Reliance Webworld at Belgaum
I was cribbing about how I couldn’t have a decent broadband access in the city, when a friend of mine, working for the big R, mentioned that they have just the facility I need. So, I went for a visit today to see what it was like.
Equipped with a maximum available bandwidth of 256kbps, the facility is really decent. Good ambiance and some good on the call support, at your service. Each terminal is a 15″ LCD panel, powered by IBM desktop PCs with good ergonomic Microsoft keyboards and pointing devices. VOIP users get headsets too.
For a place like Belgaum, it’s pretty decent. They have some other services too: print something on a mug, t-shirt, the fun stuff.
You don’t get to access the OS, because it is essentially a kiosk system. So far, so good. But you can’t use any software other than Internet Explorer or a couple of pre-determined chat programs. I requested for PuTTY. It was turned down. And because it’s IE, you have to do linear tasking/browsing. Only one site at a time. You can’t open a new window on this kiosk. For someone used to tabs, this was a major gripe, apart from the fact that they didn’t have Firefox as the default. My terminal did have some third-party tab support, but it wouldn’t work.
This is a pre-paid system, so you don’t have to stick around to complete your designated browsing time, unlike other cyber cafes. You can logout and your billing meter stops. Come back another day and log in, and continue to deduct from your prepaid account.
A couple of minor annoyances, but I’d let it pass, for my prime requirement was speed. And I got it.