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Technology Stocks : DirecPC-Turbo Hughes Internet Satellite Dish -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Drew who wrote (17)	12/16/1998 11:19:00 AM
From: AJ Berger	Respond to of 36

Here's a Link to Dual Analog Service from Netcom netcom.com I don't think they have it in Toronto, but you can try other ISP's and ask them. It's really cheap as you get ISDN speed service for as little as $50 unlimited, anytime, and you probably have two phone lines already in your house, so there is no phone install charges, and besides, you're already spending for 1 line analog connection for the DirecPC, so here your additional expense is really only $30, not $300! If Dual Analog service had been around 3 years ago when I put in my DirecPC Dish, and 33.6 was the fastest modem, there would have been NO Way I would have bothered with this overrated Dish, and believe me, 112bps is all the bandwidth you'll ever need for CyberTrader. DirecPC is rated more on burst rate performance, not on sustained performance. You may get 200bps for a half hour, but then it will drop down to 19.2 occasionally and make you want to reconnect, which will suck if you need this for real time streaming data. That's why Dual Analog service would be superior, as once you are connected, you would continue to enjoy that full bandwidth unless the actual Internet or ISP itself got bogged down.

To: Drew who wrote (17)	4/10/1999 10:17:00 PM
From: AJ Berger	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 36

DirecPC has Great but Mis-Managed Tech Support I finally got my PCI card and CD in the mail to upgrade my ISA card and older version software in the hopes it would finally stabilize my ISP connection, and I'd get my moneys worth from them. Gosh, what a nightmare... instead of writing a blow by blow exactly how this process is such a in-sufferable mess, I'll just write this message as a suggestion to any Officials at Huges that might actually be reading this. Now that you've officially started the upgrade campaign this past April 1st, you MUST do the following: 1. Officially inform current customers who qualify for an upgrade 2. Inform them that this procedure involves DRAMATIC changes to their installation, and is not a simply card and software change. 3. Correct and enhance the support information on your Web Site: direcpc.com contains very little, and consequently INCORRECT information. (DPC is NOT found in that part of your Registry, you morons!) 4. Use this upgrade as an opportunity to get customers to increase their service to include the DUO service for Television reception. 5. In markets where you are currently offering free DirecTV Dish installation, you should be doing the same FREE DirecPC upgraders. 6. ANY customer who you have on record as having to repoint their Dish when your Satellite FAILED last year, should get repointing service offered FREE when their ISA/PCI card upgrade is done. (after 2 days of HELL trying to get this damn thing to work, I was finally informed, only by 'matter of fact' that the PCI card works off a different Satellite then my old ISA card, thus I am now forced to spend more money for the THIRD time in three years to get this damn Dish pointed in the right direction.) 7. Management MUST get more feedback from tech support as to how to implement such technical upgrades; most of the techies were good and sympathetic, and KNEW how screwed customers are by lack of info. 8. Registry changes such as irradiating all references to DPC, DIRECPC, and BICNDIS are much too dangerous to be left to the end user to do manually. You MUST develop software Utilities to do a better job automatically. DPC occurs very often in the context of MicroSoft's InterNet Explorer, and an end user can EASILY screw up their computer, considering how IE is so tightly integrated with Windows'95/98. 9. You Must FINALLY establish a network status web page on your support site. The one you "had" link is dysfunctional. Several times during the upgrade procedure, it was YOUR Network causing my problems, and I wasted hours for nothing because of this. All major ISP's have this information available in real time to their end users, and your ISP services should be handled that way. I install/upgrade computer related software/hardware for a living, and only see such mis-informed support from SHAREware providers, not Multi-Billion Dollar Corporations. You should be ashamed. The only winners here are the tech support guys who have a Job; and the LOSERS are you Customers! -not the way to run a business. Drew now has @Home Cable Modems, and I have ADSL in my area now. Don't think for one second that you are not vulnerable to losing market share for high speed ISP access. You may be signing up record numbers of DirecPC users, but that's only because of the secondary Retail distribution partners like Cosco getting a cut, and the installers you are subsidising to make getting it free to the end user. The DirecPC users like me are probably the only place left that you'll actually turn a profit, if only you'd stop mishandleing us so severely. This year RCN will be putting my whole area on fiber, and I'll get TV, ISP, and phone service from them on one neat bill, and I can kiss that disgusting Dish on my roof good bye forever. My Nephew's eyeing it for a sleigh next Winter...