure that I could transfer my 256K up 768/1500K down DSL, as broadband is a critical component of any location for me (I work at home and it contains all my social structure outside of my wife and those I met in previous jobs in The Valley). SBC said I could have 256K up and 768-1500 down, as I hoped. Everything seemed to be a go to rent the apartment.

May 20, 2003Rented the apartment

That day, after renting I signed up on the order and agreed to pay for local telephone service for 2.5 weeks BEFORE we moved because it takes them time to get the stuff all setup internally for DSL (seems very excessive, but I agreed). Here's the detail....I had problems with SBC before so I contuned to check as below:

May 29, 2003Line installed for dial tone

May 30, 2003Checked on install over phone, two parties report it looks like it's progressing propertly.

June x, 2003Checked on install over phone, it looks like it's progressing propertly.

June x, 2003Checked on install over phone, it looks like it's progressing propertly.

June x, 2003Checked on install over web, it looks like it's progressing propertly.

June x, 2003Checked on install over phone, it looks like it's progressing propertly.

June 13, 2003Checked on install over web, it looks like it's progressing propertly.

June 14, 2003Rent apartment:
I went in right after we got the keys and plugged in a DSL adapter....no sync or ATM. So, I went home where we still had all our stuff and went online and looked up the order again. It now said "ORDER CANCELLED"
I called them up to find out what the deal was, they started looking into it. They said that we were too far from the CO (central office) and a RT (remote terminal - which is infrastructure that boosts the signal) was not available. Our distance was supposedly too far then, though a reporting tool I used at DSLreports.com shows that we're a ways out, but inside their paramaters. Without getting too mad at them on the phone I ultimately got a 5 way conference call with guys on there in provisioning, maintenance, business and orders teams. It's still unsure if I can get anything from them, but the signs show no.

June 15, 2003We move in and connect at 24.6bps max while attempting five V.90 phone numbers from my PowerBook. Not to mention that only the second line is functional.

June 16, 2003 So, now I'm trying to see if we can get cable for access from Comcast (looks unlikely after I talked to them today), if not the wireless solutions available in the valley are too expensive ($199/mo. for slow access) and I'll have no choice but to get satellite. I'm seriously considering SBC for the costs that will be incurred upon acting on their commitment to me.

[aaanorton]

Ya, I'm not surprised. ISP's take your money/commitment first and ask questions later. It's similar to the "pre-qualified" scams that banks run: sure you're pre-qualified, but only pre-qualified to submit an application. Utter BS.
Keep calling them and remain calm, as best possible. They can definitely make mistakes, so maybe the cancellation was a goof.
Ultimately, though, I'd recommend cable over DSL. Of course, if that's not avail either, then the point is moot.
As far as satellite goes, you're looking at 60-90 up and 100-400 down, or thereabouts. You can get DHCP service for about 99 bucks. You are limited to 500-800 MB of data down per day. Check out skycasters.com and groundcontrol.com. From either (I believe) you'll be able to get a network device running Linux as a gateway to the signal. There are no direct Mac OS connections.
This is right now. Next summer, supposedly, Hughes will roll out
SpaceWay, which is satellite service with up to 50mbps connections.

[ghporter]

I ran into a similar issue with SBC when I originally signed up for DSL. They goofed and I was not able to get the service I was promised until a few months after my initial inquiry. I was notified as soon as the service was available and everything flowed smoothly thereafter.

On the other hand...I didn't rent an apartment contingent on the availability of DSL at that location. You may have a case against SBC for guaranteeing service that was not actually available. My advice would be to call customer service, get elevated to the highest manager you can, and (calmly, of course) explain what happened, particularly that your livelihood is compromised because of the lack of the promised DSL access. There may be something they can do for you to get you at least better dial up access.

My personal feeling is that DSL Reports' tool estimated the cable distance to the nearest pedestal, but that didn't take into account the wiring within the apartment complex, which could be quite extensive and many "electrical feet" longer than the physical distance would indicate.

Finally, a PC router doesn't take much hardware horsepower. A second-hand computer store should be able to set you up with a Pentium-II-based computer that can run Windows 98 fast enough to translate between a USB modem and an ethernet card using ICS. That shouldn't cost more than $100, excluding a monitor (which can be left turned off 99.99% of the time, anyway). A 15" PC monitor shouldn't cost more than $25-30 used; you aren't interested in much more than making Windows run and reading a little text, so don't worry about too much fancy stuff.

[tooki]

One thing to remember about satellite internet: the latency is very high. So while large downloads are quick, applications that use lots of small transactions will be slow (e.g. web surfing).

tooki

[schalliol]

Yeah. I think I'm going to have to get DirecWay, as it's the best option available.

I'm not a PC guy, but I'm no dummy either. I really don't know what I would need on a Windows machine to make this a router to serve to my Mac network. This Ars Thread has some info about it, but could someone help beyond that?

I'm going to go buy a PC this afternoon used and hopefully be set!

[ghporter]

All you should really need is to make sure it has a network card, and then enable "Internet Connection Sharing." Depending on which Windows OS you use, you either have to tell Windows to install it, (as with Win98) or simply turn it on (as with XP). For this, Window's help is actually excellent with step-by-step instructions that really work.

There are very few steps involved at the Mac end-basically you set your Mac up for DHCP and you're home.

The PC hardware doesn't need to be particularly beefy either, since all you're really going to need from it is to pass packets from a USB port to the network card.

[schalliol]

This really makes me feel much better.

I think I'll pass it off to my Linksys Wireless Router to be able to get it on my PowerBook wirelessly. I suppose my router will just serve as a wireless access point and the PC will be my router with NAT.

[aaanorton]

Originally posted by schalliol:
I'm going to go buy a PC this afternoon used and hopefully be set!

I'd really talk to someone at GroundControl first. They will sell you a headless Linux networking box that will do what you want it to without configuration. And they're cheap. Seems like a better option to me.

[::maroma::]

Thread revival!


So my parents just got an iMac last week. They are "switch-back-ers", if I may make up a word here. They were Mac lovers, and then switched to PC when Apple was in the dark years. I've worked hard to convince them to go back to Mac, and now they are kind of frustrated.

They live in the country and have no access to cable or DSL, and they must have broadband of some sort (won't go back to dial up).

They call DirecWay and they tell my parents that they are SOL for Mac unless they buy the overpriced hardware. They mention nothing of the Mac beta or using a PC as a gateway. My parents are now considering returning the Mac and getting another PC! Argh!

Their old PC (a Gateway brand something-er-other) is beefy enough to act as their gateway. I told them to call DirecWay up and ask about setting them up this way. But I have a feeling that DirecWay won't be much help.

So I'm hoping someone has some really good info on setting something like this up - satellite internet connection to a PC to a Mac (at least until the Mac drivers are finalized). I mentioned this to them and they are all for it, as long as they can do it with minimal maintenance (and hopefully minimal setup).

The posts thus far in this thread are very reassuring and informative, but I was hoping someone could either post instructions or a site with instructions on setting this up. Unfortunately, my parents live in a different state than I do, and they are not the most savvy of computer users. So laymen's terms would be best.

Thanks!

[schalliol]

Ok, want the good news or the bad news first?

Ok, good news: Yes, you can get it to work!
Bad news: The service is not very good. I'm having trouble with mine now on transmission, but it works ok for downloads. You need an Internet router, like Kiero's WinRoute to perform the functions of a cable/dsl router you can commonly get for less than $50. Then of course you need a wired or wireless network. You can pay a lot more and get a DW4020 that does all of this (probably better), check with skycasters.com. I think some of my problems are related to my mis-configuration of that software, we'll see.

Here's how my packets are getting through. As I write on my PowerBook on my couch, packets are sent over 802.11 to my Linksys WAP, distributed to my ethernet switch, go into my IBM PIII 533 running Win 2000 Pro and controlled by Kiero's WinRoute Firewall. They then are sent to the Satellite software, the satellite transmitter box and up out of the dish to the "G4R" satellite at 99°W @ 1.370 GHz with Horizontal Receive and Transmit polarization. The Network Operations Center in Maryland gets the data and routes it out to the Internet.

Transmission sucks, if you're lucky you'll get about 2x of a 56K modem connection (same as 28.8K in upload). Download is pretty decent, but you are limited to 169MB in 4 hours under the $59.99 service. This is called FAP and probably won't be annoying to them if they don't do much. On my account I have the Business Edition, which gives more capacity here.

The system is down sometimes because of bad weather at the NOC (why not put it out here???). Let me know if you have more specific questions.

[aaanorton]

GroundControl, right up there. ^^^

[aaanorton]

Originally posted by schalliol:
Here's how my packets are getting through. As I write on my PowerBook on my couch, packets are sent over 802.11 to my Linksys WAP, distributed to my ethernet switch, go into my IBM PIII 533 running Win 2000 Pro and controlled by Kiero's WinRoute Firewall.

Just curious, how many of these devices are doing NAT and DHCP serving?

[schalliol]

Originally posted by aaanorton:
Just curious, how many of these devices are doing NAT and DHCP serving?

Just the system that talks to the dish on the DHCP I believe and WinRoute doing the NAT. I have a rotating IP, but you can buy a static if you like.

[::maroma::]

Originally posted by schalliol:
Ok, want the good news or the bad news first?

Ok, good news: Yes, you can get it to work!
Bad news: The service is not very good. I'm having trouble with mine now on transmission, but it works ok for downloads. You need an Internet router, like Kiero's WinRoute to perform the functions of a cable/dsl router you can commonly get for less than $50. Then of course you need a wired or wireless network. You can pay a lot more and get a DW4020 that does all of this (probably better), check with skycasters.com. I think some of my problems are related to my mis-configuration of that software, we'll see.

Here's how my packets are getting through. As I write on my PowerBook on my couch, packets are sent over 802.11 to my Linksys WAP, distributed to my ethernet switch, go into my IBM PIII 533 running Win 2000 Pro and controlled by Kiero's WinRoute Firewall. They then are sent to the Satellite software, the satellite transmitter box and up out of the dish to the "G4R" satellite at 99°W @ 1.370 GHz with Horizontal Receive and Transmit polarization. The Network Operations Center in Maryland gets the data and routes it out to the Internet.

Transmission sucks, if you're lucky you'll get about 2x of a 56K modem connection (same as 28.8K in upload). Download is pretty decent, but you are limited to 169MB in 4 hours under the $59.99 service. This is called FAP and probably won't be annoying to them if they don't do much. On my account I have the Business Edition, which gives more capacity here.

The system is down sometimes because of bad weather at the NOC (why not put it out here???). Let me know if you have more specific questions.

Thanks for the good info! I've pretty much warned my parents as much as possible about the problems with satellite, but they want the higher speed more than anything else. And it sounds like I should be able to handle setting them up, if DirecWay doesn't help them with this configuration. (God, I hope DirecWay sets them up with what they need.)

Thanks again for the info!

[schalliol]

Originally posted by ::maroma:::
Thanks for the good info! I've pretty much warned my parents as much as possible about the problems with satellite, but they want the higher speed more than anything else. And it sounds like I should be able to handle setting them up, if DirecWay doesn't help them with this configuration. (God, I hope DirecWay sets them up with what they need.)

Thanks again for the info!

No prob, but do know that DirecWay won't be setting them up with what they need beyond the single PC. If you go with a DW4020, there shouldn't be much in the way of configuration, and honestly this is the best way to go, but it's expensive. You supply the router software.

[milhous]

On a slight tangent, but if there's a lot of units at the complex you're living at, you should talk to building management about giving all the tenants a survey to see if they'd be interested in broadband. If there's sufficient interest, the management could just order T1 service from the Telco and have them run a line to the complex and setup the drops and switching infrastructure. Rent could then be slightly raised to reflect the included internet service. It's also an attractive feature that can be advertised to prospective tenants who really need it.

[::maroma::]

Originally posted by milhous:
On a slight tangent, but if there's a lot of units at the complex you're living at, you should talk to building management about giving all the tenants a survey to see if they'd be interested in broadband. If there's sufficient interest, the management could just order T1 service from the Telco and have them run a line to the complex and setup the drops and switching infrastructure. Rent could then be slightly raised to reflect the included internet service. It's also an attractive feature that can be advertised to prospective tenants who really need it.

My parents live in a house in a very rural area of California. It's the lack of people that's keeping them from having access to other broadband.

Update:
They actually got the dish installed, which happened pretty quickly. Their modem in their PC went out, so they need to get a new one before they can use the service (to register the PC). I haven't gotten a call from them, so they either haven't gotten a replacement for the modem, or have it worked out.

I'll post when they got it all up and running on the Mac.

[schalliol]

Good luck, let me know if you need any help.

[Mark N]

Someone reported that Direcway is now offering a beta for Mac users, but you have to be a current subscriber. I read it on a news site somewhere, but I'm not sure of when it's going to be available.

[schalliol]

I'm a customer and haven't seen it. If you can find info, I'll get in on the test. They have an internal beta site (mydirecway.com) but notes no outstanding betas at the moment.

[aaanorton]

Here's something I just ran across... KVH offers a mobile satellite system that seems interesting. They use a Linksys server and wireless router by default. No PC required. And you can stay on the internet while the vehicle is moving, which is a first that I've seen.
Also of note is their marine F55 system which gets 250 kbps up AND down. It also offers full sat- phone/fax features. Ain't cheap, but pretty cool.

[schalliol]

Yeah, I called tech support, they knew of no program and said that it would be under the beta site on mydirecway.com if it were.

[aaanorton]

Just noticed this.

The DIRECWAY DW6000 modem – the easy way to get online instantly! With no software to load, the frustration of dial-up is a thing of the past. DIRECWAY® still gives you a super-fast, always-on connection that is ready when you are, wherever you are in your home—no dialing in, no waiting. The DW6000 makes set-up simple and up-keep an afterthought. If new software for the modem becomes available, the DW6000 will automatically update itself, keeping you cruising through the Internet at top-speeds, all the time!

Got a Mac? We’ve answered your demand for high-speed access too. The New DW6000 is compatible with Windows and Macintosh based systems, ensuring even more people the opportunity to get high-speed access in their homes.

[schalliol]

aaanorton, awesome. Great for those of you who aren't set up yet, what shall I do? Hmm...

[CarbonG4]

::maroma:: ... in response to your initial 'revival' question, yes there is a fully Mac-compatible solution now available at the standard $59/mo. fee w/o using any Windows or Linux boxes as routers (or even a router for that matter)...

I just came across this company today as I am also considering a Two-way Satellite Modem:

http://www.americansatellite.com/

They offer the DirecWay Two-way Satellite modem service using the DW6000 system instead of the DW4000 that all the other services offer. The advantage of the DW6000 is that it interfaces with your computer via Ethernet, not USB. Also, another advantage of the DW6000 is that it's significantly cheaper than the business-grade DW4020 ($1500/ethernet).

Now, I just called American Satellite today to confirm the DW6000 as a fully OS X compatible and consumer-grade service and they said that this is the solution. The dish and installation will run you $600 and the monthly fee is $60.

All sounds good to me, since DSL and Cable are not options here. I still haven't decided, as I know there will be latency w/ the two-way and signal attenuation w/ poor weather conditions.

Does anyone have any first hand experience w/ two-way satellite in regard to how the lag affects AIM, iTunes streaming, Quicktime streaming, etc., if at all?

//Carbon

[Edit: oh, sorry... I just saw aaanorton's post two posts up on the DW6000]

[schalliol]

Originally posted by CarbonG4:
[B]::maroma:: ... in response to your initial 'revival' question, yes there is a fully Mac-compatible solution now available at the standard $59/mo. fee w/o using any Windows or Linux boxes as routers (or even a router for that matter)...

I just came across this company today as I am also considering a Two-way Satellite Modem:

http://www.americansatellite.com/

They offer the DirecWay Two-way Satellite modem service using the DW6000 system instead of the DW4000 that all the other services offer. The advantage of the DW6000 is that it interfaces with your computer via Ethernet, not USB. Also, another advantage of the DW6000 is that it's significantly cheaper than the business-grade DW4020 ($1500/ethernet).

Just go direct with DirecWay, the DW6000 is their product, and you'd be better of to use that. They also have a $99/$99 plan you can read about there.

Now, I just called American Satellite today to confirm the DW6000 as a fully OS X compatible and consumer-grade service and they said that this is the solution. The dish and installation will run you $600 and the monthly fee is $60.

Don't do it, you can get it from direcway for the same price, but you get to pay for the equip. interest free over 15 months.

All sounds good to me, since DSL and Cable are not options here. I still haven't decided, as I know there will be latency w/ the two-way and signal attenuation w/ poor weather conditions.

It's a good last resort. Get a Wireless ISP if you can.

Does anyone have any first hand experience w/ two-way satellite in regard to how the lag affects AIM, iTunes streaming, Quicktime streaming, etc., if at all?

Your upload is terrible with the service and I've had a number of problems, but they primarily might be due to my router software on the PC. AIM works great, but image uploads aren't good and AV is not an option. They offer free radio streaming with windows media player that doesn't take your bandwidth because it's multi-cast, and I haven't tried itunes streaming. The latency can be a problem and they build in a proxy server that helps, but I've had a set of problems as noted, perhaps the DW6000 will vastly improve this.

[fulmer]

Originally posted by schalliol:
The latency can be a problem and they build in a proxy server that helps, but I've had a set of problems as noted, perhaps the DW6000 will vastly improve this.

latency will always be an issue--the signal travels a long way to a satellite, then the same distance to a ground station, then back up to the sat and finally back down to you. This is the source of your latency problem, and it's not going to go away.

[schalliol]

Originally posted by fulmer:
latency will always be an issue--the signal travels a long way to a satellite, then the same distance to a ground station, then back up to the sat and finally back down to you. This is the source of your latency problem, and it's not going to go away.

I'm well aware of that issue, but it's not the root of my problems. Latency affects the response time and not the throughput or protocol acceptance. The latency isn't that bad anyway, really. It is if you're a gamer, but for file transfer and web traffic it's not that bad, just takes a second to start and then "la deluge". There are also some pretty advanced things that can be done to reduce latency. Tachyon does a great job of that, DirecWay does for http, but they have T1 prices for roughtly 1/2 T1 performance.

[JochenD]

I had the DW 6000 and dish installed and after 1 day already took it down.

Works on OSX 10.2.8, but the tech support people still want you to go to the dos prompt. These people need to get a clue.

Service is not that fast.

Frequent significant delays and periods where the browser times out and does not give you the web page you want.

The "value added" audio streams are windows only.

Mail is buggy and outgoing mail is very slow.

No usenet

NOT worth it!!

Don't do it

Jochen
jochen@whidbey.net

[schalliol]

Originally posted by JochenD:
I had the DW 6000 and dish installed and after 1 day already took it down.

Works on OSX 10.2.8, but the tech support people still want you to go to the dos prompt. These people need to get a clue.

Service is not that fast.

Frequent significant delays and periods where the browser times out and does not give you the web page you want.

The "value added" audio streams are windows only.

Mail is buggy and outgoing mail is very slow.

No usenet

NOT worth it!!

Don't do it

Jochen
jochen@whidbey.net

We all established that it's the only option if you can't get other access, DSL, cable, etc. So, given the nature of the service, I guess the question is how it worked for you on the 6000. When you say that it was buggy in mail and outgoing mail was slow, what were your problems? I have been using a 4000 connected to a PC for a while and am currently having a problem with sending mail.

[aaanorton]

What about VPC to deploy the satellite dish? Anybody try this?

[drg]

I had a DW6000 satellite system installed out in rural Alabama this morning. I LOVE it. Outside the the cost for installation, dish, and the DW6000,(about $600) I am saving $7.00 a month over what I was having to pay for ISP, second phone line, and wide area local dialing to avoid long distance service to the ISP. With the 56k modem in the AirPort, it took about six minutes to download one meg, with the DW6000 it is six seconds.

The installer arrived at about 9:30 in the morning and by 10:30 he was done. I moved the AirPort hub, plugged in the ethernet line, reconfigured the AirPort from phone line modem to Ethernet with DHCP in about one minute and things ran from the start. All three computers connect to the AirPort exactly the same except getting to and from the outside world is faster. This was the first Mac site for the installer and he was impressed with how easy it was get it going.

If you really are out in the boonies like I am and you want fast service that is easy to get going on a Mac, I can recommend the DW6000.

Jim Gundlach

[schalliol]

Jim, congrats on the move. Here's some more info for folks re: DW4000.

I had a number of problems on my DW4000 I noted before and now it works pretty well. Here are some details:

• Sometimes I get 1800kbps download (that's bits per second, not bytes), which is WAY faster than they tell you it can do. I also have a pretty low signal strength (long story), so that doesn't seem to affect it too much.
• Uploading is basically slower than a modem (could be faster sometimes I suppose, but not much). It's terrible, there's no other way to say it besides that.
• If you are using a DW4000 use Kiero WinRoute Pro for Windows to share the connection (downgrading from the FireWall version fixed my problem).
• Latency is high, but I don't think it's terrible for most applications (not good for high-speed network gaming, but other than that, not so bad)
• Works fine with my 4 machines (one wireless)
• Gotta watch the download Fair Access Policy, but I've found it to be a bit less restrictive than I thought.

[drg]

I tried to measure the speed of an upload with the DW6000. Since I don't have any place handy to upload to I decided to send a large attachment to myself by email. I attached a 1.9 meg file and it uploaded in less than four minutes. However, when I got the message it was an error because 3.7 megs exceeded the allowed 3.0. I don't know how the file grew to double in size but the idea that that little dish up on my roof can send 1.9 megs of data to a satellite some 28,000 miles out in under four minutes strikes me as rather amazing.

I'm still quite pleased. I know the extra services are for windows only but I doubt they would stream anything better than I can get off the iTunes radio. Which, I might add works quite well.

Jim Gundlach

[schalliol]

Originally posted by drg:
I tried to measure the speed of an upload with the DW6000. Since I don't have any place handy to upload to I decided to send a large attachment to myself by email. I attached a 1.9 meg file and it uploaded in less than four minutes. However, when I got the message it was an error because 3.7 megs exceeded the allowed 3.0. I don't know how the file grew to double in size but the idea that that little dish up on my roof can send 1.9 megs of data to a satellite some 28,000 miles out in under four minutes strikes me as rather amazing.

I'm still quite pleased. I know the extra services are for windows only but I doubt they would stream anything better than I can get off the iTunes radio. Which, I might add works quite well.

Jim Gundlach

My understanding is that they just killed the multicast radio, I don't know of any other service for windows. probably they killed it because of the lack of support across a network (easily). Sounds like you got a great upload speed, a friend of mine just got a DW6000 for his Macs and has similar performance to mine. As for emails, attachments are encoded in a hex format usually, which makes the files bigger.

[ricm]

I posted this in the OSX forum. It outlines problems that I've encountered with DW6000 - BEWARE!:

I had a Direcway 6000 system installed several weeks ago and have been unable to access several simple, non-secure websites - Macmall, Ebay pages, sales sites, etc. No problems with my dialup ISP but Direcway either loads a portion of a page and then craps out or fails to access the page altogether. Also once accessed some but not all pages/forums work. I had to switch to my dialup in order to access macnn's forums - I could load the main page but not any of the forum links.

I've spent many hours with Direcway TS to no avail. I'm ready to bail but was told that I'll be responsible for a $375 install fee!

I'm using Explorer 5.2/ OS9 or X. We've tried dumping cookies, clearing cache/history, every combination of TCP/IP, proxy, security setting, etc.

I refuse to pay $60/month and have to retain my dialup just to access several key sites. But it's way faster than my puny 13K dialup!

Rick

[schalliol]

Originally posted by ricm:
[B]I posted this in the OSX forum. It outlines problems that I've encountered with DW6000 - BEWARE!:

I had a Direcway 6000 system installed several weeks ago and have been unable to access several simple, non-secure websites - Macmall, Ebay pages, sales sites, etc. No problems with my dialup ISP but Direcway either loads a portion of a page and then craps out or fails to access the page altogether. Also once accessed some but not all pages/forums work. I had to switch to my dialup in order to access macnn's forums - I could load the main page but not any of the forum links.

I can't talk personally to the DW6000, but I haven't heard any problems from my friend who installed his. I have no problems at all with non-secure sites. Secure sites do present a problem because they're not sent through the proxy like non-secure ones, increasing load time. BTW, are you using the proxy correctly? Sometimes I do have problems with it and disabling the proxy (<10 seconds to do that) fixes it.

I've spent many hours with Direcway TS to no avail. I'm ready to bail but was told that I'll be responsible for a $375 install fee!

What did they tell you when you had the install done or ordered your system. When I got my system in July, the deal was they check out the system, if it doesn't install well you can be out for free, but if it works when they leave you owe then $99 for the install if you cancel within the month (I'm on a $99/99 plan, which is $99 install, $59 service and $40 equipment for 1st year. I really need to get rid of the extra $10 I pay for the backup modem connection to them, since I have had no problems since I updated my router software). Otherwise you're responsible for the terms of the contract. I hop eyou read it when you signed it. I can only say what mine says.

I'm using Explorer 5.2/ OS9 or X. We've tried dumping cookies, clearing cache/history, every combination of TCP/IP, proxy, security setting, etc.

Hmm, I mainly use Safari, so I can't really talk to that, but when I do use IE, it seems to work fine.

I refuse to pay $60/month and have to retain my dialup just to access several key sites. But it's way faster than my puny 13K dialup!

Well, you can tell them they broke your contract by not providing them the service, heck threaten to sue if you like. If they can't provide the service in the agreement, you should be able to get out w/o penalty beyond the service you paid for. It's your choice I guess, I've been loving DW recently (since I got rid of my old router software), I love the 1800kbps downloads I sometimes get, but wish that the upload was 1/2 decent. I recommend you try the satellite forum on broadbandreports.com, they'll help you with your problems, if they can't you'll have to decide what you want to do. BTW, DW has 3 tech support levels, if you're not to the top one, then get there. There's the basic one you call, I think then called Level 3 and then research. The bottom line is DW is only good if it's your only option to modem. All other broadband services are better (as far as I know). Sorry you're having a hard time!