Read MoreHow well companies that offer something for "free" can do with a subscription option?
When there are so many "free" things on the web, one has to wonder how companies can keep their products up and running (or even if they can manage to get out of beta).
Some companies just don't. They close the service and tell the customers to get out of here:
Personal Media: Bluestring, Xdrive and AOL Pictures will be sunset. These consumer storage products haven't gained sufficient traction in the marketplace or the monetization levels necessary to offset the high cost of their operation. We have found that building media management applications within the context of a social experience is a more rapid and effective way to grow the business. For example, today the Bebo audience is uploading over three million photos per day. To effectively grow the XDrive online storage business we would need to focus on subscription revenues vs. monetizing through advertising revenue, and this business model is not in strategic alignment with our company's goals. We are exploring plans to migrate our users assets to ensure the best possible transition experience.
This is part of the memo AOL sent out to staff explaning the end of some of their services - including Xdrive an on-line storage service that offered 5 GB of storage free to anyone.
There's a reason why people buy external drives for home or buy Windows Home Server or NAS boxes. First broadband speed sucks around the world. Then the services don't work as expected or not as easily (Xdrive is only one that I know that could be mounted as a drive on your OS so you could just copy things from and to instead of having to open a browser window). And even so it was very unstable.
Which leads me to the next one: the on-line service businesses seem to be quite unreliable - unless they are a subscription service with a SLA, not a freebie. But even so sith happens.
When there are lots of free things, some won't last long.
Read MoreAfter going unbundled with Orcon's Gold+ Account I was having issues getting online and was recommended an Orcon HomeHub over D-Link DST-502T. The 502T was theoretically more than capable of doing ADSL2+ (as I was running it at home on the same plan already). But at $5 a month, and to solve a problem I thought, stuff it, and got one sent out.
The HomeHub is really just a Siemens SX-763 WLAN DSL Router. Its running a slightly modified firmware that has the Orcon settings preset. You can't flash newer vesions of Firmware, although Orcon can from their side of things. This could lead to an interesting future for this little hub - more on that later.
The Homehub features (according to Orcon) -
"This sleek wireless router lets you access your Broadband from anywhere in your house without plugs or cables.On the Siemens site it lists it features as -
What's more, because our network can talk to it, our helpdesk can easily support the device remotely to get you back online faster if there is ever a problem.
In the future, we'll be teaching the Homehub some cool new tricks to give you an even better Orcon experience through new and interesting services, so stay tuned..."
- High-speed wireless data transfer at up to 108 Mbps (compatible with IEEE 802.11b/g)
- Integrated ADSL 2+ modem
- 4 Port 10/100 Hub
- External broadband access modem support (e. g. VDSL, cable)
- Support for up to 6 VoIP public telephone accounts (SIP Protocol)
- USB Support (SMB/FTP/Web/Printer).
The Unit is one of the nicer Routers or modems I've seen, although it does feel a but light and plasticy. All the ports are nicely placed on the back. It can be mounted on a wall or look fine on a desk.
The web inerface is pleasent to look at, and functionally seems to include all the settings. There's wizards both for the absolutely basics and also for the security features. Add to that the normal Advanced Settings, It's feature packed but simple to get around. There's support for all the necessary wireless standards - WEP, WPA2-PSK, WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK/WPA-PSK.
I'd love to go into the VOIP settings but as I have never been too interested in it before, I wouldn't know much. The fact they're there, and are quite feature complete shows a feature I imagine Orcon will use in the future.
Connection wise, the wireless seems solid, although I personally use an Apple Airport Extreme to run a parallel 5ghz Only 11N based network and a 2.4Ghz for older clients. Excessive. Maybe. A bonus of using the $5 a month homehub though.
Internet wise, in the Auckland CBD, just off K Rd I've got a 12286 kbps (upstream) ADSL Connection. Its strange as when the connection was first setup I was getting up to 22500kbps on the connection - close to ADSL2's limit - and now its back down to the top of ADSL1's top....... Orcon?
UPDATE See first comment.
Heres some results from speedtest.net -
Auckland -> Auckland (WorldxChange Communications) - 9907 Down / 354 Up
Auckland -> Christchurch (Snap Internet) - 6587 Down / 266 Up
Auckland -> Sydney (Mammoth Media) - 3327 Down / 333 Up
Auckland -> London (Namesco) - 1723 Down / 180 Up
Auckland -> San Francisco (Unwired) - 2739 Down / 194 Up
Things that aren't cool -
USB only does FTP no SFTP so not great for putting online.
The DHCP server won't list connected devices - Wireless status lists the Host name, Mac and IP's of any wireless clients but for the overall IP's - nothing. The settings are there - just broken, a bug that I hope Orcon will get on to fixing.
UPDATE Orcon do indeed have a forthcoming update. Orcon were nice enough to flash mine and it does indeed fix the issue.
Things that are cool -
USB Features.
Looks good.
A full featured router for only $5 a month (on Orcon).
Assumably VOIP support from Orcon in the future.
Read MoreThere are subtle changes around the world all the time, some of them more obvious than others,
As many suspect, some know and some redicule,
These changes are effected by the annoymous controllers of the world, the ones who cause wars for financial gain, those who control the world economies, those who ensure the greater populace is kept in the dark from knowing the real story, and keep us from interacting with our friendly Aliens from neighbouring systems.
Some say they are really members of the ruling lizard Army,
others swear its the illuminati, perhaps its the government, or those with the black helicopters and red sports shoes.
I cannot say for sure who these anonymous fellows are, but I do know one thing for sure. they are at it again.
this time with the humble Match. the unobtrusive supplier of fire, lighter of ciggarettes, cigars, candles and incense sticks,
How many Matches in a standard box of Beehive "Safety Matches"???
I bet many of you will state "50" and in the better, more positive days of old, when the future was bright and mankind controlled its future you would have been correct.
I your intrepid investigator, went deep in the depths of the conspiracy, risked life and limb and discovered an earth-shattering revelation, something that could rock your perception of reality to the core.
be prepared for this. it is a shocking, terrible revelation.
THERE. IS. NOW. ONLY. FORTY FIVE matches in a box of "behive safety matches"
Surely this is the beginning of the end, the controllers, those secretive evil overloads are plotting to de-evolve the human race,
sure you say, it could be a cost cutting measure, who really uses all 50 matches in a box of matches, BUT NO!
At the same time this sinister ploy was rolled out, the cost for a humble box of matches rose by 10 cents!
Again! I hear you say, surely this could be coincidental, the cost of everything is rising due to the cost of fuel for transportation, and this surely will effect matches too.
WRONG AGAIN!!! Pull the wool away from your eyes! that is exactly the sort of thinking they want! they want you to believe it is a result of a highly complicated series of economical factors locally and abroad causing the costs of manufacturing to increase.
AHA! I hear a few of you say, you think you are smarter than that, you think that you have seen through this, you think,
This is a straightforward capitalist move, in which they are covering increased costs while increasing margins by dropping the number of items per unit by 10% meaning they can produce 11 units for at a cost only slightly higher (the cost of the extra box) than the cost they previously had for 10 units.
Ah my poor, naive populace, oh how I envy your blissfull sleep wrapped in your dillusioned reality.
This is only the start of the plan, these "Men X" have a sinister plan to de-evolve the human race into cavemen level humanoids.
You see. we have grown too much. we have too much of the Internet, at first they thought "Aha this internet. it is the new Television, in which we can place many time-taking activities, more intellectual soylent green, we can use this to gradually increase the depth of the reality disfunction"
-But Alas for them and fortunately for us! we have moved past.
whilst many get trapped, and sucked into the mass mind control vortices that have been created, projects with codenames so terrible I cannot mention, but which were re-branded into friendly sounding names until you realise the ominous portents of what these names portray.
these mass mind control vortices such as "MY SPACE" a secret covert program derived from
Mind Yoke, Situation Programming And Control, and another similar covert black op "FACE BOOK" a name that fills me with such ominous dread I dare not delve far for fear of causing horrors such as were envisioned by HP Lovecraft, but let it be said it was a covert operation linked to Fully Assimilated Control Environments..
But these vortices were still not enough. they had to push further least we discover the truth.
and that is where the diabolic plan to de-evolve the human race has sprung.
it starts of small. they reduce the number of matches in a box by 5 and increase the cost by 10c.
that looks innocent enough on the purpose, but if you look further you are getting 10% less, for 20% more cost,
That is only the beginning. soon they will perform this step again, and gradually spread it out to other devices in which to make fire, gradually decreasing the resources and increasing the cost for us to create fire to such an extent that we no longer have the facility for fire,
One may point out that "what about friction - rubbing two sticks together" - this is one of the reasons their plan is soo diabolically cunning.
Citys were created for just this purpose. to eradic the availability of "sticks" and make us wholly dependand on store bought combustion created materials.
Soon we will be stuck wilth very few sources for ignition, and fewer for burning and keeping those fires lit.
"Environmental Sustainability" = "systematically remove mans capacity to make and keep fire"
if we do not prepare ourselves. we will become what the goal of their master plan is, a sub-human race of cavemen like bipeds the perfect slaves t operate their intersteller fastfood chains and cleaning resteraunts whilst they put their hyper intelligent robots to valuable tasks such as enabling awkward teen overlords to score with the hot overlord teen chicks who know about cars, by changing into a car with a cool engine then becoming a futuristic robot that deathmatches other robots before amusing crowds with puns involving Ebay.
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