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NorthNet News
Issue 24
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THE WINNER IS....- As you will recall from last month's issue of
NorthNet News, one NorthNet customer will be selected at random at the
end of each month to receive three free months of service.
The first winner was selected on March 31, 2000 and that was
Shaun LaBarge of Tupper Lake. Here's a little of what Shaun had to say
upon hearing he was the winner:
"This is so cool. Thanks for making my day, my night and my week.
Thanks so much, Shaun LaBarge."
100 MPH CAR? - Would you purchase a car if the only information
the seller gave you is that it will go up to 100 MPH (top speed)? That
is the only information most computer manufacturers advertise about the
modem that comes with their systems. You will notice that they list the
brand name of almost every other component except the modem.
Why is that? Unfortunately, in many cases, even top-of-the-line
vendors are incorporating bottom-of-the-line modems in their systems.
Among the worst are Motorola and PCTel modems. The following is
from: http://808hi.com/56k/x2-interop.htm
"Motorola and PCTel modems (which use the PC's CPU to do all the
processing) can be had new for $8 to $15 or less - and they aren't even
worth every penny of what you'll pay (for most people - they are junk);
Rockwell/Conexant Soft56 (also a HSP modem) may have a slightly better
chance of working - but not much. 56k 2 years after V.90 modems hit the
market is still elusive for 30-40 percent of modem owners..." as stated
in the "V.90 Interoperability Status" article found at the site listed
above.
Your modem and your phone line are the two most critical parts
of your Internet connection. Problems with either can result in slow
connection speeds and disconnections. There is not too much you can do
about your phone line but you can do something about your modem.
If you are having problems, first find out exactly what model
and brand you have, then go to http://808hi.com/56k/ and go to the
Troubleshooting section. That will recommend things you can do with
your existing modem. If none of these things help, you can save
yourself a lot of frustration by replacing your modem with one that
is not described as a "win modem" and is not a "software modem."
But be prepared to pay more than $8 for it.
RETURN CHECKS - We would like all NorthNet users to be aware that
our return check fee has increased from $20.00 to $25.00.
