Cell C… for yourself

Earlier this week, Cell C switched on it’s HSPA+ network in Gauteng. This means that we now have access to super-fast internet, at really affordable rates. According to Ookla (parent company of Speedtest.net), as of 15 November 2010, Cell C is the fastest network in South Africa.

I was given a USB speedstick (60GB over 12 months / 5GB a month) to test and was very impressed. Set-up was simple on my Mac. I plugged in the dongle and the installation screen popped-up, which took a few minutes and soon thereafter, I was ready to connect!  I picked up the following speed when I tested it at home:

The dongle is capable of up to 21.6Mbps. I guess I have to find the right spot in my house for best coverage / higher speeds but I’m quite happy with the results above. Read more…

Tags: broadband, Cell C, HSPA+, mobile internet

Neotel’s 2Mbps WiMAX

When Neotel first approached me about upgrading my connection to a 2Mbps line, for free, I wondered what the catch was. I was offered their WiMAX solution because a) I lived in an area with capability and b) my 24-month contract was up for renewal in a few months.

I was told that I didn’t have to pay for the installation of the new antenna and that the current EVDO device I was using would be of no use anymore. So they came and installed and after a week, my Internet was finally up and running. As soon as I configured my new “internet”, I checked the speed, and low and behold, this was the result:

I know this has been rolled out to a certain amount of users, which will explain the speed I am currently getting. While I am very happy about it [okay, majorly thrilled], time will tell if these speeds will last.

PS if you are regular reader, then you must like my blog, right? Please would you take 2 minutes of your time to nominate me in the SA blog awards. Click the badge you see to the right. Thanks a lot, and appreciate it

Tags: 2Mbps, broadband, connection, neotel, WiMAX

Neotel: what you should know

A lot of people have been asking me about Neotel in the last fews months. The most important piece of advice I can give on the subject is this: do not sign a 24 month contract if you haven’t tested signal in your house. Or you just might get screwed. When I signed up a year ago, Sunninghill was an area with “excellent” coverage. You will soon learn what that really means. Bottom line, do not trust their website coverage map. Read more…

Tags: connectivity, internet, neotel

gOS – Linux for the rest of us

When I saw this OS in the flesh, I had to have it. gOS is an Ubuntu-based Linux distro that runs in a Cloud environment. The simplest way to describe a Cloud system is that it’s an operating system that runs like a web browser (Google Chrome OS will be Cloud based). This OS is perfect for netbooks because it’s lightweight and relies on an Internet connection, so if you don’t have one, installing it would be totally useless.

I’m running gOS 3.1 Gadgets – and this is what my desktop looks like:

Read more…

Tags: google, gOS, linux

book shopping

I recently came across the Wikipedia entry of Ayrton Senna, the deceased Brazilian F1 driver. While I’m no F1 fan, I found what I read to be very interesting, yet very sad. I’ve never really been “touched” / fascinated by a person who I barely knew existed until recently, to the extent that I started searching for a book on his life story.

This blog post is not about the driver, but a comparison of what I found online. I just thought I’d share this info. The book isn’t available locally – well not physically at CNA or Exclusive Books but I found it on kalahari.net:

as well as Exclusive Books online:

I called Exclusive Books and they told me it will take 6 – 8 weeks, yet their site says 10-15 working days but that’s not the point. Take a look at the pricing! Where is the consistency? Why are we being ripped off? Okay, that’s a stupid question.

I’m glad kalahari.net is having a sale and I hope the book arrives by next week Friday.

Moral of the story, shop around. Don’t let yourself get ripped off.

PS Can you tell that I have too much free time on my hands lately?

Tags: books, online, shopping