Art La Flamme

So, I got back from Atlanta, put away my stuff, and turned on my MacBook Pro, aka KC.? Fine, no problem, boots right up.? Skype chimes in to say hello and to tell me that I am connected to the net.

Last.fm connection cannot be established.? Huh.? Well, sometimes that happens, but gets resolved once I connect via a web browser.

I fire up mail.app — my new messages come tumbling in.

I fire up Firefox.? Huh — error message. Cannot find server.

So, I try a few sites.? Nope, nope, nope.? I call the front desk — we can’t help you, call Charter (the ISP) direct.

Charter (C):? No, no — everything is fine on our end.? Must be your end.? Ok, hit the start panel and bring up the control panel.

Me (M):? Uh, yeah.? Control panel?? I have a Mac.

C: Oh, maybe that’s the problem.

M: What?? That I use a Mac?? You’re kidding, right?

C: Uh, hang on.

(long wait)

M: Is there something you want me to check?? It might be a Mac, but it is a computer.

C: You need to check is the network card is working correctly.

M: It is. It’s built in, and the diagnostic says it’s ok.
C: It sounds like it’s not.? Call us back after you check it.

So, I played some more.? And low and behold, I found that I could connect to https: sites — they connect via port 22, not 80.? The card works.

I call back.? I get a different guy — who actually knows what a Mac is.

C: Ok, pull up the terminal.? Ping our server, charter dot com.

M: OK, I’m getting responses.

C:? Huh.? OK.? Telnet our server.

M: Denied.

C:? Ok.? Well, it’s your machine.? Port 80 is blocked for some reason.

M:? Blocked?? How?

C:? Maybe it’s another program.? Or a virus.

M:? This is a Mac.? Mac’s don’t just change when you power them off.

C:? I don’t know how to help you on this one.? Port 80 is blocked.

M:? Any chance it’s something on your side?

C:? No.

M:? OK, I’ll go play some more.

So, I call Apple.? When I bought KC, I opted for the Apple Care program.? Seemed like a good time to try it.

An hour or so later, Apple declared it odd and unusual, and they had no idea.? Restore the OS, they said.

Yikes.

I packed up the laptop and headed to the PX to see about a small portable hard drive — I’d want to back up before wading into that.

First stop?? Library.? Free Wifi.

And, since you’re reading this, you may have guessed what happened.? I fired it up, and low and behold, Port 80 worked just fine.

Oh, it can’t be anything on our end, says Charter.

Yeah.? I’m heading back to the room to call them and tear them a new one.? Fortunately, I’ve been doing my readings in between all of this, but still.? Charter:? DO NOT WANT.

(Bastards)

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 at 9:23 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.