The Internet - Internet Access Providers, The Good, The
Bad, And The Ugly
Today I have a computer money saving tip and a warning;
some information about Internet Providers; a great site for
restoring damaged computer files; and my next Question and
Answer.
Today I’ve got an update on a new service at the Bali
Computer Center (RIMO) Phone: (0361) 233-259 in Denpasar–
REFILL your ink jet print cartridges! I usually pay
260,000 rp for a new 3 color HP Inkjet cartridge. At
the new kiosk in the RIMO Bali Computer Center, they will
fill it for you for only 45,000 rp! Great way
to save some money.
WARNING. More in the next issue, but for now DO NOT
DOWNLOAD the free program called Spywarenuker! Do not
even go to their web site! Here is a free program that
will rid your computer of Spyware applications: http://spybot.safer-networking.de/
- more in the next issue.
The Internet - internet access providers, the good, the bad,
and the ugly
For those of us with dial-up internet connections that we
use frequently, the picture is definitely UGLY! When
I rented my house near Ubud about a year and a half ago, I
was advised to signup for 2 internet service providers (ISPs)
so that if one was busy or down or slow I could still use
the other one. I signed up for IndoSat and TelcomNet.
I tend to use IndoSat about 90% of the time now. TelcomNet
was more expensive and the connection tends to be in the 33Kbps
(33,000 bits per second) range; while IndoSat is in the 52Kbps
range. HOWEVER, sometimes IndoSat requires me to dial
in/hang up/dial in, 4 to 5 times before the connection speed
comes up to the 50Kbps range. Sometimes it’s 10Kbps,
sometimes 12Kbps; 24; 36; or 40; before I finally make a connection
in the 50Kbps area. (To put this in perspective –
if it takes 30 seconds to download a file at 50Kbps, it’ll
take over 2 minutes at 10Kbps). Then there is the problem
of the line being dropped (terminated) once you’re online
causing you to redial. This happens less frequently
that it did last year (good show – IndoSat). Then
there’s also the problem of NOT being able to connect
– sometimes it’s a busy signal; sometimes the
line doesn’t answer – even at odd times of the
day, like 3AM. So for us dial-up users, here are a few
tips:
1. Get two ISPs
2. If you have a problem, find someone who speaks Indonesian
to talk to them for you while you sit there. This will make
it much easier to get things working quickly.
3. Don’t expect the same level of service or speed you
had outside Indonesia. The competition and the number
of customers is not here yet. Perhaps eventually,
there will be many ISPs to choose from and the service will
be much better.
4. Perhaps in a year or so, “broadband” will be
available in Bali for us all. At first it will be expensive,
but for those of us that use the internet in our
businesses it will be worth it.
5. In a future issue I’ll have information about high
speed internet and even radio-linked connections.
Favorite LINK: One of the more useful sites on the net.
When you get those messages about missing DLL files just
take a note of the file name and enter it into the search
box at: http://www.dll-files.com
Q: In the recent edition of Bali Advertiser you recommend
using ‘rubbing alcohol’ for cleaning laptop TFT
screens. Excuse my ignorance, I've heard of it, but
is this the same as 70% alcohol sold at Apotiks? Dave
A: Good one Dave. No it’s not 80 proof Scotch.
It is indeed the non-drinkable type sold in apotiks and markets.
Have a question or problem? Write me at BaliPCAdvisor@GMail.com.
I’ll try and answer as soon as I can.
PakBruce, your Bali PC Advisor!
NEXT time: Buying PCs overseas and having them shipped to
Bali - good idea?
