June 14, 2013
Dear Everyone:
Sometime last year, when I was in the Big Blue Electronics Warehouse
Store, shopping for something or other, I paused in the aisle where they
keep the wireless routers.
The router that I have, and have used for many years, is a generation
“G” and the latest ones were generation “N”, indicating that my router
was hopelessly outdated.
Nevertheless, it worked just fine.
I was simply curious to see how much it would cost to replace it
with a new one. No hurry, or
anything.
A salesperson, in a blue shirt, asked if I needed any help.
I explained why I was not going to buy anything just yet.
“It will take more in time than it will in dollars,” I said.
By that I meant that the time required to set up a whole new
home
network and connect all the devices, laptop, printer, e-reader, cell
phone, etc., would be more than the nominal cost of buying a new router.
His response: “What a
great sales slogan!” And
that was that.
A few weeks ago, I got an envelope in the mail from the cable company
that, among other things, provides my
Internet connection.
Since this company sends out many, many envelopes, mostly sales
pitches for even more services, this one was marked “Important
Information. Please read!!!”
So I opened it and, sure enough, it wasn’t a sales pitch, exactly.
It was to inform me that my current
modem, for which I pay a
nominal monthly fee of $7.00, was hopelessly outdated and would need to
be replaced. Go to this
website and enter various bits of information to have a
New! and Improved! modem sent to me “free”.
Well, I figured, if I’m getting a new modem, I should probably look into
getting a new router as well.
But, again, no hurry.
I filled out the online form and received the information that a new
modem would be shipped in “6-8 weeks”.
Like I said, no hurry.
A day later, I got an email that my “order” had been received and
would be shipped “in a few weeks”.
Followed by another email notifying me that the new modem was on
its way and would arrive in a few days.
Followed by a nice, big box at my front door, containing the new modem.
Which, it turns out, has a wireless router built into it.
Good thing I never got around to buying a new one, huh?
As I had anticipated, the time it took to set up the new network,
including a long phone call to the cable company, was the most
significant “cost” (so far).
Writing down all the teeny, tiny numbers printed on the bottom of the
modem. Following the coax
cable to the point where it exits the wall in the second bedroom and
replacing it with the newly-provided one.
Disconnecting the old TV, sitting in the second bedroom, which
hasn’t been on much since I moved in four years ago.
And so on.
Once everything was set up, the laptop had absolutely no trouble finding
the signal. Once I typed in
the mixed-case, 16-character alphanumeric network key, the laptop was on
the network. And yes, the
first thing I did was go into the network “setup” and change the “admin”
password from “password” to never-you-mind.
Only problem: The
network was not on the Internet.
It even said so.
What did the instructions say?
“Go to the Internet for more information.”
Of course.
Call the cable company.
Bounce back and forth between the living room, where the laptop is, and
the second bedroom, where the new modem is (“Yes, the light is on.
There’s a ‘button’ on top?
Oh, there it is.”)
Eventually, we got the modem communicating with the cable company’s
“master computer” and all was well.
Except for the printer.
That took a little more effort.
But, by the end of the day, everything was up and running.
I packed up the old modem, cables, etc. in the box and took it to the
shipping company, along with the “free” return label, and sent it off.
All done.
Of course, it will be another month before I find out how much I’ll be
paying for the new modem.
And I haven’t noticed any substantial increase in speed, which the cable
company claimed was the whole point.
But then, I’m not downloading any
HD-3D movies either.
As long as I can print documents, reach the Internet and get my
daily Wikipedia fix, as well as access all three
email addresses, update
my website and so on, I’m a Happy Camper.
Love, as always,
Pete
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