> >Which model modem did you buy? > >I bought used SE model from a fellow Mac user here in Seattle, WA. > > >The SE gives much more user feedback via it's LCD screen, but it is > >quite heavy for velcro-ing to the lid of a sub-note like a duo or > >2400. > >I'm considering Velcro-ing the SE modem to the bottom of the case. I have >to have the legs extended to access the printer/modem port anyway. That may or may not work. I haven't used a Duo recently so I don't know if the legs will raise it high enough to clear the SE's shape. The SE is probably the best one to have, since when the Ricochet2 network comes online at 128kps, the SE's throughput will probably triple. The older modems, or the slim one (SX) like mine will only double. Still not bad though. Metricom has new USB ricochet's that work on the 128kps network at full speed. > >Did I mention I bought MCOM a few years ago at $7 a share. =) > >You probably shouldn't have mentioned it. Now the yacht salesamen will >never leave you alone. heh. I didn't buy enough to land a yacht, but I'm not complaining. >I am still kicking myself for not buying at least 100 shares when it was >around $5 about a year ago. Before the entry of Paul Allen money. heh. I bought long before the P.A./MCI cash infusion, and sort of figured it would go up to $30 or so when the new networks deployed... just like when they deployed SEA, S.F. and D.C. in 1995. It stayed below $10 for so long I sort of forgot about it... Then came the big investment, and the big run. I bailed somewhere around $108 (which luck would have it was right about peak) because I figured it was *way* overvalued. They have a great product and a very cool service, but c'mon... it's not worth *that* much. Wall Street has become more surreal than Dali's brain these days. Of course now that I've said that I bet they shoot to $300+ after they deploy in their new markets this year. >But I should relate that so far, Ricochet has: > >1) pissed me off with a mindless repetition of the same message while I >sat on hold. ...and name a company these days that *doesn't* do that! "Your call is important to us, and we value you as a customer, which is why we are subjecting you to this telephone torture..." grrrr. The concept of customer service is dying. > >2) Sent out a change of ownership form which offered dialup access and now >doesn't. *Don't* buy the dial-up access. It is not worth it. I moved 11 miles outside their network (in snohomish county) last summer and tried it for a while. Not worth it. I have a cheapo dial up that I use at home now, and only use the ricochet while I am in their coverage area (which is often enough to justify.) I've thought about stealing a WAP from a Seattle lightpole and rigging it up to a tree the hill above my house. I bet I'd get back on their net that way. =) > >3) told me the modem would be activated within 48 hours of Ricochet >receiving the change of ownership fax. It wasn't. Now they promised within >60 hours. > >4) voided all equipment guarantees given the original owner of the SE modem >on change of ownership to me. > >5) charged me $42 + ($6 for 2-day shipping) for a dinky little NiMh >battery. They then took 5 days to get the battery here. Good battery, >though. Growing pains. Ricochet only has a few people working for them and they are growing faster than they can hire people. The great thing about their system is that once you *are* up and running you'll probably never have to call them again. It works flawlessly. They have never been good about selling their service, and I have heard they may sell that part to someone who can. They really are just a collection of wireless network geeks. BTW: Their CTO is the guy who wrote MacTCP, and a lot of Apple's early wireless AppleTalk stuff like IRtalk, etc. > > >6) refused to bill me for each month's services, even email invoice. They >accept payment only by credit card automatic deduction. They've always worked that way. Starting two years ago I started buying service a year in advance. You get 2 months free that way and don't have to worry about monthly billing hassles. If you can afford it, do it. > > >Not exactly a stellar record of customer service. Maybe you should sell >the MCOM stock? Already did! =) Of course I just noticed it is down in the $70s...maybe time to buy more. --chuck ---------- Duo/2400 List, The friendliest place on the Net! A listserv for users and fans of Mac subportables. FAQ at <http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/DuoListFAQ.shtml> Be sure to visit Mac2400! <http://www.sineware.com/mac2400> X-Router | Share your DSL or cable modem between multiple computers! 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