By the way, I've been using my Vonage phone for a couple of days now and it absolutely rocks.  I haven't had a chance to really stress test it yet (downloading lots of files to max out bandwidth while talking) but so far under normal use conditions the reception is amazingly clear.  Set up was an absolute snap and when you combine it with my new V-Tech expandable wireless phone system (which is 802.11b compatible, meaning it won't screw with your wireless set up) you get a real nice home phone system that costs $40/month with unlimited long distance.

And the web site dashboard to manage your account is an absolute joy to use.  You can browse call records in real time (I think there is about a one minute lag from when you finish a call to when it shows up on the website), enable call forwarding, set up account options like 911-location fixing, and a whole host of other things.

The only problem I have had has been with getting our old number transferred, and that has little to do with Vonage and more to do with the fact that SBC doesn't put your account info anywhere on the bill they send you except for the page you return to them, and they won't accept transfers without a bill less than 30 days old.  What this means is that we couldn't transfer our number until the latest bill came in the mail.  Now that it has everything should be squared away on that front.

After two days my short term assessment of the service is that it absolutely rocks!

9:44:06 AM  #  

FuzzyBlog thinks that Wireless on Windows Sucks Slimy Green Rocks.

I'm sorry but Wireless (Linksys specifically) on Windows can just plain bite me.  Yesterday I had to work with Francois at his place so I had to reset all my wireless settings.  Now this morning as I'm trying to get my email and run out the door for a plane (offline all weekend) -- nothing works. 

Sigh.  Wireless on Windows.  Sucks.

Has anyone else had this problem?  I'm using all Linksys gear at my house (except for one crusty old Dell laptop) that is running a NetGear WG511 Wireless NIC since it wouldn't accept the Linksys card I had.  I haven't had any problem with the router or the cards and I've been using it for well over a year now.  The web interface to the router is brain dead simple, you can integrate firewalls and ip loggers pretty easily, and configuring port forwarding is a snap.  Now admittedly, I've got WEP enabled, and I don't broadcast my access point in order to discourage people from connecting without my knowledge, so if anyone's trying to get on the network, I'm there to help them.

By contrast, the NetGear wireless AP we are using at work (ME102...the discontinued model) sucks pretty hard.  You can't set WEP encryption with a passphrase, you can't configure it remotely reliably, and until they discontinued the model it was a nightmare to keep the configuration software client and the firmware in sync.  Some advice to NetGear, most wireless users don't like having to connect their access points to a computer to configure them.  That's why it's called wireless.

via [The FuzzyBlog!]

9:19:00 AM  #  

Judge Says I.B.M. Pension Shift Illegally Harmed Older Workers. A federal court ruled that I.B.M. violated age discrimination laws when it converted its traditional pension plan to one that cut benefits to about 130,000 workers and retirees. via [New York Times: Technology]
9:07:59 AM  #