What Catch 22 has caught you today?

[limey]

Apologies to those who've already seen this in Another Thread. It was pointed out to me that I had Posted Inappositely and that I should Get My Own Thread. So Here It Is ...
I bought a sim card from a new provider because they can also supply a domestic signal boosting device so that I can get mobile calls and texts at home, where the signal is very poor.
They both arrived today.
To register the signal booster I first have to register the sim card. To register the sim card I have to have a signal. To have a signal I have to register the signal booster. To register the signal booster I first have to register the sim card. To register the sim card I have to have a signal. To have a signal I have to register the signal booster. To register the signal booster I first have to register the sim card. To register the sim card I have to have a signal. To have a signal I have to register the signal booster. To register the signal booster I first have to register the sim card. To register the sim card I have to have a signal. To have a signal I have to register the signal booster. To register the signal booster I first have to register the sim card. To register the sim card I have to have a signal. To have a signal I have to register the signal booster. To register the signal booster I first have to register the sim card. To register the sim card I have to have a signal. To have a signal I have to register the signal booster. To register the signal booster I first have to register the sim card. To register the sim card I have to have a signal. To have a signal I have to register the signal booster. To register the signal booster I first
have to register the sim card. To register the sim card I have to have a signal. To have a signal I have to register the signal booster. To register the signal booster I first have to register the sim card. To register the sim card I have to have a signal. To have a signal I have to register the signal booster. To register the signal booster I first have to register the sim card. To register the sim card I have to have a signal. To have a signal I have to register the signal booster. To register the signal booster I first have to register the sim card. To register the sim card I have to have a signal. To have a signal I have to register the signal booster. To register the signal booster I first have to register the sim card. To register the sim card I have to have a signal. To have a signal I have to register the signal booster.
Etc.

[SamIam]

Good grief! Can you get your money back? I suppose you have to signal them for a refund using the sim card.

[DanaC]

I saw something on the BBC news the other day about semaphore and smoke signals...

[DanaC]

Here we are:

How long should broadband users have to wait for a web page to load? And how long should it take to install a regular software upgrade over your broadband line? How does six minutes to load and complete a BT Speed Test and 4,500 hours to download some Apple software updates sound?

That, according to people in the village of Kettleholm near Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway, is a common experience. They contacted me over the weekend to tell me of their concerns about a broadband service which they say is virtually useless, and is making doing business in a rural community very hard indeed.

There is only one wholesale broadband provider in the area, and that is BT, providing a service down standard copper telephone lines from the exchange. Ruth Ritchie, who made some of those YouTube videos, tells me that what is particularly frustrating is the fact that the service changes by the minute. "You can sit there watching it and at one stage it's a perfect service - then it will drop right in front of your eyes." And indeed her email to me summed up the problem:

"At the start of this I said the connection was good, now Safari can't load Google… Have you any idea how hard it is to find anything out without the internet, even how to complain?"

Still, Mrs Ritchie and around 150 of her neighbours in this sparsely populated area have got themselves organised and have complained to BT and to local politicians. Since then, engineers have visited several homes without apparently getting to the root of the problem.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18577104



Bit of a segue I know, but have you considered the use of smoke signals ?:P

[limey]

I've just emailed the phone company explaining that the security code which I requested from them at 11am, and which is valid for 8 hours, arrived at 9pm. There is no way to automatically request another one, which I would have done tomorrow before I went out looking for a phone signal. The helpdesk will get back to me within 24 hours. They'll probably send me another security code in a text that I won't get until it's expired, too ... [sigh]

[limey]

Oh, yes, don't get me started on the broadband!
Our broadband speed is only just over 1MBS. Not the "average" 2MBS or the 4MBS to 10MBS that all providers stuff through our door on advertising material. I swear the bits and bytes are brought the last mile (of four) from the exchange by a team of voles trotting across the field with the packets of data in little sacks on their backs. And our cats pick 'em off, regularly!

[DanaC]

I feel your pain m'dear. My house is a comms black spot. My street is exactly equidistant between two exchanges :p

[Gravdigr]

Our phone ppl here (South Central Bell) say that standard DSL is only good for about 18000 feet (a little over 3 miles) from the nearest switch.

I don't know what that means, or if it's true...

[limey]

It's true. and I know what it means. It means speeds of only just over 1MBPS and regular (once a day at least) droppage of the signal, requiring router reset ...
But the view from my window is lovely! I wouldn't live anywhere else.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by limey

Our broadband speed is only just over 1MBS.

You should rejoice.

My DSL download/upload speeds, RFN:

[DanaC]

I must admit, the times I get a 1meg download sped for anythng more than around 15 seconds I do a little happy dance.

[footfootfoot]

Uhh, Limey dearest, I do hope you knew I was just being a smartass.

[limey]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

Uhh, Limey dearest, I do hope you knew I was just being a smartass.

[limey]

So it's nice to know I'm not alone in slow-broadband-land. And I got fifteen new security codes texted to my phone overnight which mysteriously had a signal so that it could wake me for each one. And I've registered the phone, and the signal booster, and it works, and I'm just about to transfer my mobile number to my new provider. And Footsie was jus' bein' a smartass! So all's well with the world.

[ZenGum]

I like how you don't just kiss and make up, you blow a 69.

Oh and I'd consider 500kbps a good speed.


Course, back when I was in Japan .... five years ago ... 6 to 8mbps. Sigh.