Richie-Bytes

I know this thread is a little old now, but I thought it fair and just to finish the story properly... The new Livebox hasn't made any difference at all. I withdraw my previous advice. Don't rent a livebox. just don't bother with France Telecom at all. They are useless.

Well, there is an end to this tale, (one hopes!) and I will share with you all for reference to those in the same, or similar boats: Having exhausted, as you know, all possible avenues open to me, a French-fluent knight in shining armour came to my rescue (and not being anyone's first choice for a "damsel in distress" I am pleased that the stocks of such hankie-dropping ladies are low in this region!) So Mr Francelot Phoned up the evil France Telecom on my behalf, and battled with the beasts for well over half an hour, pulling plugs and pushing buttons as commanded by the Tele-tyrants. He delved into the darkest caves of config on my computer; swam around the intristic sites of the Orange web pages, and the result? Absolutely no difference whatsoever. Yea, the LiveBox remained unpurturbed, pleading it's total conformity and yet so obviously lying through it's teeth; for the little red light that means my phone is working remained fixed and unblinking, yet my poor phone had no voice. But do not fret, dear readers! For there is sight of a happy ending - The evil France telecom have admitted that their faithful old dog, the LiveBox, must surely be at fault, and have arranged for a replacement. (Note that I am not jumping for joy at this presumptuous stage, though....) So the moral of this story is thus: If you really feel the need to arm yourself with the aforementioned contraption, RENT IT, DON'T BUY IT!! And if you are learning French, but are not altogether confident with your abilities, tailor your lessons towards a parlay with the Devil that is France telecom, because one day you will thank your Gods that you did. A HUGE thank you to everyone that took the time to help me with this issue, and the best of luck to anyone who finds themselves treading this same thorny path - my prayers are with you!

Learning the verbs "to have" (avoir) and "to be" (etre) at the same time is possibly the most confusing part about the French language. Unfortunately they are obviously two of the most important ones! My advice is for you to go out and get the Michel Thomas 8 hour course on CD. If nothing else it will give you confidance and understanding where a teacher will not. The guy was a genius, and his method of teaching is so far removed from anyone else. I would have given up if it wasn't for him. Combining his CDs with an hour or so speaking with someone else will help you no end, believe me. Best of luck!

Thaniks Panda (and everyopne else!) This has at least helped to illiminate what the problem ISN'T.... it isn't the phone, as I went in to the Orange shop and confirmed that the model was compatible, and it isn't the way I have it connected. The fixed telephone light on the Livebox makes me assume that the fault isn't with the hardware, and according to the page link from my messenger page the phone is active. BUT. I have now discovered that the Gestionaire Internet application doesn't work. A friend set up the internet connection for me (as it is way beyond my knowledge of computers) and I can connect to the internet via Internet Expolorer or Firefox without any problem, but if I try to use the actual Livebox software it tells me is "Temps d’attente dépassé" (Latency exceeded), which makes no sense to me in either language! Is this a different problem, or part of the same one? When I diagnose the problem it says "Il est impossible de communiqué avec le périphérique" (It is impossible of official statement with the peripheral), which again makes no sense! My head is spinning now. I need to go and lie in a dark room....

I had the internet telephone as part of my original package, but I hadn't connected it up properly, (totally my fault) and ended up paying for every call I made. This was back in June. A friend came over and fixed it for me, but then the Livebox went pop (possibly due to a lightening strike) and I lost everything. I got a new Livebox a couple of months ago, and I have had problems ever since. Either the phone worked and the internet didn't, or vice-versa. Unfortunately my computer-literate, french-fluent friend is no longer aroud, which has left me totally stuck. (A few weeks ago I did convince the English helpline people at Orange to test the line, and they said there was no problem. ....) Thanx to all for your continued advice!!

Thanks for all the info so far!! To answer some of the queries: Yes, I have two phones, one bought specifically for use with the Livebox, the other plugged into the ADSL filter (which works fine if I don't mind paying for the calls!); everything is connected correctly as per instructions on the setup CD. But no, I haven't tried phoning my internet phone from the other one, as I wasn't even aware that there was a seperate number! All I was told was that the internet phone was for outgoing calls, and the other was for internal. Is this right?? I'm so confused!

I have the internet and unlimited telephone package through France telecom/Orange, but the phone running through the livebox has no dial tone. I have tried everything suggested with no luck. The English-speaking  FT "help" line refuse to deal with it, and my French is not good enough to understand the operators on the 3900 number. It's driving my nuts! I am paying for a service I cannot use, and I have run out of options to fix it. Could it be the Livebox itself? It appears to be working - I have internet access, and all the lights are on. I am at a loss here, and I don;t know anyone bi-lingual that can help me! Suggestions would be a life-saver (because I'm beginning to feel murderous).....

Hi all, my girlfriend has recently moved over here from the UK but she doesn't drive. We are in the middle of nowhere and she needs to be mobile. We have been looking into a Micro-car, but we cannot afford to by a new one. Does anyone know where to find a second-hand selection? Is there anything legally we should know? Appreciate any help here!

Thanks to everyone for previous input - but is there a limit to the amount you can earn by CESU? Are there any pitfalls or problems I should be aware of? It all sounds suspiciously simple, given the usual amount of red-tape involved in the French system...

Thanks Clair this is really helpful - this is an avenue i didn't even know existed! But would every employer have to apply for one of these chequebooks, or would it be held by me? For example, if I worked for someone for just one or two days, would they have to go through this process to pay me, or could i declare the payment by another means? My French is terrible, by the way, and computer-translated legal jargon never seems to make much sense! Thanks very much for your help!

I know there is a market in my region for someone to do simple, semi-skilled jobs around the home - painting, cleaning out gutters, replacing broken tiles, cutting the lawn, etc. Basically jobs it isn't worth paying a fully-qualified artisan to do. What I want to know is how I can do this and earn enough money to pay my taxes and other Governmental requirements? Is it true that the more varied jobs I do the more tax I pay? What would I have to charge people, and can I make a living out of it? Has anyone succeeded (or failed) at this venture? I understand that I will have to pay fees up front, and that there is some kind of book-keeping course I will have to do, but I don't even know what type of company I have to apply for. I'm not exactly loaded, so if there is any way of keeping the cost down I'd like to know about it! Any help would be really appreciated. I'm blind here!