Verizon FIOS with Powerbook G4
so i have the 17" powerbook G4 purchased 2 summers ago, and i just ordered Verizon FIOS in California. The lady said that it wont work wirelessly with a mac only windows, is this actually true? because i see websites on how to set your mac up to DCHP so that it may also work with the fios along with windows. I also found a link to download IPnetTunerX idk what it does but ya? haha
anyone have some words of advice to help me get my mac running wirelessly when they install it in a few weeks?
anyone have some words of advice to help me get my mac running wirelessly when they install it in a few weeks?
Comments
1W radition power driven to an 18dB omni! You can shoot that signal a ways.
Vinea
http://www.reelsmart.com/2006/02/10/...ible-and-fast/
I turn off remote web access and web access from the wireless network too. Means I need to plug something into the router to change stuff but its not often I do that.
Alas, I am stuck with crummy WEP because of an older laptop. Its less open than my neighbor so hey I'm somewhat safe.
Vinea
FIOS wireless will work fine on your laptop. Verizon tech support is just awful. What they mean is that the installation package is Windows only. You don't need that stuff, just connect with your Airport setting on DHCP and enjoy it, speed thrills!
For what it's worth, I've found their tech support people to be quite helpful. But their mac support is sketchy, that is to say that their tech support is quite helpful in walking you through the work-arounds for my mac to work.
It took several weeks for a change over and placing the correct optical cables/fiber optics through Verizon after months of bull.
This cost me nothing, of course, because Verizon wouldn't give regular DSL only FIOS in my area.
I only had to wade through the bull until it was fixed after signing on for DSL and nothing worked.
The "engineers" made the connections and gave me a wireless unit that looks like a giant transformer with blinking lights. It is huge. It 's the size of a computer itself.
They were cluesless on how to connect my laptop. Only PC and not Mac/Apple.
I was up and running after 5 minutes and never a problem since.
The crap I went through with Verizon, forget it. The FIOS just doesn't seem that fast. Optimum Online is just as good or better at my other house with my G5.
The crap I went through with Verizon, forget it. The FIOS just doesn't seem that fast. Optimum Online is just as good or better at my other house with my G5.
I general usage you probably wouldn't see a difference. Have you tried downloading something? A friend of mine upgraded from DSL and was amazed at how much faster an iTunes album downloaded.
Maybe, I was expecting more with the FIOS. Optimum Online is pretty good in my area.
I can try to download the same album on both computers and see also. That's not a problem or if you have a better suggestion I'm all for it.
I switched because Verizon is actually charging myself less than Optimum Online and I'm considering going with Verizon's package deal. Cable is cheaper than FIOS at my other house. Cable is more than the regular rate at the other due to the area or so I was told.
One thing I forgot to mention is about the wireless router provider through Optimum Online that I was using for the MacBook Pro. I was getting horrible lack of signal even moving into the next room.
Granted, it was probably the router and I keep both computers meticulously up to date with the OS on all accounts. I also follow the forums for such problems.
I have not had the same problem with the monstrous router provided by verizon even going
outside. Very strong signal always to a point.
The little bit of savings and strong reception are definite pluses. There has never been a hiccup.
Verizon's support was pretty bad though both on the phone and in person twice due to their mistakes (disconnected my house phone lines). I may have been a bit brash with my other reply. I'm sticking with the FIOS.
I am using FIOS with a Macbook pro.
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The "engineers" made the connections and gave me a wireless unit that looks like a giant transformer with blinking lights. It is huge. It 's the size of a computer itself.
They were cluesless on how to connect my laptop. Only PC and not Mac/Apple.
I was up and running after 5 minutes and never a problem since.
The crap I went through with Verizon, forget it. The FIOS just doesn't seem that fast. Optimum Online is just as good or better at my other house with my G5.
There are 3 components to your FiOS install. There's the largish gray box that is the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and in many installs it sits outside your house. Then there's a battery backup unit and a wireless router.
In many cases the 5Mbps FIOS connection won't be any faster than the 5-8Mbps of most cable services given the upgrades that some cable companies are putting in. Typically upload speeds are higher than cable (2Mbps upstream vs 384Kbps typically).
For a few bucks more you can get 15 Mbps in FiOS. For a large amount of money more you can get 30-50MBps. Some cable operators are starting to offer 15 MBps service but even with DOCSIS 3.0 the FiOS service should be much better. In the end FTTP is better than HFC.
Vinea
I have the 15Mbps service and it is smoking when downloading anything. It's also a much more reliable connection than my cable connection that would bog down everynight.
What download speeds are you seeing?
I have a 100Mbps connection in my condo and I don't think I'll be able to bear a slower connection if I move ... but just perhaps, if FIOS is as good as I've heard.
So far it has been flawless. The fios connection has never once dropped in around 9 months of service. I'm using my own dgl-4300 router instead of the actiontec router they provide. It connects via dhcp and since the connection is so solid, i've had the same WAN address for the last 9 months. This is despite only paying for a non-static address. With DSL I had to constantly reboot my router to deal with dropped connections. Ever since getting FIOS, i've had to touch the router precisely zero times. I couldn't recommend fios more.