UCI Housing Network and Cable TV Issues

How To Improve Pc Performance
I value the article.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.

Interesting Joe.

Well, it must be that UCI ResNet is nice enough to not do that, because the setup works great for me and has yet to hiccup. If this changes in the future, I might have to start contributing to this blog. =) Thanks for your time in bringing issues like this to light, much appreciated.

When I said "game consoles are usually put in a special role that allows only certain ports to go through" I mean that CCA can be configured that way.
I have no idea if UCI Resnet does that.

Hello Michael,

Thanks for your post.
Unfortunately, the steps you describe most likely won't work.
CCA is designed to have different roles, and game consoles are usually put in a special role that allows only certain ports to go through (usually http, but not ssh, or skype.) The detection if it is a game console is done via the first part of the MAC address. The manufacturers from time to time use a new range of MAC addresses, and when people start to use game consoles with these new MAC addresses, the CCA mailing list shows questions about that.

As far as Bill Zeller is concerned, he was the head of UCI housing. That's when I had to do with him... The Palo Verde Residents Council would probably not exist if it weren't for him. He angered people enough to take action ;-) He cetainly angered me enough to help start the PVRC.
He eventually got moved to a position where he can't do much damage. Before he was hired by UCI, he was managing housing at the University of Michigan, where, according to reports in UMich newspapers, he got fired because he mismanaged things (just like at UCI.)
When I looked through my webserver logs, I noticed that some people apparently search for some other Bill Zeller, a medical doctor with no connections to UCI. I apologize if anybody with the same last name gets caught in this. My beef was always only the mismanagement in UCI Housing, and that unfortunately is connected with the then director of UCI Housing.

OK, so first off, I am not related to Bill Zeller (well, I probably am to some extent, but you get my point), to whom you write a lot about. Second, I do live in PV and I found your page after I saw Bill Zeller mentioned in an email and you happened to be the top google search (good work!).

Alright, so I have an easier solution to this problem, and hopefully I can clear up the Zeller name with this one. Suffice it to say, CCA is a bane on society and borders on wasting as much time as all other forms of virii combined. (10-30 seconds per person per week to login to the system "why isn't pidgin/ssh/skype/etc working!?!" causes more of a headache).

It's as simple as this:
1) Buy a router, which everyone that has more than one computer/laptop already has.
2) Buy/borrow a Wii
3) Connect to the internet via Wii via router.
4a) Done, your router looks like a Wii and won't ask to register each week.
4b) If you connected to the internet before attaching the Wii, attach Wii directly to the ethernet jack and connect to the Internet. Next, go to the Wii internet settings and get your Wii MAC address. Clone that MAC address on your router. Reattach router to ethernet jack.

Note to ResNet: I am not Michael Zeller, and the above does not emulate a MAC if you follow step 4a, so no breach of contract.

Hey thanks for this. I am going to try to get this to work on my mac tonight. Hope you keep updating this even if you don't live on campus anymore.

The script is more designed for Linux.
For Windows, you would have to install Perl first (e.g., from http://www.activeperl.com/ASPN/Perl). You then can run the script.

quick question on you windows perl script. do i upload the script somewhere? i am currently unaware of how to run the script. just wondering of where it needs to go

If SSH traffic is allowed out, another option (if you have a remote server) would be a VPN listening on port 22 that forwards all traffic through the VPN. It comes with the added bonus of privacy, at the expense of essentially paying for bandwidth twice and a performance hit of varying degree.

If you have a Linksys WRT54GS (GS, not G), you can use this enhanced firmware that automatically keeps you logged in. Navigate to http://192.168.1.1/CCA.asp to configure the clean access setup. Use at your own risk. If you upload a non-Linksys firmware (such as this one) to your device, you will loose your warranty. I will try to add some documentation about the firmware in the next days (source code included).

Thanks for your post.
Unfortunately, the Resnet people are ignoring even reasonable requests, and are essentially showing us the finger. Their disregard for us, their customers, is mindboggling.
They only react to pressure from their superiors.
So, don't give up yet. You should talk with your advisor and your department head or dean to help make known to the academic side of campus that Resnet is hindering our research work. That's seems to be the only way to get them to reconsider their stance.

This new change sucks. It has taken me over an hour to get to this site and attempt to post. Earlier today I needed to send and receive thesis documents and could not because of the stupid CCA screwing up the network. I have a Macantosh and I still have to deal with this crap. Thanks for having a place for us to voice our frustrations I just wish it wasn't in vain.

Channel 13 was out as well. I wonder why they can't implement a quality of service monitoring. Clicking through all channels once a day takes less than 2 minutes. If they don't have the time to do that, maybe they shouldn't have accepted to operate Cable TV in the first place.

Well, nothing is for free. ESPN's pricing is so that it would be a considerable price increase (something in the order of $10/month/student, although I don't know for sure yet.)
This would be for everybody, and there are a considerable number of students who can't afford that or won't be willing to pay for it.
Food Network is much more affordable. The price increase for Food Network would be in the $0.25/student range.
Anyway, we had a meeting with the administration today, and they are looking at creating a survey to get student feedback. Be sure to make your wishes heard.

Please give us ESPN and the Food Network. Thank you.

Hi,
Call more signatures for CHinese cable TV.
Thanks for your support on Chinese TV channel. Currently, we have 156
signatures from 120 units in VP and PV. We do need more
signatures. If you did not add your spouse, kids, or roommate's name,
please send their name if they support. If you are on waiting list,
please sign your name and department too. Even you don't watch TV,
please support Chinese association's activity.
Thanks for AGST (Taiwan Student association) email group's support.
Appreciate students's great support from Taiwan. Thank you all.
Please forward the following message to more people, collect more
signatures. Next week, we will go to talk with house officers and
related administrations.
___________
Hi, Guys,
Currently, 150 digital signatures from 120 apartments were sent to
cssauci @ gmail . com.

Please forward this email to your friends on campus housing.
The purpose to collect signatures is to ask Chinese TV channel in
cable TV in Verano Place and Palo Verde. The cable TV has cancelled
Phoenix channel, which carries nice mandarin and Cantonese programs.
Please send your name, room number, and email address to
cssauci @ gmail . com.
For example,
VP 9999 Zhang Yi, Zhang Er xxx@h...
PV 9999 Wang Yi, Li Si xxx@u...
We will propose a letter with all signatures to ask house office to
add a Chinese TV channel and no extra cost for each student. More
signatures will help this action.
According to UCI website, VP has 862 apartments, and 204 apartments
in PV. Considering more residents' benefit, which is also emphasized
by student housing office, we must collect enough signatures to show
that we have a large population on campus housing. In fact, many
Chinese students live on campus house. DirectTV has the service to
open Phoenix channel or CCTV.
Thanks for your support,

CSSA-UCI

I'm mainly curious about three things:

Do others report consistent, significant static/interference on many of the channels?

Why do we not have access to MSNBC?

Why does PBS (channel 6) consistently time-out and need to resync to the feed?



--michael

Thanks for that. I was out last night...
This is still going on this morning.
It gets weirder by the day.
I just called PV Housing, and the frontdesk person first told me to call Resnet. After my inquiry about what resnet has to do with the cable TV, she connected me to the maintenance supervisor.
That guy told me to call CampusTelevideo, which doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I explained to him at length that I am not a party in the contract with CampusTelevideo, so I can't call them. He eventually agreed to take my complaint.

Just thought I'd add that as of tonight, 10/20/04, we have at least 6 channels showing CBS, 2 of A&E, 2 of CourtTV, and 2 of AMC.

As well as channel 2, where CBS should be, you can also find it on 6 (PBS), 9 (KCAL), 13 (UPN), 16 (CNN), and 42 (Sci-Fi).

Channel 48, which should be the History Channel, is showing AMC.

Instead of TLC on 51 we have G4TechTV.

Lifetime (52) is currently another A&E, and G4 Tech TV that should be on 53 is another CourtTV.

Seems like the problems with this cable are getting worse by the week . . . Come on, do we REALLY need 6 channels showing CBS?

Yup. Saw that.
I talked to Ted Roberge from Resnet today, and he was surprised that the problems webpage lists Resnet as contact point. Talk about lack of coordination ;)
Anyway, he said he wanted to talk to Kevin Ansel to change that back to what it was before.
Resnet obviously doesn't want to have anything to do with the Cable fiasco :)