Crystal Web ADSL performance feedback thread Part 3...

[Bryn]

The IPC price cuts come into effect tomorrow, most ISP's will most likely adjust caps or prices within the week.

A small cut wouldn't exactly 'cut' it though. Axxess charges around R1.3k for 40Mbps premium uncapped.

I'm just saying that the price increases on uncapped account speeds should become much smaller beyond 10Mbps. Otherwise you're just excluding guys with faster connections from the uncapped party.

 

[Soul Assassin]

A small cut wouldn't exactly 'cut' it though. Axxess charges around R1.3k for 40Mbps premium uncapped.

I'm just saying that the price increases on uncapped account speeds should become much smaller beyond 10Mbps. Otherwise you're just excluding guys with faster connections from the uncapped party.

I was talking more about capped packages, if I had to hazard a guess I would say ISP's will increase the amount of data you get but for the same price rather than lowering the cost.

Why look at uncapped if you know how much you average every month?

 

[Bryn]

I was talking more about capped packages, if I had to hazard a guess I would say ISP's will increase the amount of data you get but for the same price rather than lowering the cost.

Why look at uncapped if you know how much you average every month?

For the peace of mind. Downloading isn't a big deal in my household and is scheduled for midnight anyway to use the uncapped midnight data on the capped accounts. CW claims gaming and streaming are priorities on the home premium uncapped accounts, so it sounds perfect.

Basically like being on a capped account, but with no cap. If that makes any sense.

 

[AfricanTech]

Wrong thread, but anyhow, enough techies around here and I'm feeling lazy...

Anyone have any idea how a Windows machine on an Ethernet connection can be limited to downloading updates at a specific time? (ie. during Midnight Express time).

Found the answer to my own question.

This works on Windows 10 Pro (Group Policy Editor is not available on the Home editions)

1. Windows update schedule is now part of the general maintenance schedule





2. Another method may be via a scheduled task.

Update.bat

wuauclt.exe /detectnow

This example runs at 2:00 AM daily.

SchTasks /Create /SC DAILY /TN "Late Night Update" /TR “C:\Update.bat” /ST 02:00

May need a sister script to cancel things at 6:45AM just to be safe.

Killer.bat

taskkill.exe /f /im wuauclt.exe

and the scheduled task.

SchTasks /Create /SC DAILY /TN "Bat Killer" /TR “C:\Killer.bat” /ST 06:45

3. The gpedit location for setting whether it downloads automatically is located here

 Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update.

 

[Icemanbrfc]

For the peace of mind. Downloading isn't a big deal in my household and is scheduled for midnight anyway to use the uncapped midnight data on the capped accounts. CW claims gaming and streaming are priorities on the home premium uncapped accounts, so it sounds perfect.

Basically like being on a capped account, but with no cap. If that makes any sense.

I have to say Bryn, that i queried a similar package with Afrihost. 10mbps uncapped at R795. I was thinking of downgrading from 20 to 10, but i queried it more out of interest. The 20mbps is at R995, so R200 difference, but a 4mbps was almost R400 cheaper than the 10mbps. I know there is an 8meg in there somewhere, but i was just quering why Axxess was at R495 on their 10mbps uncapped package, which is the same premium uncapped package.

I too was looking to go back to an uncapped package, but then decided just to stick to a capped account in the hope that price stays, but the cap increases or something.

I know DJ will respond, but i think the quality they offer on the network probably sets them apart, and why they charge a premium(excuse the pun) for their data. I would love to be on crystal, but as i said before, i have a household of 4, and data is a big part for me likewise price. I have to have alot of data, and the price with AH is affordable.

I am keen to see what DJ does from tomorrow onwards, likewise all the other isp's. Fun times ahead i suppose

 

[Bryn]

I have to say Bryn, that i queried a similar package with Afrihost. 10mbps uncapped at R795. I was thinking of downgrading from 20 to 10, but i queried it more out of interest. The 20mbps is at R995, so R200 difference, but a 4mbps was almost R400 cheaper than the 10mbps. I know there is an 8meg in there somewhere, but i was just quering why Axxess was at R495 on their 10mbps uncapped package, which is the same premium uncapped package.

I too was looking to go back to an uncapped package, but then decided just to stick to a capped account in the hope that price stays, but the cap increases or something.

I know DJ will respond, but i think the quality they offer on the network probably sets them apart, and why they charge a premium(excuse the pun) for their data. I would love to be on crystal, but as i said before, i have a household of 4, and data is a big part for me likewise price. I have to have alot of data, and the price with AH is affordable.

I am keen to see what DJ does from tomorrow onwards, likewise all the other isp's. Fun times ahead i suppose

I don't mind the premium that CW charges for a premium service. I've enjoyed the crap out of my account this month (first month with them in a while). That's why I only used their own prices when asking about the uncapped prices and proposing a 500GB account.

 

[Icemanbrfc]

I don't mind the premium that CW charges for a premium service. I've enjoyed the crap out of my account this month (first month with them in a while). That's why I only used their own prices when asking about the uncapped prices and proposing a 500GB account.

Yep thats why i like the model that they are using. Premium account for a premium network. I was kind of pointing out, that most of the isp's have a weired way of putting costs together. Its either a huge price difference or there is a certain cap missing in between where you might want to be at.

It would be cool if the isp's could allow you to build a bundle to a certain point. Eg, in your case Bryn, you want a 525GB package say, so build you a package and charge you for it.

 

[Geoff.D]

Wrong thread, but anyhow, enough techies around here and I'm feeling lazy...

Anyone have any idea how a Windows machine on an Ethernet connection can be limited to downloading updates at a specific time? (ie. during Midnight Express time).

I may have found the answer to my own question.

Need to check if this works on Windows 10 as well.

1. Windows update schedule is now part of the general maintenance schedule

View attachment 365772



2. Another method may be via a scheduled task.

Update.bat

wuauclt.exe /detectnow

This example runs at 2:00 AM daily.

SchTasks /Create /SC DAILY /TN "Late Night Update" /TR “C:\Update.bat” /ST 02:00

May need a sister script to cancel things at 6:45AM just to be safe.

Killer.bat

taskkill.exe /f /im wuauclt.exe

and the scheduled task.

SchTasks /Create /SC DAILY /TN "Bat Killer" /TR “C:\Killer.bat” /ST 06:45

3. The gpedit location for setting whether it downloads automatically is located here

 Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update.

The same applies to Windows 10 Pro. Just go to settings and type in the search window "automatic maintenance" and the same screen as you have posted pops up, where you can set the times and click on the wake up option.

What is however a problem is this does not always limit updates to those times. Especially if your PC is off or not connected at the time you set, in which case the "install recommended updates" will see to it that these update will come through very soon after you do switch on and connect to the Internet.

Group Policy edit is not available in the WIN 10 Home versions as far as I know based on what other have reported. There are also some that claim ( not tested it myself) that IF you were to try and use regedit for some parameter settings and these are not compatible with the version of windows 10 you are using, that these will simply be ignored .....

 

[Masataka]

I think some people often confuse CW premium with other ISP "premium" accounts.
I doubt I could get a better account for the same price.

 

[Bryn]

I think some people often confuse CW premium with other ISP "premium" accounts.
I doubt I could get a better account for the same price.

I wasn't comparing CW's uncapped with other ISP's uncapped though. I was saying that the price of the premium uncapped 40Mbps account doesn't make sense considering the massive amount of capped data you could buy for the same price, good for up to 100Mbps. Especially considering that it's shaped vs unshaped.

 

[Masataka]

I wasn't comparing CW's uncapped with other ISP's uncapped though. I was saying that the price of the premium uncapped 40Mbps account doesn't make sense considering the massive amount of capped data you could buy for the same price, good for up to 100Mbps. Especially considering that it's shaped vs unshaped.

Absolutely, capped often makes way more sense and it seems to more be the case for the faster speeds where the uncapped price needs to bridge the potential to download crazy amounts of data.

 

[Bryn]

Absolutely, capped often makes way more sense and it seems to more be the case for the faster speeds where the uncapped price needs to bridge the potential to download crazy amounts of data.

The uncapped accounts are shaped though, so the risk of users going crazy isn't that high. CW has readily disclosed that the shaping does become harsher the more data you consume on uncapped, and that scheduling downloads for midnight will avoid such measures.

So there's no need to price the accounts under the assumption that over a terabyte of data will be used, especially when heavy users are shaped.

 

[Anakha56]

Still no change. Prizes we bought for a new competition came through quicker.

But should be done very shortly as soon as it's in. And opens up some great opportunities for some cool stuff.

Most of what we've been talking about over the last while are coming to fruition. Lots to get excited about...

Came to the thread for an update and saw this post leaves slightly happy but... New competition? I didn't even know there were old competitions... /feels left out...

 

[Masataka]

The uncapped accounts are shaped though, so the risk of users going crazy isn't that high. CW has readily disclosed that the shaping does become harsher the more data you consume on uncapped, and that scheduling downloads for midnight will avoid such measures.

So there's no need to price the accounts under the assumption that over a terabyte of data will be used, especially when heavy users are shaped.

To get the full picture you would need to know their exact shaping policy vs other ISPs. I believe that the contention is also lower on the CW premium accounts, which is not the case for a lot of other ISPs (usually standard and premium just have different ceilings for data usage).

 

[AfricanTech]

The same applies to Windows 10 Pro. Just go to settings and type in the search window "automatic maintenance" and the same screen as you have posted pops up, where you can set the times and click on the wake up option.

What is however a problem is this does not always limit updates to those times. Especially if your PC is off or not connected at the time you set, in which case the "install recommended updates" will see to it that these update will come through very soon after you do switch on and connect to the Internet.

Group Policy edit is not available in the WIN 10 Home versions as far as I know based on what other have reported. There are also some that claim ( not tested it myself) that IF you were to try and use regedit for some parameter settings and these are not compatible with the version of windows 10 you are using, that these will simply be ignored .....

Thanks. I'll edit my post to confirm (as indeed I have) that this works for Win 10 (Pro) as well.

My installations are all "Pro" versions so no issue there.

Mostly they're also "always on" so that's sorted too.

Mostly want this 'cos downloading updates off my cap is just

 

[Bryn]

To get the full picture you would need to know their exact shaping policy vs other ISPs. I believe that the contention is also lower on the CW premium accounts, which is not the case for a lot of other ISPs (usually standard and premium just have different ceilings for data usage).

I'm not comparing CW to other ISPs though. I'm just looking at the pricing of their other products. If you read my original post on the matter you'll see I mentioned that if CW had a 1.2TB home capped account (priced per gig the same as their 850GB account), it would cost the same as the 40Mbps home premium uncapped account.

That makes no sense. Most home uncapped users will surely use nowhere near that much data, and the uncapped accounts are also shaped (so the bandwidth isn't nearly as taxing on the CW network). It's just not a great value proposition. Nothing to do with what other ISPs are up to.

 

[Bryn]

I can't stream 720p Youtube right now. Anyone else having issues?

 

[Sinbad]

The uncapped accounts are shaped though, so the risk of users going crazy isn't that high. CW has readily disclosed that the shaping does become harsher the more data you consume on uncapped, and that scheduling downloads for midnight will avoid such measures.

So there's no need to price the accounts under the assumption that over a terabyte of data will be used, especially when heavy users are shaped.

Premium accounts are barely shaped at all so there is the risk of crazy volumes being consumed...

 

[Bryn]

Premium accounts are barely shaped at all so there is the risk of crazy volumes being consumed...

But they are shaped. Long ago when I asked what the peak usage threshold is before shaping kicks in, it was a relatively low number. And even if this has changed since then, that's not how you price the account. How many users are going to go ballistic on the account?

 

[Sinbad]

But they are shaped. Long ago when I asked what the peak usage threshold is before shaping kicks in, it was a relatively low number. And even if this has changed since then, that's not how you price the account. How many users are going to go ballistic on the account?

Long ago on cybersmart?