USB standards about to get even more confusing

[Bill_Bright]

No doubt when I hook up to Race Communication's fiber-optic service I'll be provided with a suitable device that handles 21st century needs.

Well, you sure have a lot more confidence in your ISP than most. It is my experience ISP provided hardware barely meets demands and is generally of lower quality than most you can buy off-the-shelf. I always buy my own for that and other reasons. That includes renting from them is always a rip off over the long run as you end up paying several times the cost in rental fees over time than you would if you buy your own outright. Yes, buying your own costs more up front, but its yours and then paid for.

And last, buying your own means your ISP cannot use the device you are leasing from them as a "hotspot" for other customers in the area. This is a common practice these days. It allows customers who are visitors in your area to connect to their network through your ISP provided device. That may be fine for those customers, but it means they are using your modem and your connection (and your electricity) to connect.

"In theory", their connection is totally isolated from yours and "never the twain shall meet". Frankly I trust ISPs to keep our networks and connected devices secure just as much as I trust Equifax and Facebook and Yahoo to protect my data.

And for sure, that is NOT tinfoil hat stuff. I wish it were.

 

[ihrsetrdr]

Well, you sure have a lot more confidence in your ISP than most. It is my experience ISP provided hardware barely meets demands and is generally of lower quality than most you can buy off-the-shelf

Confidence in an ISP? Not hardly, at least not with Verizon-turned-Frontier...bottom of the line network gear for sure. I have no idea what to expect from Race Comm. but I'll be finding out soon.

I've always wanted to have my own chosen equipment, but the only ISP I've dealt with in connecting to(Verizon) required a lengthy session on the phone with a tech support person that didn't speak English well, in order to handle the configuration to their "walled garden". They wouldn't 'support' any equipment other than their branded gear, plus they were lost if you were not using a Windows OS.

 

[trents]

First tier tech support for most any ISP generally cannot help with anything that falls outside their scripted canned solutions.

 

[Alaric]

First tear tech support for most any ISP generally cannot help with anything that falls outside their scripted canned solutions.

Like counting to ten. LOL

 

[EarthDog]

Same with Spectrum first tier... useless without their flip charts. I always ask for tier 2 when I call on things (not typical thankfully).

 

[Bill_Bright]

First tier tech support for most any ISP generally cannot help with anything that falls outside their scripted canned solutions.

In all fairness to those people, it is not their fault. They are underpaid and more importantly, under-trained and typically only allowed to follow a checklist. And yet they are expected to act as a buffer between the unhappy customer and the company. And part of their job is to avoid escalating the ticket to the Level 2 tech support people. So please keep that in mind when dealing with them. A lack of training is management's fault, not theirs.

You don't yell at the waitress because the cook sent out raw chicken.

In my region, the two primary Internet providers are Cox Cable (which I have) and CenturyLink DSL. I have never had a problem connecting user owned devices. In fact, over the years, I have personally replaced my own modem 4 times. I just call them up, tell them I just put a new modem on the line, verify the account information, provide the MAC address, let them do their thing and viola! Done. In fact, most of the time, it is a totally automated process to make it even easier and faster.

As far as Verizon and their walled garden feature, if you have one of their provided modems, see this to disable that feature.

They wouldn't 'support' any equipment other than their branded gear

That's to be expected. But in the US anyway, they cannot block the use of personally own "gateway" devices. We are allow to use our own modems. However, most if not all ISPs provide a list of compatible modems. It is recommended you buy from that list. Cox actually provides a pretty extensive list.

 

[trents]

It is true that ISP tech support is under trained. That's pretty obvious. They are the burger flippers of the tech industry. It's an entry level tech job for most of them who, typically, are internationals. Not against that you understand, it's just that it makes them very hard to understand - especially over the phone. And all the things they suggest doing to fix a problem I have already tried. Then there is the fact that the ISPs are trying to cut costs by hiring these people off the street who have little or no technology background, giving them a little training and sticking them in a cubical with a headset with the expectation they will be able to help customers solve problems. I understand the dynamics of the situation but it's still frustrating.

 

[Robert17]

A friend of mine started on a help desk, followed the dream and is now in charge of IT security for a statewide health system. Many hours of training, study and certifications. That said, he related to me that during the help desk days a vast majority of calls involved operator error such as "I turned on my computer but there's nothing on my screen. He: did you check to see if your monitor is powered on? Them: oh, o.k., that was it". Stuff that a newbie with a minimum of training and a FAQ deck could handle. So it's no surprise that this practice continues.

 

[Robert17]

Well lookie, lookie, out of the mouths of babes......USB 4. Here

 

[trents]

Yes, if we could get to the point where one connectivity protocol is truly adequate for all uses, including video transmission then that would be ideal along with simplifying port configurations to eliminate so many shapes and sizes.

 

[EarthDog]

How much can the type-a connector transmit? It can do 10 gbps (3.1 g2)... can it do 20/40 or is that part of the reason why USB-C is here?

 

[Bill_Bright]

That said, he related to me that during the help desk days a vast majority of calls involved operator error

Not just operator error, but operator negligence if not simple stupidity.

There's a reason at the top of most of those checklists are the following 2 questions:

1. Is it plugged in?
2. Is it turned on?​

When I was in the military, I used to be in charge of "Job Control". Any communications, computer, navigational aids problem was called in to us, and we dispatched the appropriate technician.

One night at O-dark thirty, I got a call from my troop in Job Control saying the Chief of Security was insisting we send out our CCTV tech because all the monitors monitoring the exterior of his "secure" facility were dark. The protocol was for his security troops to "walk the perimeter" but this Major insisted we send someone out because it was "cold and raining". Our CCTV shop didn't have any on-call troops because again, the protocol was for the security troops to go out and look. The CCTV NCOIC (non-commissioned officer in charge) refused to send any one out so my troop in Job Control called me.

I called that major and had a few "polite" words with him about his protocols, but he insisted further, leaving me no choice. So I woke the CCTV NCOIC again and ordered him out. It should be noted this secure facility is about 25 miles back on the far reaches of the base and no civilian vehicles were allowed. So he had to first go to his shop and get a military truck, then head out.

By the time CCTV NCOIC got to the facility, it was about 4am. He got inside the building and sure enough, all the monitors showed nothing but darkness when they should have been displaying 360° around the entire facility. He walked over to the door, flipped the big light switch labeled in big letters, "EXTERIOR FLOOD LIGHTS" to "On", then left without saying a word!

The next morning, that major was reporting to my colonel.

 

[Robert17]

I recall that type C had a couple of advantages baked in: 1) it would plug in securely upside right or downside up and 2) had higher bandwidth both in data transfer and power such that it is capable of fast-charging a mobile phone whereas USB 2 took a bit longer in both categories.

 

[ihrsetrdr]

As far as Verizon and their walled garden feature, if you have one of their provided modems, see this to disable that feature.

Glad to see that's all there is to disabling the walled garden. That article would have been useful to have read 10 years ago before my modem died, and needed replacement.

I'm eager to get the fiber-optic service established, and to see what the modem options will be. I'll have to wire the house with fiber cable....

 

[EarthDog]

I'll have to wire the house with fiber cable....

I'd just run some Cat6... Fiber will stop at the box in your house. Cat6 is good to 10G to 160' or so while Cat5 is good to 1G over 300'. I doubt your house will get more than 10G. Likely 1G or less.

 

[Bill_Bright]

1) it would plug in securely upside right or downside up

By far, the big one!

 

[ihrsetrdr]

I'd just run some Cat6... Fiber will stop at the box in your house. Cat6 is good to 10G to 160' or so while Cat5 is good to 1G over 300'. I doubt your house will get more than 10G. Likely 1G or less.

Good news...house wired with Cat6 already!

 

[Bill_Bright]

Good news...house wired with Cat6 already!

Definitely the way to go. When my basement ceiling came crashing down about 15 years ago, exposing the floor joists above, I used that opportunity to wire my entire house with CAT-5e (Cat-6 was too new and too expensive back then). Best move I ever did. Ethernet is still inherently more secure than wireless.

I also took that opportunity to wire both the living room and my computer room on the 2nd floor for surround sound! And the whole house for cable TV too.

 

[trents]

By far, the big one!

This! I'm sure we've all had the experience of struggling to get a type A USB device plugged into a port in blind, tight quarters situations where you could hardly reach and wondering if the problem was just a tight fit or whether you had it upside down.

 

[ihrsetrdr]

This! I'm sure we've all had the experience of struggling to get a type A USB device plugged into a port in blind, tight quarters situations where you could hardly reach and wondering if the problem was just a tight fit or whether you had it upside down.

...pretty much on a regular basis here.