A plug for Visualware
Category Technology
It is no secret that my internet connection sucks. Unfortunately the only option that is available to me is satellite which works well for broadcast services like TV and pagers, but is technically inadequate for anything that requires two-way interaction such as telephones and the internet. Collectively a number of us are working hard on implementing some optional connectivity technologies but I suspect I will have to live with satellite connectivity a while longer. Even after taking the inherent deficiencies of satellite transmission into account, my service here is less than I contracted for. I've heard from a number of friends and associates who report this site is constantly plagued by time-outs and is practically unusable. Despite my complaints, the ISP dismisses the issues saying that they see nothing wrong on their end; what I lacked was hard evidence of the problem. Luckily for me, I have discovered MySpeed from Visualware (http://myspeed.visualware.com).
It is no secret that my internet connection sucks. Unfortunately the only option that is available to me is satellite which works well for broadcast services like TV and pagers, but is technically inadequate for anything that requires two-way interaction such as telephones and the internet. Collectively a number of us are working hard on implementing some optional connectivity technologies but I suspect I will have to live with satellite connectivity a while longer. Even after taking the inherent deficiencies of satellite transmission into account, my service here is less than I contracted for. I've heard from a number of friends and associates who report this site is constantly plagued by time-outs and is practically unusable. Despite my complaints, the ISP dismisses the issues saying that they see nothing wrong on their end; what I lacked was hard evidence of the problem. Luckily for me, I have discovered MySpeed from Visualware (http://myspeed.visualware.com).
I have relied on Visualware's TraceRoute (http://www.visualroute.com) product for years to troubleshoot connectivity problems and by using their demo server, I have been able to prove problems with inbound connectivity on many occasions. One of their newest products is My Speed which calculates your download and upload speed. An advanced version is also available that will continually run speed tests as frequently as every 5 minutes. Equipped with the data from this tool as well as some analysis from a very helpful support person at Visualware, I now finally have some definitive proof of the speed problems. As with every ISP, I have no idea if the problem will get resolved; after all they no I currently have no other options. However, if connectivity ever improves, I will have the Visualware folks to thank for it.
Comments
Posted by Jack Dausman At 05:24:47 PM On 2006/03/12 | - Website - |