iOpener Update

From: Gary Hildebrand <ghldbrd_at_ccp.com>
Date: Thu Apr 6 23:00:58 2000

Hello CLASSICCMP_at_trailing-edge.com

On 06-Apr-00, you wrote:

>>> Package a) a sole device USD 499,
>>> Package b) the device and a 24 Month contract USD 99 + 24 x 20
>
>> Or the common package C) box is part of the service and "rented". Cable
>> boxes especially encoded ones are that case here (usa).
>
> Yeah, but there are many places in the US where it is essentially illegal
> to hook your own cable descrambler to the cable line, not too much
different
> than the old Bell System limits on third-party equipment hooked to phone
> lines.
>
> There are some attractions to cheap and uniform guaranteed service for
> all, but I don't think I want Internet access to become the monopoly
> that phone service used to be or cable service is today. It's bad enough
> with some ISP's threatening that they only support Microsoft Windows
> and that if you've got trouble accessing their service from any other
> OS you're out of luck.
>
> Actually DSL from some companies is already worse than that - you have
> to have a PCI-bus PC-clone running Windows to use their service,
> because the only interface device that will work requires that
> hardware configuration and the only drivers available are for
> MS-Windows.
> This is proof that Microsluff does control the market in their favor . . .
.

When I lived in Vermillion, SD the University of SD was the ISP of choice --
free to students and employees. I tried to get my Amiga up on the system,
but they used a proprietary script that required their software to access.
OF course that required either a Wintel box or a Mac.

The service was worth everything I paid for it -- which was ZERO.

And their so-called help desk had NO CLUE of what I was talking about. All
they understood was the software package supplied to them.

Gary Hildebrand
amiga lover forever
Received on Thu Apr 06 2000 - 23:00:58 BST