So I called my ISP last night. My broadband connection is running at 1.2MBps down 66kbps up – This is, quite frankly, appalling – When I moved into this house in July, we were receiving 8MBps but now we’re on such a measly connection (6 people live here, and use the internet, 4 Machines accessing the net at any given time).

I called up – after holding for 15 minutes (no joke) I finally got to talk to somebody, who was more than likely reading straight from his script. Here’s a little example of what the conversation went like:

Tech Support Guy: Ok, so what operating system are you using on your computer? Windows or Mac OS?
Me: Errm…Linux actually
TSG:…………………
Me: Ok I’ve moved to a Windows Vista PC

That – in all seriousness – is just not acceptable! They provide an Internet connection, not a software package. Since when did I need Windows or Mac OS* to be able to browse the internet!???!?! I really think that ISP’s need to realise that the service they provide is platform independent, and stop asking customers to “Please click on the start menu, then the big ‘E’ for Internet Explorer”. It’s just frustrating and patronising, it’s no wonder people still think that IE is THE Internet!