Tele2 (and Telefónica)

Last Wednesday, when I arrived home my Internet service was down. As I received an SMS from Tele2 informing that I should install the router once I lose my ADSL connection, I connected my new router. Of course, it did not work. A tried to go back and put my old ADSL router, but it did not work either. Not even the phone.
So it finally happened. I was without ADSL connection at home. Luckily, I own a Simyo card and thus I am not without Internet connection, although the pure 3G connections was a bit slow. The fact is that it is quite inconvenient to pay for a service and not to receive it.
Thursday morning I called Tele2 and they told me that this is an illegal practice by Telefonica and that I should complain because I should receive my former service until I am switched to the new one... I decided not to do so and loose hours hung of the phone talking with a telephone operators that has not too many possibilities to help me and just hope that, as promised when I signed for the Tele2 service, in 25 days I would have my ADSL service up.
Finally, on Saturday morning I received the redemptive SMS informing that my ADSL service was activated. I connected the router and started browsing!!
My happiness was short because when I did a speed test the results were not very impressive. The connection is more or less performing like the 3Mb line I had with Telefonica as can be seen in the following test results.



It improves the upload speed, that for the 3Mb "Duo" was of 320Kbps, but the download speed is more or less the same. The promised bandwidth in the Tele2 offer was 20Mbps, I was sure this was not been going to be achieved, but I expected a connection speed of around 8Mb.
The conditions of the DSL connection are not bad:

noise margin downstream: 15 db
noise margin upstream: 17 db
attenuation downstream: 39 db
attenuation upstream: 26 db

And following this article the connection should achieve ~11Mb.

So, to conclude this series of posts, a summary.

The timeline has been:
1st of October 2008 at 23:50. Started the migration process in the Tele2 website and received an email of confirmation stating that the process would take around 25 days.
6th of October 2008 at 19:36 Received an SMS stating that the process was already started and I would receive the Wifi Router at home in brief.
7th of October Received a letter with the contract inside to be returned to Tele2.
8th of October Returned it signed.
20th of October Received the Router package at home and an SMS informing that I have to connect and installed it when my present service goes down.
22nd of October Lose the Telefonica service
23rd of October I call Tele2 to complaint because the lost of service. They inform me that it has not been yet activated.
25th of October at 08:40 I received a SMS saying that my service is up. I connect the modem and it works!!

Indeed, 24 days after requesting the service I had my service up and running!
Speed is not impressive, but it overperforms my previous service with Telefonica.
Price is the most competitive offer out there. It halves my previous payments to Telefonica.

So, I think that the change has been good... and will work to improve the speed complaining to Tele2... to be continued ;-)

Tele2 (II)

Today I have received the Wifi Router and the documentation for the setting up of my new Internet connection. Not so bad, 19 days after the request via the website. Anyhow, I have not received any call from my present provider, Telefonica, as to make me a counteroffer... I thought I would receive such a call as I received it when I was switching from Movistar to Vodafone in my mobile phones service.
As the planned timeline to switch was 25 days I expect to receive the SMS indicating that the service has been successfully started withing 6 days...

Bradford Robotic Telescope and eyeOS

Well, while I wait for my switch to Tele2 from Telefonica, I have discovered some things in the Internet world. One of them is the Bradford Robotic Telescope. A fully automated installation in the Teide Observatory that gives support to students all around the world in order to explore the night sky. Beside its scientific and pedagogic interest it has a page where the webcams that are in the observatory continuously show the state of its surroundings. One of the cams gives a night vision of the Teide from Izaña, the mount where the Teide observatory is set on. Each day they generate a video with the pictures taken. The one from Yesterday night is quite breathtaking because some high altitude clouds. Just have a look to it and enjoy!



The other thing I recently discovered, well actually rediscovered as I heard about them a year a half ago, is eyeOS. A web OS system founded by a Catalan guy that can be downloaded and set up on any Apache-PHP5 enabled machine. I installed mine and am evaluating it... my next step is to access from the Internet and my mobile phone while on the go!!!

Tele2

Some days ago I started the process of changing my present Internet Service Provider. I was receiving this service from Telefónica, but after more than one year (the minimum time you have to be with them after a "free" installation of a fixed line) and the announcement that the 3Mb ADSL only would be upgraded to the 6Mb service after paying for the Antivirus service, even if you do not need it, I decided to quit from Telefónica and move to another provider. My election has been Tele2. It is quite a competitive offer, 29,9? for 20Mb ADSL without fixed line support. It cuts my present spending with Telefónica by a half, as I am paying around 62? for a 3Mb ADSL, fixed line and national calls for free. As I do not need a fixed number as I do not use it anymore I guess that is a great offer. Actually I am able to pay the ADSL, the Vodafone Mobile broadband and half my mobile bill for the same I was paying for a 3Mb ADSL formerly. Tele2 has not been a very valued ISP, but I guess that the recent acquisition by Vodafone will give them a better service for the customers. Additionally I expect a good offer for a dual or triple play service soon.

I must say that I have not the service already activated, but I will leave track of the process in the Blog as to be helpful to other users doing the same path.

I started the migration process in the Tele2 website on the 1st of October 2008 at 23:50. I received an email of confirmation stating that the process would take around 25 days.
On the 6th of October 2008 at 19:36 I received an SMS stating that the process was already started and I would receive the Wifi Router at home in brief.
Today, 7th of October, I have received a letter with the contract inside to be returned to Tele2. I will return it signed tomorrow.

Well, up today this is everything I have to say... will continue, hope so!!

Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona and NFC

Last Friday, while I was going to watch a cinema movie to Gràcia, I was shocked after what I watch underground. As can be seen in the following pictures, in Universitat Underground station there is an access barrier that is activated with NFC... this has been a big surprise because I have not found any official announcement in the net, but they have installed this access barrier and also a "recharge point" near the ticketing machines...






It does not seem supported by any mobile operator, as the logos and information there was unbranded. I guess they are using Nokia 6131 NFC enabled phones that does not use the SIM card for storing the sensitive data but an "embedded chip" that is inside the handset and managed over-the-air... will continue investigating.

Contacts and ZYB

Yesterday I discovered ZYB. It is a service that offers the possibility to synchronize your contacts (and even your agenda) of your mobile phone. This would be great as this but it also offers a contacts manager to deal with your contacts. And this contacts manager is able to get your Gmail and Facebook contacts, merge them with the ones of your phone and associate facebook images and mail addresses after just some clicks. Simply amazing, isn't it? .
So, as I previously introduced, I was looking for the best way to deal with the contacts of my mobile phone and as you can check I am doing quite well! I must say that it does not support Categories, as my Palm did, but it improves it in several areas.
Now I will start looking after the Agenda management. By the way, this post was written on the train with my N95 ;-)