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Day 384: Woe Be To Cox

The geek dinner with Earthlink’s corporate blogger, Dave Coustan, could not have come at a better time. What started as “upgrades” on Tuesday has left my house with a dwindling internet connection. My blogposts and email are now dispatched via the equivalent of a choppy 56K connection, creating a huge backlog of unposted pictures and work-related spreadsheets. For the record, I hate Cox – all the way from the cable TV fiasco of two months ago (“let’s take away the popular cable channels and charge extra for them”) to this dance with no-speed internet. [Update: Pictures now upload at the rate of one every 30 minutes]

The Other End Of The Table

Alan, Becky, Sarah and Schroeder got to talk with Dave more than I did, by the dual virtues of their proximity to him at the dinner table and the interesting conversation generated by Dave“s friend, Jessica. Jessica attended Tulane and got a biology degree there; she is a writer for the CDC in Atlanta now.

When we did chat, Dave informed me that a 20-mile, city-wide wireless has already been set in motion. Note that city-wide does not include wet neighborhoods including MdCity and Gentilly. Earthlink is paying for the entire service and setup, and is not inclined to provide wi-fi access in areas that have not proven population viability. Schroeder and I argued that it’s another one of those services that will attract people to return; Dave took it into consideration. Of course, Bart and Michael Homan have a lot more to say about wireless in MidCity, where the need is indeed greater.

Or is it? Consider me in the high and dry Lower Garden District, for example, and my current struggle with Cox. With city-wide wireless, I wouldn’t have to wrestle my way through the tech-support armpit of Cox hell to get my work out on time. Earthlink could be serious competition in these here parts.

Pictures of the dinner (all three of them) coming when my router talks to the cable modem and the cable modem finally calls home. Attendees: Oyster, Ray, Alan, Becky, Sarah, Schroeder, Dave C., Jessica and me.

7 comments… add one
  • Sophmom September 16, 2006, 4:24 PM

    It sounds like Earthlink is trying to do something right. I checked out Dave’s blog and it looks like he visited Trumpet Advertising, which is my non-blogging NOLA friend’s agency. It’s a very small world.

    I’m sorry your internet sucks, Maitri. Middle Son’s does too. It goes out all the time, which is a real problem when you’re trying to go to college. I hope it’s better soon, ’cause I’m lonely for you guys and wishing for pics. *sigh*

  • GentillyGirl September 16, 2006, 5:43 PM

    Gentilly needs Earthlink. I’m one of the lucky ones that has Bellsouth’s wireless BB, and it works at our flooded home, but others have nothing.

    Gentilly is forefront in planning and rebuilding. Not having Internet access will hurt our efforts in coming back.

    Dave and I need to talk.

  • scout prime September 16, 2006, 5:57 PM

    Hey Maitri.
    Just had to say Go Pack!

  • jeffrey September 16, 2006, 8:09 PM

    Having similar Cox-related issues myself. Grrrr. How soon is Earthlink expecting to have this network available?

  • joe kennedy September 16, 2006, 9:38 PM

    Most of us who do have Cox in Gentilly hate it. Is there a particular reason we’re not getting it? Or did I miss something? (That’s most likely.)

  • E.J. September 17, 2006, 6:35 AM

    my neighbor said he’s had Cox internet for a year and it hadn’t gone out once, or gave him any trouble, until a couple weeks ago when it randomly stopped working. My Cox internet was working fine; then a couple hours after his went out, mine did — right as his came back on. It did that a few more times that night, but no more trouble since then. Keep checking — maybe your service will come back to life.

  • mominem September 18, 2006, 11:36 AM

    Theres a reason why they call them Cox.

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