I’ve added a new article called Troubleshooting Internet Connection Problems to the Tutorials & Guides section. You’ll find it helpful for diagnosing and fixing problems when you:

• Can’t access a web site.
• Can’t get online at all.
• Can’t connect to a wireless network.

This excerpt describes a method for curing many modem- or router-based problems.

Trouble accessing the Internet

If you can’t access the Internet at all, start by checking your hardware:

1. Is your modem on? Check that all the usual lights are lit or blinking as appropriate. It helps, of course, if you know which lights are usually lit solid and which flash, so if possible position your modem (and your router) so you can see the status lights.

If the lights are not lit correctly – or if you’re not sure whether they are – reboot your modem: disconnect the power cord, wait about a minute, then reconnect the power cord and wait for the lights to come on. Then try your Internet connection again. If the lights are not lit, ensure the power cord is properly seated, then check the Ethernet or USB cable between your modem and your computer. Don’t just give the cables a look over; instead, disconnect each end of the cable and plug it back in securely. If you’re using an Ethernet cable, it should make a click when it seats properly. If you’re using a USB cable and have it connected through a hub, take the hub out of the loop: disconnect the USB cable from between the modem and the hub and connect it directly from the modem to a USB port on your computer. Also, if you’re using a USB port on the front of your computer, try disconnecting that cable and plugging it into a USB port on the back of your computer; sometimes, the ports at the front do not have sufficient power to do the job.

Tip: Prepare for trouble

Most ISP’s list their technical support phone number on their web site (although you may have to dig around to find it). Write it down now, before you have a problem with your Internet connection, and stick it somewhere handy. Also, make sure you have a copy of your router’s documentation on hand – you should find a downloadable version at the manufacturer’s site.

If the modem lights still fail to come on, give your ISP a call. There’s a good chance there’s something wrong their end.

2. Is your router on? If you use a router in conjunction with your modem, make sure the appropriate lights are lit and check its cables, too. Even if the correct lights are on, try resetting the router by disconnecting its power, waiting a minute, then reconnecting the power.

If the router’s lights fail to come on but your modem appears to be working, your router may have failed. Routers have a tendency to go bad silently and without notice. One way to check whether the router is kaput is to disconnect your computer from the router and reconnect directly through the modem. If you can successfully connect to the Internet without the router intervening, there’s a chance the router no longer works. It’s also possible that the router’s internal firewall or security settings are causing a problem, but in that case, its lights should still display as usual.

Sometimes, rebooting the modem and the router separately is not enough, but a full reboot may do the trick:

1. Switch off your computer and unplug the modem and the router.
2. Wait a minute.
3. Plug in the modem and wait for its lights to come on.
4. Plug in the router and wait for its lights to come on.
5. Switch on your computer.

I was presenting at a teleconference earlier this week for OneWorld. It’s a great organisation, and all my fellow teleconferencers were from non-profits, so I felt like there was a sympathetic audience on the other end of the line for my presentation of highlights from NTEN’s Non-Profit Technology Conference.

But really, I had no clue whether they were sympathetic or not.

As I was presenting, everyone else’s line was muted, so my words went completely, disturbingly uninterrupted. Not even a hushed cough or a shifting of buttocks on a chair to be heard. And, of course, there was no visual feedback. Were these quiet folk nodding? Sneering? Snoring? Cheering me on? Or wishing I’d finish? Were they, indeed, quiet at all? There was no way to tell.

Teleconferencing is a silent, squirming ordeal for presenters.  It’s not quite so bad when everyone’s an active participant, or there’s an accompanying web-based component, or some other way to provide interaction. But for a straightforward talk, it’s downright nasty.

The best part of making any presentation is feeling the mood of the audience and responding to that mood. You can start off flat and still win them over if you use the visual cues, eye contact, subtle shifting of attention to help you remould your talk to fit the room. Fat chance of that when you’re speaking in the teleconferencing cone of silence.

Web 3.0: Goodbye teleconferences? 

After my bit was over in the teleconference, the host invited questions. I’d been talking about web 2.0 sites and services and someone asked: “What do you think Web 3.0 will bring us?”

There are lots of different ideas about this. Tim Berners-Lee thinks web 3.0 will bring us the semantic web, an Internet in which computers understand the information stored on them and act as truly intelligent agents. Self-aware sites, if you will. Others talk about an intersection of small applications all working together, regardless of whether they’re on your computer, a phone or another device. Something far more sophisticated and seamless than the digital handshaking that goes on now with web 2.0 apps and services. Others think the driving technology behind web 3.0 will be improved hardware and greater bandwidth, and applications which benefit from these hardware advances.

Perhaps it was in response to the eerie quiet in which I had just presented, but I picked on the latter; the hardware-driven advances. I said web 3.0 would be the death of the teleconference. After all, there’s no reason why, with the faster connections and more powerful graphics processing coming down the pipeline, videoconferencing shouldn’t replace teleconferencing almost entirely - at least in countries with big, fat Internet pipes and generous data plans, like the US. If I can conference on Skype with my far-flung family now, then surely web 3.0 will deliver ubitquitous video interactions.

Of course, web 3.0 should herald much more than merely the death of teleconferencing. Seth Godin has an interesting take on web 4.0 and it sounds good to me. But only if I no longer have to teleconference. Without that advance, web 3 or web 4 will both be failures.