Byte by Bite

WildBlue works OK, but look out for the installers

by Marv Dealy

Once in a while, however, something I wrote for that column (in this case for the Friday 16, 2006 issue of Bite by Byte) applies to folks reading this column, in this instance answering a question from a reader about WildBlue satellite service. Following’s mostly quoted (but edited for brevity) from the other paper:

* * * * *

Tamara Mitchell wrote “My significant other and I really enjoy reading your columns. I've found your suggestion for adding the Desktop to my toolbar incredibly helpful. We are cheering on your efforts to promote high-speed internet connections in Tuolumne County!”

“We live in the deep dark shadows of Phoenix Lake Estates where no DSL is available and no hopes for it in the future. I'd contacted Mother Lode Internet a couple of years ago and they got permission from Phoenix Lake Water Co. to put a tower on the property where the water tanks are located across the valley on Bear Cub Drive – but that seems to have died out after their initial excitement. Seems like at least they could put a repeater over there without neighbors getting upset, but there must be good reasons why they decided not to serve the hundreds of people in this area who are anxiously awaiting high-speed internet!”

“I am a consultant to several clients in the Bay Area, doing online research, website design, development and maintenance, and now I've been asked to develop online training courses which require a high-speed connection. Limping along with my 26.4 Kbps connection is no longer an option. I know you said you had finally resigned yourself to a satellite connection and I would love to hear about your research on companies, options, prices, and conclusions, along with your current experience with the company you decided on. Who was it, what connection did you get, how much does it cost, and are you happy with the service? I need to act fairly quickly to get this up and operational within the next month or so. I appreciate whatever information you can provide.”

I agree with you that it’s mysterious why, after having received permission to provide service in your area, Mother Lode Internet faded into a Cheshire cat-like grin and failed to follow through on their promises. Perhaps they looked at their cash register and decided they had enough money, but that’s hard to believe. Perhaps they’ll enlighten us all.

If you’re tired of waiting for someone to “do something” about lack of broadband Internet in your area, get a WildBlue satellite, but be careful which company you have do the installation. In short, the service was great, tech support ok to good (although others have had entirely different tech support experiences); then there was the installation.

I had the good fortune to have a competent installer – Jason Niedens – but in some cases that doesn’t seem to be true. I’ve had reports of one company who sent out a fellow who aimed the dish the wrong way. Jason had to go straighten that mess out. I just got a report yesterday that another installer insisted on aiming through a tree due to “company policy” even though there was a clear spot available. Reports are numerous of broken appointments, calls not returned and considerable waits for equipment and installations.

The problem seems to be that the company that dispatches installers for our area (if you buy right through the WildBlue web site or phone number, anyway) will hand out the job to the first eager person to waive their hand and say oh, I can do that. Some of the reports lead me to believe that some installers aren’t even completing WildBlue U.

Jason, who attended WildBlue U and graduated with flying colors assures me that a graduate should not have been making any of the mistakes that’ve been reported to me. You can read user reviews at DSL Reports about folks’ WildBlue experience at http://www.dslreports.com/reviews/2554 -- lots of negativity about the installation experience while the service gets a “good for satellite” rating.

So what to do? I’ve use one company for several installs, including one just finishing up that provides fast Internet service to the front desk at the City Hotel in Columbia, CA as well as to the Hotel’s business office. This installation company also helped me with a project at the San Jose Family Camp that provides access for both the business office and free access for guests (for now, anyway). I missed the kick-off of the series of summer BBQs and WiFi-on-the-beach parties as I was out of town – call Gil Dovalina at the San Jose Family Camp for details on how you can attend one of their weekly bashes.

The same installation company is also helping with an install at Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp that will let the Camp business office get about their work; guest access at BTFP is still up in the air at this writing. This particular installation company’s people show up pretty much when they say they will, they return phone calls, their installation work is top drawer, and they’ve clearly done this many times before. The only promise they have failed to live up to is to stop by Bob Oakley’s house to finish aiming his WildBlue dish.

Unfotunately they aren’t in our area and will negotiate a driving time charge, but since WildBlue continues to give away the installation itself, charging only for the equipment ($299) it’s not unaffordable even with a travel charge. Get together with a neighbor or two who also need service and the travel charge can be divvied up. Call them – BlackSheep Satellite – at 877-203-1884. They are in Georgetown, CA.

* * * * *

That’s the end of the quote from the other column. The gentleman who told me that story about a fellow who insisted on aiming through a tree even though there was an obviously open place for the installation was Harold Wesley. He told me that the reason the installer wouldn’t go for the obvious spot was there was a branch some 20 feet in the air above the location and ended up locating the dish in such a position as to where it blocks the view out of his home office window. Good grief. We’re out here in the woods, folks. There will be branches involved. Maybe even leaves. The dish is supposed to point at about 42 degrees above the horizon in our area, so a branch straight up shouldn’t figure into the equation.

I was out at Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp the day before this writing to check on our progress out there, and Patty Thomas and her side-kick Steve were both effusive in their praise for Nick, the installer that BlackSheep Satellite sent their way. They report that he climbed on top of one, then another, then another building at the Camp until he found the very best location for their WildBlue dish (oddly, not the spot I picked – hm). Those of you who have been to the Camp and seen some of the buildings they have there and calculated just how far the roofs are above the ground will understand exactly why neither Jason nor I will get up there without a cherry picker.

Steve says he’s run a cable to his computer so he’s got fast Internet at the Camp already, and the rest of the folks working there are all looking forward to a taste of the fast stuff out in the middle of nowhere. Imagine if you will, being one of these young folks working at the Camp – you may never have even seen a place that didn’t have an Internet café and WiFi everywhere. One brought in his Mac PowerBook in to my shop for some remedin’ – it’d developed the dreaded White Screen of Death – and we were happy to revive it. “How’d you do that?” asked Steve.

* * * * *

We’re really long already this month, so I’ll just be a moment here about what’s going on in the world of getting fast Internet to the half of the folks hereabouts who haven’t anything but barbed wire-fed dialup Internet.

I attended a meeting recently at which I learned that entities such as GCSD or the PML Association can go after some of the money sitting around in buckets tended to by groups like the AT&T Foundation. That Foundation just announced a $600,000 grant to help out Pixley, CA – down Highway 99 just north of Bakersfield.

The Great Valley Center – which Tuolumne County chose not to join – helped negotiate the grant with the intent to “spur economic development, education and technological literacy” for local residents. (Press release at http://www.sbc.com/gen/press-room?pid=5097&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=22269&phase=check).

Goals of the project include more than just helping make fast Internet available, including developing curriculum and training – in Spanish and English – to teach computer and Internet use, and to establish a Community Technology Center. Outreach will be made to parents of sixth-grade students to get their kids involved, and successful graduates will receive a free home computer. Following years funding will provide support for the CTC and schools, as well as in-home and business support.

Groups locally, such as GCSD for example, are in a position to go after some of these buckets of money which, in partnership with some company actually in the ISP business, could be used to bring fast Internet where it isn’t available. In other areas, Tuolumne Utilities District would be a good choice. Get busy here, folks – call the people in charge and ask what they are doing to get the problem solved, and I’m not talking about your local politicians here.

* * * * *

That’s it for this month from The Computer Guy — e-mail me any rants at marv.dealy@throck.com For your review, these columns are posted on our web site at www.throck.com/articles

Marv Dealy founded Throckmorten Enterprises in San Francisco in 1988 and moved the company to Big Oak Flat in 1996. The company has branches in Boise, ID and Sutter Creek, CA. Throckmorten provides support to companies such as Hewlett Packard and The Griffin Company in producing, conducting and tech supporting on-line, on-demand or live events or “webinars,” in addition to marketing, graphic design, newsletter production, web design, computer lessons and repair and upgrades (Mac or PC), and network mending. Big Oak Flat office open Monday-ish thru Friday-ish, 8-ish to 5-ish. Phone 209 962-7308

* * * * *

That’s the end of the quote from the other column. The gentleman who told me that story about a fellow who insisted on aiming through a tree even though there was an obviously open place for the installation was Harold Wesley. He told me that the reason the installer wouldn’t go for the obvious spot was there was a branch some 20 feet in the air above the location and ended up locating the dish in such a position as to where it blocks the view out of his home office window. Good grief. We’re out here in the woods, folks. There will be branches involved. Maybe even leaves. The dish is supposed to point at about 42 degrees above the horizon in our area, so a branch straight up shouldn’t figure into the equation.

I was out at Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp the day before this writing to check on our progress out there, and Patty Thomas and her side-kick Steve were both effusive in their praise for Nick, the installer that BlackSheep Satellite sent their way. They report that he climbed on top of one, then another, then another building at the Camp until he found the very best location for their WildBlue dish (oddly, not the spot I picked – hm). Those of you who have been to the Camp and seen some of the buildings they have there and calculated just how far the roofs are above the ground will understand exactly why neither Jason nor I will get up there without a cherry picker.

Steve says he’s run a cable to his computer so he’s got fast Internet at the Camp already, and the rest of the folks working there are all looking forward to a taste of the fast stuff out in the middle of nowhere. Imagine if you will, being one of these young folks working at the Camp – you may never have even seen a place that didn’t have an Internet café and WiFi everywhere. One brought in his Mac PowerBook in to my shop for some remedin’ – it’d developed the dreaded White Screen of Death – and we were happy to revive it. “How’d you do that?” asked Steve.

* * * * *

We’re really long already this month, so I’ll just be a moment here about what’s going on in the world of getting fast Internet to the half of the folks hereabouts who haven’t anything but barbed wire-fed dialup Internet.

I attended a meeting recently at which I learned that entities such as GCSD or the PML Association can go after some of the money sitting around in buckets tended to by groups like the AT&T Foundation. That Foundation just announced a $600,000 grant to help out Pixley, CA – down Highway 99 just north of Bakersfield.

The Great Valley Center – which Tuolumne County chose not to join – helped negotiate the grant with the intent to “spur economic development, education and technological literacy” for local residents. (Press release at http://www.sbc.com/gen/press-room?pid=5097&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=22269&phase=check).

Goals of the project include more than just helping make fast Internet available, including developing curriculum and training – in Spanish and English – to teach computer and Internet use, and to establish a Community Technology Center. Outreach will be made to parents of sixth-grade students to get their kids involved, and successful graduates will receive a free home computer. Following years funding will provide support for the CTC and schools, as well as in-home and business support.

Groups locally, such as GCSD for example, are in a position to go after some of these buckets of money which, in partnership with some company actually in the ISP business, could be used to bring fast Internet where it isn’t available. In other areas, Tuolumne Utilities District would be a good choice. Get busy here, folks – call the people in charge and ask what they are doing to get the problem solved, and I’m not talking about your local politicians here.

* * * * *

That’s it for this month from The Computer Guy — e-mail me any rants at marv.dealy@throck.com For your review, these columns are posted on our web site at www.throck.com/articles

Marv Dealy founded Throckmorten Enterprises in San Francisco in 1988 and moved the company to Big Oak Flat in 1996. The company has branches in Boise, ID and Sutter Creek, CA. Throckmorten provides support to companies such as Hewlett Packard and The Griffin Company in producing, conducting and tech supporting on-line, on-demand or live events or “webinars,” in addition to marketing, graphic design, newsletter production, web design, computer lessons and repair and upgrades (Mac or PC), and network mending. Big Oak Flat office open Monday-ish thru Friday-ish, 8-ish to 5-ish. Phone 209 962-7308