Dinesh Joshi wrote:
"Extra benefits"? Dude do you work for some ISP esp. Sify? :O Those "extra benefits" are a part and parcel of the internet. Everyone should have them. You should be ashamed of your statements. You are a part of a GNU / Linux User group whose core ideology is based on "freedom". But you actually subscribe and justify unjust and unreasonable restrictions put by Sify and other service providers. FSF / GNU / Linux / OSS are all about freedom. Free as in "un-restricted, uninhibited and unlimited". Not Free as in monetory terms!
Don't get me started on unfair trade practices and monopolies of ISPs or the Government. I have a bad habit to keep ranting for a looong time :|
P.S.: I apologize for sounding harsh.
-- Dinesh A. Joshi
Agreed that the "extra benefits" are part and parcel of the internet. But the reality of the situation right now is that Sify in the past gave their service without any strings attached. The reason for their denial of such service (ability to host content for example) is simply "business decision" as the customer care put it. Shifting to alternate services is not easy as all providers now prefer coming through the cablewallas. Only MTNL TriBand is possible, which has a download limit of only about 1Re per MB. I get a 150 MB per day limit plus free downloads at night (10 to 8) with Sify... at 256 kbps.
So in the end you would end up calling these services as "extra benefits". Broadband will never truly come into India until another 2-5 years with everyone content with whatever they have. You have to admit we're a minority here. Most people require nothing more than a messenger, web browser and its accessories (flash, qt, etc) to utilize the internet to its fullest.
Not trying to sound anti-freedom or anything here. Just stating things as I see them happening.
Siddhesh
PS: I will definitely not shift away from Sify because I get to download a whole CD every night for free. Just stacked up slackware and the latest Knoppix last week ;)