26 Feb 2005
Broad-banned
Happiness is short-lived, they say. Never realized it could be so true.
So here I was, having successfully negotiated a 'broadband' package out of my ISP for a lesser monthly subscription. I busily researched on what all I could do with my additional capability.
First and the easiest was to tune into obscure radio stations on the Net, which streamed their sonic chunks at 128kbps or more. Sat and patiently bookmarked them - 'Delicious agony', 'Aural moon', 'Chronix Aggression', 'Death FM' (expands to Death Fucking Metal), 'Radio Teen Taal' - a sample listing to give an idea. Happily spent a week listening to them almost 24/7. I downloaded plugins which will put my comp to sleep once i've slept (and streaming 128kbps until then), and wake me up with the radio stn of my choice at the destined time. If you are reminded of the word 'abuse', I wouldn't blame you.
I wasnt satisfied with this. I wanted to setup my own radio station and stream my mp3 playlist to others over the Net. After hours and days of further research, I figure out a way to do that. More plugins / DSPs (Oddcast/Shoutcast), streaming server software (IceCast/Shoutcast) thrown in to make it merrier. My legacy system complained and I was in no mood to pay attention. Thankfully, my connection would not play ball, and my ISP had ensured that I dont entertain such fantasies by blocking all TCP connections. (Let's just say that a 'TCP connection' is as important for hosting a service, as a bridegroom is for a wedding)
So I was sulking and posting my rants on web forums (there are other fanatics too, pls believe me). These forums were real eye-openers. Folks talked about the 1 GB download limit (even i'm aware of it, so what?) and how they exceeded it in one night of being online. Exceeded it in one night? But pray, how?
This got me to introspect on my own usage and made me realize how my stupid streams @128kbps were consuming almost an MB /minute. I was entitled for only 1000 such minutes / month, while I was playing them almost all my waking hours. Downloads in excess would cost me Rs.1.50 / MB (or per minute, as I was using it). Once this realization set in, I respectfully turned off the streams and switched on my CD player instead. <brag>As someone having one of the best musical collections in Hyderabad,</brag> I do not need streams from obscure sources over the Net, to satiate me. Needless to mention, I shelved all ambitions of becoming an online DJ.
As they say, with great speeds come great responsibility. (Excuse me, Spiderman).
Current Mood: Feeling Better
Current Music: Not Death FM
Comments (8) Trackbacks (0) Permalink
By Portuguese Man-Of-War
26 Feb 2005, 5:21pm [ Reply ]
Try DataOne or Hathway. Hathway is a cable connection, and there is a package called Freeway that gives unlimited data transfer at 128kbps for Rs. 1000 p. m. I used it, it's good. 55831313.
DataOne is DSL, new, from BSNL, and quite good - Rs. 500 for 256kbps, normally 1GB data transfer, but unlimited till Jun 30 for people who buy it by Mar 31.
By JLU
26 Feb 2005, 6:37pm [ Reply ]
PMOW, I AM on Hathway :) Not the same package you mention (and I cant find it in this page: http://www.hathway.com/bci/packages.htm. Is it still valid?), but sumthing called Liteway I (256kbps, 1GB limit, Rs.500 / month). The unmentioned aspects of Hathway are: blocked TCP connections, and high 'per MB' charge if you exceed your limits, etc etc. Their support is good though, as they have a 24/7 helpdesk.
Looks like BSNL is promising 3 months of honeymoon :) Since I've already invested on cable hardware, it would be drag to invest again on ADSL equipment. And what i'm hearing bout their customer support scares me, though i'm not surprised :)
By tabrez
27 Feb 2005, 6:13am [ Reply ]
i guessed you'd be on hathway!!! they are sucha a rip off!!!
enjoy though :)
By JLU
27 Feb 2005, 10:23am [ Reply ]
Tabrez, your kind words are very comforting :) Thx indeed!
No two opinions about Hathway being a rip off. When I requested them to open my TCP ports, they asked me to pay a security deposit of Rs.15,000 (or take a business user package that would cost Rs.5,000 a month)
One consolation is the speed - I get close to what they promise, unlike many other ISPs where the specified speeds are just theoritical possibilities. May be BSNL is ok so far, but it's such a 'babudom' that i'm scared to have anything to do with it.
By The Crackednut
2 Mar 2005, 12:30am [ Reply ]
regarding ur music collection... You wait! I'm getting there... ;)
good to see ur blog updated again dude :)
By JLU
2 Mar 2005, 6:28pm [ Reply ]
CN, i've have been updating my blog whenever i felt strongly bout sumthing :) And, all the best on yr expanding music collection :)
By kabaka
6 Mar 2005, 11:47pm [ Reply ]
goin thru the same broadband shit!
By Shibaji
27 Oct 2005, 11:47am [ Reply ]
If you are in Hyderabad and plan to choose SIFY as your ISP think twice. I have a broadband connection from them which is dead from July end till today. They don't have any service, their franchises don't work and only help you get when you have any problem is a complaint number. By the way, they don't refund your money and they make sure that they take it at one shot.