direcpc - any opinions?

[tomkay]

I live in an ignored area with no choices for
faster data connections. Usually connect at
26400 bps,sometimes as low as 14000. No DSL,
cable, etc. so I was wondering if anyone has
the Direcpc satellite system. How good is it
and what problems are there? Online gaming is
almost impossible with what I have now. Kingpin plays for a few minutes then freezes/
disconnects, not sure where the problem lies,
Heat.net,crappy phone lines,or my isp. Thanks
in advance for any input.

[netsurfer]

I've heard some interesting things about DirecPC... And feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I've heard from a DirecPC user that the weather affects your bandwidth. No kidding. Cloudy days might be something not to look forward to after all. :P

Overall, DirecPC's given him some outages, inconsistent service, and a varying monthly charge. not to mention you still need a local ISP for the upstream.

For online gaming, ping is king, and a better modem, multitude of adjustments might be all you need.

If money is no object (since you expressed interest in dsl & cable)... perhaps, ISDN?

[JerseyJoe]

I don't ave directpc but I do have directtv and weather does have an impact on my reception. My tv starts to pixelate or I lose the signal all together during heavy rains. Another problem I have is snow accummulating on the dish, which kills the picture.
Not to be completely negative, even with that I am considering getting directpc.

[lost1]

I've had DirecPC for about a year now, and here's what I can tell you--
You do not have to have a separate ISP- the DirecPC site may say you do, but that info is way outdated. I've had DirecPC as my ISP since startup.
My monthly bill has never changed- it has always been one rate w/no fluctuations.
Bad weather will interfere with your signal- it's not often, but it does happen. Get one of those free AltaVista accounts as a backup- you'll still have modem service even if the sat goes blind for a few minutes.
There is the occasional system downtime- probably no worse than most ISP's. I went to DirecPC after putting up with Mindspring's lousy service for a year, & in my area, DirecPC is more reliable than Mindspring.
Get the USB system- the standard system uses a PCI network card, & if you have other network cards or a lot of other cards eating up your IRQ's, then I'd recommend you go USB. The DirecPC card isn't the friendliest piece of hardware when it comes to sharing resources.
Tech support is pretty good- they just put in more lines, so there isn't a real long wait for help.
The service is absolutely blazing fast-400K/sec or more. Keep in mind though, you are still at the mercy of the download equipment at whatever site you're connected to- sometimes you might only get 10K/sec, but any way you slice it, it's still faster than any modem made.
Haven't seen much variation due to weather like the TV (I also have DirecTV)- DirecPC either works real good, or it's dead (storms, etc). I've only lost my signal in bad weather 3 times- during real bad Southern thunderboomers.
All in all, I'd say it's worth it for those in areas who can't get (or don't like) cable modems or ISDN.
Hope this is helpful.

[This message has been edited by lost1 (edited 08-29-99).]

[Zacko10000]

what's the upstream like though?

[lost1]

Never had a slowdown yet...