Russian Internet

[russ 1]

I'm very pleased to have internet access here in Russia. The downside is that it is ridiculously expensive. 1.6 rubles/Megabyte. That is about 65 dollars/GB. While DSL is reasonaby fast, this is insane. 1 day of light VJ use and email is running me about $10.

It was also quite an adventure finding a wireless router for our laptops. (I eventually did.)

[Satellite 1]

I'm very pleased to have internet access here in Russia. The downside is that it is ridiculously expensive. 1.6 rubles/Megabyte. That is about 65 dollars/GB. While DSL is reasonably fast, this is insane. 1 day of light VJ use and email is running me about $10.

There is a feature in internet explore that allows you to turn off images. All images will appear as open boxes and you have the option to click show image. Go to tools -> internet options -> advanced- > multimedia ->s how pictures. That is how the computer I used in Russia was setup. That way you don't squander all your traffic on silly signatures, pop ups, and the like. Edited June 7, 2007 by Satellite

[bruc 0]

I'm very pleased to have internet access here in Russia. The downside is that it is ridiculously expensive. 1.6 rubles/Megabyte. That is about 65 dollars/GB. While DSL is reasonaby fast, this is insane. 1 day of light VJ use and email is running me about $10.

It was also quite an adventure finding a wireless router for our laptops. (I eventually did.)

Hi russ...hope you're enjoying your stay in Russia.

I posted earlier that on my last trip to Russia that my week of checking emails and giving a registration report to you guys in VJ cost me about $42.00 for the internet and I don't think that was DSL.

Sounds like a good racket to me .

bruc

[slim 1,533]

There is a feature in internet explore that allows you to turn off images. All images will appear as open boxes and you have the option to click show image. Go to tools -> internet options -> advanced- > multimedia ->s how pictures. That is how the computer I used in Russia was setup. That way you don't squander all your traffic on silly signatures, pop ups, and the like.

Best tip of the day! Thanks, Satellite.

[Danno 1,228]

The cards you buy in the shop for internet did not seem that high and those were rated by the hour of use. Like a jack-### I shut the computer off without signing out of the internet and guess what happened, yep the clock kept running while I slept

Seems a guy I talked to in St. Pet paid like 60 a month for high speed and he said unless he started downloading movies it would not run over the alloted bandwidth amount.

My GF is using cards although high speed will be available this month or next in her area. I want her to find out exactly the cost and amounts so we don't end up with a huge tab from running a webcam or something.

[Nancy2015 2]

Back in 2004 I paid $30 a month for unlimited access. It was DSL, and it was super fast.

[Satellite 1]

Back in 2004 I paid $30 a month for unlimited access. It was DSL, and it was super fast.

That is unbelievable for Russia. They just don't get the concept of unlimited or flat rate. Of all the computer experts I spoke to in Russia, none of them could name a single company offering unlimited usage at a flat rate. Granted some companies offered pretty good deals if you purchased say 100 gigabytes of traffic, but none were unlimited. Moscow might be the exception here, I think.

However, a lot of internet companies offered "intranet" which was unlimited access to a local network. This is very popular to get all the pirated movies, software, music, and other peer to peer things. But otherwise, nothing was really flat rate or unlimited.

Edited June 8, 2007 by Satellite

[Nancy2015 2]

However, a lot of internet companies offered "intranet" which was unlimited access to a local network. This is very popular to get all the pirated movies, software, music, and other peer to peer things. But otherwise, nothing was really flat rate or unlimited.

You bet All my friends had that kind of thing going on back then.

I can't recall the name of the provider, but yes - I had an $30 flat rate for unlimited usage. It may have been unlimited up to a certain (big) amount of Gigabites, but I can't remember. And it was in 2004, things may have changed since then.

[russ 1]

However, a lot of internet companies offered "intranet" which was unlimited access to a local network. This is very popular to get all the pirated movies, software, music, and other peer to peer things. But otherwise, nothing was really flat rate or unlimited.

I use Firefox on a Mac, the tip about turning off images would be |Firefox -> Preferences -> Content tab. My VPN back to the states still sucks up bandwidth, so working form here is kind of expensive.

As far as I know, Moscow & St Petersburg are the only places you will get reasonably priced DSL. It isn't so much that it is per MB here, it is how much they are charging that bothers me.

Internet traffic inside the city here is free. There is a local telephone monopoly, which is one reason for the high prices.

[russ 1]

Some other quick observations about being here:

Moscow Rick:

We were totally happy with the apartment. Clean, good location, large, and well-priced by Moscow

standards. Having his driver meet us at the airport was worth $50 - we wouldn't have been able

to arrange anything much cheaper ourselves, and he knew exactly where we were going.

We are staying with friends in Moscow when we leave at the end of the month. Wasn't an optioned

when we arrived, as they were out of town.

Supermarkets

These have changed a lot in the 2 years since I have been here. 3 progressively larger ones

have opened. They look much like a Sams club, but with different products. 2 long aisles of

sausages and salami, 1 aisle of mayonaise, 1 aisle of bad Russian beer, and 3 aisles of vodka.

This represents the bulk of the Russian food groups. Still plenty of open-air markets, with

cheaper and better produce.

Roads

The Russian road system is more like a super-collider of death. I had forgotten how

bad it is. Holes separated by brief stretches of road really. Seat belts are universally

not worn.

[Satellite 1]

Having his driver meet us at the airport was worth $50 - we wouldn't have been able

to arrange anything much cheaper ourselves, and he knew exactly where we were going.

I had no idea public transit now costs over $50 We use it in San Francisco and in Russia, even with luggage. It's kind of exciting. You should see us.

[russ 1]

I had no idea public transit now costs over $50 We use it in San Francisco and in Russia, even with luggage. It's kind of exciting. You should see us.

With the 6 very heavy bags we had in tow, public transit was not an option. The little busses from SVO to the metro

station don't have room for that much luggage. For all other travel in Moscow, we used the metro.

From DME - the train is fine and cheap.

And actually, in London a round trip on the Heathrow Express (15 minute trip) was over $50 US last time I checked.

[bruc 0]

Some other quick observations about being here

Supermarkets

These have changed a lot in the 2 years since I have been here. 3 progressively larger ones

have opened. They look much like a Sams club, but with different products. 2 long aisles of

sausages and salami, 1 aisle of mayonaise, 1 aisle of bad Russian beer, and 3 aisles of vodka.

This represents the bulk of the Russian food groups. Still plenty of open-air markets, with

cheaper and better produce.

Roads

The Russian road system is more like a super-collider of death. I had forgotten how

bad it is. Holes separated by brief stretches of road really. Seat belts are universally

not worn.

On my last trip to visit my fiance I had made pics of the inside of an Ingles Supermarket here and a Walmart, the drive from my home to the Atlanta airport, etc.

I made a slide show for them on my laptop....I think they both went into culture shock when they saw the inside of Ingles. They said it was so huge that was it possible to get lost in it. Walmart didn't impress them very much.

On all my trips to visit them I've noticed in the grocery stores not much a selection of food items. The only can goods I'v seen are whole kernal corn and green peas and sometimes a can of tomatoes.

They said Atlanta looks clean and was amazed at some of the apartment complexes I had made pics of driving down I-85.

You are absolutly correct about the roads over there. We went for a day visit to their family dacha and went a regular two lane road....it was 10 miles an hour and less because of the pot holes and no pavement at all for stretches.

We returned on something like an interstate...bad bad bad....it was almost as bad as the two lane road and had speed breaks before and after the

bridges

bruc