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DirecPC USB Satellite Modems Available for Linux 109

Posted by CmdrTaco from the well-thats-kinda-neat dept.
manyoso writes "Helius, Inc. has announced a USB DirecPC modem for Linux. The software drivers are going to be available on their website, no word about what kind of license. The software is available on their Model 7100 router, which retails for $2,500. The router runs Caldera Linux and comes with: dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP), SMTP e-mail, Web hosting, Web caching, NNTP news, FTP, UDP, Telnet, proxy, and firewall. The upload is standard phone line or ISDN." Looks like a fairly expensive way to get a 400kbs uplink (You need software, a router, and a normal modem/isdn ISP for outgoing traffic) but for people who live outside of DSL/Cable range, this might be a cool option. And it looks fun to play with ;) But my cable company promised that they could hook me up this spring, so I'm not sure if it's worth it ...
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DirectPC USB Satelite Modems Available for Linux

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  • I was just about the post the same thing myself. [...] I can't stand how bad the grammar is on Slashdot.

    The only thing wrong with that was the lack of the optional annotation [sic]. Since the errors occured in the quoted text, it is simply a matter of choosing not to correct the submission, not an act of greviously poor grammar.

    YMMV, but I prefer to read the submission directly rather than CmdrTaco's editorial comments. Not that I have a problem with those either...

    And as for the grammar in comments, typos and common mistakes come with the ease of posting. I'd rather read 10 well thought out posts than 2 well thought out and proofread posts. It's the idea that is important.

    --
    Evan (Fighting Grammar and Spelling Nazis on-line since 1981)

  • English 101: $500/credit hour
    Obfuscated perl webboard: $shit piles

    Rubbing your IPO and lack of English in the noses of half a million geeks daily: priceless

    (Update: Value of IPO: worthless)

    Hey, Taco, hope you saved some money to pay for a spelling and grammar checker on your resume.

  • A 'handful' is great. Natural trumps size by far. I, and lots of my friends (we've discussed this at length) agree - breast enhancement is for looking NOT touching.

    We hate the artificial stuff. Girls that get it are looking for something you won't be able to give them.

    If you want bigger breasts, take the Birth Control Pill and it'll happen, over time. Or, get pregnant once and they stay bigger. If you must do it (I stress MUST - cancer or something) get the fat implantation kind where they suction fat out of your butt and put it in your breasts. Much more natural.

    Want to look better? Get an education and impress their brains, get self-esteem by joining a civic group like Jaycees, Kiwanis, etc., and get a body by working out doing something fun that you'll stick to.

    just my five cents.

  • I can't stand how bad the grammar is on Slashdot.

    why is it so hard to believe?
    a true geek (tm) spends their time reading man pages rather than the mla guidelines...
  • Not when the amount of gigagarbage MS is going to want .NET to spew over those wires exceeds the current carrying capacity of those same wires...

    Acutally, though, .NET won't be carrying that much data. It's basically just a licensing engine.

    John

  • It could be that the information is a little out of date. But two-way access is definitely the way of the future. Satellite is going to be a niche service, IMHO, for folks who can't get broadband any other way, but considering how hard it can be to get anything faster than 56k in some areas, there's a market for it out there. The thing is, as old as ISDN is, it ought to be available everywhere, but the telcos have pissed around for years and not deployed it. Even the RBOCs don't have it everywhere, and don't even get me started on the smaller local telcos. Some are remarkably good, but some resemble what you'd get in a third-world country. Pathetic.
  • Satellite modems will surely bring the wrath of alien conquerers down upon our lush green planet.

    You're kidding, right?

  • You can get DSL? I'm getting the ongoing RSN response from the cable company and all the DSL providers.

    I think I'm going to complain to whoever in the municipal government is in charge of the cable franchise. Our cable company got bought by one of the Very Large Cable Companies of America, who treat our franchise like the bastard son at the family reunion. We're last in line for everything except new PPV and home shopping channels.

    Modems suck, too.

    ObTopic: Nobody I know who has satellite data service likes it, for all the reasons talked about here.

  • I hope your dictionary contains an entry for "humour"
  • Which is why end-to-end encryption is the way to go. IPsec is the future... as wireless becomes more pervasive, ubiquitous end-to-end encryption will become more and more obviously Right.
  • Oops. You mean a $100 Linksys hub. However, if you really know where to get a new or used router for a hundred bucks I'll buy it... And I'll eat my new pad of post-it notes too! BTW, it more than likely IS using ethernet. I'm just guessing that their satellite system was designed back in the days when they didn't really figure they'd have to handle residential IP distridution. That's a sham, err, shame! At any rate, they'll have to produce a two-way, no-router access system before I would ever sonsider it. Well, nothing's ever written in stone.
  • You don't need to get this. Here is what our Linux customers do:

    Install DirecPC on a Wintel system. Use proxy software from Helius or WinRoute and you can have the fast DirecPC access on your Linux (or Mac, or whatever) box.

    As a side note, you won't need to use the phone line for an upload when the Two-Way system comes it. And it'll be here very very shortly!

    T. Bradley Dean
  • I had DirecPC for about a year and enjoyed parts of its service. While in Fresno, cable, DSL and wireless broadband were being rolled out, I lived three blocks near the university (CSUF) and I was out of range of most of the services. I lived in a condo, so I thought I'd purchase DirecPC. It was an adventure installing it.

    I originally had a Sony single LNB DSS system, which I replaced with the DPC dish, which is quite bigger. It is about 25" and is oblong and oval shaped, not a standard DSS sized pizza dish. It has dual TV DSS LNBs and a special data LNB which transports your data signals. There is some signalling hardware inside of the data LNB that does filtering and stuff.

    It was very hard to aim myself, unlike the bird that you aim at to get DSS. I called an installer who brought an oscilloscope out and some other gear and was able to get it in a matter of seconds.

    The service was great to begin with. Pretty speedy, even though it was transmitting over a dial-up line. There was about 400ms RTT latency, and I saw about 40k/s throughput on average. Great for grabbing the latest distributions and stuff. They also had a sideband channel that multicasted Usenet news, and their software suite included software that would pull down any groups you wanted off that multicast feed. Your modem didn't need to be nailed up which rocked! Tunes, multimedia and software right to your desktop, all the time!

    Word has it now they have implemented a Fair Access Policy (FAP of doom) where they limit your bandwidth usage if you exceed some X amount that they have set. I never had that happen to me, but I consumed massive amounts of tunes and media and stuff - most of it was from Usenet.

    Anyhow, I liked the kit. It was nice knowing my data was going through the air and not over leased lines. Shortly thereafter, I moved into a new condo across town and got cable. I gave my dish to a friend.

    You can find cheap setup with all gear on eBay - that is where I bought mine. I think it's worth it if you are in a fringe area or in an RV.

    -Pat

  • Here's a thought--the modem is connecting at 33.6 or ISDN which is at 64K. When you send a request for a page, for instance, there is about a second of latency before getting the response. What if they used the modem downlink to begin the download, and streamed the rest of the data simultaneously throught the satelite link. Downloads would be faster, since there is less latency. Software can be written to take into account the constant amount of latency between ground hub and satelite receiver, and break the data up accordingly.
    That would remove atleast part of my biggest problem with satelite internet access.
  • It doesn't matter how fast or affordable cable and DSL are if they aren't *available* in the area where you want internet access.
  • You could always use your cellular setup to do the uplink part... 14.4k/uplink, 400k/downlink... not great, but sure sounds better than 14.4 both ways! Anybody know if this sat setup will work from a moving vehicle?
  • Unfortunately, their site says that they require you to run Windows and that it's not good for on-line gaming, presumably because of high latency.
  • Radio waves and light waves are the same (they just have different frequencies/wavelenghts). Light is just the visible part of the spectrum...
  • Do you know what you are talking about?

    In our case in Canada, the DirecPC service is encrypted so that only the card with hardware serial number on it can decrypt the digital signal. I don't think they invented this just for little 'ol us.

  • I recently tried out a PCI DirecPC system. I picked it up for almost nothing years ago, and never bothered using it because the thing only worked on was Windows. I've been happily cruising along with 128Kbps ISDN for years now (since it is really cheap here in Nashville, TN and I have a buddy that owns an ISP, so I get a free dedicated connect.) But, I got the itch for a little more speed, so I figured what the hell - I'd give it a try.

    I installed the card and loaded the software on my Win 2000 Pro machine, subscribed through the software, put up the dish, used a BitSurfr Pro ISDN TA @ 128Kbps as the "modem", and fired up ICS to share the connect with my other machines.

    Overall, the service was fairly slow to respond, but once things started to move, it could usually top the advertised 400Kbps. (Remember kiddies, I use "B" to denote Bytes and "b" to denote bits.) Latency was usually around 590ms round trip (this would be slower using a real modem for upstream.) I could usually pull single file downloads at anywhere from 40-65KB/sec, and could sometimes get throughput near 1.2 Megabits pulling several files at once. I did try it with a regular modem at 28.8Kbps, and with it, it did not seem to want to break the advertised 400Kbps by much. (I guess that is all the analog noisemaker could handle ??) All of that was the good news...

    The bad news comes from a few important things. First, the DirecPC "Fair Access Policy." This is simply a mechanism that they have implemented to keep you from sucking too much bandwidth. I met this head on about 60MB into downloading an ISO image (about 20 minutes into the download.) The policy claimed that the threshold was 169MB / hour (not if it THINKS that you'll pull 169MB / hour!) My download speed (according to wget) started at 48KB... then it fell to 24KB, then to 12KB, then to 6KB. Hell, I can pull 15KB using my Toshiba ISDN router - more than twice as fast as this thing turned out to be under load, and with 30ms latency round trip to my ISP! Also, the fact that the DirecPC software has to dial out on a modem (56K, Bitsurfr, whatever) for upstream service also sucks. I was hoping that it would just use my LAN (with ISDN router already installed) for upstream - nope. I guess the Helius setup would fix that issue for a price.

    One other important shortcoming - I could not send files upstream with it. You can connect to a server via FTP, and you can download files, but uploading was impossible. A quick phone call to DirecPC got a tech support rep whose explaination was that "DirecPC doesn't support FTP! Sorry."

    'Nuff said. Terminate my service, please. My ISDN router was promptly dusted off and returned to service.

    My opinion: Don't bother - even if you can only get v.90. I'm just mad that I wasted a whole hour installing that damned dish in the freezing cold - and now I'll have to take it down! ;)

  • The travel time into space and back is a chunk of the lag. In our case in Canada I've heard the satellite for DirecPC is 35,000 miles away, so that makes a round trip of 70,000 miles. That adds a lag of nearly 400 ms. The encoding and decoding on the hardware takes another 100 ms or more, and so you add that to the rest of the typical routing lag and you'll see about 700ms lag at best. I used DirecPC for about 2 years and it was never better than 700ms. Impossible for gaming. Not very good for web browsing and tasks like telnet are cut off very often due to signal errors or something like it. I think that basically if a bird flies by, telnet loses a grip on the connection.

    There is one thing that DirecPC does well in my experience: large FTP downloads. All connections have the quirk that they start as slow modem speeds and then gradually speed up. DirecPC will try to tell you that is normal, but it never happens with other high bandwidth services I've seen.

    Surfing the web, doing email and so on are not much different than dial up modem, except in the case of high bandwidth things like quicktime movies.

    Read the alt newsgroup on DirecPC or run dejanews searches on this and you'll find a legacy of commentary on Hughes, DirecPC and so on. This will speak volumes on the U.S. side of the experience I don't have.

  • It's possible you've uncovered the only good point about .NET! They have enough money to legally push around the wiring people.

    John

    ...and they said it couldn't be done...

  • It isn't particulary useful because of the line out requirement. I want to be able to use my computer in the middle of no-where without having to connect to anything. *Sigh* I guess I'll just have to suffer the limited range of cellular.

    -Moondog
  • What kinds of services are available, besides this one? I do alot of work from home, and my new place is well out of DSL range, and cable is coming 'soon'....
  • s/its worth it/it's NOT worth it/
  • Lite (2-4 users) $199.00
    Base (10-30 users) $599.00
    Unlimited (unlimited users) $999.00

    I'd like to see anyone use DirecPc with over 30 users... that'd be a site to see....

  • Not bad deal... I just don't like the look of the router, looks like a Compaq desktop.
  • We have some clients utilizing a satelite based system and see latencies slightly over a second.
  • Sounds cool... too bad it's Not Right For Me [starband.com] -- no Linux support, no server support. It's also $69.99 per month, with $400 equipment charge and $200 set up fee (professional installation required).

    It's also not at 1.5 Mbps. Download speeds are up to 500 kbps (150 kbps minimum... unless it's raining [starband.com]). Upload speeds "burst" up to 150 kbps, and average around 50 kbps, depending on peak usage.

    But it's available now! So if you can't wait for the phone company, and you're willing to settle for Windows, and you don't need to upload anything, then go for it!

    --brian

  • ...the satellite connection itself. Satellite "broadband" definetly isn't for gamers, since it has a 400-plus ping at best; and until now with this new modem for Linux, the setup was a nightmare.

    Satellite "broadband" is really more useful for people who just want to browse web pages. For gaming/becoming a game server, a cable modem or high-end, non-baby-bell DSL is the way to go. Of course, if those two methods aren't available in your area, the only way to get something above 56Kbps is with a T1 line, and those run for about $1000 per month.

  • When you use a standard phone connection, it's virtually impossible for someone to eavesdrop. A physical interception of the wires must be made, and that is usually detectable.

    In many places, phone lines are accessible from the outside. Often, one home's phone connection will run through someone else's phone closet. And in apartment buildings, everything runs through big phone closets.

    You don't even have to install anything in the phone closet, you just run a wire (either hair thin or boldly imitating the other wiring) from the line you want to intercept to a line that makes monitoring more convenient for you. The phone company will occasionally do this for you (by accident, one would assume; this is how I found out how poor wired phone security really is).

    If you prefer, you can put a little box somewhere along where the wire runs, pick something up inductively, and send it out wirelessly. Something like that is about the size of a sugarcube.

    Wired phone conversations may beat broadcasting your connection to a satellite, by they are trivial to eavesdrop on.

    The only safeguard against eavesdropping you have is cryptography. And if you are concerned with tampering, SSL and ssh won't do (man-in-the-middle attack), you need a secure communications channel. If anything, satellite connections are a bit better because, if implemented correctly, they may be a little less susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks.

  • Sure, look here [linksys.com] for the product--You can generally find it for about $129.

    Macx
  • Which would be fine if they could agree on when 2 in the morning is.
  • It would be both a site to see and a sight to see.
  • You can transmit information wireless with security, which would certainly beat out any kind of wired based security. First of all, with multiple transmitting devices, you can effectively "aim" the signal where you want it to go. You can TRY to gather all the signals around it and you won't be able to find dick. Then if you encrypt that signal as well, noone would have any idea what the hell they're looking at or looking for. With a wire you know exactly what's being transmitted and how, it's obvious shit, but you can do much crazier stuff with wireless signals.
  • Hughes is coming out with 2 way service next month.
  • Umm, it's actually launching next month, but yes, it exists.
  • What if you didn't contribute to the cable commissioner's last re-election campaign? Why should he do anything for you?
  • Sure you can upload via satellite. Check out www.direcpc.com.. Been out for several months now.
  • "But my cable company promised that they could hook me up this spring..."

    I called my cable company (and/or checked the website) every few months for three years. The response was always "we are upgrading the equipment in your area, we'll have it in a few months".

    Finally, it arrived. Scheduled to be installed on Saturday. Wednesday I get a job offer in another state so I had to cancel. I've moved now--no cable modem access here but "in a few months" there will be.

    I'm going to get DSL.
    --
  • DirectPC's low costs made it spread accross Romania. Even with a fast uplink (fiber, 350MS ping to sattelite proxy IP, the download rate is 10-20k/s for massive downloads using download accelerator (max 40k/s), but for browsing you can work something else and from 10 to 10 minutes to see another web page. DirectPC sucks.
  • ... if CmdrTaco's DSL isn't there by spring, this would make a kick-ass remote MP3-player.
  • "But my cable company promised that they could hook me up this spring, so I'm not sure if its worth it... "

    Yeah, they told me that two years ago. Look who's still on a modem.

  • How cynical. As an elected official - he will surely look out for the best interests of the people he serves - not some big faceless corporation.

    Oh wait - let me take my rose colored glasses off.....
  • Looks like a fairly expensive way to get a 400kbs uplink

    You can upload via the satelite link?? Don't think so! You'll still have to upload your pr0n at 56k or whatever.
    Sean

  • Were you able to set up your own starband system, or did someone have to do it for you?

    I had them install it. I probably could have done it myself, but I'm glad I let them do it. (read more)

    I ask because starband's excuse for not selling to southern Canada (which, if Maine is in range of the satellite, is most certainly in range) is that they don't have anyone to set the system up in Canada, and won't sell here unless they do

    While you may be able to set it up, the vast majority of people wont, even if they've done other dishs. Most dishes have two variables to adjust, elevation and azimuth. But the starband dish has a third, skew. The dish actually points at three different sattelites at the same time, one for tv, one for sending to the internet, and one for reveiving from the internet. The alignment is also crucial. The tv and receive parts aren't hard to hit, but the send component has to be dead-on. If it's off by only a fraction of a degree, it will miss the receiver up in space. There are also warnings about microwave radiation emmision. They tell you not to let kids play on the dish while it's transmitting. I suspect that they're worried about tech support calls, returns, and possible liability for installation mistakes.

    I don't think it can be half as bad as they say... I've pointed 3 satellite systems already (including American ones) and it only takes a few hours. :-)

    There are people in the RV/Camper newsgroups who take the starband dish with them and correctly align it at camp sites. So it's definitly doable, but I think normal people are more likely to have issues with it.

  • I've had two friends that have tried it (DirectPC regular version on Windows), with highly unsatisfactory results. Horrilbe latency, and you couldn't tell by me that you were downloading anything at anywhere near 400Kbps. You're better off with two tin cans and some string.

  • Quick question - After you remove the USB card and the metal plate, what next? Do you stick a NIC in its place, or is there an ethernet port hidden somewhere inside?

    There's an rj45 hidden behind the plate. When the modem doesn't find the usb daughter card, it switches back to ethernet.

    Would you consider throwing up a quick page on how you did the conversion?

    I don't have the time to put up a page, but it couldn't be easier. Remove two screws holding on the top. Take off the top. Remove two screws holding on the plate. Remove the plate. Remove the screws holding on the daughter card. Unplug the daughter card. Pull up to unplug. It's held in there by some ultra-thick double edge tape so it takes some force. Put the cover back on and your done. It requires a cross-over cable.

  • Post-Editing (Score:5)

    by SEWilco ( 27983 ) on Tuesday March 13, 2001 @10:17AM (#365921) Journal
    • s/there website/their website/
    • s/available on there/available on their/
    • s/comes with;/comes with:/
    • s/400kbps uplink/400kbps downlink/
    • s/its worth/it's worth/
  • this really is pretty damn funny!
  • I think so Brain, but how are we going to get a USB cable long enough to reach a satelite?

  • Maximum Available Bandwidth (Score:3)

    by deran9ed ( 300694 ) on Tuesday March 13, 2001 @10:55AM (#365924) Homepage

    Is it just me, or is the main use of a hard link to the internet the "always on" availability?

    Personally after reading through the "features" on the router gizmo they're selling, I take it as Helius trying to do a few things.

    Capitalize on not-so-tech-savvy people

    Capitalize on "that Linux groove going on

    Sell people on MAXIMUM AVAILABILITY based router

    Now this Maximum Availability ploy they mention is for them to reconfigure your router when a network or cable connection is down and will do little to nothing to get someone on the net, so they win with the not-so-tech-savvy people who spend their money thinking its an always redundant connection.

    I probably rather take an "always on" 128k line over a dial up satellite deal like this one.

    Ahh simplicity. Well the typical person will not need a fraction of a t1 connection to their homes for some time unless everything becomes bloat. People are often confused by the myriads of technology stuff so obscure and shoved down their throats they take little time to read the fine print.

    More power to Helius for gaining some sort of niche on the market somehow, as for me I'll stick with my SoHo Cisco 1xxx based home DSL router which serves me fine and has throughout the years at the fraction of the cost of this product. 700.00 US a year ago on ebay ;)

    True Life James Bond [antioffline.com]

  • Thank you!

    I was just about the post the same thing myself. If I had moderation points right now, you'd get them.

    I can't stand how bad the grammar is on Slashdot.

  • This thin server router delivers roundtrip IP unicasting (Internet browsing) and other services including dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP), SMTP e-mail, Web hosting, Web caching, NNTP news, FTP, UDP, Telnet, proxy, and firewall.

    I'm so glad it supports UDP!
  • Is there even a standard USB driver for Linux yet?
    I am currently downloading Mandrake 8 Beta, which hopefully will let me get my Quickcam working, but is there a standard people are able to set a driver to yet?
  • Ok then, consider me spanked.

    Seriously though, why then do you need ISP service as specifically stated in the article [helius.com]?
    Sean

  • space net www.spacenet.com is 2-way connection and a HELL of alot cheaper.. if cable or dsl weren't an option I would bullshit them into thinking I had a windows box .. and "muck" with it untill it worked under allmighty LINUX....and, what the hell are you going to do with a modem upload, anyways?
  • DirecPc now has unlimited time plans..

    It should be noted that DirecPc should only be considered for those that do not have any other broadband options...

    and it networks just fine on a windows system..
  • Same speed, dumbass.

    &nbsp

    See how much more effective that comment is when you take advantage of my bold tag services? Now with free whitespace!

  • Any chance you're in range of MCI or Sprint's wireless broadband? Sprint's service isn't all that it's cracked up to be, but it's still better than this.

    And depending on where you live there may be other local microwave providers. I've heard good things about Wavepath (wavepath.com) . I know someone who's been happy with the service. His Wavepath ISP is LaunchNet Wireless (launchnet.com). They serve the SF Bay Area. It's more expensive that Sprint Broadband, but it's much better.

    If low latency (rather than high bandwidth) is what is important to you, then maybe you're in range of IDSL. It's ISDN speeds only (128k), but it's a cheaper than ISDN. Rhythms is the provider around here.

    And check out dslreports.com, they have an ISP search engine based on home address.
  • my cable company promised that they could hook me up this spring, so I'm not sure if its worth it...

    TimeWarnerAOLRoadRunner promised me cable web access in NYC a year ago, and still hasn't "quite" gotten around to it.

    Lots of these guys are operating a vaporware scam to keep people from choosing other vendor options.

    Don't take 'em seriously.

  • Yea, like THAT'S not going to look suspicious in an airport. People will think you're setting up us the bomb or something.
  • Yeah, I really wasn't too clear was I.

  • I heard that DirectPC has a download cap. When you reach the download cap, your speeds lower to modem speed.

    Aka, you download a Linux ISO, and you get 40K/sec for the first 200megs, and after that its 2K/sec for an hour or so.

    I was told, imagine a bucket of water with a hole in the bottom, when you fill it, you have to wait for it to empty.

  • Because that would preserve your little conception of the world -- your anthrocentric view of our universe, where we are king and all other species must bow down in subservience. But I know better. I have seen the light, and so shall you if I have my way.

    We are not alone. I don't just mean because other people are around. I mean because there is something else out there, something bigger than you or me. And I don't mean some divine being, because that's beyond our rational scientific knowledge. I mean actual creatures, beings, who are out there and weigh at least four times as much as your average human, beings we have full knowledge of through their contacts here on earth.

    And I'm not alone in this knowledge. There are others like me, but they've been censored by the government and told they're insane. Ha! Imagine that! Isn't it easier to label someone insane than to have to confront his insights and wisdom? Isn't it just so much easier. You can just laugh it off, but it's true. Every word of it. My friends have told me as much, and I should know, since I've had a few. It's all perfectly clear to me now.

    Have I said too much already? I don't think so. It's my sworn duty as a partisan to show the whole world its folly now before we're annhialated. They have the technology, you know. We may have usb satellite modems, but they can communicate faster and further than we can even imagine. Picture the biggest distance you can imagine. They can communicate even further than that. Picture the fastest you can move. They can move faster than that and even steal your thoughts at the same time. They're not constrained by the same constraints that constrain you and me with constraints. They're more powerful than that, and I can't even tell you how much.

    They're out there. We can hide, but they'll find us sooner or later. And the longer we wait, the longer we have before they find us. We have to be very quiet, or else they'll find us sooner. And then they'll know what we've been doing and what we've been thinking and what we've been eating and where we've been going and what we've been doing and what we've been saying about them. Don't think they don't care that we're talking about them behind their backs, because they care. They might not be like you and me, but they're still no dopes. They have pride and they're very sensitive about it. Not at all insensitive like you and I are told we are. They care what others think, and if they're bothered by what we're doing or saying or thinking then they just up and take care of it.

    We can't wait forever, you know. Or at least I hope you know now, now that I've explained it to you. You have to tell everyone you know. It's the only way we can survive.

  • DSL (Score:1)

    by loydcc ( 325726 )
    I have DSL I'm happy with it. I think I'll lease a quarter T-1 and PBX when I build my house. That way I can have all the phone and computer bandwidth I want. Then I'll be 133t.
  • .NET is nothing more than the next version of COM, COM+...Next version of Visual Studio.

    Saying .NET is the next wireless bandwidth solution is like saying XML made my watch link up with a satellite.
    Don't believe the M$Hype!

    Rader

  • Starband rulez the two way dish market. I used to have directpc and it sucked in comparison. No limits and kicks direcpc's speed. Plus linux drivers exist for starbands modems, just nat and go no client license garbage (plus the source luke).
  • The two way service is rolling out next month.
  • Order your Linux supporing DirectPC USB Satellite Modem now and we will throw in a DVD-RAM drive complete with Air Freshener!!!
    Click HERE to order!!! [suck.com]
  • I've had ADSL since January of 1999, and I'm never going back. 400kbps?!?! Seperate dialup!?!? I pay $39 a month, including the ISP, for 768kb down/384kb up. I don't have to pay for cable service, special hardware, or have Windows. They GIVE ME a Cisco 675 router, that I can set my own password on, and 4 IPs using DHCP.

    http://www.dslreports.com/reviews/165

    This is ONLY worth it if you are in an area not served by copper wiring or a decent phone company. Cable modems suck. I'm sorry, but that's the truth. 64kbps (or less) upload for 400 users is BS.
  • .NET has nothing to do with wires. It almost has something to do with different software talking to each other over EXISTING wires.

    Rader

  • We (the non-profit org I work for) recently got a bidirectional satellite connection installed -- after a nine-month wait. As others have mentioned, the latency is extraordinarily high, there's the potential of electronic evesdropping, upload speeds stink (even with a two-way link), and so forth. However, we've also had really lousy experience with tech support. Phone calls get shuffled around and "forgotten," neither the folks at Optistreams (our OEM distributor) nor DirecPC nor Hughes (the parent company) really seem to know what's going on with the system, and we've even been lied to about the capabilities of the link ("Near T1 speeds," "Sure, you can run a server on that."). Additionally, and more relevant to the topic at hand, I was told directly that Hughes (the guys that own/maintain the sattellites) don't like Linux/Un*x.

    Has anyone else run into nasty tech problems with these guys and/or heard comments about Hughes' opinion on Linux, or are my tech support contacts just talking out their butts?
  • I work on the Helius Routers (PCI version) used in Australia and they are very reliable once set up - much more stable than the windows version of the product. The back channel can be any form of network interface known to linux - These usually take the form of a dial in connection or an ISDN link. As for performance: If you live in a part of the world with access to cable/DSL, the satellite is a poor choice. For rural clients whose only other choice is a radio phone dial in at 2400 baud, it's an excellent choice. Ping times are high, but the incomming bandwidth is great.
  • The original satellite ISP stuff required that the upstream be done over a modem, and the downstream would be over the satellite connection. But since the FCC approved whatever it approved, they're now allowed to do both upstream (burst 128/256Kb) AND downstream (burst ~400Kb)....you can get their server either way....the modem(ISP)/satellite combo connection, is cheaper (of course) - but the upstream speeds are much higher with the two-way stuff....

    :)
  • It could be a normal leather case. Or maybe a little bigger like a peice of luggage. It doesn't have to be in a freaky silver metal case or anything.
  • I've been quite happy with Sprint Broadband Direct service (www.sprintbbd.com [sprintbbd.com]). At $40/month, it sure beats what I was paying for a lousy 208kbps SDSL line. Zero software hassles -- when they were sure they could ping out from their laptop, they just gave me my IP address and nameservers and left me alone.

    You do have to be line-of-sight from the antenna, though -- my antenna is 10' above the roof to clear a nearby hill.
  • FAP = Fair Access Policy
    FAP means once you download your cap (aproximately 25 megs - your mileage may vary), you end up with about a 14.4 speed download. Search Deja for "DirecPC" and you will find about 100 disgruntled users for every one happy user... (and that one happy user usually turns out to be a DirecPC reseller!)

    Take it from one who learned the hard way...
    DirecPC is EVIL

    Run while you can!!!

    Absolute Stupidity
    http://www.13kingdoms.com/odd
  • I have DirecPC at my home. I'm not a friend of a friend of a friend who says it sucks (the same friend who claims that Bill Gates wife can't cook).
    Assumption #1: You wouldn't be reading this if you could get Cable or DSL anyways.
    Assumption #2: 28.8 pisses you off.
    The service does not suck. I'll even throw in the fact that I get it through AOL. Let me dispel some of what is being said out here. Cry, bitch, moan, my ping time sucks. When was the last time you noticed 200ms difference???? Thought so, sit down. Yeah, ping latency kinda blows, and granted I wouldn't take my clvl 45 sorc onto battle.net, but I DO take my clvl 25 necro out there with no probs. It's only 400 kbits. Well, it's more than 28 kbits. I've broken 600 kbits time and again. Even from sites 18 hops away. I'll have two live video feeds at the same time. Downloads are very fast. The uplink stinks. Yes it does. I no longer upload DivX from home. I have to go through the tedious effort of undocking my 8 lb Inspiron and hauling it to work. About encryption, AFAIK, the data is encrypted at the router before shooting into space with my decoder card ID. If you really, REALLY want to be able to get the raw PGP encrypted e-mail, knock yourself out. This is more secure then a script kiddie hacking bind at your ISP and throwing the NIC into promiscous mode. It's $42/month. Cable is $40 + $7 modem rental + $10 if you don't already have basic cable + fed tax + state tax + installation. All my equipment cost $120, but I got 3 months free service (call AOL ask for continuation on free trial, all there is to it). Yes, I bow to all of you with 3l1t3 bandwidth, but for those of us who like to have a lot bigger than 60x100 around our home, many of us are forced to use a dish. I enjoyed this article because instead of having a Windows 95 box with an 120 MB drive and VNC installed on it to distribute my internet connection, I might be able to go back to my one-floppy install of linux with auto-connect. Smile, be happy for your fellow /.'ers who will benifit from the improvements in technology, and stop ripping it so hard. You and I could spend all day ripping on 28.8 modems because it is slower than DSL. Why /.'ers insist on ripping this technology because it is slower than Cable is beyond me. Encourage innovation, especially in its infant stages. Wouldn't it be nice if you could get 400 kbit down to your Palm Vx someday?

  • In our case in Canada, the DirecPC service is encrypted so that only the card with hardware serial number on it can decrypt the digital signal. I don't think they invented this just for little 'ol us.

    DirecTV also uses a crypto scheme to prevent their video service from being viewed by folks who don't pay for an access card. If the DirecPC cryptosystem is as well designed as the DirecTV crypto, then there's probabably little to no chance of it providing any real privacy.

  • That's great - Thanks!

    Jim
  • I did the calculations once, a geosync sat is at, what, 22,300 Miles? At 186,000 miles per sec that's 120 millisecond lag just getting to the satellite.

    Affordable broadband has been hijacked by the cable and telco monopolies - at least untill the Msft monopoly slaps them around to get .NET deployed.

  • One way broadband. (Score:3)

    by Matt2000 ( 29624 ) on Tuesday March 13, 2001 @10:26AM (#365955) Homepage

    Is it just me, or is the main use of a hard link to the internet the "always on" availability? True, when I first got DSL I was blown away by the speed, but over time I started to use the internet in ways I never would have if I was connected over the phone.

    I probably rather take an "always on" 128k line over a dial up satellite deal like this one. Maybe broadband would catch on more if providers were more focused on that aspect rather than competing on maximum available bandwidth.

  • Then move out of the boonies into a city. Then you can get cable and dsl.
    ---GEEK CODE---
    Ver: 3.12
    GCS/S d- s++: a-- C++++ UBCL+++ P+ L++
    W+++ PS+ Y+ R+ b+++ h+(++) r++ y+
  • but completely useless for gaming. Satellite adds around 400 to 500 ms on top of whatever ping you would normally get. I'll stick with my modem, thank you very much.
  • The new two-way DirecPC system offers the same high-speed delivery of Internet content and file downloads to consumers and businesses, long the hallmarks of the DirecPC service, as well as a new satellite-based uplink from the user to the Internet.
    This satellite uplink bypasses the need for a dial-up connection, providing affordable "always on" high-speed transmissions from the user out to the Internet. The new system offers return channel speeds up to 128 Kbps, optionally 256 Kpbs, and delivers data at the same speeds as the current product, at rates of up to 400 Kbps. Pricing will be competitive to other available broadband services.
    The service isn't quite availablet yet. (Source Article [direcpc.com])
  • When I can walk through an airport with a laptop on one arm, and a smallish case containing a foldout dish and tranceiver on the other arm, with a GPS antenna and an arm motor to position the dish based off the GPS data, with 400Kbps up/down, then it will be useful.

  • That's quite a bit overpriced, and what's wrong with Ethernet?? c'mon! Then we can just plug it into a $100 Linksys router

    And why use a one-way system when slashdot already posted the store about 2way systems [slashdot.org] a few months ago??

  • wrongo, fella. liz claman makes all other women and girls look like disease-ridden scabby puss-buckets who give it away at the salvation army. liz claman rules.

    &nbsp

    Look folks, I hope I don't have to get the lawyers involved. It isn't that I don't support free expressions, I have no choice bt to protect my livlihood. If that means strict enforcement of IP law, so be it. Please stop violating US copyright law by using bold tags.

  • Too susceptible to eavesdropping (Score:4)

    by alewando ( 854 ) on Tuesday March 13, 2001 @11:10AM (#365962)
    The slow upstream speed is reason enough to avoid using satellite modems, but even more sinister is the potential for eavesdropping.

    When you use a standard phone connection, it's virtually impossible for someone to eavesdrop. A physical interception of the wires must be made, and that is usually detectable. That's the nature of actual hug-a-by connections. This is why wireless hookups are almost never used in classified or high-risk situations.

    But with a satellite modem, you're broadcasting your signal to the entire universe. Anyone can intercept part of your signal and reconstruct the entire whole. Anyone with another satellite has you at his mercy. Worse still, your signal doesn't just stop at its intended destination (the intended satellite) -- it travels out into the rest of the universe as a stream of electromagnetic radiation, to distant galaxies, and beyond. Years from in the future, someone can intercept that signal (just as we currently intercept the light from distant quasars billions of years after it was emitted) and know what your surfing habits. It's both an invasion of your privacy as a consumer and it sets a shaky precedent for how distant alien races will perceive the entire body of humanity. Satellite modems will surely bring the wrath of alien conquerers down upon our lush green planet.

    Technical decisions alone shouldn't govern which technologies we employ. They have strong and strict social implications and background conditions that must be attended to. Keep that in mind when you think to purchase a satellite-modem service.

  • I already have starband. Ok, starband sucks. but it's better than dial-up. And my service was lousy until a very knowledgable independant contractor came out and tuned my installation.

    But the point is that my starband modem (or whatever it's called) came with a USB port. When the installer came out, he told me to remove the USB daughter board and a metal plate from the device. The end result? an ethernet connection just like a real cable modem. I bought the linksys $150 broadband router (I know, I should have used linux) and now I have my entire house going through the starband dish.

    And for you sattalite ney-sayers, mine is both directions. I'm always on and don't have to use the modem return line. I can download from napster at about 40k per second (it's slow for some reason) and I've downloaded software at 120k per second.

    And now fow what sucks: It costs $700 up front for hardware and installation. The service is new so it's kind of unreliable, although it's getting better. I hear news and e-mail is slow. You can't use it for gaming because of stupid ping-times.

    But it beats the pants off dialup. And I can use an old 486 as a linux router if I want instead of a $2500 computer.

  • You forgot:

    s/Satelite/Satellite/
  • If you're going to be a grammar nazi*, don't make grammatical mistakes in your corrections. To put it another way, s/fits in/fit in/

    *As a previous poster said, this is a noble task, and we could certainly use more.

    --

  • Check out Starband.com for $60/month full 2-way communication.

    My friend said they wanted $200 for installation - he's a CCNA/MCSE Siemens network engineer. For $50, you can take a test and be a 'certified starband installing engineer' which he is going to be doing. Starband is at http://www.Starband.com [starband.com]

  • Ick!

    When I was first looking into broadband solutions for my apartment, the DirectPC solution was among those that interested me -- if nothing else just for the coolness factor of having a satellite link.
    But damn, the time-based charges and the lack of an uplink (except via ~30k on modem) makes me quite glad that I'm in an area with cable modem availability (via AT&T). Maybe I'm lucky, or maybe we just hear the horror stories, but I was hooked up within three weeks of placing my order and get excellent bandwidth -- both up and downstream. And I sure as hell didn't need to pay for any such fancy overpriced router/modem equipment like this -- my linksys broadband router does just fine for $150!

    http://www.mitwebcam.com [mitwebcam.com]
  • Cable modems suck. I'm sorry, but that's the truth.

    Well i'm sorry, but I must disagree, for 29.95$ canadian i'm getting 10MBps down(more like 2.5-3.2MBps in the real world as far as my download tests are concerned, still faster than Xdsl). Right now the stupid engineering department at the ISP capped the uplink at 128kbps for no technical reason, but the docsis modem could easily be provisionned to 1.5Mbps uplink. Hell the damn thing could do 40Mbps downlink 10.24Mbps uplink. Hey, here's an actual tech spec [63.166.115.9]. Of course, that's not as good an argument as yours, but I'm trying to get up to your level in debating skills(crossing fingers).
  • From the site [starband.com]:

    What kind of speed can I expect? The StarBand service can download content up to 10 times faster than the fastest dial-up service. StarBand consumers can expect Internet access with download speed up to 500 kbps and upload speed bursting up to 150 kbps. For download, the minimum speed will be 150 kbps. The average upload speed will be 50 kbps, depending on usage during peak hours.


  • Outbound requests (URLs, requests for pages, FTP addresses, mail sent, etc.) are sent to the Internet through the OUTBOUND connection (phone line, ISDN, etc.) to the Internet Service Provider (ISP). The results of these requests are then returned to the router (and your network users) via the high-speed satellite link.
    A sure technological break through. Sign up for internet service, purchase an expensive "router" and your off to see the wizard

    Helius Satellite Routers include Virtual Technician (SM) service for remote management. This suite of tools allows Helius or remote support centers to connect to, configure, diagnose, manage and remotely reboot a Helius router.
    Well I'll be... Spyware. The thought of having a company remotely manage anything on my networks sends an bad vibe down my spine. I wonder if their tech support people are trained enough to diagnose hardcore problems, and if their trustworthy enough (Helius that is) to allow them this sort of access. No mention of whether or not this can be disabled either.

    Even if local network or satellite connections are down, Helius satellite routers can be accessed for reconfiguration or restarting through a dial-in connection.
    The power of marketing!!! Sure they won't tell a possible client off hand if a network or satellite connection is down "We will reconfigure your router, but hey dude, you won't have Internet access!", I wonder how many non technical people will fall for this ploy and think a fully redundant Internet connection with this appliance.

    Helius Satellite Routers can be integrated into any IP environment. They work in any operating system environment including Microsoft NT, Novell NetWare, Apple Macintosh, Unix, Linux, and Solaris.
    sigh... Poor *BSD's no mention of them at all. I'm sure it'll work either alone or with Lin compat tweaks but its sad to see companies overlook the BSD's.
    Helius satellite routers use Caldera's Linux OS kernel and are compatible with all open Linux-based Internet applications and services.
    Now wait just a second. I 've used Caldera and its horrible as all hell. I would rather use MS than Caldera, I wonder if its tweakable to either do a boot install of another OS, theres no mention of it, maybe someone can ask for a test drive of this product.

    Anyways sorry for more rants, its Tuesday, raining in New York and my stock portfolio is in a Six Flags Amusement Park roller coaster ride so I feel edgy.

    Where in the world is my wife [speedygrl.com]
  • DirecPC has announced the two-way component that will allow you to upload as well. Starband [starband.com] is another very comparable satellite provider, which also allows upload/download. Both satellite services supposedly have a latency of 600 to 900ms.
  • And nearly as unnacceptable for webhosting, telnet or FTP. The latency involved in any connection can range well into the second-plus range, making 'instant' connections as seen with 50-250ms pings seem like slow waits. Despite the fact that you have a good download speed, it will still take many pages quite some time to 'respond' to the initial download requests.

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