Can't Login to Connect website w/dial-up

foxpaw · 02-01-2007, 10:56 PM

The problem: spent the last two days trying to open an account at the Connect eBooks website using the Connect Reader browser and kept getting a "Page not available" [HTTP error: 500] message when clicking the "Register" link. After three emails back and forth with the Connect Customer Support people, it seems they are clueless, unfortunately. I tried Sony Chat....again, absolutely no help; no one seemed to understand English!

I finally called Sony Tech Support (800-222-7669) and found a hardware tech who offered to go into the software and create an account for me. He tested it and it worked for him. An hour ago, I tried to login to my "new" account (I got the "Welcome to Connect" email as he promised.)....and, an hour later, the little circular arrows are STILL SPINNING trying to login to the Connect eBooks website. My brief moment of hope has come to a crashing end!

Observation: it appears that a dial-up connection (mine) is too slow to properly connect with the Connect website via the Connect Reader browser included with the PRS-500. The HTTP 500 error usually signifies a time-out problem, apparently.

Some facts: my computer is one-year-old Dell Windows XP SP1 running Norton Protection Center 2007 and using Internet Explorer 7. Dial-up speeds are usually 45.3 K....and, with Earthlink Accelerator, the machine is fast enough most of the time to make surfing quite pleasant. No problems accessing ANY other website in the universe that I know of.....just the Connect eBook Store! The PRS-500 worked fine; synced fine with my computer; software installed just fine; could browser the eBook Store just fine....just couldn't Register....and, now, Login.

The bottom line: my adventure into electronic books has come to end. I'll try to get Sony Style to take it back tomorrow and give me a refund. Otherwise, I guess I just write it off to experience and trash the thing! I love to read and was so very excited about the possibility of carrying hundreds of good books in a single, small, light device while I traveled all over the world with the military. No more 25lb bags of books to lug around! What a terrible dissappointment. But I thought it might save others the same heartache and disappointment if I posted this experience here. Dial-up just doesn't cut it with the Connect eBooks website....rendering this device useless. Too bad Sony doesn;t tell you that up front -- they just say "Broadband suggested."

NatCh · 02-02-2007, 12:04 AM

Hmm. I access the ConnStore about half the time with dial-up (laugh if you like, but it's free through work, so the price is right

). I don't have any more problems with the ConnStore than I have with any other site, and my speeds top out at ~42 kbps (no accelerators). For reference, until it died suddenly a couple of weeks ago, I was using a 5+ year old PC with XP Pro SP2 on it.

I can understand your frustration, share it even, but before you take that rascal back, you might look around and see if you can find other sources of e-files that appeal to you. Speaking for myself, the ConnStore is quite a ways from having enough titles to make the Reader worthwhile all by itself, though it's growing nicely. But I'm heavily supplementing my e-library from other sources such as Project Gutenberg and Baen Publishing's e-offerings.

Just thought I'd throw that out there for consideration.

02-01-2007, 10:56 PM	#1
foxpaw Foxpaw Posts: 8 Karma: 32 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Springfield, Virginia, USA Device: HTC/AT&T Titan, Kindle DX	Can't Login to Connect website w/dial-up The problem: spent the last two days trying to open an account at the Connect eBooks website using the Connect Reader browser and kept getting a "Page not available" [HTTP error: 500] message when clicking the "Register" link. After three emails back and forth with the Connect Customer Support people, it seems they are clueless, unfortunately. I tried Sony Chat....again, absolutely no help; no one seemed to understand English! I finally called Sony Tech Support (800-222-7669) and found a hardware tech who offered to go into the software and create an account for me. He tested it and it worked for him. An hour ago, I tried to login to my "new" account (I got the "Welcome to Connect" email as he promised.)....and, an hour later, the little circular arrows are STILL SPINNING trying to login to the Connect eBooks website. My brief moment of hope has come to a crashing end! Observation: it appears that a dial-up connection (mine) is too slow to properly connect with the Connect website via the Connect Reader browser included with the PRS-500. The HTTP 500 error usually signifies a time-out problem, apparently. Some facts: my computer is one-year-old Dell Windows XP SP1 running Norton Protection Center 2007 and using Internet Explorer 7. Dial-up speeds are usually 45.3 K....and, with Earthlink Accelerator, the machine is fast enough most of the time to make surfing quite pleasant. No problems accessing ANY other website in the universe that I know of.....just the Connect eBook Store! The PRS-500 worked fine; synced fine with my computer; software installed just fine; could browser the eBook Store just fine....just couldn't Register....and, now, Login. The bottom line: my adventure into electronic books has come to end. I'll try to get Sony Style to take it back tomorrow and give me a refund. Otherwise, I guess I just write it off to experience and trash the thing! I love to read and was so very excited about the possibility of carrying hundreds of good books in a single, small, light device while I traveled all over the world with the military. No more 25lb bags of books to lug around! What a terrible dissappointment. But I thought it might save others the same heartache and disappointment if I posted this experience here. Dial-up just doesn't cut it with the Connect eBooks website....rendering this device useless. Too bad Sony doesn;t tell you that up front -- they just say "Broadband suggested." Last edited by foxpaw; 02-01-2007 at 10:59 PM.

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02-02-2007, 12:04 AM	#2
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Hmm. I access the ConnStore about half the time with dial-up (laugh if you like, but it's free through work, so the price is right ). I don't have any more problems with the ConnStore than I have with any other site, and my speeds top out at ~42 kbps (no accelerators). For reference, until it died suddenly a couple of weeks ago, I was using a 5+ year old PC with XP Pro SP2 on it. I can understand your frustration, share it even, but before you take that rascal back, you might look around and see if you can find other sources of e-files that appeal to you. Speaking for myself, the ConnStore is quite a ways from having enough titles to make the Reader worthwhile all by itself, though it's growing nicely. But I'm heavily supplementing my e-library from other sources such as Project Gutenberg and Baen Publishing's e-offerings. Just thought I'd throw that out there for consideration.

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