Even if Wizards does produce the VTT and make the CB run correctly, don't be looking to see a lot of devotion from Canada.
25 gigs doesn't last forever, and it means people will be brutally reconsidering things they do with their bandwidth.
Please don't ask for links here, if you can't find your way to UBB discussions currently underway all over the internet from Steam to private forums to industry sites like DSLreports.com, then you are incapable indeed.
The point I am making HERE is in Canada, interest in anything that uses bandwidth no matter how seeming small, likely just took a body blow.
It killed off my interest in Steam, I no longer care if OnLive is a dumb idea or not, and Netflix might as well ditch Canada and go back to the US. My son thank god is getting bored with WoW and I am even seriously considering dumping my internet (unlikely, but that's the mood I am in currently).
Sure glad I have the downloaded CB.
You heard it people. I am Canadian and Bell Canada has effectively made it moot.
Even if Wizards does produce the VTT and make the CB run correctly, don't be looking to see a lot of devotion from Canada.
25 gigs doesn't last forever, and it means people will be brutally reconsidering things they do with their bandwidth.
Please don't ask for links here, if you can't find your way to UBB discussions currently underway all over the internet from Steam to private forums to industry sites like DSLreports.com, then you are incapable indeed.
The point I am making HERE is in Canada, interest in anything that uses bandwidth no matter how seeming small, likely just took a body blow.
It killed off my interest in Steam, I no longer care if OnLive is a dumb idea or not, and Netflix might as well ditch Canada and go back to the US. My son thank god is getting bored with WoW and I am even seriously considering dumping my internet (unlikely, but that's the mood I am in currently).
Sure glad I have the downloaded CB.
See what you get for living in North Mexico
The impact that this has on DDI is the least of your concerns. It's a tiny footprint compared to those other data hogs you are mentioning.
Sorry to hear that pal. Try cable modems. They are faster and I don't think the cable companies are gouging like this.
Definitely sucks. Hopefully cable modem will be an option for you.
The Tekksavvy email cited the decision by Canada's telecommunications regulator "forcing all independent DSL and cable internet providers to substantially match incumbent (like Bell) usage rate caps."
Who is John Galt?
I dont understand though. Loading up the VT is like 6 kb ? Once opened , does it still maintain a feed ? Not sure to understand.
DDi articles are a few hundread kbs too. OCB/OMB are Internet Page loading up, do they take up Downloads counts ?
Please highlights me
Plague
Bell might reconsider with all the competition cable modem Internet services like Videotron brings up.
Nobody is actually reading the article Calron posted, are they? The Canadian government just derailed that competition by forcing everyone else to match Bell's usage caps.
I can only conclude that the Canadian government learned everything they know about the internet from the late US Senator Ted Stevens...
Bell might reconsider with all the competition cable modem Internet services like Videotron brings up.
Nobody is actually reading the article Calron posted, are they? The Canadian government just derailed that competition by forcing everyone else to match Bell's usage caps.
I can only conclude that the Canadian government learned everything they know about the internet from the late US Senator Ted Stevens...
Is it a real cap?
Or is it just "You can charge whatever you want if they go over this amount"?
But if your wallet is empty, because you prefer fine dining, and simply have nothing left over for even a hockey puck, then it is not relevant that the hockey puck costs so little.
Right now, I am pondering a business account as are a great many others. Business account = twice the price but real unlimited bandwidth and zero throttling. Some will pony up that extra sum and just go back to enjoying no limits no weird work arounds and no need to require odd gyrations to get the same level of usage out of the internet.
But like always, one has to ask, 'it can't possibly be that easy? right?'.
As I speak as of today, but not as of March 1st, my service costs me 30 bucks and is quite hefty for bandwidth capacity. Telling me 'oh you can always move to cable for 60 bucks and get 145 gig but faster speeds', is not my idea of thrilling. There is only so much speed anyone really needs. And paying twice for 1/3 of what I have now, is not an improvement. Merely not as harsh.
And the CRTC decision appears to be geared to seeing to it everyone converts to this limit. Thus mentioning services that currently offer a better deal, might not last long.
And THAT is why so many are so angry.
Saying the VTT is a very low bandwidth usage measured against data hog uses, is about the same as saying a MacDonald's hockey puck is cheap, when you consider the cost of fine dining.
But if your wallet is empty, because you prefer fine dining, and simply have nothing left over for even a hockey puck, then it is not relevant that the hockey puck costs so little.
That's your perception. Some people would simply cut back on their fine dining so they can eat.
If I watch 2-3 movies on Netflix every week, and this contributes 50% of my bandwidth usage, whereas the VTT takes up 2-5% of my bandwidth usage, I am hardly going to start pointing the finger at the VTT as being directly harmed by the throttling, as this thread suggests. Cut back 1 or 2 movies over the course of a month, and you have unlimited VTT. VTT is hardly the issue in all of this. If you want to eliminate the VTT, that's up to you, but this throttling is hardly the cause. It's all of the heavy bandwidth sites.
If it's necessary, it comes down to basic economics. If things are that important to you, you budget for them. The priorities are up to you. If you want to weed out the VTT, you're well within your right, but it's hardly something to be brandishing the torches over.
I feel your pain over the bandwidth throttling. I'm sorry about that. But this thread feels like it's trying make up an excuse to bash DDI.
but consider this.It's mainstream news, this isn't about DDI and it isn't likely anyone supports your position much outside of this forum.
It would be nice of this forum supported something commonplace like Youtube, but it doesn't.
This is a link from YouTube of a report on Global news for those curious.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=czP4TIX__5U&feat...
I don't need Bell Canada's help to bash DDI
It's mainstream news, this isn't about DDI and it isn't likely anyone supports your position much outside of this forum.
It would be nice of this forum supported something commonplace like Youtube, but it doesn't.
This is a link from YouTube of a report on Global news for those curious.
Exactly what is my viewpoint? I don't recall stating that this bandwidth cap is a good thing. Merely that DDI and this cap have very little impact on each other since DDI's footprint is so trivial in comparison to the saskwatches out there.
Yes, there is plenty about DDI to complain about. This is not one of them. If you want to complain about Bell Canada, the general forum is a much more appropriate place to do so.
Yes yes yes I KNOW, the VTT has a teeny tiny footprint. The thing is, a lot of people will be taking drastic actions in response to this UBB decision, and some will be taking the choice of NO internet.
Some will over react and greatly scale back anything internet without thought to what level of bandwith is required. And it should be mentioned, that just in wandering about this forum and this site, I am burning up meg after meg of bandwidth that some might not realize is the norm for are very graphically intense web browsing these days.
There will be a lot of ripples from UBB. I thought it was relevant to bring it to the attention of the community, that some of those ripples can likely reach here too.
That it has now attracted MORE than 200,000 angry replies from just a single internet campaign in a couple of days says a lot. That the Liberal party has actually in mere days seen a need to speak out about it says a lot too.
Am I the only one who listens to the theme from Benny Hill when I read threads on this forum?
Occasionally it gets replaced in my head with other songs. Depending on the thread I tend to get fairly ominous music stuck in there too. Like when I read a thread where on the first post I know it's going to be a flamewar in the first 2 pages.
Am I the only one who listens to the theme from Benny Hill when I read threads on this forum?
Nope. Well, at least not until right now. Thanks a lot.
I am on a 50/50 gig plan (peak/offpeak). I pay about 59 dollars Aus a Month (if you check, you will see that Australia ranks high up there on costs to provision of internet services ratio). i know a couple of ISP's in Aus provide unlimited per month downloads but its definetly isnt the norm. I also note that according to the article , no 'big' providers in Canada offer unlimited download plans.
It does seem like Bell is being a bit cut off at the knees here though. They onsell their product to smaller internet service providers who do offer unlimited hookups. So when Bell decided that all of these smaller providers using its product would have to also offer the same limits. I have no problem with this. Bell are offering their product to the smaller providers, these providers are then in turn providing a heavier draw on Bells resources than Bells own customers (on a person by person ratio). Bell has every right to stop this.
It does remind me of the semi recent American isps decision to also install caps by stealth. That didnt go down too well.
I could suggest reading danged near anything from this site, www.dslreports.com/forum/teksavvy but it appears you have concluded that as Auusies have gotten used to crappy service, the rest of the world should be ok with crappy service too.
You don't make money by giving it away. Teksavvy would not offer me something that made them no money. Thus, if they can offer me 200 gigs a month and for 30 bucks a month, which is less than a Bell users 40 bucks a month for 60 gigs, then it only makes it plain, Bell is gouging people willingly, and Bell customers are ok with being gouged.
I pay 30 for 200, but in a current typical month I am lucky to need all 200. I don't consider it robbery that I paid 30 and didn't need all 200. It's not like I am saying hey I only used 100 this month, I should only realistically owe you 15 bucks.
The thing is, I wanted a budget of 200 for a pre arranged price of 30 bucks.
There are countless ways to use 200, but it usually requires more than one person's activities. But maybe I DO have more than one user in my home. Bell seems to think a home should be fine with 25 gigs per account under all circumstances. As I see it, the typical Bell customer is likely a single person home, or a home with only a single user that has only a small amount of need. Of course they can think their numbers make sense (to them), because in the last couple of years, Bell has almost certainly been dumped by anyone that requires better service than they seem interested in providing.
If my choice was 25 gigs, or no other choice at all, I am fairly sure I would be among a lot of people saying fine, I pick none at all. What would be the point of paying for a service that fails to provide?
In Canada, even if not in Aus, the world as it exists for Canadians involves a great deal more than browsing web pages, sending email and little of any real usage of bandwidth. I am not in Aus though, and I am not aware of the cliche that passes for routine Aussie society. Do you not have the equal of Netflix? Are Aussies not routinely hardcore gamers? Do Aussies not commonly buy difgitally delivered goods? Do Aussies not watch much in the way of live streaming content? Is it possible Aussies have no interest in downloading danged near anything?
Here in Central Ontario and even more so in Siouthern Ontario Canada, we enjoy perhaps some of the greatest densities of modern 21st Century communications technologies and services. We don't have Japans millions in quite the density but we sure want their level of services.
Relevance to Wizards of the Coast. I want to be able to pay 30 bucks for my 200 gigs and simply not care where and how I employ my internet activities. I want to be able to have a DDI membership and be able to just throw it on the list of things I do online without giving it a second's thought. I'd like to not even need to care how much data movement is involved with playing 4th edition between 5 other persons on the net and not even care to know how much data is being moved back and forth.
Bell's 25 gigs is the same as being told to accept it being 2000 indefinitely because they would rather make money off of me, and never be required to actually spend any money on making any part of the system newer or more capable or more modern.
And when they speak, all you get are lies, falsehoods and data bits they can't back up because they know, we can prove they are full of it.
Nothing personal, but that is full of crap thinking.
I could suggest reading danged near anything from this site, www.dslreports.com/forum/teksavvy but it appears you have concluded that as Auusies have gotten used to crappy service, the rest of the world should be ok with crappy service too.
I guess you could choose to read his post that way. Makes sense, given your post history.
Everywhere I go, I tell them how Bell support is worthless compared to Videotron. Most people change anyway. Bell overcharge so much!
Speaking as someone who comes from a country that has ALWAYS had download caps and throttling for exceeding though I fail to see what all the fuss is about.
There's a good explanation of the basic reasoning for why a flat-rate system is better here. Basically, flat rate means there's no additional cost to the consumer for trying new things, which means new services can catch on much, much faster, increasing innovation.
It does seem like Bell is being a bit cut off at the knees here though. They onsell their product to smaller internet service providers who do offer unlimited hookups. So when Bell decided that all of these smaller providers using its product would have to also offer the same limits. I have no problem with this. Bell are offering their product to the smaller providers, these providers are then in turn providing a heavier draw on Bells resources than Bells own customers (on a person by person ratio). Bell has every right to stop this.
Allowing Bell the ability to charge on a basis of usage per customer effectively allows them to dictate the prices that the companies that purchase the use of their infrastructure can charge, and allowing any company the ability to dictate the prices its competitors can charge or the business models they can follow is a terrible idea.
And this has what, exactly, to do with the VTT?
Now on to the celebration.
Teksavvy, a company that actually knows how to make their customers happy has just taken their 30 dollar DSL package and raised it from 200 gig a month to 300 gig a month.
Or in other words, essentially told Bell Canada 'go perform an anatomically impossible act upon yourself'.
If you are Canadian, and not getting your DSL service from Teksavvy, you have the wrong ISP.
Because sometimes it is not about speed, it is about worth, and promising me blinding fast speeds, accomplishes nothing when I can only use that great speed for a puny sum of time eh.
My DSL is not as FAST as cable , but, cable is not even fractionally as useful.
300 gigs, man I can't even think up enough ways to use that much currently.
Relevance to those too dim to get the picture, Ya I can certainly see myself using the VTT when it shows up with this much bandwidth
And I am unlikely to worry about the wife recently installing DDO on her laptop (seems the son and her are thinking of playing). I might even join them. Looks like the son is getting bored of WoW.
And Netflix is looking doable.
And I might be able to see the utility of having a Youtube channel (which could include my D&D interests among other things). I should add, I bought Monster Vault on the strength of a good visual demo on YouTube.
But hey, those in nations that think teeny tiny allottments of bandwidth make sense, it's your country, run it as you feel like eh.
I’ve removed content from this thread because baiting is a violation of the Code of Conduct. You can review the Code of Conduct here: wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg...
If the big companies do not want to offer illimited access, that is their choice but they should not try to bankrupt smaller companies that can survive because they offer it by influencing the CRTC with their too well paid stables of lawyers.
In this day and age, the CRTC limiting internet usage by forbidding illimited plans is a major step backwards and will not hold. Try to imagine any company having to limit the number of emails their staff can send to clients. If they haven't backed down already (from Harper's request), they will not have the choice when they see the outcry this will create.
If the big companies do not want to offer illimited access, that is their choice but they should not try to bankrupt smaller companies that can survive because they offer it by influencing the CRTC with their too well paid stables of lawyers.
Combine that with the U.S. laws they are trying to pass to control what sites you can visit and you got what I call a 'military state' where individuals rights are restricted and the people in control answer to no one...
I could likely benefit from some as well hehe.This was an underhanded move on the major companies parts, as they attempted to destroy all small-business competition by charging the same data rates to secondary-market ISPs, thereby forcing them to defer costs, and resulting in their consumers fleeing to the major ISPs as they would be cheaper.
It was also a method by which said television providers could wholesale destroy their online competitiors such as Netflix, who were legitimately stealing some portion of their market share.
Furthermore, their argument that only pirates require high bandwidth is an absurd strawman argument made to mask their true intentions (eliminating the competition). The average MMORP gamer easily consumes 20-50gig/month in their online activites, and I myself watch most of my television programming via legal streaming video sites such as Global or CTV* (which quickly eats up the bandwidth at an average of 1gig (or more) per show).
*Both of which we are forced to pay the cable companies money in order to maintain.
All in all, it came down to an issue of unfair practice, and was squashed in the government. I sincerely hope all future attempts are equally kaiboshed, as limiting consumers to less than 200gig makes the attractiveness of Netflix (or future companies of its kind) a non-issue as well as all but destroying the lucrative online gaming industry.
I too live in Canada, and I can state for the record that the issue is still on-going
Nobody is questioning that it occurred / is occurring. The question that was asked is how this is in any way relevant to D&D. Some folks have even sympathized with the OP for the frustration this creates, but it is NOT D&D related. Attempts to link it to D&D have been feeble at best, given the very low connection requirements of even the heaviest resource elements.
I too live in Canada, and I can state for the record that the issue is still on-going
Nobody is questioning that it occurred / is occurring. The question that was asked is how this is in any way relevant to D&D. Some folks have even sympathized with the OP for the frustration this creates, but it is NOT D&D related. Attempts to link it to D&D have been feeble at best, given the very low connection requirements of even the heaviest resource elements.
Any continuing attempts to apply logic to this will continue to be met with resistance as well as insults. Have you not learned anything?