PowerBoost is a scam
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anon @ 1st Nov 11:11AM:
PowerBoost is a scam
I have mixed feelings about PowerBoost. On one hand, PowerBoost is just a scam that will make new customers think that they're getting a faster speed than they should. And on the other hand, it will make web browsing and small file downloads faster. What are your opinions on this?
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TearAbite @ 1st Nov 11:25AM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
They clearly state what PowerBoost is and what it isnt.. good boost for web-browsing and small downloads of (20mb?) and less..
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Dunke @ 1st Nov 01:19PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
I don't like it at all. Currently on 10/1 and downloading 5 files from Rapidshare at once now takes longer than on what was a consistent download prior to PowerBoost. Watching DL speeds on DU Meter, the speeds jump all over the place from .5 mbps to 20 mbps. PowerBoost probably works fine if viewing a video from somewhere like you tube, otherwise it just sucks. If charter wants people to get their downloads completed faster they should just upgrade everyone's service. I plan to ask they re-provision my modem back to my original contract bandwidth (10/1). The speed test look pretty from speedtest.net but that's not a real life test as far as I'm concerned.
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BoMarty @ 1st Nov 02:23PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
"downloading 5 files from Rapidshare"
you just picked the worst way to test your speeds ---->> Rapidshare.
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anon @ 1st Nov 03:09PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
»img21.imageshack.us/img21/286/captureqtg.png
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Dunke @ 1st Nov 03:53PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
said by BoMarty :
"downloading 5 files from Rapidshare"
you just picked the worst way to test your speeds ---->> Rapidshare.
You missed the point, prior to PowerBoost downloading 5 files would remain at a consistent 10 to 11 mbps down and not jump all over the place like it does now. I don't use Rapidshare to test speeds, I download or upload files and it now takes longer for the same size files.
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Big Dawg 23 @ 1st Nov 04:39PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
You must have a premium account with Rapidshare. I can not get much over 100K when downloading Blackberry OS from there. Rapidhshare is very slow when I use.
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mikiee @ 1st Nov 06:42PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
I just wish there was an easy way to verify what speed I am at now. I used to do www.speedtest.net every day. Now those readings are bogus. Some forum members say to start to download a large file like ubuntu and then do some calculations. That's hit or miss depending on how busy the servers are. I want my easy way back. Now I don't have a clue whether Charter is delivering the speed I signed up for.
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cork1958 @ 1st Nov 08:08PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
Always thought the idea of power boost was dumb as heck. What a con artists way of sucking people in who don't know better.
Just give me a CONSTANT/CONSISTENT what ever speed I pay for speed.
I must say, I DID have very consistent speeds when I was on Charter. 5 files at once from Rapidshare was never an issue.
--
The Firefox alternative.
»www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/
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checkit @ 1st Nov 11:40PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
I have 5mbs and when testing from '»speedtest.charter.com' I get 7.5/1 from the short test. However when downloading a DVD file from USENET over 2 hours long my reader constantly shows an average speed of approximately 646.5KBs or 5.05mbs.
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anon @ 2nd Nov 03:17AM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
[att=1] will show you what speeds you're supposed to get.
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anon @ 2nd Nov 07:05AM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
said by Free Bullets :
[att=1] will show you what speeds you're supposed to get.
Careful: this way can either give you accurate results or the inaccurate ones depending on the Usenet provider you use, the number of connections you use, the server you pick (if your provider gives you a choice), whether or not you use SSL and possibly what port you use to connect.
My view on PowerBoost: it's a gimmick. To be useful, it needs to either stay on for longer or "boost" me to the much higher speeds. If I am downloading a small (50 MB) file, I don't care if it downloads a little faster than "normal". Because the file is so small, I can wait a few seconds longer. It's for the big files (more than 1 GB) than an additional speed would actually matter. Unfortunately the PowerBoost shuts off just as soon as it really starts to get going.
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smoky_129 @ 2nd Nov 01:35PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
said by Free Bullets :
I have mixed feelings about PowerBoost. On one hand, PowerBoost is just a scam that will make new customers think that they're getting a faster speed than they should. And on the other hand, it will make web browsing and small file downloads faster. What are your opinions on this?
At least your getting the power boost it has been over a week since I was suppose to get it and still nothing even after like 10 modem restarts
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Eractionizr @ 2nd Nov 01:51PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
Well, along with "Powerboost", Charter increased my upload from 1mpbs to 2mpbs for free with my 10/1, so I can't complain.
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pbarrow @ 2nd Nov 02:33PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
Here are my thoughts and observations on power boost.
I'm on the 5M/1M plan.
I had my RWIN set to 65535 w/no scaling and speed test on the Web 100 NDT sites have been gving me about 7 to 8M DL and no retransmited packets or packet loss nor any SACK problems.
Visualware test sites would give me speeds like about 11M on the close Georgia site and about 7 to 8 meg on a little farther sites and about 6 to 7 megs on farther site like Illinois and about 4 to 5 meg on west coast site.
On Speedtest.net I get speeds up around 20M even on sites up north.
Before Power Boost I would get a pretty consistant 5M on any test site in most any location (where there were no local problems).
Today I decided to play with RWIN and tried settings of 125560 and 128480 with Scaling Yes.
BTW I'm using Win 2000 on a dual Pent III 650 MB.
After increasing RWIN I did see an increase of speeds on the test site - for instance on the Web 100 speeds increased to about 8M to 9M - BUT - I also started getting about 4 packets lost or retransmited and lot of duplicate of SACKS.
So I concluded that the connection would be more reliable with my RWIN set back to 65535 and no scaling.
With Power Boost I don't like the results I've been seeing in the Visualware speed results details.
The TCP Pause on download test is sky high and all over the graph as si the speed graph itself even though the speed result is reasonable (about 7 or 8M).
Like others - all I really want is my consistant, reliable 5M service. I don't much care for the Power Boost.
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anon @ 2nd Nov 04:00PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
said by BrianTheDog :said by Free Bullets :
[att=1] will show you what speeds you're supposed to get.
Careful: this way can either give you accurate results or the inaccurate ones depending on the Usenet provider you use, the number of connections you use, the server you pick (if your provider gives you a choice), whether or not you use SSL and possibly what port you use to connect.
I used a bunch of connections so that it would be the highest speed restricted my my isp
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bozzy @ 2nd Nov 05:51PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
said by pbarrow :
Like others - all I really want is my consistant, reliable 5M service. I don't much care for the Power Boost.
Powerboost isn't a new technology. It is used by lots of ISPs. While it sucks for those of you trying to measure your speed with different tools, it is great for the casual user who gets an increased speed for 99% of their requests. Sure long downloads and streaming video will end up being the same speed as before, bug the casual internet user does see benefits from this technology.
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BF69 @ 3rd Nov 05:07AM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
said by bozzy :said by pbarrow :
Like others - all I really want is my consistant, reliable 5M service. I don't much care for the Power Boost.
Powerboost isn't a new technology. It is used by lots of ISPs. While it sucks for those of you trying to measure your speed with different tools, it is great for the casual user who gets an increased speed for 99% of their requests.
99% of which will not be noticed. Honestly if someone can tell if their webpage is loading in 200 milliseconds instead of 300 then they must be some kind of super human.
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bozzy @ 3rd Nov 02:29PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
said by BF69 :
99% of which will not be noticed. Honestly if someone can tell if their webpage is loading in 200 milliseconds instead of 300 then they must be some kind of super human.
Web pages these days contain lots of media files. For instance, YouTube videos will now buffer much quicker so you can start playing it faster. This technology isn't going anywhere so you better get use to it. I don't see how people can be so upset over giving users a bump in speed even if it is just for short bursts.
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BF69 @ 3rd Nov 03:04PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
said by bozzy :said by BF69 :
99% of which will not be noticed. Honestly if someone can tell if their webpage is loading in 200 milliseconds instead of 300 then they must be some kind of super human.
Web pages these days contain lots of media files. For instance, YouTube videos will now buffer much quicker so you can start playing it faster. This technology isn't going anywhere so you better get use to it. I don't see how people can be so upset over giving users a bump in speed even if it is just for short bursts.
The short busts do NOTHING and infalte speedtests. Those inflated speedtest prevent people from knowing if their ISP is actually providing sppeds they advertise. So you can HONESTLY says you do not know why people would be upset that their ISP is preventing them from finding out their TRUE speed?
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bozzy @ 3rd Nov 06:34PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
said by BF69 :
The short busts do NOTHING and infalte speedtests. Those inflated speedtest prevent people from knowing if their ISP is actually providing sppeds they advertise. So you can HONESTLY says you do not know why people would be upset that their ISP is preventing them from finding out their TRUE speed?
Huh? I do not understand what you are saying. The bump in speed DOES make a different when loading media (like buffering video). You act like everyone is running speed tests. 99.99% of users do not even know how to do a speed test on their connection. If this change upsets people anal about running speedtests, then so be it. The benefits far out way those few people.
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mmainprize @ 3rd Nov 07:23PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
Well in theory, getting the small files done quicker restores wide open bandwidth quicker for the network then if they were forced to complete at a slower rate.
The problem with that logic is that the bandwidth has to come from some where. So if you increase the speeds for all even for a short while, then the speeds of those paying for the faster tiers will have to be lowered for short time when the network is loaded.
So for those customer that live in an area where the network is heavily loaded power boost does not help, it is like obomas plan to spread the bandwidth around. Those that try and use there full band width say 20meg for a very large file will see it drop off at times as powerboost is giving it away to other not paying for it.
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bozzy @ 3rd Nov 08:53PM:
Re: PowerBoost is a scam
said by mmainprize :
The problem with that logic is that the bandwidth has to come from some where. So if you increase the speeds for all even for a short while, then the speeds of those paying for the faster tiers will have to be lowered for short time when the network is loaded.
Do you have any proof of that? AFAIK, this technology has been implemented by many cable companies in areas where speeds are up to 50 Mbps. I haven't seen any Charter customers complaining their speeds have gotten slower with the powerboost system. If it has, then it is a flaw in their implementation that can/should be fixed.
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