My AT&T Landline and DSL Restored

Okay, the AT&T Repairman was just here. Apparently, the Saturday installer inadvertently broke my phone line cable. After a few minutes, the repair was done. My DSL is back, but still 25% slower.

I also heard that there is a new U-verse Internet only service. The U-verse signal is 10X faster than my DSL. According to he, the landline and U-verse can run on the same pair of wires.

My AT&T DSL Service downgraded from 4MB to .37 MB

After the U-verse installers were at my neighbors, here is what happened to my AT&T DSL. My 3G laptop card and 3G iPad are even faster than this.

AT&T Dispatch Manager Approves Fix for Sunday

As of Sunday 9:57 am I received a call from AT&T Customer Service that they will try and fix it on Sunday before 7 pm. Yes, they broke it and they should have a AT&T U-verse process to fix it in 12 hours or sooner, 24/7. Any Customer, especially our Senior Citizen Community in South Florida with its mission-critical life saving need for 911 Emergency Services rightfully deserves better service from AT&T when their landline fails.

Now the questions are: 1) will they send an installer out? 2) will he fix the landline 3) will my DSL speed be restored? 4) will it break my neighbor's new U-verse?

Does AT&T want to Deprecate my Residential Landline Service?

The launch of AT&T U-verse in a Region represents a serious challenge to AT&T Line Repairmen, finding a good pair of copper wire at the box to transmit 32 MB of AT&T Internet, AT&T Digital Television and AT&T Digital Voice is no easy task. These AT&T Repairmen have normally been with the company a very long time. I imagine they don't like contractor's messing with their box and the potential for conflicts are huge. 17 hours ago, my once very reliable AT&T Residential Voice landline line went down which gives it a not so stellar 95% uptime in 2011. I also discovered that the AT&T installers had been in my building all day Saturday installing U-verse for my neighbors. It appears to me that they took my good line that tested at 32 MB and gave it to my neighbor - maybe payback for placing a call to AT&T Executive Services earlier this week for the problems I encountered with their U-verse service and restoring my DSL line after the failed installation.

Without escalating this issue, my Regional AT&T Manager would have liked to restore my line 5 days from yesterday as standard operating procedures. After my escalation last night, I now have a Tuesday service restore date. But that's still not acceptable, I've had this AT&T landline a very long time and since that time added about every AT&T service. They broke it on Saturday, they should fix it on Sunday morning. With the increased sales of U-verse similar to AT&T iPhone sales, I would hope that AT&T would have planned for a new workflow to address service outages caused by their installers deploying new U-Verse customers. Unfortunately, that doesn't sound like it's the case!

Does AT&T U-verse make my AT&T landlines more unreliable?

During Hurricane Wilma in South Florida in October 2005, most South Florida residents lost electricity for almost a week or more. Those that had digital phones that didn't have generator were simply without phone service. For me, the most reliable or only piece of technology that worked was my AT&T POTS telephone line. In fact in past five years, I think the phone service has been up more than 99% or more. Since that time, I vowed never to move to a digital phone service.

For those living in South Florida, AT&T has recently expanded their U-verse offering as is blatantly obvious from the plethora of U-verse Television ads. Earlier this week, AT&T came to install U-verse to my residence. Unfortunately, because of my desire to keep my landline and not switch to the U-verse Digital Phone Service as well as some wiring in my building, they were not able to install it. In concept, it sounded great and I couldn't believe it when I saw 32MB Internet Speed on the Repairman's meter. AT&T U-verse uses one clean pair of twisted pair wires and if you want to keep your landline, they will need to find another clean pair in your walls, one for U-verse TV / U-verse Internet and the other for your landline. I was even more impressed when I found out that I could keep my AT&T DSL IP Address. In addition, I would have been even more excited to have them lay CAT5 wire through my house like they have been doing for some customers rather than use the existing coax cables.

Well, after aborting the U-verse installation, the not so cooperative AT&T installer kept telling me how he had to leave and call his manager. During the installation attempt, he kept reconfiguring the phone jacks in my residence and after many attempts he finally got my landlines working again. He left without fixing my DSL line and told me I had to call. I did and it took several calls to get it working again. Eventually, after a few more calls to AT&T, they sent a line repairmen who increased the speed of my DSL - I was back to being a loyal AT&T customer.

5 days later, after 4p.m. in the afternoon on a Saturday, I discovered that my landline was down and my Internet was 3X slower. When I checked around in my building, I found out that the AT&T Installation guys had been there all day installing U-verse for others in my building. Of course, it happens on a Saturday.....

Apparently, this experience is common for AT&T U-verse customers. After it is installed, their landline goes down but their Internet line and U-verse Television is up and running. You get the error message on your phone that the line is in use.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r24534128-UVERSE-up-while-landline-down

So I've seen some early adopter U-verse chatter that maybe the AT&T telephone installer might have done this on purpose because they want to deprecate my landline. They want me to use their U-verse Digital Phone Service. It appears that the "Extension in Use" is a common landline error message once U-verse is installed.

I've always been a loyal AT&T customer with iPhones, IPads, 3G laptop cards, DSL and my landline. Although I would like to see AT&T be kinder to their loyal customer though discounts, there have really few alternatives, especially with the iPhone. That was until the Verizon announcement this week and after my experience with my landline, maybe it is time to free myself from the AT&T Repairman.

Finally, I can only surmise from this experience that the expansion of AT&T U-verse will ultimately make its AT&T flagship landline service including it's 911 service less reliable. Maybe it's time to consider a another solution...

Do you think AT&T will have my landline running on Sunday? Do you think my AT&T repairman does Sundays?

iPad Screen Rotation Lock Changes with iPad OS 4 Update

With the IPad OS 4 Update, here are instructions to lock your iPad Screen Rotation. After this update, The Screen Lock Button is now the Mute button

1. Press [home] [home]

2. When the iPad Multitasking Bar appears at the very bottom of the screen, swipe with your finger left to right until you see the new Screen Lock Setting.

3. Press the Rotation Lock Icon (a Circular Arrow with a Padlock) in the bottom left corner of the screen. See below...

People Celebrity News Tracker iPhone App Removed from Apple App Store? Does it still work?

In the spirit of the Holidays I decided to research a current Family IT crisis. Apparently according to My W, My Mother-in-Law and My Sister-in-Law - People Magazine has removed their blockbuster People.com Celebrity News Tracker iPhone App from the Apple App Store. In the past several weeks the App has stopped sending updates to these customers that paid $1.99 for this Advertising Supported Paid App. This App was lauched in May 2009 and appears to be possibly replaced by their new model requiring a yearly print subscription or individual issue downloads for $3.99. Unfortunately, the Apple iTunes App Store does not provide its customers with an redirected link explaining this except a blank web page and my thorough search of the People.com website or other Internet "News" sources did not uncover any notification to its loyal and fanatical customers. A search of the Apple App Comments archived found a number of very angry and frustrated users of this App that thought their App was corrupted on their phone because it would't post the updates.

One of the above upset users of the People Celebrity News Tracker comnented, "You would expect this from other companies but not People!" In addition, two emails were also sent to People but no response was received.

That said, right after I posted this blog I received a family update that the People.com Celebrity News App, Version 1.5 is now working again. I asked how she knew and heard who won last night's Dancing with the Stars Competition - so I can now close this Ticket...at least for now.

BTW, I ended up restoring Version 1.5 of the People.com Celebrity News iPhone App to enable one of the iPhones to work. I would recommend not upgrading to Version 1.6.

John Tyner Blog - San Diego TSA Incident

Here's the blog and YouTube videos of Software Engineer John Tyner, the San Diego man that refused TSA's new full body scan.

http://johnnyedge.blogspot.com/

Pittsburgh vs Miami - NFL Referee Gene Steratore stole game?

With all the technology involved with the NFL Instant Replay System, when NFL Referee Gene Steratore made the call at yesterday's Dolphin vs Steeler game yesterday, I could'nt believe how Mr Steratore said they couldn't tell which team recovered the ball in the end zone. Even as his call was being announced, the Miami Dolphin Fan Vision Screen and thousands of Fan Vision Portable Devices given to Dolphin Season Ticket Holders was clearly showing the Dolphins had recovered the football. Why would Referee Gene Steratore not trust the technology - yikes it ends up he resides in Washington, Pennsylvania (Source: NFL Referee News). The Miami Herald is also reporting that he is a Pittsburgh native.

AT&T Wireless A-List - Reduce Your AnyTime Minutes On Your Bill

If you have an AT&T phone or iPhone with an AT&T Individual plan 900+ minutes ($59.99 and over) per month or Current FamilyTalk plans 1400+ minutes ($89.99 and over) per month, you will qualify for the AT&T A-List feature.

Here is how you access this feature:

1. Go to https://www.att.com/olam/dashboardAction.olamexecute

2. Login with your Wireless Phone number and password.

3. Click Account Overview.

4. In the right column, under Quick Links, click Manage My A-List.

5. Follow the screen prompts to Add the Numbers to your list.

6. In my case, under My Account, I clicked on Usage and Current Activity for my phone(s). I sorted the phone listing by Minutes, added Contacts for the Non-AT&T mobile numbers/landlines that I thought would be used the most in the future.

7. To monitor the usage, I also downloaded the AT&T iPhone App.

This was not a highly advertised new AT&T feature, but is now available for selected plans. In other words, if you get an AT&T iPhone bill that drained your rollover minutes, this will be the feature recommended by AT&T.



Click for More info on AT&T A-List Wireless Phone Savings

Dade and Broward County Voter Guide Links - August 24 Primary Election

Here are some voting guides for the upcoming Florida Primary Election on August 24, 2010. In the past, I have relied on the Newspapers for their recommendations, but this year, I found the Daily Business Review Guide much more informative for selecting the judges on my ballot. They appear to provide a more in-depth analysis of each race by using some of data from polls and the ratings of judges by the local attorneys.

Judicial Election Voter Guide Links - For Miami-Dade and Broward County

Dade County Daily Business Review Voter Guide - For August 24, 2010 Election
http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/Judicial_Elections_2010/Miami-Dade/Races.html

Broward County Daily Business Review Voter Guide - For August 24, 2010 Election
http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/Judicial_Elections_2010/Broward/Races.html

Primary Election Voter Guide Links - For Miami-Dade and Broward

Sun Sentinel Voter Guide
http://elections.sun-sentinel.com/

Miami Herald Voter Guide
http://www.miamiherald.com/voters-guide/index.html

D-Wade's Flip Video Camera

Here is the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade using his Flip video camera to record a YouTube.com video thanking his fans for supporting him during the grueling NBA 2010 Free Agency process.



BTW, welcome to South Beach Chris Bosh!

KingJames Twitter Account - LeBron James

LeBron James Twitter Account(@KingJames)

Wow, LeBron James posts first Twitter message with 90K followers.

LeBron James Twitter Account?

Is this @KingJames, LeBron's New Twitter Account?

The current buzz on Twitter is that the number of followers on the Twitter account http://twitter.com/KingJames has grown to nearly 30K in several hours. This Twitter profile links to LeBron James' new website http://www.lebronjames.com Associated Press is reporting that Chris Paul's Twitter contained the post:

"**Couldn't convince him to tell me which team he's goin to but convinced hi to join twitter lol...my brother from another mother @KINGJAMES"












With LeBron James' pending decision in the NBA 2010 Free Agency, there are other unverified rumors that LeBron's selection will be posted on his new website: www.lebronjames.com. This website was linked on this unverified Twitter page.

Hulu Plus $9.95 per month on the IPhone - iPad

Huh, Hulu launched their $9.95 per month service this month for watching their TV and Movies on your iPhone or IPad. Currently, you can view their content for free on your computer. It looks like Hulu is looking more like Netfix these days!

A Bad Miami Driver - Almost Killed Me Today

This morning it's not about new technology like the iPhone 4 but this
driver in the red car that drove through the orange poles into the
Express Lane heading South on the I-95 in Miami and appeared 40 yards
or less in front of my car. It happened so quickly all I could do is
hit the brakes, glance in my rear view mirror to see how close the car
in the left lane was to my bumper as my car locked into a 55 mph to 0
stop. For a brief moment I thought, prepare yourself because we're
raming straight into the side of this red car. Then as my right foot
pressed on my brake pedal as hard as possible, my Infiniti G37 brakes
came to a near stop just inches from this car and the astute driver in
the of the vehicle in the left lane behind me unbelievebly swearved
left to miss my 2 seat coupe by inches. Wow, the family member riding
in my passenger seat and I were alive and spared a trip to the
Hospital or even worse the Cemmetary. Well, after an incident like
that my emotions got the better of me as the red car driver with
tinted windows and the damaged right bumper passed me, I rolled down
my window to give him the bird. Then I pulled out my iPhone 3GS and
took a picture of car and license plate. Then I realized that after 60
or less seconds, this morning I am just happy to be alive. Any stress
I had was now gone after this life threatening moment. Any previous
important decision like upgrading to the iPhone 4 was now meaningless.

Finally when starting this mornings blog entry I whipped out my iPhone
3GS take a look at the photo below I took. As I used the reverse pinch
to zoom in on the license plate of this bad Miami Driver's license
plate, i realized that because of the quality of the camera on the 3GS
I got nothing - you can't see any of the letters or numbers. Huh, a
better camera on the iPhone 4, maybe that is a nice feature?

Skype 3G now supported for iPhone and iPad

Now I know why they didn't add a phone to the iPad. Skype has just
added 3G support for both the iPhone and iPad.

Dwyane Wade 46 points vs Boston NBA 2010 Playoffs Game 4 - He has another Gear!

I wanted to test copying embedded videos into Blogger so here is my test. What better content than some highlights from the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade's 46 points against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the 2010 NBA Playoffs as well as NBA Coach Erik Spoelstra's comments after the game on Dwyane's performance!



Coach Erik Spoelstra on Dwyane Wade's 46 points against the Boston Celtics, Game 4 of the 2010 NBA Playoffs.

"Obviously Dwyane Wade was sensational."

"Dwyane...led the way by revealing... you see the inside of his character what he is made."

"We don't take Dwayne for granted, that greatness...we don't..."

"He has another gear and another depth to go into in his soul to be able to dig it out and really carry a team on his back with his will."

AT&T Landline Dispute Resolved

This morning I tried the AT&T landline and it finally works! Last night when I tried it, even after the status was changed to Order Completed, there was still no dial tone. However, now that the status had changed, I was now able to call AT&T Repairs 24/7 phone number. They were able to tell it wasn't working and said that we would be billed for any inside changes, but before 8AM this morning, the phone line was active.

This seems like a very complex process when you can activate a new cell phone within minutes. That said, I did want to thank Molly at @twitter/ATTCustomerCare, AT&T's Social Media Customer Care Guru. Molly you rock! And of course AT&T Executive Services (Thanks Eric!) Using Twitter for Customer Service, I had much better luck at finding an escalation path at AT&T then when calling the AT&T Customer Service Department!

This matter is now resolved!

A Dispute with AT&T Work Management Scheduling in Aventura, FL

An AT&T Installer arrived on Thursday, March 25, 2010 to install a land line. He left without the phone being activated. Through my attempts to escalate this issue, someone at the AT&T Work Management Department in Aventura, Florida must have made this issue personal because the phone is still not active. The new install date is Thursday, April 1, 2010. I guess when it comes to an AT&T landline, the old copper wire technology, these AT&T phone guys will install it when they want to.

That's not the level of service that AT&T's customers expect and rightfully deserve!