UPDATE: Globelines Issues, FIXED!

After calling Globelines’ tech support every single day over the last 7 days or so due to my connection issue (read: slow), two guys finally dropped by today, along with their Asus EeePC, to check and validate how real slow my connection really is/was since the day it got installed. Right… they fixed it! 

They didn’t stay long though BUT they figured the issue was with the Sphairon Turbolink modem. They started their troubleshooting by running speedtests (off speedtest.net) on the small black ultraportable. After failing to at least complete a single speedtest result, they both agreed to try a different modem. Bingo! With the new shiny black Prolink ADSL2+ modem, I got these speeds and it’s been pretty consistent eversince.

So thank you Globelines, especially to the two guys who came here earlier (sorry I didn’t catch your names) You can now close the third trouble ticket numbered 919792. I can forget about the past, and move on as all I ever wanted to begin with was what had I signed up for and what I will be paying for–broadband Internet. Thanks Globelines. Case closed. More power!!!

…AND it’s ridiculously getting slower

It seems my ordeal with Globe Broadband a.k.a. Globelines isn’t just about over yet. My Internet is getting slower each day (it’s just been two days). Check the Speedtest result above, my connection is WAY SLOWER than dial-up. Believe it. I’ve been doing speedtests since I woke up today, hoping to get at least a different result. But they’re all the same, the average speed didn’t even come close to dial-up! WTF! 

I did call the hotline yesterday AM, and two guys from Globelines (entirely different from the install crew who came here last Tuesday afternoon) came over to check the connection and speed later in the afternoon. Yes, all from yesterday Wednesday. And all they ever said was simple and quick: [translated] “Sir, this is r-e-a-l-l-y slow. We’ll try to re-set the connection from the main center to fix this.” Then they went off, speeding…

Now, a little over 20 hours past and there’s no change whatsoever. I am going to give one final call shortly and if this doesn’t get fixed at all, it’s over. I can’t go on being mocked like this at all, it’s not funny…

*Photo courtesy of Speedtest.

Globe Telecom & iPhone 3G on August 22nd

So the news is out, Globe Telecom will be releasing the iPhone 3G on August 22nd. That’s good news for iPhone fans all over the archipelago. Yup, the Philippines is finally part of something big at least in the tech world scene as the date also marks batch #2 of iPhone releases slated in other countries as well. 

Head on over to the Globe iPhone 3G page for more info about the subscription plans and how much they cost. The one thing that I didn’t like with all the pricing hoopla was the fact that there wasn’t any unlimited data plan at all. Postpaid plans start at 1,599 with these allocations: 100 local minutes, 350 text messages, 20 Wiz Wi-Fi hours (available only in Metro Manila for now, I think) and a measly local mobile internet airtime of only 40 hours–don’t forget: there’s 720 hours in a month. With that plan, the 8GB variant would cost PhP 16,800 while the 16GB would be at PhP 22,300. You need to be on the 4,999 plan to get the iPhone 3G 8GB for free (PhP 5,500 for the 16GB) and you get 750 minutes, 650 SMS, unlimited Wiz Wi-Fi hours and 100 hours of internet data. The usual 24-month lock-in period applies.

If you find the subscription plans appallingly expensive, you can always get the prepaid kits on installment at 0% interest up to 12 months with most banks’ credit cards. With PhP 41,889, you get the 8GB. PhP 48,899 would get you the 16GB model. Now the question is? Am I going to be getting one for myself? Answer: I will just pass for now. I am extremely satisfied with my BlackBerry 8320 along with my current Globe BlackBerry data plan, so that’s why. 3G isn’t even widespread where I’m at, much less EDGE.

But we’ll see what happens as we move forward as the iPhone is a really great gadget to have. Read the ongoing discussion about this development over at PhilMUG, specifically in this thread. Be informed.

*Photo courtesy of myGlobe iPhone.

Online BUT Stuck!

If you examine the photo above, you should be able to tell that I’m online now. I’ve got my weather updates in (too bad there’s none for CDO) along with my WAN IP as well. The Globelines folks have finally hooked me up at the new apartment late yesterday afternoon. But that’s just the good news. News always comes in twos. Now the bad news is–the connection has been so slow ever since! To make matters worse, I only figured that out when the install crew had already left the area. 

So did you want to know how slow this thing is? Well, it’s way under the considerable speed even for dial-up! You may want to check the image ^^ again, click it. It’s really ADSL eh? Take a closer look at the download versus upload speeds, there you go. Now I got those values from Speedtest and from my #1 widget, iStat Pro (get the latest version here). The download speed, the most important, is not even in 3 digits!

I guess it’s just not my time these past few days BUT I’ve got to bounce back. With that said, I already gave the Globelines tech support guys a call early this morning and I got a reference number for the record. They said there could be something wrong with the facility or the main center where my line comes out from. At least he agreed there’s something wrong! I just hope they would act on this no sooner than a month! Remember “the wait” I had to burn candles for just for the installation? It now appears the pain wasn’t worth it at all.

Stay tuned…

Globelines suck!

The story: I submitted my application to get hooked up via Globelines (or Globe Broadband) last June 27th, a Friday. And up until now (running 3++ weeks), I am still Internet-less at the new apartment. I moved in June 25th and, like many other professionals out there, I cannot live without the Internet. Without it, I don’t think I feel confident enough to talk to people. I mean what would I talk to them about? News? Local news ain’t enough. I need to know what’s going on with the world! And I would need the Internet for that, don’t you think?

I think I’m gonna have to give them yet another call today and complain this time around. You know I’m the type of person who rarely complains about stuff and services BUT I think this is way over ridiculous right now that it’s not even funny. I will update you guys about this whole mess/ordeal. I NEED THE INTERNET!

Rylee’s First Bday in 6hrs

I’m still internet-less here at the new house I rented so I might need to up my blog’s post count via BlackBerry for the time being. Nobody from Globelines dropped by today so that’s disappointing. Hopefully, someone will be here tomorrow so they can start surveying and would probably get me hooked up in no time. I’m crossing my fingers. I can’t wait until next week. I’d be losing a lot of time for sure… 

Rylee’s First Bday is almost here with just under six hours left. He’s on a late afternoon powernap right beside me on the king-sized airbed I bought as our temporary bed. He’s healthy, as always, and will transition to a “higher” formula beginning tomorrow. The milk brand or make is called Gain Plus. I just wonder why milk for 1 year olds are a lot cheaper than milk for 6-months and up. Any ideas?

Anyhow, as you can see on the right side, I haven’t been updating my Twitter a lot lately. Twitter via GTalk still doesn’t work for me. I think I really need to use the real GTalk client for it to sync. I should be able to use JiveTalk on my BlackBerry by then. We’ll see what happens later this week.

One cool thing I found out today was plurk over at plurk.com. Some people said it’s way better than Twitter so I gave it a shot… AND boy were they right! It just looks like fun over there! I will probably add a widget on here later so I could link my plurk updates. I love plurk’s timeline feature and the karma system, too.

More updates later…

New iPhone in the news!

Let’s start with the old news first, so here it is… I am not sure if you guys have heard but the iPhone will finally be coming to the Philippines sometime this year. Although it’s still unconfirmed if it’ll actually be here come Q3, one thing’s certain–it’ll be here in the second semester! And guess which carrier is going to carry it? It’s going to be none other than my favorite, Globe Telecom. Please read this link for the official Apple News article re: the deal that sealed Globe Telecom to deliver, release and support the 3G iPhone > Globe Telecom and Apple Bring iPhone 3G to the Philippines 

And this just in! Apple just announced today that the new 3G iPhones will be released on July 11th–that’s a week after the US Independence Day. It’ll have the same features as with the first iPhone and more–like built-in GPS, 3G and would now include support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. That only means the iPhone will be competing with the BlackBerry in the push-email category! There’s also real-time contacts and calendar sync OTA. And what also makes it a great buy (at least for me) is that it’ll be sold starting at $199! So that’s twice as fast for half the price. Plus it now comes in either black or white versions and will be available in 22 countries on it’s initial release in July. Read more here > Apple Press Info

While I am eagerly waiting for the release of the BlackBerry Bold, I certainly can’t just let this 3G iPhone pass. I will most definitely get it.