DSL works fine still, stored files can't be hyperlinked.
Written: Jun 16 '03 (Updated Jul 06 '03)
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Pros: Incredibly easy to set up - I was really shocked.
Cons: Some software incompatibilities. Stored files CANNOT be hyperlinked from other web sites!!!
The Bottom Line: Recommended, if you have the proper phone line connections, and don't need to use your ISP's storage space for hyperlinking to files.
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| elbereth's Full Review: SBC Yahoo |
I read all the horror stories on e-opinions, and I have to say I was bracing myself for a really bad time.
I chose SBC because nobody else seemed to provide DSL to my area.
I ordered the Standard Plus package from SBS at $34.99 a month for a year - with a free DSL modem and seven line filters.
The modem arrived six days later and the line was already active. It took just a few minutes to hook everything up and install the software. And it worked right off the bat! I was really shocked that it was so easy.
Initial test speeds during the off-hours at night were close to the 1.2 Mbps that was guaranteed as the maximum.
I even managed to install the SBC-Yahoo software in my other computer, running windows 98. The saleperson had warned me that the software would require at least windows 98 SE, but this was not listed as a requirement on SBC's website. Anyway, there was no problem with the Windows 98. My other computer runs Windows XP Home Edition.
The only trouble I ran into was when I tried to hook up a Microsoft router, the MN-100. Could never get it to work - there were a several software incompatibilities that required some detailed work arounds and even then, after about an hour and a half on the phone, the Microsoft tech support guy gave up and suggested that the router might be a bad one and told me to exchange it for a new one. I'm still waiting for it to arrive.
Trying to install the MN-100 software buggered up the SBC-Yahoo software - I had to un-install part of the SBC software and re-install it to get it to work.
Anyway, right now the system works fine by just manually switching the Ethernet cable from one computer to the other on the DSL modem.
As an aside - I will just note that my area is not afflicted by any of the more common factors that have caused difficulties with DSL service - the entire neighborhood is less than five years old, we are located fairly close to the central phone switching station, and my house is brand new, with Cat 5 cable for the phone lines. These are the sort of things that help to get DSL to work well.
Update
Well, I finally got the MN-100 router to work with the SBC Yahoo DSL. If you are interested in the gory details, I wrote all about it on the e-opinions webpage for the MN-100 router.
As a side note, I ended up upgrading the OS on our older computer to Windows XP from Windows 98. The reason was that my initial enthusiasm at finding out that SBC Yahoo DSL worked with Windows 98 did not last. I upgraded the older computer to Office 2000 (had been using Office 95), and immediately after this upgrade, the SBC Yahoo DSL stopped working on the older computer. My efforts to get it to work led to a downward spiral of increasingly worse glitches that finally ended in the blue screen of death.
My rating for SBC's Tech support has gone down further because of this episode. They were basically useless.
Update 2.0
AAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!! I just found out that the 30MB of free storage space in the Briefcase of SBCYahoo can't be hyperlinked!! In other words, if you have a website, or a post in a message board, you can't use an HTML link to any of your stored files or photos. The only way for other people to download your file is to give them the URL for the file and they have to cut and paste the URL into the address line of their browser to view the file. Geeez! - what's the point?? This really brings the Internet back to the dark ages. I drop the overall rating two full points, to average, for this idiocy.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 34.99
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Epinions.com ID:
elbereth
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Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 0 members
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