What a PLEASURE to bring this tiresome saga to a startling (and successful) conclusion. At Last! Read On!
I said (above) it "felt" different than it was "reading" from Speakeasy and various other watering holes in the sometimes wasteland of the internet.
Here's what happened today.
I did some more "tests". All the results continued to be maddenly low – 1.0 MBps and slower for Download; 375 kbps and lower for upload. So . . . I consulted with my son the Linux guru, who said to leave it be . . . the internet is, has been and probably always will be mysterious at its core. Or words to that effect. He should know that you don't really want to tell the Olde Man to "leave it be".
At about 4pm, now that I'm on-line, albeit somewhat languorously, I called Earthlink's web site "chat", with more than a dollop of anxiety. This time I got an instant answer . . . just not the right one(s). Proceeded to occupy the time of 4 operatives up until 5 minutes to eight, at which time I declared myself tired of repeating answers on my identity, my Macs, my LAN, etc. etc. etc. and also conducting tests involving:
Confirmiing that none of the following were near the modem . . .
Halogen lamps
Fluorescent lights
Scanners
900 MHz cordless phones
Cell Phones
Ham radios
AM radios
Electrical interference (don't put the router near a Monitor, UPS or motor driven device)
Dialup Modem (!), fax, or other device on the same phone line
Microwave oven
A shoddy phone cord
Home security/Alarm system
and also
I ran a half-dozen speed tests on 3 or 4 dfferent sites ELN suggested. These were in addition to the frequent tests I’d already run over the last 4-5 days on my own. Tests that stimulated my call(s) today.
I switched ends of my modem line cord and my ethernet cable.
I turned-off OS X’s firewall
I cleaned FireFox’s Cache, History, and Cookies
Etc. etc.
Finally, I’ve was told I only signed-up for “basic” ADSL. Wrong! As my letter of agreement stated . . .
You've made the smart choice for super-fast DSL and super-simple phone service that saves you money on all your local and long-distance calls.With patience running a bit thin, with "Mabel", "Kieth", "Sebastain" to mention but a few, I
demanded to be "escalated" to a Manager. All I got was a Supervisor named "Rodger", but after he read the "transcript" of my four previous conversations he said, "Yes", I was entitled to 6+ MBps and if I'd call such and such number they could make the adjustment over the phone and on-line to get it for me. So I called.
South Asia, again. First call was 40 minutes on-hold and 15 minutes with an operative who said he'd check the line, for me, asked for all the ID info over agin, put me on hold for another 15 minutes, at which poiint I was disconnected.
Give up? Never! I was doing "stuff" at my desk while Mozart played again, and again and again. For 1 hour and 27 minutes.
But then, The Miracle Lady (with perfect American English) came on the line and in <3 minutes she reported she had me fixed-up for 6-8 MBps. Oh sure.
Rebooted, went to Speakeasy and instantly got . . . I am NOT mnaking this up . . .
6.15 MBps download
998 kbps upload.
I expect it to persist. I did not expect it to be this arduous. I was reinforced in my stubborness, something my Beloved sometimes wishes wouldn't happen.
Merry Christmas!
PS: No, I'm not going to "publish" the weary "Chat" transcript. I want to keep the friends I have hereabouts
