[clue-tech] So-called "smart" hosts.

[Nate Duehr]

William wrote:

> (This is SO going to sound like a commercial, but hey... it's the truth!)

Agreed.

> I couldn't agree more!  It's too bad that newcomers to DSL tend not to 
> know that they can get cheaper, better ISP service from companies OTHER 
> than their line provider (i.e.: Qwest).  I've been with FRII since 2001 
> and I couldn't be more happy with their service.  As service offering 
> have changed in my area over the years, FRII representatives have 
> contacted me directly to tell me when less expensive, yet better 
> services become available to me.  Who calls their own customers just to 
> tell them they can pay LESS and get MORE service?  People who actually 
> care about their customers and show it; people like FRII.

I've had the same experience.  They also were apologetic when they 
changed an old plan for static IP's and had to raise my rate by $1. 
Very apologetic.  Almost funny, really.

> A user posting at dslreports.com on the FRII page blasts FRII for 
> supposed billing problems.  In that post however, it is obvious that 
> this clown brought the problems on himself by moving and deciding to 
> stop using FRII without telling FRII.  His story paints a picture where 
> he tried to cancel his service by reversing service charges on his 
> credit card and hoping that FRII would get the message.  When FRII 
> didn't, and instead tried to continue billing (and rightfully so), he 
> blasted FRII on at least one public forum.  Don't let idiots like this 
> guy bluff you into avoiding a great company.

Agreed here too.  Never had a single billing problem with them ever in 
multiple years of service and two home moves.  I get an e-mail with the 
billing info sent to both me and my wife (try getting a large ISP to put 
a second e-mail address on the account that will actually get notices 
about the account properly!), and I REALLY love their technical alert 
mailing list from their NOC.

The few times I've come home to a dead DSL circuit, there was already a 
mail waiting on my server (or one arrived as soon as the circuit came 
back up) explaining not only that there was a problem, but the exact 
root-cause and the estimated fix times, etc.  No typical corporate 
"shield" between customers and the real techincal issues if you don't 
want them.  You do have to sign up for the list, so it's an opt-in type 
of thing, though.

Sure the e-mail doesn't always get through because I never provided an 
off-FRII address for those, but if I did give them my gmail account or 
similar, I would probably never have ever had a reason to call them on 
the phone, other than if I rename a machine and need a reverse DNS entry 
added.  (They would delegate it, but I only have a few static machines I 
care about their names, so I just let them manage it... and I've called 
at odd hours and still was able to reach someone would could change the 
RDNS entries... they train ALL their staff, there's no "tiers" other 
than really REALLY difficult problems).

Happy to recommend them to anyone, anytime.  I put my dad on them a 
couple of years ago and he uses their mail servers (I run my own).  He 
raves about their spam filtering service.  Very well integrated, easy 
for an end-user like him to manage it, etc.

Nate