Broadband Woes

I can feel my mood darkening. After my rant earlier I did a bit of checking on my connection and discovered I've a low Signal to Noise Ration (SNR) on the line ranging between 6-8dB which is very, very low.

After checking on the adslguide.org forums I was instructed to plug the router into the BT master socket and see if that increased the SNR. Second problem, I have an old GPO box which doesn't have a test socket. Next I got BT to do a line check complaining about line interference etc, which they came back saying the line was OK (their standard response). I explained I had an old socket box thingy and they've booked an Engineer's visit for tomorrow. While he's here I'll get him/her ;-) to check the quality of the line. I'm convinced it's a fault on their line into my house as one of the extension sockets is very close to the master socket and plugging the router in there didn't help any.

I really want this sorted and if it's BT's problem all the better. I'm not prepared to let it lie and remain stuck on 1Mbps. This site has the best explanation I've found on line speed, noise etc relating to MaxDSL. If you're stuck in the slowlane give it a visit to find out how to test your line and things to try to fix the situation.

Category:

• Internet
• Demon
• ISP
• BT
• MaxDSL

Demon MaxDSL Upgrade Update

Oh for f*ck sake! I remembered that my update to MaxDSL services was due to take place in October as I wrote here so I checked back again to see if there was any update. Wished I hadn't bothered.

Demon and BT now report my line can only manage a maximum of 1Mbps (which it's already on) and they'll "upgrade" my line the week of 18th September. Complete bastards! The very same thing happened when I was due to go up to 2Mbps last year. Everything checks out fine until a month before the upgrade where BT suddenly change the report that my line can only handle 1Mbps. What changes? Nothing at my end, their checker is all warm and fuzzy until a month before an upgrade and then wham... it suddenly changes.

What the f*ck am I paying £25 a month for if 1Mbps is the fastest BT will ever provide? I really need to go lie down. BASTARDS!

Category:

• Internet
• Demon
• ISP
• MaxDSL

Jimi Hendrix Free CD

Loving the free CD with today's Sunday Times, Jimi Hendrix Live at the Royal Albert Hall 1969. Fantastic stuff. The CDs you get free with various papers are usually pretty crap but this ones a keeper.

Just thought I'd write this while iTunes rips it. Carry on.

Category:

• Music
• Hendrix

Airfix

The announcement of the sad demise of Airfix has hit me particularly hard. One of the last links with my far distant childhood is likely to disappear and with it any lingering doubt that I'm now, officially, middle-aged.

The hours I used to spend gluing them things together, applying decals, reading incomprehensible instructions *sigh* happy days. Maybe I'm an Engineer today because of those instruction sheets, helpfully split into 346 easy steps.

Fondest memories are naturally for the Lancaster Bomber as it was a good size, with movable gun turrets, 4 engines, complicated undercarriage and evil looking in black plastic didn't need painted. "Daa daa dee da" how on earth can Peter Jackson remake the Dambusters without the aid of a squadron of 1:72 scale Airfix Lancaster Bombers dangling from black cotton thread from his Mum's sewing basket? CGI just doesn't cut it, he needs the whiff of glue for the real experience.

But for me the name Airfix means one thing above all others. HOO scale plastic soldiers. Thanks to eBay I've a cupboard full of them upstairs which I bought a few years ago to get in touch with the child in me. I had, literally, thousands of those little blue boxes when I were a lad. WWII was my favourite period for the figures. British Commandos, German Afrika Korp, Ghurkas, US Marines... fantastic. Hour upon hour of fun, lost in my own little world. Computer games? Pah! meaningless pish.

I blame the bitch thatcher.

Category:

• Personal
• Toys

3DConnexion SketchUp Beta

I was lucky enough to get the chance to join 3DConnexion's beta programme for testing their drivers for my Spaceball 5000 device with the best 3D modeller available, SketchUp.

Thankfully the beta drivers are very stable and having already got to grips with the device while using it extensively at work with ProEngineer I was able to dive straight in to using the software. Superb experience, throwing the model around the screen with only the minimum of effort. In their blurb they talk about the productivity benefit of using a 3D motion controller but for me it's the relief it provides to my mouse hand and wrist that's the killer application. Once tried there is no going back.

I'm now left with the problem of using my Spaceball at work and at home. It's a pain in the arse connecting and disconnecting it to take home at the end of the day or weekends, I really need a second device. 3DConnexion have hinted there may be some special offers for beta testers to purchase further devices at a reduced price (they are ridiculously expensive), fingers crossed.

Bottom line, if CAD is your business and your package of choice is supported you really need to be investigating getting hold of one of their devices. Do what I did and check out Spaceballs on eBay.

Category:

• 3D
• Spaceball
• Sketchup