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arefem · 29-08-2008, 10:01

Hi Chris T

Thanks for your amusing comments.

MK is not so bad, but more about that later

Apart from moving, I think you are right. I'm waiting for the dust to settle over the Sky/FreeSat/Freeview offerings, and keep looking at the BT and Virgin alternatives. Of course by then the push will be for HD or even SuperHD.

It's a shame that what was such an innovative idea when it started has been allowed to degenerate into the current mess. The problem hasn't really been caused by BT or VM, more by the deregulation of the communications industry and the increase in television channels. Apparently the cable can't handle many more channels in it's current state, so people are understandably switching to the alternatives. Eventually somebody has to decide whether to upgrade the MK cable or turn it off; given my earlier comments I think they'll turn it off. A similar thing happenned in Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City a few years back when the council paid for every house to have a TV arial in place of the communial VHF cable system. Oddly, the company running the cable then offered additional channel s for a fee on a system they had previously said was uneconomic to repair - I sense a conspiracy!

History, they say, has a habit of repeating it's self. I seem to recall the original TV broadcasts were down a peice of wire, then we got TV arials. Later we were told cable was the future, next it was Sat Dishes (which is just another sort of arial) and DTV, and now TV over the Internet (another cable). I supose the next 'innovation' will be Internet via Sat Dish or from mobile phone-like local masts (back to arials again).

My broadband speed is acceptable for my use, the 'Upto 8Mb' I get from TalkTalk actually comes in at a reliable 4mb, but as I'm not a heavy downloader I'm happy most of the time. It's a balance of cost effectiveness and convenience.

Now to dispel you aspertions of MK, the grid road system worls well, and once you get the hang of it you can navigate from one estate to another very quickly. The estate roads themselves don't all follow the straight line principle, so some feel vert village like whilst others are more like a small town. As for the cows, well they have given MK a lot of press and attracted a lot of visitors, so as advertising goes they have been a huge success, and there are only six of them (12 if you count the clones that were put in place some years back - the originals are going on display in the MKDons stadium).

My broadband speed is acceptable for my use, the 'Upto 8Mb' I get from TalkTalk actually comes in at a reliable 4mb, but as I'm not a heavy downloader I'm happy most of the time. It's a balance of cost effectiveness and convenience.

29-08-2008, 10:01	#6
arefem Inactive Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 15	Re: Milton Keynes Cable Hi Chris T Thanks for your amusing comments. MK is not so bad, but more about that later Apart from moving, I think you are right. I'm waiting for the dust to settle over the Sky/FreeSat/Freeview offerings, and keep looking at the BT and Virgin alternatives. Of course by then the push will be for HD or even SuperHD. It's a shame that what was such an innovative idea when it started has been allowed to degenerate into the current mess. The problem hasn't really been caused by BT or VM, more by the deregulation of the communications industry and the increase in television channels. Apparently the cable can't handle many more channels in it's current state, so people are understandably switching to the alternatives. Eventually somebody has to decide whether to upgrade the MK cable or turn it off; given my earlier comments I think they'll turn it off. A similar thing happenned in Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City a few years back when the council paid for every house to have a TV arial in place of the communial VHF cable system. Oddly, the company running the cable then offered additional channel s for a fee on a system they had previously said was uneconomic to repair - I sense a conspiracy! History, they say, has a habit of repeating it's self. I seem to recall the original TV broadcasts were down a peice of wire, then we got TV arials. Later we were told cable was the future, next it was Sat Dishes (which is just another sort of arial) and DTV, and now TV over the Internet (another cable). I supose the next 'innovation' will be Internet via Sat Dish or from mobile phone-like local masts (back to arials again). My broadband speed is acceptable for my use, the 'Upto 8Mb' I get from TalkTalk actually comes in at a reliable 4mb, but as I'm not a heavy downloader I'm happy most of the time. It's a balance of cost effectiveness and convenience. Now to dispel you aspertions of MK, the grid road system worls well, and once you get the hang of it you can navigate from one estate to another very quickly. The estate roads themselves don't all follow the straight line principle, so some feel vert village like whilst others are more like a small town. As for the cows, well they have given MK a lot of press and attracted a lot of visitors, so as advertising goes they have been a huge success, and there are only six of them (12 if you count the clones that were put in place some years back - the originals are going on display in the MKDons stadium). My broadband speed is acceptable for my use, the 'Upto 8Mb' I get from TalkTalk actually comes in at a reliable 4mb, but as I'm not a heavy downloader I'm happy most of the time. It's a balance of cost effectiveness and convenience.