Finally I'm on line in Aus!

[MathewA]

Gday all

I'm almost human. Just hooked up my bigpond account and I thought it would be good to start here.

How ya goin?

To sum up what I think of this place... The other day I'm in a shop and the lady asks why would I want to leave canada and live in Aus. If she'd asked that before I got here I wouldn't have been able to answer her very well, since I never got to Maroochyshire on the first visit. But since getting to Mooloolaba it's obviouse. So I say to her "this place is as close to paradise as you can get without dying first" This is one sweet! place.

Now if there was only something that could be done with the bloody phone and internet network here. Midge and I went to a telstra phone store the other day to get me set up. By the time we left we were both bleeding from the ears - all the details the poor bugger had tried to explain to us had completely mashed our brains to pulp, you need a degree in accounting to understand it all.

[ozwinner]

Now all ya need is the operation to make you a true dinky dy oz.
Its really painless, all they do is take these two bricks, and......................

Al :eek:

[Kev Y.]

Almost human !!!

You have bigpong account, no aussie worth his sawdust would sign up with bigpong :p

however you will be forgiven WHEN you throw your first BBQ and invite ALL of the BB regulars :cool:

[bitingmidge]

Howdy stranger!

Nice to see you up and about at last! Now... how many sleeps was it till SHE gets here???

(Your lathe I mean, the missus isn't quite so important!)

P (oops!)
:D :D :D

[Gumby]

- all the details the poor bugger had tried to explain to us had completely mashed our brains to pulp, you need a degree in accounting to understand it all.

That's nothing. wait 'til you get your first bill. They have a University degree in decifering them. :rolleyes:

[ozwinner]

Try here Matt (http://whirlpool.net.au/)

There are much better plans than Bigpuddle, and much cheaper.

Al :)

[MathewA]

Howdy stranger!

Nice to see you up and about at last! Now... how many sleeps was it till SHE gets here???

(Your lathe I mean, the missus isn't quite so important!)

P (oops!)
:D :D :D


LOL I repectfully decline to answer that on the grounds that it might incriminate me.:D

[bitingmidge]

Now before we get all thingy about bigpiddle, I must confess that from the perspective of one wearing a Canadian Rugby shirt and standing silently beside a bloke who sounded like he was on the run from the mounties there are more to this than meets the eye.

Didya know for instance, that the saving on the connection fee for the phone alone was an incredible $200 in this case? That the first six months of the contract are at half price, and the "installation" was free?? Of course the visiting the shop fee, the colour levy, the rebates for people who call you and all the other stuff soon adds up impossibly.

After that... well go somewhere else if you want, but I know so many in our town who have done that and come back because of lack of reliability.

Anyway, as soon as I took off the red shirt, normal service resumed. :D :D :D

P (Bloody migrants!) :D

[Rocker]

Matthew,

Many native Australians have no real idea how lucky they are to be born here. Every day they see on American TV programs Americans saying that America is better than anywhere else to live; and they believe that Australia must be missing something wonderful which is present in North America. North America has many wonderful attractions for the visitor, but in my view Australia is a better place to live. Our weather is infinitely better, and we are not afflicted with the prevalence of religious and political bigotry that is such a feature of American society. Canada is very different of course, but the weather there is even worse.

Anyway, it is good to hear that your first impressions of Australia are favourable. But then I can hardly imagine a pleasanter place to live than Maroochydore.

Midge,

It is rumoured that Elimbah will be enabled for broadband this month; but my computer guru is advising me against signing up with Telstra; he has an axe to grind probably, but he says that Telstra make you sign up to a 12-month contract, whereas other providers do not. I realize that you must be busy preparing for your trip. But I would be grateful if you could elaborate on the pros and cons of Telstra. I currently have two phone lines and Telstra provides my phone service.

Rocker

[MathewA]

Almost human !!!

You have bigpong account, no aussie worth his sawdust would sign up with bigpong :p

however you will be forgiven WHEN you throw your first BBQ and invite ALL of the BB regulars :cool:

I think you're on to something... Stay tuned... We'll maybe waite a bit, atleast til Pete gets back from Siberia. Then I'll plan something for anyone who wants to come up to the house for a bbq or something.

[Stuart]

Try visiting New Zealand next- if this is paradise, it is still a flat dust bowl compared to what's next door.

Ducking now!

[bitingmidge]

It is rumoured that Elimbah will be enabled for broadband this month; but my computer guru is advising me against signing up with Telstra; he has an axe to grind probably, but he says that Telstra make you sign up to a 12-month contract, whereas other providers do not. I realize that you must be busy preparing for your trip. But I would be grateful if you could elaborate on the pros and cons of Telstra. I currently have two phone lines and Telstra provides my phone service.
Check out http://www.whirlpool.net.au/ for a less biased comparison!

Here is my take (and I don't have shares in them!)
Cons:
They're big, almost a monopoly and everyone hates them.
They don't treat customers fairly with pricing. (Regularly change their plans and don't tell you that you could get more for less! :eek: )
Support for Macs is non-existent (just as well we don't need any!)
They are a LITTLE more expensive than many.

Pros:
Despite what people say, the service round here is excellent with no down time. We have used two other providers at work through the same telephone exchange as home, and both have had frequent service interruptions, blaming Telstra. Several of our friends have experienced the same and gone back to Telstra, one is just waiting for the "O" contract to expire, as she's had more downtime than up.

The 12 month contract is a con, but pays for the modem so isn't too bad. We get a 10% discount off our total bill including mobiles and phones. (This may not be enough to sway some, but just about pays for the internet some months).

There is always a current deal which gives discounts for the first six months or free modem or some other incentive to ease the pain.

I am not aware of a free install, free modem, no contract deal, but they may exist. My take is that there is very little difference in cost between providers, and it's hard to know what you need till after you've been using it for a time. I'd go Telstra, then change in a year if it's not working for you!

Installation by the way is another con; if you can plug in your computer you can install broadband.

Cheers,

P

[bitingmidge]

Try visiting New Zealand next- if this is paradise, it is still a flat dust bowl compared to what's next door.

You are perfectly correct Stuart, VISITING New Zealand can be quite pleasant.

P (Baaaaa)

:D

[Grunt]

But I would be grateful if you could elaborate on the pros and cons of Telstra. I currently have two phone lines and Telstra provides my phone service.



I struggle to find any pros with going with Telstra. They are more expensive and make you sign up for a 12 month contract. Their service is pretty ordinary.

Telstra do provide the infrastructure that all the ISPs in Australia use. This doesn't mean you will get better service though.

I have had just about the full gammut of broadband offerings in Australia. By far the best is Optus Cable but if you can't get that then go Telstra Cable, ADSL, satellite and ISDN in that order.

With ADSL, you can use just about any ISP. I use Internode who are based in Adelaide because at the time they had the best deal. Netspace was marginally cheaper last time I looked but so much to make me change.

If you go ADSL you can probably drop one of your phone lines. You can be online (it's a permenent connection) while talking on the phone.

[MathewA]

I struggle to find any pros with going with Telstra. They are more expensive and make you sign up for a 12 month contract. Their service is pretty ordinary.

Telstra do provide the infrastructure that all the ISPs in Australia use. This doesn't mean you will get better service though.

I have had just about the full gammut of broadband offerings in Australia. By far the best is Optus Cable but if you can't get that then go Telstra Cable, ADSL, satellite and ISDN in that order.

With ADSL, you can use just about any ISP. I use Internode who are based in Adelaide because at the time they had the best deal. Netspace was marginally cheaper last time I looked but so much to make me change.

If you go ADSL you can probably drop one of your phone lines. You can be online (it's a permenent connection) while talking on the phone.

Hey! did I tell ya... Being Canadian (we have maple sirup for blood) I make pretty good pancakes.

[bitingmidge]

Grunt,
1) ADSL is our only option round here!
2) My reference to service is in the context of no down time, NOT customer service, which as you say is pretty ordinary.
3)Despite what should be happening, it is clear that the carrier of the service has a lot less down time that it's competitor/customers. Of course it must be just an unhappy coincidence, but it happens!
4) On the surface most are cheaper, but as I noted, if you can combine your phones, mobile and internet AND you have a big enough bill, you can virtually get the internet for free, and that's pretty cheap!

Cheers,

P

[Caliban]

Matthew,

I can hardly imagine a pleasanter place to live than Maroochydore.
Rocker
Kempsey isn't too bad either. :D

[Grunt]

Just as a comparison. Below is Internode Pricing. I'd recommend the Home-512-Starter. Plenty fast and you can stay all day on this BB and not go over the download limit.

<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=4 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR class=cell-bg-1><TD align=middle>Plan</TD><TD align=middle>Monthly Cost</TD><TD align=middle>Maximum Speed
(Download/Upload)</TD><TD align=middle>Monthly
Downloads</TD><TD align=middle>Quota Control</TD></TR><TR><TH colSpan=5>256kbit / 64kbit</TH></TR><TR bgColor=#eee2d0><TD noWrap bgColor=#eee2d0>HOME-256-Starter*</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#eee2d0>$29.95 </TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#eee2d0>256k / 64k </TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#eee2d0>500 MB</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#eee2d0>Shaped</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=5> </TD></TR><TR><TH colSpan=5>512kbit / 128kbit</TH></TR><TR bgColor=#e4cead><TD noWrap bgColor=#e4cead>HOME-512-Starter</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#e4cead>$39.95</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#e4cead>512k / 128k </TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#e4cead>2 GB </TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#e4cead>Shaped </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#f8e2a3><TD noWrap bgColor=#f8e2a3>HOME-512-Value</TD><TD align=middle>$49.95 </TD><TD align=middle>512k / 128k </TD><TD align=middle>15 GB </TD><TD align=middle>Shaped </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e4cead><TD noWrap bgColor=#e4cead>HOME-512-Pro</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#e4cead>$69.95</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#e4cead>512k / 128k </TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#e4cead>30 GB </TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#e4cead>Shaped </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#f8e2a3><TD noWrap bgColor=#f8e2a3>HOME-512-Elite</TD><TD align=middle>$109.95 </TD><TD align=middle>512k / 128k </TD><TD align=middle>60 GB </TD><TD align=middle>Shaped </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Telstra's Broadband info site is down at the moment. From memory the basic deal from Telstra was $29.95 256k/64k with 300MB limit but they charge like wounded bulls when you go over the download limit. Internode and Netspace throttle your speed if you go over the limit instead of charging you.

I couldn't swipe the info from the Netspace page. The details are here. (http://home.netspace.net.au/broadband/)
Their basic deal is $29.95 256k/64k with a 300MB limit. They don't seem to have a deal as good as Internode at the moment.

[Grunt]

My reference to service is in the context of no down time, NOT customer service, which as you say is pretty ordinary.


One of the guys I work with has Telstra for his ADSL and he has as much down time as I do. As a matter of fact every time I've been out for more than a few minutes so has he. This is my experience with it.

I have heard that getting connected is faster through Telstra though.

[Grunt]

On the surface most are cheaper, but as I noted, if you can combine your phones, mobile and internet AND you have a big enough bill, you can virtually get the internet for free, and that's pretty cheap!



You can do this through Optus, AAPT, iPrimus etc. and get the same sort of deal and pay less then Telstra.

My view of life is a little skewed (you already knew that) because I have the fastest most downloads plan available because I use it for work. Telstra starts getting brutal with their plans at the top end.

Grunt

[Grunt]

Hey! did I tell ya... Being Canadian (we have maple sirup for blood) I make pretty good pancakes.


Did you bring any?

I don't tell many people but I started my life out as a Yank. I too have a thing for maple syrup and pancakes. Even before finding this BB.

[boban]

To add to this thread, I was with dodo on an unlimited plan for $49.95 per month 256k. I was then shown exetel's pricing and am now on the $60 per month plan 1500K. I think I get 16Gig which is more than enough for me.

And it flies like the wind, especially on good sites. I also use a Vodafone's $79 cap for my mobile which is also fantastic as I use it for all my telephone calls. I've been with them from the start and they have always treated me well.

Telstra for me never quite measure up, but I'm a tight bastard and hate giving the money away for things like that.

[Ashore]

Mathew ( god we gotta change that now your in auz)http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon10.gif
Matt If you wish to take Stuart's advice and see NZ

" the land of the long white cloud" or as anyone wif coof and culture says
"the land of the long white shroud" or as the maori's say
"the land of the wrong white crowd"

but dont want to fly there, go to bondi, ( the nearest dole office to New Zealand ) and see the culture first hand.http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon10.gif

By the way stuart what part of NZ do you come from , the warmer muddy part or the colder snow'y part
As a guess i'de say the south.




Thought for the day


About 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens each year.

[BobR]

Then I'll plan something for anyone who wants to come up to the house for a bbq or something.<!-- / message --><!-- sig --> Just the BBQ thanks. :D Good to hear that you are settleing in and mixing with some of Australia's big business.

[Sturdee]

LOL I repectfully decline to answer that on the grounds that it might incriminate me.:D

Sorry mate, but we don't have the 5th amendment here. :D


Peter.

[JohnM]

Getting back to the pancakes (priorities - food first, wood second), I haven't tried barbequed pancakes!! :D

[MathewA]

Sorry mate, but we don't have the 5th amendment here. :D


Peter.

Don't have it in Canada either but after 16 years of marriage I know when to keep my mouth shut:D :D

[Ashore]

Don't have it in Canada either but after 16 years of marriage I know when to keep my mouth shut:D :DMatt, thats the best part of marriage , the kissing licking etc etc ......
better to recieve than give ....cause that depends on your taste , or thers,
or don't they do that in canadahttp://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon10.gif

[Iain]

Getting back to the pancakes (priorities - food first, wood second), I haven't tried barbequed pancakes!! :D
We have them with Eucalyptus Syrup (oil).
NZ= Land of the long white cloud
qld= Land of the long white sock :D :D :D
(another one now ducking for cover)