The joy of the internet
Yes, we are connected to the internet again and it has not been an easy trip.
You will recall that I tried to start the whole process a week before we moved in, but we had the wrong type of line. Then an engineer came and installed a new line, but before he left told me that it was still the wrong type of line. Then lots of people in lots of call centres assured me that it was not the wrong type of line and I just had to wait for it to be connected.
Then today I phoned up to find out if we were any nearer to being connected and do you know what they told me? We can't be connected because
We have the wrong type of line.
So, being a resourceful chappess, I had to fall back upon plan two. Clearly a lot of people have similar problems here so you can buy a "wireless modem" which communicates via wireless broadband. Not ideal, but now I knew this was the only option I phoned up to enquire and on learning that I could connect today rushed out to buy a modem.
I was so excited by the fact I could finally stop sitting outside Starbucks looking lonely that I forgot that I had a shopping delivery coming. Ooops.
I realised on my way back at about 11:30am (the shopping slot was 9:30 - 13:30 and they hadn't been in the hour or so before I left) and picked up my speed.
I wasn't sure what they would do if I wasn't there to collect the delivery. My mobile hadn't rung, but did they have the number? I checked under the door to the hall - no "We called to deliver but..." note. I checked in our mail box, in case someone had helpfully picked up a note and put it there. No. By 12:30, I was starting to feel like the idiot I was for rushing out when I was supposed to be at home.
However, everything today has a happy ending and they brought my shopping at 12:45pm. I am reminded of an even more happy ending we had last week. We had been playing our second new board game, Descent (a dungeon adventure game, similar to Warhammer Quest for those of you that know about these things) on the balcony. Perfect, we thought. We had reckoned without the winds, which can come across the balcony in quite a gust and being on the seventh floor can distribute any vital light games cards that they pick up across a pretty wide area, not all of it in the communal part of our block. We felt pretty sick when we saw two cards floating off in just this manner. Being an astonishing optimist, I suggested we go and look for the cards and dragged a dispirited Sean with me. And we found them both! Quite a way from our balcony on a higher level leading to another block. Hooray!
A final note about the internet connection intended to reassure any software developers reading: I uncovered two of the most stonking bugs I have ever seen in released software while installing the clever wireless modem.
Firstly on the install screen it kept getting to a point in the progress bar (it varied but was about 15%) and then hanging. This, it turns out was because there was a pop up behind the progress window (impossible to access as the installer was full screen at the front of the PC - you couldn't even get to task manager). I had to click around at random on the screen to OK it.
Secondly, my first monthly payment was £0 as it was the last day of the month. But I then got an error saying that they couldn't take £0 from my credit card! The first suggestion from the call centre was to try again tomorrow when it would no longer be the last day of the month but they eventually said that I could get someone to register me over the phone.
Now we're connected I can get back to posting about things that are not to do with internet connections.
Yes, we are connected to the internet again and it has not been an easy trip.
You will recall that I tried to start the whole process a week before we moved in, but we had the wrong type of line. Then an engineer came and installed a new line, but before he left told me that it was still the wrong type of line. Then lots of people in lots of call centres assured me that it was not the wrong type of line and I just had to wait for it to be connected.
Then today I phoned up to find out if we were any nearer to being connected and do you know what they told me? We can't be connected because
We have the wrong type of line.
So, being a resourceful chappess, I had to fall back upon plan two. Clearly a lot of people have similar problems here so you can buy a "wireless modem" which communicates via wireless broadband. Not ideal, but now I knew this was the only option I phoned up to enquire and on learning that I could connect today rushed out to buy a modem.
I was so excited by the fact I could finally stop sitting outside Starbucks looking lonely that I forgot that I had a shopping delivery coming. Ooops.
I realised on my way back at about 11:30am (the shopping slot was 9:30 - 13:30 and they hadn't been in the hour or so before I left) and picked up my speed.
I wasn't sure what they would do if I wasn't there to collect the delivery. My mobile hadn't rung, but did they have the number? I checked under the door to the hall - no "We called to deliver but..." note. I checked in our mail box, in case someone had helpfully picked up a note and put it there. No. By 12:30, I was starting to feel like the idiot I was for rushing out when I was supposed to be at home.
However, everything today has a happy ending and they brought my shopping at 12:45pm. I am reminded of an even more happy ending we had last week. We had been playing our second new board game, Descent (a dungeon adventure game, similar to Warhammer Quest for those of you that know about these things) on the balcony. Perfect, we thought. We had reckoned without the winds, which can come across the balcony in quite a gust and being on the seventh floor can distribute any vital light games cards that they pick up across a pretty wide area, not all of it in the communal part of our block. We felt pretty sick when we saw two cards floating off in just this manner. Being an astonishing optimist, I suggested we go and look for the cards and dragged a dispirited Sean with me. And we found them both! Quite a way from our balcony on a higher level leading to another block. Hooray!
A final note about the internet connection intended to reassure any software developers reading: I uncovered two of the most stonking bugs I have ever seen in released software while installing the clever wireless modem.
Firstly on the install screen it kept getting to a point in the progress bar (it varied but was about 15%) and then hanging. This, it turns out was because there was a pop up behind the progress window (impossible to access as the installer was full screen at the front of the PC - you couldn't even get to task manager). I had to click around at random on the screen to OK it.
Secondly, my first monthly payment was £0 as it was the last day of the month. But I then got an error saying that they couldn't take £0 from my credit card! The first suggestion from the call centre was to try again tomorrow when it would no longer be the last day of the month but they eventually said that I could get someone to register me over the phone.
Now we're connected I can get back to posting about things that are not to do with internet connections.
posted by Zoe at 4:54 PM
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