BT slight of hand

15 Feb 2005

Yeah youre ranting a bit Neil , but in just the way that a hairdresser will suck in through their teeth and ask " who did your hair last ?" an IT pro will automatically slag AOL. I never said they were perfect , they are far from it. All I suggested was that for the everyday amateur user they are the best value for money for overall speed reliability and ease of use , not to mention safe use of broadband for the inexperienced .
As I said like many if not most multi natiional companies it has its knockers , and ive too have read some of the many thousands of words posted on the geek boards about their short comings . Truth is though that many of the obscure issues that seem to enrage many of the computer expert community about them , are of little or no consequence to anyone just using the net for fun . I realise you probably have valid points to share about the technical aspects of the service , but all we can say is weve used it for a very very long time with only short dissapointing use of other services in between .

15 Feb 2005

Quote by Silk and Big G
an IT pro will automatically slag AOL.

/Venus does the happy dance!
It pro! Didya hear that Sarge! I`m an IT pro! :smug:
Venusxxx

15 Feb 2005

Sorry Venus hun , im sure your a pro in every way , but I was talkin to Neil LOLOLOL

15 Feb 2005

I've had no trouble with AOL.
It works.
The adsl is by BT, through AOL.
No limits.
No problems.
Don't like the browser ?
Then connect and minim the AOL frontend and click on IE and use that.
Sort your problems don't moan about them.
With NTL ?
Then AOL will provide a modem to use adsl through them...

15 Feb 2005

Quote by Silk and Big G
Sorry Venus hun , im sure your a pro in every way , but I was talkin to Neil LOLOLOL

I know, but I ranted about AOL too, which officially makes me a member of the AOL haters cliche :bounce:
I`m collecting them dontcha know ;)
Venusxxx

15 Feb 2005

LOL just do a Google search there are millions ..................almost as many as there are people who think all swingers are perverse sad twisted individuals :-)
Takes all sorts wink

15 Feb 2005

Quote by Silk and Big G
Takes all sorts

I can live with that. I`m a common whore. One cliche is as good as another!
Only one I haven`t managed to fit into yet is the human race lol

Venusxxx

15 Feb 2005

We missed the starting gun :-) xx

15 Feb 2005

AOL erm where do I start...
AOL is aimed at the Newbie and the family who have absolutely no idea about computers but want to be able to use the internet. Now there is nothing wrong with that. AOL basically makes using the Internet and Email a "no brainer".
What annoys the IT professionals about AOL is that they totally ignore as many "standards" as they can and blame everybody except themselves. A bit like Microsoft really smile

.
AOL has a huge chunk of the US "gormless" market* and the scammers market, therefore think that they can do what they want.
Because AOL flouted the standards virtually every scammer in the US used them to send out spam, viruses, trojans etc. AOL found themselves buried under an tonnes of crap emails and their own scamming customers ripping off their new "gormless" customers. So decided to do something about it. They decided that they would crack down on all external email rolleyes

rather than clean their own house. This basically isolated AOL users who just used to scam each other especially the gormless newbies.
AOL realised their mistake but being run by arseholes, who thought they were invincible, wouldn't admit their mistake. They quietly got rid of as many scammers as possible but the scammers just signed up with different credentials.
Which virtually brings us to the present day.
So what you have is a virtually closed system which ignores as many standards as possible and invents hurdles for the non AOL user.
Quite simply, people who have an idea how to use a computer don't use AOL. For those of you who have no idea how to use a computer :twisted:
Anyone who wishes to flame me re this post please use
* Note: the US gormless market as opposed to the gormless US market. :P

15 Feb 2005

Quote by JQL
We are praying that he'll cut the gas pipe :twisted: then we might get someone who can do the job.

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
You just can't get the staff these days.

16 Feb 2005

No flames JQL mate , just to say that nothing you have said in any way contrdicts what was said in my previous post about it . For the general average user none of the critical IT people have given a reason why its no good , or why something else is better .

16 Feb 2005

Just to go completely off topic for a minute.....
In Blackburn, there is a brand new (ish) office building in a business park type of area and it is the regional office for NTL.
Guess what????
We can't get NTL round these here parts 'cos there's no cable.
So why do we get a pamphlet through the door every few weeks extolling the benefits of switching to NTL?
They're all mad except me. I'm just stupid.

16 Feb 2005

Quote by Silk and Big G
No flames JQL mate , just to say that nothing you have said in any way contrdicts what was said in my previous post about it . For the general average user none of the critical IT people have given a reason why its no good , or why something else is better .

Alright.
There is no reason why an internet connection has to be made using proprietory software. And no, connecting and then minimsing the non standard stuff is not an option, we're talking newbie users, they don't know, and might not want to know, about all that.
You need a basic setup, that doesn't require discs full of crap, just a simple script that sets up OE and IE, and the dial up itself. A brief guide, in Flash or suchlike, telling the basics of the net is not a bad idea. In fact, I've only ever seen one ISP bother to provide information on the dos and don'ts on the net, the rest all just give badly configured software or worse.
The moment you give someone who doesn't know anything non standard equipment, they're learning will be based on that. And they will wonder why people don't talk to them on usenet, why people never seem to email them, why they can't access some webpages. But instead of blaming the shoddy tools provided, they blame everyone else, after all, AOL are a big company, how can they do wrong?
Oh, and then there's the matter of paying a techie shitloads when it's time to try and change ISPs, and the AOL shite won't uninstall.
To be technical, a multi platform network requires adherement to standards if it's to work as it should. AOL doesn't seem to do that, although it's not the only company heavily invested in the internet that does things it's own way.

16 Feb 2005

Like I said Sham , no alternative really offered .
Its getting dull now so I wont go on , as I feel the possibility of getting patronised and nobody likes me when im being patronised .
Lets just say its works for us , always has done and is just getting better and faster . So I guess we must just be lucky .
Peace G

16 Feb 2005

For what it's worth, if you're shopping around for broadband check this site out:

If you want something to brag about down the pub get :shock:

16 Feb 2005

Quote by cu3b4ll
For what it's worth, if you're shopping around for broadband check this site out:

If you want something to brag about down the pub get 8Mb broadband :shock:

Would you be able to afford the pub if you were paying for 8Mb though?

16 Feb 2005

Quote by Shambolic
For what it's worth, if you're shopping around for broadband check this site out:

If you want something to brag about down the pub get 8Mb broadband :shock:

Would you be able to afford the pub if you were paying for 8Mb though?
Can't afford the pub anyway :cry:

27 Feb 2005

i just got broadband with aol
2mb connection totally great
but Â£30 per month

11 Mar 2005

Wooo Hoooo,
Come back from a cpl of days on business and BTOpenworld have moved us up to their 2 Mb service.
And apparantly there is a wonderful little link so i can go and see how close to the 30Gb / Month limit I am. I have just worked out that if I load that page 274,638 times then I will reach it by not doing anything else at all lol

Ian

11 Mar 2005

Quote by Ian_Mids
Wooo Hoooo,
I have just worked out that if I load that page 274,638 times then I will reach it by not doing anything else at all
Ian

Do you have alot of time on your hands Ian?? lol wink

11 Mar 2005

I see that BT are starting 8mg line speed trials in vairious parts of the country.
Ask your ISP if they are involved, perhaps you could be part of the trial.
Or not as the case may be.

11 Mar 2005

Oh I love the smell of bullshit in the morning........
I had no connection this morning. I phoned BT, to ask if there were any problems their end. As there was an extremally high number of calls being dealt with, I decided to use the premium line instead.
(please don`t make me go through your crappy questions, please don`t make me go through your crappy questions.........)
Hello, I have no connection, is there a problem with Broadband in my area?
Enter crappy questions :huh:
Yes, tried that, tried that, tried that......
Well move your PC next the the phone socket and try that.
Ok.
So can you do a test to find out if there is a problem your end BEFORE I start moving my furniture? (you know, the question you ignored when I first rang)
No sorry (BULLSHIT ALERT at 50p a minute)
I phone the free line again
Enter crappy questions including `have you moved your PC next to the phone socket?
Yes, I`ve tried that (seems that bullshit works both ways :mrgreen smile

OK, I`ll just do a line test.
It seems that there are engineers doing some work in your area. If you don`t get a connection by 12pm, please ring again.
I ring again.
Have you tried moving your PC next to the phone socket :huh:
Yes. *twitch*
Please ring the premium line and they will help :huh: (I love paying 50p a minute for fuckups at their end, can you tell?!)
I had better things to do. My connection came back eventually rolleyes

Venusxxx

11 Mar 2005

Venus
You paid how much, for a connection that was temporally off.
lol

:lol:

14 Mar 2005

1 meg broadband
2 meg
I've used it for 6 months never had a problem getting on, no download limits, no connection fee. I saved a packet on my bills too. link below

orph

15 Mar 2005

Orph,
Please see the forum rules...

How long have you been with them? BTW I'm a SE...