The Opinionator

Free WiFi at Panera; The Inevitable Result

I have posted in the past regarding the wonders of free WiFi at Panera. Well, the other shoe is dropping. As I type this, there are at least 10 others with their notebook computers open using the free WiFi. Result, slow speeds. It makes sense. As I recall from Economics, anything of value offered for no cost is going to be overused. Now that I have a T-Mobile Hotspot account through my employer, I have taken to going to Starbucks on the road as the pay-to-play WiFi is rarely oversubscribed. To paraphrase P.J. O'Rourke, nothing is as expensive as something that is free.

Sprint Wireless Broadband Card Blogging; Speed Tests 4-7

In the course of my recent travels, I have been able to test my Sprint Wireless Broadband Card in three locations. The results are uneven. A retunr trip to Philadelphia resulted in a 728kbps speed test at the airport. In Atlanta, I was connected at over 1mbps, very fast indeed. Especially since I was actually in Woodstock, 30 miles or so from downtown Atlanta. Back in Raleigh, I was back below 300kbps. Tonight in Chattanooga, I tested out at 523kbps. Not bad. If the 500kbps-1.4mbps is typical, then Wireless Broadband is all it is cracked up to be. However, the slow speeds in Phoenix and Raleigh do make one wonder. In speaking to a Sprint employee I know, he mentioned that there were load-balancing problems in some markets. Perhaps Raleigh and Phoenix are among them. He seemed to think Raleigh was certainly among them.

Dems Want Full NIE Release....

But why stop there? Since we are going to reveal all, why not publish the names and addresses of our sources so they can be compromised or eliminated? Since the dems want us to lose in Iraq and continue to undermine our war effort at every turn, why should they stop with giving away some of our secrets? The dems have taken the "loyal" out of "loyal opposition".

Carl Levin; Terrorist Rights Advocate

On the way to the airport for another business trip, I was treated to a news story on the radio. Seems Carl Levin is unhappy with the new bill which will allow "tough interrogation techniques" to be used on suspected terrorists. Let me cry a river for our enemies being questioned rigorously by our intelligence community. Waahh! Levin is an idiot. He is tougher on George W. Bush than he is on our enemies. Make no mistake, Levin does not want is to win. In short, he sympathizes with the enemy. Harsh words for a harsh reality

P.S. Would the GOP please make an ad that lays this out?! Showing the Dem's true colors is a strategy that in addition to being a winner, is good for America.

The NIE Controversy May Be Way Overblown But ......

...The press is playing it as if it is the second coming of "The Pentagon Papers." Example, the front page of the Raleigh News & Observer this morning: "REPORT: WAR INCITING TERRORISTS". This is a McClatchy Newspaper and this is the way it is being spun in all their papers. Same with the NY Times. The MSM is taking a single sentence, the "Cause Celebre" one, forgetting the rest of the paragraph, "Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves, and be perceived, to have failed, we judge fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the fight," and using it to aid the democrats. This is bias, clear and simple.

Unfortunately, this is what most people will learn of this NIE.  Perhaps Chris Wallace can ask a democrat what he/she thinks will happen to the jihad movement if we withdraw from Iraq in defeat? Idiots probably think it will mollify them. Such is the appeasement mindset. Captain Ed has it more.

Also, check out Michelle Malkin for more on the NIE.

A Stark Choice On National Security; The Top Priority vs. Cut and Run

On the editorial page of Friday's Wall Street Journal, Howard Dean provides ample proof as to why democrats cannot be trusted on National Security. Both he and Ken Mehlman were provided space to make their case as to why voters should choose their party in the upcoming elections. Mehlman addresses National Security and the War on Terror early and often and it is clear that while it may be a political tactic, it is also the priority of the Administration.

In the print edition, it takes Howard Dean eleven paragraphs to get to national security and the War on Terror. Seems just about everything is more important that the security of our nation to the democrats. When he finally gets around to it, it is all about Iraq and is focused primarily on the financial cost of the War in Iraq and what the democrats could do with the money if we were not in Iraq. Specifically, they would add funding to the COPS program. I am all about funding first responders but if you need them, it usually means something has already taken place.

It then takes Dean several more paragraphs, almost to the end of his essay to lay out the strategy democrats have for Iraq; Phased Withdrawal. In other words, Cut and Run. Dean offers no benchmarks or timelines. Just a strategy of abandoning Iraq. If the incidents and resulting Cut and Run from Mogadishu inspired Osama Bin Laden and Company, what does Dean think a retreat and defeat strategy in Iraq will do? Talk about a short-sighted view. Does Dean think that abandoning an Allie will make nations more or less willing to work with us in curtailing Islamic terrorism? Does he really think assigning a timeline to our presence will not embolden terrorists in Iraq and around the world. In short, his strategy is to accept a strategic defeat. But at least they could get back to getting focused on helping their Union donors and The Global War on WalMart.

It is clear that there is a stark choice in the upcoming election regarding National Security. Victory vs. Defeat. Adult supervision vs. adolescent "leadership". Chamberlain vs. Churchill. You get the picture. So stay home on November 7th at your own, and your family's risk. We may not like where the Republican's stand on many issues; Spending, Immigration, etc,. but at least they get it when it comes to the safety of this country and it's citizens.

Sprint Wireless Broadband Blogging: Speed Test 3

The Opinionator is once again a road warrior. Today I am once again in Pennsylvania. Currently, I am northeast of Philadelphia on the Bucks-Montgomery County line near Southampton. The performance seemed much better than I had been getting in the past and the Speed Test confirmed it. The result, 780kbps. That is the type of performance that makes wireless broadband usable and lends credence to the idea that slow speeds in Raleigh and Phoenix are the result of network upgrades. I hope that is the case. In any event, it is working well here!

Never Forget......

Sprint Wireless Broadband Blogging; Speed Test 2

In the second of my Wireless Broadband posts, I am currently at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). Specifically, I am in Terminal E. I noticed that speeds were again mediocre. After clearing my cache, I ran a different Speed Test at www.toast.net. The result, 227kbps. Once again, another poor showing by the Sprint Wireless Broadband Network. Frankly, it should not be called "Broadband".

Fortunately, my company has a T-Mobile corporate plan and has been able to get me a T-Mobile Hot Spot monthly plan for $19.99. I would not have bothered but the poor performance of Sprint's "High-Speed" network made it necessary.

More from my next city!

Sprint Wireless Broadband Blogging; Speed Test

The Opinionator is a former Sprint employee who sold Wireless Broadband for a living and believes in the technology and the way it can enable a person to work from nearly anywhere. When Wireless Broadband (EVDO) was rolled out, it was not unusual to get speeds in excess of 1mbps. This type of speed made working anywhere a snap. As more users were added to the network, it was only natural that the speeds would come down and the marketing alludes to speeds of 400-700kbps. Unfortunately, speeds have fallen dramatically. At RDU International Airport, I had a speed test result of 292kbps using  the www.toast.net speed test. This is in line with results I have had in other places. In Phoenix for example, I connected at 192kpbs. Also, the connection frequently drops from EVDO (high speed) to 1xRTT. This means speeds of 50-70kbps. Today's Speed Test was conducted using a Novatel 620. However, I have had the same type of results using the Sierra 580 connection card.

While this is much better than dial-up, it is considerably slower than the marketing claims and what I have experienced in the past. It is also the difference between using Outlook Web Access and full Outlook with VPN. As an added measure, my personal phone is from Sprint as well and I have noted a marked degradation in the quality of the network. Dropped calls have increased dramatically and the coverage area appears to have shrunk. In contrast, my work phone, a Verizon Blackberry 7130e, continues to perform well and has much better voice coverage than my Sprint phones. The Sprint resellers I worked with in the past selling Wireless Broadband have also reported similar results in their tests and have noted that their customers are contacting them to complain about network performance; voice and data.

In the good news category, my sources back at Sprint say that my issues are likely related to the roll-out of EVDO Rev A, which is now underway. This technology upgrade will increase download maximum speeds from 2mbps to 3mbps and more importantly, upload speed from 144kbps to 768kbps. This is especially important if you are sending email attachments. They also anticipate that the roll out will be completed in many markets by the end of the year with aggressive pricing.

One hopes that all of that is true because it would be hard to recommend Sprint Wireless Broadband at this time.

Please note, I have no connection to Sprint at this time, including stock ownership. Same with Verizon. However, I do own shares in Alltel in my managed accounts.