Warrick
01-25-01, 06:48 PM
Starband - WHY YOU SHOULD NOT BUY IT !!!
Considering the fact that the Starband system appears irreconcilably broken
that and the management of Starband has to date refused to be straight with
their paying customers, I believe that it is time to spread the word to
unwary prospective Starband customers. For any prospective customers that
may read this warning - Starband is currently a sham and you should not buy
it. Whether it will ever be what Starband advertises is yet to be seen.
There is some cause for hope that Starband is serious about fixing the
problem, but until a tried and true fix has been implemented it would be a
crime for even one more person to be duped into paying for the installation
of a Starband boat-anchor. If you want details, then read on ... but for
the sake of your own sanity DO NOT BUY A STARBAND SYSTEM!
Starband boldly advertises that its two-way always-on system is ten times
faster than dial-up. In truth, the system rarely exceeds the speed of
dial-up and often is down completely. While web browsing and downloads can
be rather delightful during off-peak hours, most other applications
(Netscape, Napster, ftp, ICQ, AIM, email, news servers, firewalls) run
unacceptably slow or don't run at all. A particular problem is SSL - or the
secure web protocols used for banking or other monetary transactions.
Starband is currently incompatible with these pages making it impossible to
use online banking, stock trading, online transactions and related matters.
Starband says in the fine print of its advertising that it expects to
maintain minimum download speeds of 150 kps and upload speeds of 50 kps. In
truth, these should be considered maximum speeds. During peak hours (5pm to
11pm) the system generally runs slower than dial-up. Following a full month
of promises from Starband, they have yet to implement a fix. They mess with
the system constantly - resulting in prolonged outages - but never seem to
achieve any lasting fix. Worse that anything else is the lack of
communication. Starband operates under the mushroom philosophy - "feed them
**** and keep them in the dark." They are exploiting the fact that the $225
installation fee is non-refundable. Most of the unlucky crowd that bought
into Starband's false advertising are unwilling or unable to forfeit that
fee. Thus, they hang on day after day hoping, praying, even begging for
improvements that never come - and Starband never offers a concrete
explanation of the problem.
The Starband 180 USB modems are junk. It now appears that they were rushed
out to meet the Christmas holiday. They were not beta-tested at all. They
ahave proven to be virtually incompatible with AMD Duron and Athlon
computers that utilize VIAtech chipsets (in other words "most" of them).
The resulting USB conflicts kick the modem off-line continually. The only
fix is to remove the USB daughter-board and enable the Ethernet port. If a
router is used to connect the 180 modem by ethernet, then yet another $150
is added to the installation costs. When you add this to the $399 modem
cost, $225 install and $150 router cost - Starband may cost a whopping $775.
Notably, the ethernet conversion does not improve speed - it just fixes the
USB mess by eliminating the USB hook-up. Again, the Starband management
will not acknowledge this problem or provide any advice to those persons
brave enough to undertake this rather complicated fix. Don't even ask about
the monthly charge of up-to $75 bucks - given the condition of the system
that amount to usury.
Customer service - forget about it. Although well meaning and reasonably
sympathetic, the customer service reps at Starband have no answers. They
must be brow-beaten by upset customers from sun-up to sun-down. All they
can ever say is "were trying to fix it." Occasionally an exhausted customer
service rep will confide that their system just wasn't ready for a public
debut and may never function properly. The most often blamed problem is
"network congenstion." But if that is truly the problem - immediately
following the launch of the system when there are relatively few customers,
then that seems to be further evidence that Starband will turn out like
DirecPC. In other words, it will always be worse than dial-up during
peak-hours (5pm to 11pm). This is in addition to the fact that it generally
takes well over an hour on hold just to get these unsatisfying tid-bits of
customer service information. However, the MUSAK they play on hold is
free - LOL.
The Starband beta-testers are contributing to the flood of
Starband-management-initiated mis-information. Many are conducting
themselves like Starband-*****s by running around every public forum touting
the great speeds of Starband. Whether their claims are accurate or just a
consequence of the seemingly endless free service awarded to them by
Starband is wholly irrelevant. They use different equipment and a different
satellite to obtain Starband service. They have internal-pci cards and use
the GE4 satellite. Paying consumers must use the Starband 180 modems and
the T7 satellites. Thus, if you see someone singing the praises of
Starband - make sure that you ask what equipment they use and whether or not
they are paying customers. Their answers to these questions will tell you
whether to cry "bull****" in response to their claims.
In summary, Starband is simply not ready for prime-time. Current paying
Starband customers have been lured into a royal-beta-test-screwing. Unless
you wish to become a paying beta-tester for an unproven satellite two-way
system that is low-speed and all-too-often down, then you should stay away
from Starband. Regards.
Considering the fact that the Starband system appears irreconcilably broken
that and the management of Starband has to date refused to be straight with
their paying customers, I believe that it is time to spread the word to
unwary prospective Starband customers. For any prospective customers that
may read this warning - Starband is currently a sham and you should not buy
it. Whether it will ever be what Starband advertises is yet to be seen.
There is some cause for hope that Starband is serious about fixing the
problem, but until a tried and true fix has been implemented it would be a
crime for even one more person to be duped into paying for the installation
of a Starband boat-anchor. If you want details, then read on ... but for
the sake of your own sanity DO NOT BUY A STARBAND SYSTEM!
Starband boldly advertises that its two-way always-on system is ten times
faster than dial-up. In truth, the system rarely exceeds the speed of
dial-up and often is down completely. While web browsing and downloads can
be rather delightful during off-peak hours, most other applications
(Netscape, Napster, ftp, ICQ, AIM, email, news servers, firewalls) run
unacceptably slow or don't run at all. A particular problem is SSL - or the
secure web protocols used for banking or other monetary transactions.
Starband is currently incompatible with these pages making it impossible to
use online banking, stock trading, online transactions and related matters.
Starband says in the fine print of its advertising that it expects to
maintain minimum download speeds of 150 kps and upload speeds of 50 kps. In
truth, these should be considered maximum speeds. During peak hours (5pm to
11pm) the system generally runs slower than dial-up. Following a full month
of promises from Starband, they have yet to implement a fix. They mess with
the system constantly - resulting in prolonged outages - but never seem to
achieve any lasting fix. Worse that anything else is the lack of
communication. Starband operates under the mushroom philosophy - "feed them
**** and keep them in the dark." They are exploiting the fact that the $225
installation fee is non-refundable. Most of the unlucky crowd that bought
into Starband's false advertising are unwilling or unable to forfeit that
fee. Thus, they hang on day after day hoping, praying, even begging for
improvements that never come - and Starband never offers a concrete
explanation of the problem.
The Starband 180 USB modems are junk. It now appears that they were rushed
out to meet the Christmas holiday. They were not beta-tested at all. They
ahave proven to be virtually incompatible with AMD Duron and Athlon
computers that utilize VIAtech chipsets (in other words "most" of them).
The resulting USB conflicts kick the modem off-line continually. The only
fix is to remove the USB daughter-board and enable the Ethernet port. If a
router is used to connect the 180 modem by ethernet, then yet another $150
is added to the installation costs. When you add this to the $399 modem
cost, $225 install and $150 router cost - Starband may cost a whopping $775.
Notably, the ethernet conversion does not improve speed - it just fixes the
USB mess by eliminating the USB hook-up. Again, the Starband management
will not acknowledge this problem or provide any advice to those persons
brave enough to undertake this rather complicated fix. Don't even ask about
the monthly charge of up-to $75 bucks - given the condition of the system
that amount to usury.
Customer service - forget about it. Although well meaning and reasonably
sympathetic, the customer service reps at Starband have no answers. They
must be brow-beaten by upset customers from sun-up to sun-down. All they
can ever say is "were trying to fix it." Occasionally an exhausted customer
service rep will confide that their system just wasn't ready for a public
debut and may never function properly. The most often blamed problem is
"network congenstion." But if that is truly the problem - immediately
following the launch of the system when there are relatively few customers,
then that seems to be further evidence that Starband will turn out like
DirecPC. In other words, it will always be worse than dial-up during
peak-hours (5pm to 11pm). This is in addition to the fact that it generally
takes well over an hour on hold just to get these unsatisfying tid-bits of
customer service information. However, the MUSAK they play on hold is
free - LOL.
The Starband beta-testers are contributing to the flood of
Starband-management-initiated mis-information. Many are conducting
themselves like Starband-*****s by running around every public forum touting
the great speeds of Starband. Whether their claims are accurate or just a
consequence of the seemingly endless free service awarded to them by
Starband is wholly irrelevant. They use different equipment and a different
satellite to obtain Starband service. They have internal-pci cards and use
the GE4 satellite. Paying consumers must use the Starband 180 modems and
the T7 satellites. Thus, if you see someone singing the praises of
Starband - make sure that you ask what equipment they use and whether or not
they are paying customers. Their answers to these questions will tell you
whether to cry "bull****" in response to their claims.
In summary, Starband is simply not ready for prime-time. Current paying
Starband customers have been lured into a royal-beta-test-screwing. Unless
you wish to become a paying beta-tester for an unproven satellite two-way
system that is low-speed and all-too-often down, then you should stay away
from Starband. Regards.