ADSL2+ speeds can be anything from 1.5Mb to not quite . . . → Read More: The Rort That Is ADSL]]> Having the sum of five hours of travel to and from work each day leaves me plenty of time to think when I’m not sleeping. The most recent thing I was thinking about was how the promise of fast ADSL speeds are used against consumers.

ADSL2+ speeds can be anything from 1.5Mb to not quite 24Mb, dependant upon your proximity to the exchange. Technically though it’s not a straight measurement between point A and B because your proximity to the exchange is measured by the cable path/length between your modem and the exchange.

ISP’s never tell you where the exchange is. Because of this the speed you actually receive cannot be measured against any benchmark such as this handy graph from Internode:

There are 3rd party tools available to determine where your exchange may be, such as http://www.adsl2exchanges.com.au/, though due to their 3rd-party nature they are not accurate. For example, that site reports that my current connection speed would be 1.5MB  when I have 4MB (thank god it’s wrong!).

Here is where the fun begins: how many people do you think live within 900m of their exchange? How many in terms of physical household size could possible live within 900m of their exchange?

According to ABS data the average new house size in 2002-2003 was 227m² (link) but let’s be generous and say  it was 200m². The area of  a circle with .9km diameter is 2.55km². We can’t assume that the houses and exchange have no roads near them or that the exchange itself occupies no space, and local governments require a certain area of additional land per house,  so let’s deduct 50% of that space to allow for them (this is an approximation). This leaves us with 1.275km² in which, assuming a perfect world where everything fits, we can place 6 residental properties.

Based upon these generous numbers 6 households will receive the maximum speed ADSL offers per exchange, assuming that the cable runs directly from the exchange to each house. The caveat here is that exchanges are not necessarily located in the middle of a residential area. In my case it is located dead in the centre of Campbelltown which is entirely commercial with residential premises beginning at least 400-500m away (in a direct line, not as the cable goes).

2.5km from the exchange, the apex at which you can expect a maximum of half the speed advertised (12Mb), is little better.

Area of circle of radius 2.5km = 19.625km²

Minus the previous 2.55km² = 17.075km²

Allowing for spaces that are not houses (minus 50%) = 8.538km²

Number of houses which can be held in 8.538km² = 42

42 homes can receive speeds ranging from below 24Mb to 12Mb per exchange, assuming that the exchange is situated in a residential area and that each house has a cable running directly from the exchange to the house.

Is selling ‘up to 24Mb’ internet speeds while knowing full well that very few, if any, will ever receive that, or that more than half will be luck to receive 12Mb, deceptive? Hell yes.

I would love to delve further into this by examining ISP pricing and bandwidth costs to understand at what level they set their pricing. I presume this would show that a majority of customers are paying for a price established for a higher amount of bandwidth they are receiving but without the data to back it up this can’t be anything more than conjecture.

This made me think of my mum.

My mum had cancer . . . → Read More: Dealing with life]]> Last weeks Q&A, wherein they discussed Euthanasia, was one that I’ve been mulling over since. Most of the discussion was your usual crap that serves no purpose but one of the panellists briefly touched upon the informal euthanasia which is currently practised by hospitals.

This made me think of my mum.

My mum had cancer of the liver but it may interest some of you to know that wasn’t what killed her. What killed my mum was the hospital starving her to death because they decided without consultation that she needed a push to hurry her along. I don’t know precisely why they decided this, though I can guess it most likely had something to do with the cost/benefit ratio of keeping her alive and comfortable had tipped too far in the wrong direction.

I’m not angry at them for making the decision that we couldn’t (either legally or emotionally) and would never consider being litigious, but when I think of my mum in that last week it hurts because I know that was not what she would have wanted, regardless of it being for the best.

This is the only thing I have difficulty coping with about mum’s death.

After visiting the optometrist he suggest I get glasses because I am far sighted. While my vision is not that bad, I get headaches after looking at anything close for extended periods such as a monitor.

It was interesting during my vision test when he had me hold a card . . . → Read More: Seeing Everything New]]>

Everything seems much closer

After visiting the optometrist he suggest I get glasses because I am far sighted. While my vision is not that bad, I get headaches after looking at anything close for extended periods such as a monitor.

It was interesting during my vision test when he had me hold a card with some text on it and look at it and tell him how it felt as he lowered some lenses in front my eyes. I believe my response was “ahhh, it feels as if my eyes are relaxing”. It was quite a unique sensation for me.

I have to pick up my new glasses sometime this week and I’ll admit that wearing them will be a completely new experience to me. Luckily I don’t need to wear them all the time.

I’ll admit I grudgingly dragged myself from bed early on Sunday so that we could get to the zoo when it opened. We’re talking me waking up on Sunday the same . . . → Read More: The Epic Weekend – Part 2]]> In Part 1 of my epic weekend I discussed Saturday, but Sunday was much more involved because we spent the day at the zoo.

I’ll admit I grudgingly dragged myself from bed early on Sunday so that we could get to the zoo when it opened. We’re talking me waking up on Sunday the same time I do during the week – not good! Surprisingly we got to the zoo at the planned time and I continued to develop my fine glow of sunburn from Saturday.

We’d taken the twins to the zoo back when they were little but they couldn’t remember it because they slept most of the time we were there so it was pretty new for them, while being completely new for their younger sister. Madeleine was our reason for visiting the zoo as it was her 8th Birthday on the 31st of August (I got her the complete collection of Roald Dahl books which disappointed her because she wanted ModNation Racers and I am apparently the uncle who buys games).

All in all the day went really well. We saw a Koala actually moving (which was a first for me), a Pygmy Hippo with it’s mother (so cute!), one of the baby Thai elephants running around like a crazy thing after getting washed, and I took plenty of photo’s all around (which I’ll upload just as soon as I sort through them). The kids were incredibly well behaved too, though they’re pretty well behaved compared to other kids I’ve seen.

I got in trouble a few times for rushing everyone along because I wanted to make sure I got home for my 7pm raid and despite getting home at about 7:15pm I was lucky enough that the guys had saved me a spot and waited. I spent the last part of my weekend raiding with friends and couldn’t have been more pleased.

Next weekend should be a lot quieter, which pleases me.