[CCC News] Assorted News 43 - NBN in Armidale and surrounds :)

Michael Kean michael at auzzie.net
Sat May 12 22:45:45 AEST 2012 

*In this edition:
**
*Fast Internet, Fast Computers, Hot Heads, and a Black Cat...
*
**Assorted News:
*    Finally over the Singapore British Australian Flu bug.
     NBN Wireless (and Fibre) now available for much of Armidale...

*Handy Tips:
*    Low Tech Winter Tips.
     Make your computer four times faster?
     DIY Websites.

*Other Stuff:
*Who wants to buy an exercise bike? (or sell a Treadmill.)
     Cancelled my Merchant Facilities - free swipe machine materials to 
first responder!

*
*
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*Finally over the Singapore British Australian Flu bug.*
*
*As many of you noticed, I was off crook for a week or so with a bug 
that turned me into a bit of a zombie. Back on deck now and catching up 
fairly well. The family visit went very well, bar everyone getting sick!

*NBN Wireless (and fibre) now available for much of Armidale...*

A few days ago I was going to send out an email to let you all know that 
NBN is now available wirelessly in Armidale and some surrounding areas. 
However before doing so I thought I better run the text of the proposed 
email via Exetel in case I had any facts wrong. They amended it (with 
the text in red) causing it to sound a bit more advertorial than I 
intended. So, in the interest of keeping the distinction clear, here's 
the email back from them, with their edits in red :)

    Just a quick note to let you know that it is now possible to get
    onto the NBNNetwork via Fibre and Fixed Wireless connections in
    Armidale and some surrounding areas.

    To see if you're in a covered area, check out
    http://www.nbnco.com.au/rollout/rollout-map.html (Type in Armidale)

    At this stage, I can do NBN Wireless connections via NBN's Retail
    Service Provider - Exetel at a guaranteed 12Mbps down 1Mbps up speed.

    Two plans available:

    Smaller one: $100 to get started, $35 a month for 50GB of Internet
    per month, on a 12 month contract.
    Larger one: $30 to get started, $47.50 a month for 100GB of Internet
    per month, on a 12 month contract.

    If you are happy with these options and ready to order, NBN will
    visit your premises to install hardware and carry out some speed
    tests to ensure that you are eligible for the service and the speeds
    mentioned, after you have submitted an order which I am happy to
    assist with/can do on your behalf.If they can't get the fibre speeds
    mentioned on the planthey won't proceed with the order. (Hooray - no
    more standing on the roof for me!)

    If you want, you can also get rid of your landline ("naked
    service")and keep your existing number as a VoIP service, with
    $5.00per month minimum costwhich includes 60 calls to all landlines
    within Australia . This willrequire a special telephone or box worth
    about $150-$250. Otherwise, all you might want is a WiFi router
    which I get for around $50 each.AVoIP service offers real value for
    money compared to a standard telephone line (which normally costs
    $25.00 a month for line rental (excluding any call charges which are
    generally 15 -- 20 cents per call or per minute) with calls to local
    and national numbers as low as 10 cents a call. Plus Exetel VoIP to
    VoIP is free.

    Give me a call or an email if you want more info, etc. Note that the
    larger plan is only available via myself as an Exetel agent.

    Disclaimer: I'd earn about $5 a month from Exetel if you sign up
    with me (Agent N040), in exchange for which I would be your first
    person to contact if you had issues.(or perhaps -- ordering through
    an Exetel agent (myself) will give you the opportunity to contact me
    directly for any technical assistance and I can also provide on-site
    assistance and setup.

    Cheers, Mike.

I should mention that there are other plans available if you can get 
fibre - see the normal ones here 
<http://www.exetel.com.au/residential-fibre-pricing-mainland.php>, and 
the agent-only ones here 
<http://auzzie.net/files/NBN%20Agent%20Only%20Plans.jpg>. You can check 
if you address is covered for fibre here. 
<http://www.exetel.com.au/residential-fibre-tas-sq.php> Note that the 
NBN Wireless plans are 'fixed wireless' which means an aerial on your 
roof, as opposed to 'mobile broadband' that you get with Telstra and Optus.

The main advantage of NBN Wireless over Optus or Telstra's wireless is 
likely to be the guaranteed speed.

If you can't get the NBN Wirelessly or via Fibre, you will eventually be 
able to get it via Satellite, but I don't know when that will be happening.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
Low Tech Winter Tips.*

Now that the cooler weather is almost upon us, I'll revise a couple of 
ways of saving money at home on heating. They are a little 
unconventional, but then so am I ;-)

*/1 - Crack out the bubble wrap./

*OK I've covered this one before. By simply spraying your windows with a 
mist of water then applying some bubble wrap to the inside, you create a 
poor man's version of double glazing. This also means you don't have to 
be so fussy about closing up the curtains, so you can enjoy the natural 
light. Example here 
<https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-slGbJCSC7rE/T65FhcouKYI/AAAAAAAAFt8/TIk98dbd3WA/s800/Bubblewrap%2520Windows.32.jpg>. 
Note that the bubble side faces the glass.

*/2 - Make Your Own Sunlight?/

*As you might recall I'm a big fan of Halogen heaters 
<http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_product_1200w-halogen-heater_4010.aspx> 
since they radiate heat towards you rather than trying to heat an entire 
room, and use half the power of a fan heater on high. This year I am 
trying a new trick for keeping warm cheaply. An Outdoor Halogen Work Light!

As you can see in the example picture here 
<https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vyQozxMnVwo/T65HzTn-3HI/AAAAAAAAFuM/HAJbMt114DI/s800/Halogen%2520Cat.45.jpg> 
- I've positioned a 500 watt work light above the couch where I mostly 
relax, watch TV, type up daily accounts, and write these newsletters. 
This provides a bright amount of light as you'd expect, but also 
radiates a pleasant warmth, which you can see Prado (the black cat) 
taking full advantage of. Naturally you'll want to make sure the light 
is not too close to anything flammable.

It might also clash with your home decor!

*Make your computer four times faster?

*Well, four times faster is a little subjective; but probably realistic.

Inside your computer is probably a part called a hard drive. Inside it 
is a disk spinning around at somewhere between 5400 and 7200 RPM. There 
is also a head that reads and writes the information. It's works a bit 
like a super-fast record player. As a result, they have a speed limit 
typically around 80 MB per second. (Pretend it's a car speed limit if 
that's easier!)

They also slow down to about 5-10MB per second when you ask them to do 
two things at once - which happens quite a lot inside a computer with 
all those updates going on in the background, virus scanners, etc (Just 
like driving around town in a car, lots of distractions.)

You can now buy a thing called a Solid State Drive. It basically 
performs the job of a hard drive, but with a more-or-less constant speed 
limit close to 500MB per second. (Or 500km/h if you're still thinking 
about cars! Always on the freeway...)  It does this by replacing the 
spinning disk with stuff similar to what you find in memory sticks and 
thumb drives.

Now, they're still relatively new tech at this stage, and are priced to 
match; but if you have a computer or laptop less than about 6 years old 
that is starting to slow down; it could be the best thing you can now 
buy for it to speed it up. Here are some example prices and sizes 
<http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/products/1773/?page=1>.

It usually takes about 30-60 minutes to install, depending on how much 
stuff there is to copy from your old hard drive onto it.

Those technically minded might be wondering about CPUs. Well, roughly 
speaking CPUs are for 'thinking' whereas hard drives are for 'doing.' An 
SSD won't make your computer 'think' any faster, but it will be much 
faster at 'doing' anything that involves moving data back and forth on 
the drive. Looking at the Internet mostly involves a fair bit of both. 
If you want to know when your computer is 'doing' stuff as opposed to 
'thinking' - look at the hard drive light. When it's on, it's busy 
(mostly waiting) for the hard drive to do stuff. (The hard drive light 
is the one that's flashing all the time, although some new laptops have 
done away with it; and apple chucked theirs away in the '80s.)

*DIY Websites.

*As many of you know, I offer web hosting <http://auzzie.net/hosting/> 
from $4 a month, and basic web page creation services. While the 
simplest website system I offer is probably WordPress, and I am 
moderately proficient in Joomla, you might also like to check out a 
competitor called SquareSpace <http://www.squarespace.com/>. Their rates 
start at $8 per month, and you can have a two week free trial with no 
money down to see if their system is any good for you. Their website 
building system is simple to use, and for a beginner who wants to do it 
all themselves could perhaps be better than what I have to offer.


------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Exercise Bike for Sale.

*Now this might be a tough one. It seems to me everybody has an unwanted 
exercise bike hiding in their sheds or out on the verandah. (I've even 
got a horrible old one locked up in the back, back shed - grabs on each 
rotation.) But, I'm looking to upgrade to a treadmill and there ain't 
enough space in the house. (Unless I chuck out something that isn't 
mine...)

So, feel free to make an offer on this good Exercise Bike 
<https://plus.google.com/photos/116830952460629218664/albums/5741625954125548401>. 
It's probably got about 50km on the clock so it's still a baby. (Hey - I 
take the dog for a run every night on the real one - don't judge me! 
hehe.) And if you have an electric treadmill to sell let me know.

*Cancelled my Merchant Facilities - free swipe machine materials to 
first responder!*

Well, 10 years or so ago, the Commonwealth Bank set up a service for me 
so I could take payments via Credit Card. However, I'd be lucky if I did 
one or two a month, so to save on the fees and hassle of having to hand 
write every transaction, I have cancelled the service.

As a result, I have about 50 debit vouchers, 50 merchant summaries, a 
few merchant envelopes and 20 credit vouchers free to anybody who wants 
them.

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Well, another newsletter done. Business is going pretty well at the moment.


*Old Editions
*You can find old editions of this newsletter on  the CCC Blog. 
http://auzzie.net/cccblog/

You can also subscribe or unsubscribe at 
http://auzzie.net/mailman/listinfo/ccc-news_auzzie.net
*
*
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Michael Kean
*Proprietor, Cool Country Consulting.*
Trading Hours: 10am to 8pm weekdays.
http://coolhelp.com.au/
Tel: 02 6775 0239 Fax: 02 8212 9582 Mob: 0427 644 825
Chat contacts: WLM: michael at auzzie.net Skype: cccons

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