Categories
Geek

Diablo 3 Day I Pitstop: How’s your Internet Connection?

If it’s one thing gamers will never compromise, it’s their Internet connection. The launch of Diablo III has prompted gamers around the country to scrutinize the quality of their Internet connectivity. As a fan myself, I really take these things seriously and no amount of marketing BS will convince me otherwise. The proof is in the pudding and it seems that not everyone is a chef.

This feedback is based on a number of qualitative feedback from friends and personal experience as well.

So far, it seems that Diablo 3 works fine with the following ISP’s

Wireless:
Smart (tethered) – I tether my MacBook with my iPhone 4s and get to play just fine. Some people prefer a fixed wireless broadband connection though.

Globe (tethered) – I get to play with Rico of Technogra.ph (he tethers using a Samsung Galaxy S II)

Wired
PLDT – Generally good. I hopped into a number of games of friends and we’re rolling seamlessly.

On another note, one ISP stands out to be the provider to avoid for Diablo III:

Sky Broadband – Woes to Sky Broadband. They really dropped the ball on this one. I used to swear by Sky publicly as the best wired connection money can buy in the country. Service has dropped to a really poor rating in the past 2 months.

Brendan outlined it all here in a comment:

Hi there,

Many many emails to Skybroadband support center regarding Blizzard downloader P2P issues and unplayable in game experience with Diablo 3 (may be DNS, but may be that they have restricted Port 1119, which Diablo 3 uses) – to no avail.

Sky simply does not respond to queries and when you call them they tell you to send an email through to support center. Its a vicious circle.

Playing it on my friends PLDT connection works perfectly.

After 2 years with Sky, seems like PLDT really is the way to go.

– Brendan

As my cousin said, ” Pre-term fee for Sky is PHP 2,000.00, Diablo 3 is priceless. If it doesn’t work at 3Mbps, I’m dropping them for (insert ISP here).” Sorry Sky Broadband. I swore by your services. I really did. But sad gamer can’t compromise.

You know what’s most interesting? My wireless tethering is faster than my ethernet connection. Why, Sky, why? Note that I write this not to smear Sky’s reputation but 2 months of your IT support not knowing what the problem is makes for really bad service. Fans have waited for Diablo III for about a decade and we absolutely need to be online to play this (there is no offline mode). So you definitely should understand why gamers feel really bad about this and need to switch. We waited 9 years for Diablo III. We absolutely can’t wait for you.

To the others: how’s your gaming experience? Add me up: LOLMOWER#1648

Categories
Mostly Everything

P50.00 a day can get you a Netbook and Home Internet

Yesterday we asked you how far your P50.00 a day could go. We mostly talked about apps you can download from the iTunes store but really, an app is an app … is an app! So the word’s out today. The PLDT-Smart group have released a new home office promo which sounds mighty attractive: for PHP 50.00 a day you can get WiMax in your home plus a Neo Netbook.

Here are the plans:

PHP 999 Canopy / Wimax + PHP 500 = Php 1,499 / mo for a Neo Netbook
PHP 999 Canopy / Wimax + PHP 800 = Php 1,799 / mo for an Acer Netbook

For more details you can follow @PLDThome on Twitter and check out their unlimited Internet + Netbook bundle.

This is a steal if you’re really on a budget but need to get a home workstation going as soon as possible. We have no word about the exact model of the netbooks but I will surmise that it is probably one of these. I have had the opportunity to review Neo-branded netbooks and generally speaking, they perform at par with other brands. You also get that added patriotic flag for choosing Pinoy-made!

Do yourself a favor: if you think this this promo is epic, do inquire first about the signal strength in your area. At everything constant, the 2Mbps signal is pretty stable and enough to get you through all your Internet needs.

N.B. PLDT is an advertiser on this blog.