New Computer

[Heath]

I went to the Skycasters web site and took a look around. Is Skycasters just a reseller of DirecWay? That's what it looked like to me.
I'm having Directway installed Monday, so I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. I have read that the new Directway equipment is exponentially better than the older equipment. I've also read a lot of reviews from Direcway subscribers that download a LOT of material and have never run into an FAP problem.
I'm hoping it works well. I'll definitely let you know!

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Skycasters looks a lot like Directway but they are different. The dish in the yard looks to be identical except for the logo on it. And Skycasters is available for Apple computers, Directway is (or at least was) not available for Apple users. With Skycasters you buy the hardware and you buy your service speed based on the bandwidth you need. The skycaster system is designed for commercial users not for typical home users, I justify it via a home office, but the costs are pretty high. I had a PM about it from OkeeDon and thought I remembered the hardware cost at $2000, well I checked, I was right, the upfront cost was 2 Grand when I got mine, the monthly service is something in the range of $130/month. I will honestly say I never went back to the website to see if prices are up or down since I bought it. But the installer who put my system in said I was the first residential user with a 4020 unit that Skycasters was aware of in a 3 or 4 state area. . . I guess that means I'm an early adopter. But I've had the system for about a year and I have no complaints. In fact I like it.

Someday we might get DSL, I seriously doubt if cable will ever make it out to where I live because we are pretty rural with the biggest city nearby being only 6-or-7000 people and that is about 5 miles away. DSL would be better, but for me Skycasters was my only option and it turned out to be a good choice.

 

[OkeeDon]

Here's a link to the best explanation of FAP tht I've found: FAP Page . And, a link to FAPMON, a FAP monitoring program: FAPMON . You have to become a member of the site to download it for free.

I don't have a satellite system, yet, so I haven't tried the FAPMON program, but it sounds good and the price is right.

 

[dieselsmoke1]

Box PC's from Dell, Gateway, etc. are a good choice for the average user. I mention these 2 specifically because they tend to not be as proprietary in design as some others. I have no use for manufacturers that abandon industry standard form factors and connectors simply for the purpose of securing a captive audience for future overpriced repair parts.

For the enthusiasts, there's one answer. Custom build it from scratch starting with selecting the correct motherboard for the primary task and build on that. Motherboards are the blood and guts of every PC and their performance varies substantially. You'd be surprised how little improvement is gained by putting a scorching CPU on a cheesey motherboard.

 

[JASTN70D]

Could not have said it better myself. ! And I have tried. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> Custom build it from scratch starting with selecting the correct motherboard for the primary task and build on that. </font>
Before I bought my last PC, from Gateway, I priced out the parts from various suppliers to build it myself. I selected similar parts to what Gateway used and I wasn't far into the comparison before I exceeded the cost of the Gateway.

 

[dieselsmoke1]

Hey Mike....never said it was cheaper /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue">Hey Mike....never said it was cheaper </font>
/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[dieselsmoke1]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Hey Mike....never said it was cheaper /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )</font>

While we're on pricing, I'll toss this reference out for folks unfamiliar to try. For many years one of my main sources for computer and electronic stuff has been Pricewatch . These folks run a pretty tight ship. I've purchased many things from many vendors, always got exactly as advertised.

 

[Mark4510]

I think Billy P did the right thing when he bought his PC from a large manufacture. In my misguided youth I thought I needed to work in the corporate world so I spent many, many years working for Apple and then Intel in many rolls including sales.

Having said that, I would respectfully offer my opinion to my new friends here. I am not convinced that any person can offer the level of performance, usability, durability and service building one offs that a large box manufacture can. The economies of scale are not there. If I were very skilled at building my own box, if I felt I needed something extrodinarily different, knew how to trouble shoot everything and was willing to accept lower quality parts I might consider it. Other wise I would not even consider it.

I am sure that there will be many sincere voices of disagreement to my comments above, and that it is fine. For 99.9% of the population I think a DELL, HP, Gateway, etc represents the best solution.

A early Merry Christmas to all!