tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post1476391355556719240..comments2024-03-18T19:58:19.662-04:00Comments on The Adventures of Roberta X: Dear AT&TRoberta Xhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-53507050349017202232012-02-03T10:46:52.850-05:002012-02-03T10:46:52.850-05:00I've got news for you. That POTS line is liabl...I've got news for you. That POTS line is liable to go out before than cell tower. Almost all cell towers have UPS systems with generator backup. Your POTS line doesn't. <br /><br />Your individual lines in your neighborhood route to a concentrator for conversion/connection to a T1. That concentrator has a battery backup that is recharged off the local main. If the power goes out, those batteries won't recharge. The life of the batteries vary from a half-hour to a couple of hours.<br /><br />Your cell tower will continue on the generator as long a fuel can be trucked to it.<br /><br />Big difference. You're much better off with a cell phone...if you're in cell coverage.Crucishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15441911110953212619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-36056061741378935942012-02-03T10:34:59.821-05:002012-02-03T10:34:59.821-05:00"A no-frills land line, with a wall phone (no..."A no-frills land line, with a wall phone (not cordless), can come in handy during blackouts. The power could be out, your cell-phone could be dead, but generally the old steam-powered telephone will still work."<br /><br /><br />Agreed, yet at what cost? Around here, that no frills land line will cost me about $25 a month once we add in all the taxes and fees. That makes it a $300 a year insurance policy that I can call someone during the rare times when cell phone coverage is down. <br /><br />So.... who do I need to call enough to spend $300 a year making sure I can?Carteachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08468700184940877315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-39265162245125147552012-02-03T09:14:37.501-05:002012-02-03T09:14:37.501-05:00Carteach0,
"Understood. I have a DSL, yet no...Carteach0,<br /><br />"<i>Understood. I have a DSL, yet no land line phone service. No need for it here, so no reason to pay for it.</i>"<br /><br />A no-frills land line, with a wall phone (not cordless), can come in handy during blackouts. The power could be out, your cell-phone could be dead, but generally the old steam-powered telephone will still work.Tamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07285540310465422476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-58259473881649993342012-02-02T20:37:33.449-05:002012-02-02T20:37:33.449-05:00I presume you have heard of the Dialgizmo Pulse to...I presume you have heard of the Dialgizmo Pulse to Tone converter?<br />Since the move our "home phone" line has been a google-voice number and an OBi110 Voice Service Bridge connected to the cable-modem (the only IsP serving our road). <br /><br />Years ago I read a lot of IEEE Spectrum articles about how the Phone Company hardened their networks to make sure it would still mostly work regardless of whatever calamity might hit, and that had kept me with a POTS line for longer than most of my friends, because I assumed a lot of that ethos and infrastructure still existed within the system.<br /><br />But $40 once for an Ethernet to POTS bridge compared to $40/month to TELCO seemed a smart decision, once we were moving to a different area code.DOuglas2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-45308199866286304772012-02-02T12:49:53.084-05:002012-02-02T12:49:53.084-05:00Setup auto payments at your bank. I think you'...Setup auto payments at your bank. I think you'll be happier. That's what I have with Chase. It's easy to setup and manage. They'll do electronic transfers with most large companies. It's easy to cancel one month's payment, if you want to for some reason.Rob Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15604826633798229422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-85894158666972531072012-02-02T12:29:01.584-05:002012-02-02T12:29:01.584-05:00Just one reason why I still get a paper bill regar...Just one reason why I still get a paper bill regardless being a large telecom retiree.Crucishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15441911110953212619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-34259475828415240412012-02-02T11:13:26.811-05:002012-02-02T11:13:26.811-05:00Not just AT&T, by any means.
-- rant --
Si...Not just AT&T, by any means. <br /> <br /> -- rant --<br />Since the fixes are so simple, I suspect any complaints about this sort of thing never make it to techs but get swallowed in various circular files. <br /> <br />Earlier this month. I used my pass-manager software to login to pay the electric bill just as I have for over a year, but got a message that the site was down temporarily. Well, OK. Except it said the same for three more tries over the next two days. At which point I figured there was something really wrong, and went to the main site - where I learned the address for signin had changed. Riiiiight... <br /> <br />And I used to have a credit card with a certain bank. Whenever I tried to sign on, the site would not let me because my computer address was not the same as the previous time I logged on. Which is because sometime during the intervening month, I had turned off my equipment, and my ISP had assigned me a new address from its pool when I powered on again. So I had to start sign on, get the error message, leave that window open, open another browser window, wait until I had an EMail with a "one time" password, go back to the first to enter that... I did not renew that card. <br /> <br />And while I like Amazon, if I am logged on while shopping why do I have to log in again at checkout (and a couple of times lost the contents of the "shopping cart")?John Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00801684602403824157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-74369275013460764852012-02-02T10:59:25.781-05:002012-02-02T10:59:25.781-05:00TPC The Phone Company
The uber-villain from the J...TPC The Phone Company<br />The uber-villain from the James Coburn film The President's Analyst.<br />Makes sense.Guffaw in AZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15356210589713923042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-12646643008257459742012-02-02T09:51:00.534-05:002012-02-02T09:51:00.534-05:00I got pissed at AT&T a long time ago when they...I got pissed at AT&T a long time ago when they insisted my complete and utter lack of service was my fault, not theirs. Dead line for 3 days. All my fault because I didn't buy their little insurance scam thing about interior wiring or whatever.<br />Turned out it was a dead junction box down the road. Yeah. <br />All my fault.<br />And you can use Die In A Crotchfire any old time you like. :)LeeAnnhttp://lookababywolf.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-58548704663470100292012-02-02T08:23:53.675-05:002012-02-02T08:23:53.675-05:00Understood. I have a DSL, yet no land line phone ...Understood. I have a DSL, yet no land line phone service. No need for it here, so no reason to pay for it. Perhaps I would think differently were I supporting a fleet of vintage telephones.<br /><br />Then again.... who have I got that I need to talk on the phone with? Even my cell phone only gets about 40 minutes a month on it, and that's almost all school business.Carteachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08468700184940877315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-59180621600499056102012-02-02T08:06:59.735-05:002012-02-02T08:06:59.735-05:00I switched from AT&T long ago. My telephone bi...I switched from AT&T long ago. My telephone bill is half of what it was, and the new company is a pleasure to deal with. And with no collect calls from Pakistan at $5.50 a minute to argue about. <br /><br />If I had to go back to AT&T I would lock the door and hang out a for sale sign. <br /><br />StrangerStrangerhttp://extranosalley.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-38550199182738785472012-02-02T08:05:26.632-05:002012-02-02T08:05:26.632-05:00I still have a landline because A) I have DSL, so ...I still have a landline because A) I have DSL, so there's gonna be a wire to the house anyway and B) I have and use old phones -- and AT&T landlines will still read pulse dialing.Roberta Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-68038510744162911812012-02-02T07:19:54.090-05:002012-02-02T07:19:54.090-05:00I sympathise; I finally gave up fighting their sys...I sympathise; I finally gave up fighting their system. Now I wait for the paper bill to arrive and then e-pay that through my CU checking account instead. Easey peasey for me and a week to 10 days longer wait on the money for them.<br /><br />And keep looking at Verizon since I don't have a land line any more.Will Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13454533450309633627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-39590702429966343772012-02-02T07:04:05.237-05:002012-02-02T07:04:05.237-05:00I, too, still have an AT&T landline.
But I do...I, too, still have an AT&T landline.<br /><br />But I don't pay it on their website. I pay it like I pay most bills, from my checking account online bill pay.<br /><br />I do this because the AT&T website is far too complicated for mere mortals. Plus, it's slow and I don't have time to wait for it.Fuzzy Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03802539927743643041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-56872783270273984722012-02-02T05:32:30.216-05:002012-02-02T05:32:30.216-05:00Soo...... just curious..... why do you have a land...Soo...... just curious..... why do you have a land line?Carteachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08468700184940877315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-5602153054422594952012-02-02T00:40:55.113-05:002012-02-02T00:40:55.113-05:00It's not a browser issue, Kurt -- they keep ch...It's not a browser issue, Kurt -- they keep changing login at the website for bill-paying.<br /><br /> I stay with 'em from sentiment; they suck but they're still The phone company.Roberta Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-18407773071891210152012-02-02T00:11:03.990-05:002012-02-02T00:11:03.990-05:00I you really want to be mean call their investor r...I you really want to be mean call their investor relations people and raise Cain. I've solved problems with a couple of companies that way. Investor relations seem to have much more of a "can do" attitude.Joe in Renonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-35001699845784079852012-02-02T00:08:09.613-05:002012-02-02T00:08:09.613-05:00Could be worse: If FailPoint were your phone compa...Could be worse: If FailPoint were your phone company, you'd be randomly billed for Caller ID <i>installation</i> every time you go a phone call. Then you'd find that the FairPoint web site only works with Internet Exploder. After navigating that cluster f, you'd at last discover you can't pay a bill online at all. And odds are you won't be doing that web surfing on your FairPoint DSL because -- while they started billing you for it 9 months ago -- they still haven't actually installed it.<br /><br />(But in fairness to the FP managerial idiots, they might flip a coin and decide to give you $9.99/month DSL 120,000 feet out from the CO by installing an experimental system at a cost of $70,000.)Carl-Bearhttp://carlbussjaeger.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-63702132579513848882012-02-01T23:56:24.844-05:002012-02-01T23:56:24.844-05:00Which browser are you using?
I know some sites hav...Which browser are you using?<br />I know some sites have a small conniption if I use F/F, but if I copy and past into Exploder, I get it to work the way it's supposed to.KurtPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12205267944616413162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-3776414590300802842012-02-01T23:21:50.394-05:002012-02-01T23:21:50.394-05:00Maybe you should switch to Sprint. Just paid my b...Maybe you should switch to Sprint. Just paid my bill online, took about five minutes to review the bill and pay. :-) (Ducks and runs for cover)Hat Trickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08789313677285831256noreply@blogger.com