Any feedback on Globe DSL?

[cokeycyn]

Hey guys, guess what?

Heard that we're going to be BACK ON LINE (Finally!) by May 15... Globe and Pinoy Cable will be wiring up our Leetul Willage by then.

So, we'll be on Globe DSL unless they screw up and give us USB cables.

Anyway, does anyone have any feedback so that we know what to expect from Globe DSL?

:-)

[El CaMOTe]

Yeah, with this horrible looking/coloured stingray thingy Alcatel USB 1.0 modem GlobeDSL gives you , you will be lucky to get something close to a 256 connexion. Most of the time, I get much less. And my subscription is for a 384 speed line !! So I continue to complain hoping for some rebate, yeah right ...

Thing is, if I remain connected and just leave my TiBook doing nothing, you are either disconnected due to no network activity, or you remain 'connected' but when you come back you try and open a page, send an email, ... NADA !!

What I do is disconnect for a few seconds (10 secs) and then reconnect and it usually comes back !!

So what I do now to maintain activity always is to launch my Itunes and get into an internet radio (smoothjazz.com audio stream at 128 speed). Then I can surf, send email, leave it alone for hours with the radio on and then come back. Hiccups though, when the speed is real slow !!

I downloaded the latest Alcatel software upgrade, did not rely on the one loaded by the Globe fellow.

Am still in Jaguar though and I want to upgrade to Panther but there are problems with the Alcatel software !!

There is a .038 (?) update from the current .035(?) alcatel set-up, and the globe fellow told me today that he set up an IMac LCD type, with panther and this new .038 update and according to him the speed reaches 384 !!

Dunno how that can happen when the USB 1.0 chokes the speed down to the ones I am getting now.

The globe fellow tried to pass off a connexion speed of 1.4 Mbps as the actual speed to defuse my complaint of not getting the prescribed 384. See that he connects to the globelines website to check the actual speed of your new connexion.

No ethernet modems yet because they use PPPoATM not the PPPoE. There is a 'roll-out' of new GlobeDSL features/products in June and maybe, just maybe, there might be an ethernet modem for us stingray thingy users !!

Meanwhile, I just use the net on my TiBook. Can't use my ethernet network !!

Good luck, a choked DSL is much much better than a slow dial-up though so enjoy !!

Cheers

[dude_funk]

Globe's network seems to be very unfriendly to Macs, especially Mac OS X.

In our experience Globelines NetExpress (the dial-up service), will not allow Mac OS X to connect.

A Globe Support person replied to my e-mail and they said they are aware of the problem _but_ they couldn't seem to "fix" what is wrong with their servers when a Mac OS X computer connects.

My question is whadahell are they doing up there? Are they running on some exotic server OS?

PLDT Vibe accepts dial-up with Mac OS X with aboslutely zero fuss.

[penmanila]

if i were in your situation, and as much as it might make my stomach turn, i'd actually consider getting a windows machine just for surfing if globeDSL doesn't work with OSX and if it were your only choice. the last thing you need is broadband that keeps dying on you when you have jobs to finish and business to do.

[cokeycyn]

Ohmigosh this sounds TERRIBLE!!!

I doubt Vic and I will allow another PC in the house anymore, but I also doubt that we'll survive disconnected from the Wired World at large for much longer!

Oh well. I heard that the new connections now come with an Ethernet thingamajig, but until it's actually wired up in our house, I guess I can't believe it.

I'll let you know as soon as we get wired up and on line! I'll just keep my fingers crossed until further notice.

[elbert]

Cyn, dude_funk is referring to the dial-up service available to Globelines subscribers called NetExpress (handled by Innove, formerly known as GlobeQUEST). It's the same kind of service that PLDT calls VIBE. That's different from the DSL service you are subscribing to.

If I were you, I wouldn't be worried yet. In fact, I wouldn't be worried at all. As long as they will be providing you with an Ethernet-based modem, you'll be fine.

At restaurant12, I was able to use my PowerBook with a Globe DSL Solo account (using an Ethernet modem). Setting-up took a while, but it worked really well after. a few weeks later, they upgraded the connection to an E1 (when it became a WIZ HotSpot), which you got to use often.

You won't be needing PC at all either (again, unless it's an Ethernet-based modem). You will be using a wireless router to connect to the modem anyway, and that's just like having a PC doing the work. From the wireless router, it's a cinch to 'connect' with a Mac.

[dust]

@cokeycyn: you could convert your PC into a server so your Macs can connect to it.

Globe <-> PC <-> Mr Mac & Ms Mac

[El CaMOTe]

Hey Elbert,

What modem did you use ?? The one Globe gave you or another one from some other DSL provider ??

Am asking you this to find out if there is another type of DSLmodem that is compatible with the globedsl I have here in the Mandaluyong San Juan area.

I understand there are some portions in Metro Manila that use the standard DSL modem w/ ethernet. This was told to me by the globe fellow who checked my line two days ago !!

[elbert]

I forget the brand of the modem, but it wasn't branded (at least not a major one). If it's any help, it looked like a small portable CD player. That's as much as I can remember.

The Alcatel USB Stingray was deployed to curb sharing. From my understanding, they have decided to abandon the use of this modem in favor of an ethernet-based one, but they need to exhaust the remaining stock first. I don't know if it's possible for subscribers with the stingray to have their modems replaced. You could try, you know. Or you could hope that the modem gets busted and needs to be replaced.