Hatrack River Forum: Your opinion please

This is topic Your opinion please in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Silkie (Member # 8853) on :

I use a dial up service. We don't have access to DSL or Cable in the place that I live, so dial-up is pretty much the only choice.

Right now I am experiencing frustration with my dial up service. The connection speed has decreased over the past year, and worse, I am getting booted off regularly. Right now I am using IE so that I won't lose my half written post when I get booted. Good thing I'm doing that too, since I just got booted AGAIN. I do maintenance daily, like Disk-cleanup and Defrag. I use Ad-aware daily. I keep my Virus protection updated and I have a good firewall. I'm adding Spy-bot today - thanks for that link/suggestion.

For those of you who know/use Dial up - what Dial up service is "the best" in your opinion, and why?

Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :

Is it safe to assume you're not interested in DirectTV?

Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :

I always liked Netzero and Juno. Netzero has a neat little program built in so that if you don't much care about (or when you don't care about) graphic quality of the websites you are looking at you can decrease the quality for faster surfing. (The fact that they are calling this high speed I think is still immoral though). I think other dial up services have started doing this to.

Posted by Silkie (Member # 8853) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Icarus:
Is it safe to assume you're not interested in DirectTV?

I have DISH satellite, because they have lots more PBS/educational programming channels. At the time we got DISH I checked into a getting a computer satellite connection through them. Their computer satellite connection required a telephone connection, which - from what I understand - slows it down. Did I misunderstand that or has that changed?

quote:
Originally posted by Stephan:
I always liked Netzero and Juno. Netzero has a neat little program built in so that if you don't much care about (or when you don't care about) graphic quality of the websites you are looking at you can decrease the quality for faster surfing. (The fact that they are calling this high speed I think is still immoral though). I think other dial up services have started doing this to.

I have got my alternatives (so far) down to either Net Zero or People PC, both of which have this feature. Anyone else?

Posted by Silkie (Member # 8853) on :

I tried a free trial of AOL and I HATE the way it takes over your PC!

Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :

I also have dial-up at home because of living on a rural farm.

I, however, use a local internet service provider, instead of one of the "national names" like earthlink, AOl, etc. etc. Because with a local ISP, I have a local number, a real person I can call, and I have never had any troubles at all.

I know some of the bigger ones have "time-outs" where if they don't detect any activity (and typing does not equal activity, because it isn't interacting with the connection) they will bump you off to free up the line. Mine doesn't do that.

Sometimes the problem is in the phone line itself, so you might check that -- where incoming phone calls are interferring or stuff like that.

I did, however, learn that the phone company only has to guarantee you a 14.4k connection, no matter what speed modem you have. I'm doing good on a day I can get 24.0. That's why I do most all my web surfing at work!

Farmgirl

Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :

Oh - and my local ISP also has that little program and decreases graphic quality and packets cache or something so to increase speed. They call it WebRunner on theirs. However, I have found it to be unreliable, and sometimes gives more problems, so many times I turn it off (there is the option to do that)

FG

Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :

To be honest, all dialup sucks. However, I recommend using a local ISP (I've worked for AOL and now Comcast) if high speed is not available and dial up is the only option.

Now, as far as satellite internet connection- um... really not cost effective, but if you're desperate, then it will be faster than what you have now (not going to be as reliable as cable/dsl, though).

http://www.dslreports.com/psearch

Thats a good place to search for ISP's in your area, and usually you'll find a review or two to help you decide.

Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :

Hmmm.. on that link -- if I put in my zip code for "search for local ISP by zip" - it doesn't find the company I actually use. I wonder if the companies have to pay to get listed..

FG

Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :

Disconnects are rarely the fault of the ISP. It's much more likely to be cruddy phone lines. Have you had the phone company come out and test your lines?

Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :

Try this way, then, see if this breeds any results.

http://www.dslreports.com/gmaps/localisp

(these are for local, only, not any big company or such)

Posted by Silkie (Member # 8853) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Farmgirl:
I also have dial-up at home because of living on a rural farm.

I, however, use a local internet service provider, instead of one of the "national names" like earthlink, AOl, etc. etc. Because with a local ISP, I have a local number, a real person I can call, and I have never had any troubles at all.

I know some of the bigger ones have "time-outs" where if they don't detect any activity (and typing does not equal activity, because it isn't interacting with the connection) they will bump you off to free up the line. Mine doesn't do that.

Sometimes the problem is in the phone line itself, so you might check that -- where incoming phone calls are interferring or stuff like that.

I did, however, learn that the phone company only has to guarantee you a 14.4k connection, no matter what speed modem you have. I'm doing good on a day I can get 24.0. That's why I do most all my web surfing at work!

Farmgirl

I'm a farm girl too. [Smile]

We have a little place next to a State forest. The nice thing about being here is that I live in the woods. I love to sit outside and listen to the wind in the trees. I can have any pet I want, and I have plenty of those. I can't see my nearest neighbor. The tough part is that we don't have many of the conveniences of city life.

I didn't know THAT about the phone company! When we first moved here I was getting speeds of 50K bps, and now I am lucky to get 24K bps. What the heck is bps anyway!

I hadn't thought of that as an option - I'll look into local providers. When I tried People PC I also found that the speedup program was a mixed blessing for the same reason you mentioned.

quote:
Originally posted by T_Smith:

Now, as far as satellite internet connection- um... really not cost effective, but if you're desperate, then it will be faster than what you have now (not going to be as reliable as cable/dsl, though).

That's the impression I got when I researched it. I have been almost desperate enough at times to try that anyway!

Posted by Silkie (Member # 8853) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Storm Saxon:
Disconnects are rarely the fault of the ISP. It's much more likely to be cruddy phone lines. Have you had the phone company come out and test your lines?

No, I didn't. Good idea.

I have regularly checked with the Phone company asking for DSL access. I was told it will be a long time until they will provide it out here. (if ever) Not cost effective. I suspect I will get a shrug from them if I ask for a phone line upgrade/fix.

Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :

Silkie, similar problem here. I can't get DSL or Cable either.

So I use Verizon Wireless's broadband solution, which is a lot faster than 56k. You may want to check and see if it's available for your area.

Just for backup (in case I run into problem with my wireless service), I also use Verizon's dialup service, which is reliably 56k.

You can also try satellite internet, which a LOT of my neighbors have. They like it. For me, it was cost prohibitive -- $600 up front for equipment and $100/mth. I think we'd have decent reception because our trees are fairly far from our house, but some of my neighbors really have trouble with their reception.

I'm really looking forward to when this area's cable company catches a clue. I can't wait to go back to cable broadband.

Posted by Silkie (Member # 8853) on :

quote:
Originally posted by jeniwren:
Silkie, similar problem here. I can't get DSL or Cable either.

So I use Verizon Wireless's broadband solution, which is a lot faster than 56k. You may want to check and see if it's available for your area.

Just for backup (in case I run into problem with my wireless service), I also use Verizon's dialup service, which is reliably 56k.

You can also try satellite internet, which a LOT of my neighbors have. They like it. For me, it was cost prohibitive -- $600 up front for equipment and $100/mth. I think we'd have decent reception because our trees are fairly far from our house, but some of my neighbors really have trouble with their reception.

I'm really looking forward to when this area's cable company catches a clue. I can't wait to go back to cable broadband.

Interesting. Am I understanding this right - Verizon's service is wireless broadband? Hmmm, I wonder if I will be able to get a signal, since we are in a Cell phone dead zone much of the time. Well it certainly is worth trying. I'm looking into that later today. I am still loading Spybot - you can imagine how slow that is, with the restrats and now updating the .dat files.

Even getting 56K reliably would be wonderful, after the ridiculously slow speeds I have been getting! I actually got a speed of 16.6K when I signed on a couple of days ago. I signed off and resigned on and got a speed of 26.6 instead.

"$600 up front for equipment and $100/mth" is beyond my budget too!

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

Jeni, what does Verizon broadband cost per month? How fast is the connection?

My parents live out in the country, and are in the same boat Farmgirl is in. However, the quality of their lines is so low that they're lucky when they connect at 14.4. This past Thanksgiving when I was visiting them I was connecting at between 7 and 9, which for all intents and purposes is so slow as to be useless.

Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :

Verizon Wireless (different company than Verizon) has a wireless broadband service. You buy a PCMCIA card from them that you slide into your laptop. It's essentially a cell phone for your laptop. If you don't have a laptop, I understand you can also use a Verizon Wireless Blackberry attached to your desktop via USB. They don't support that, though, so you'd be on your own if you have problems.

All of which would be immaterial if you're out of range. I'm on the edge of the range here. If you use Verizon Wireless cell service and don't get reception there, you won't get their broadband either.

Verizon (not Verizon Wireless) has dialup service, and like I said, I've found it to be very reliable though honestly, I don't use it that much. I've never had it drop my connection though, which is nice.

Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :

Verizon Wireless broadband is $59.99/mth with a 2 year contract (unlimited minutes) and a qualifying phone contract. In other words, if you have a Verizon Wireless cell phone too, it's $59.99. Otherwise, it's $79.99/mth. You have to buy the card as well, which they will discount $200 from. I recommend getting the strongest card available. One with an external antenna. They have a 10 day return/cancellation policy, so if it doesn't work for their location, Noemon, they can always return it. (Which I did the first time I tried it. The card they originally sold me wasn't strong enough to get consistent connection.)

Posted by smitty (Member # 8855) on :

You might check with your local electric cooperative, and see if they are interesting in selling "Wild Blue" from NRTC. I'm not real up on it, but it's a high-speed internet via sattelite that's a lot cheaper than that directway that dtv sells. Last I checked around here, there was a waiting list to get on it, but that's been a while ago.

Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :

Yeah -- satellite/wireless options have all been too expensive for my blood.... especially since I DO have the option of using T-1 line at work, so there is no pressing need to have faster dial-up at home.

THIS is one of the things I love about my ISP being a local, home-grown company.

Right after T_Smith posted that link above about how to find local ISPs, etc. and I mentioned that mine wasn't on the list, I e-mailed Chris, the main man at my local ISP and asked him why Hubris wasn't mentioned.

And by lunch, I already had a personal reply back from him!

quote:

We just felt like given the huge number of results that site gives (none
of which are actually local) it wasn't worth the money to be listed there.

Chris

See? Now I may pay more for dial-up than some of you. But for that kind of personal attentionn and immediate response, it is worth it. It's great.

I'm all about service.

Farmgirl

(I'm still waiting for BPL -- Broadband Over PowerLines -- that some rural electric cooperatives are offering)

[ January 11, 2006, 05:06 PM: Message edited by: Farmgirl ]

Posted by enochville (Member # 8815) on :

I use "Highstream" and am very happy with it, and it is cheap.

Posted by smitty (Member # 8855) on :

don't hold your breath over BPL. The one coop out here that's doing it is losing their butt. Of course, in Kansas, there aren't as many trees to interfere with the signal [Razz]

Apparently, you're supposed to have a good tree trimming program. But the bottom line is, power lines aren't made to carry data. It works, and it may still come to your area, but it's still has a ways to go. We've had some pushes to get into the market, which I resist with all my strength. I think the coop I'm referring to has about 10 guys working on the project full time, and only about 80 customers. And the less dense your system is, the more money you have to sink in for a lower return.

Posted by Silkie (Member # 8853) on :

Thank you for all the information - there are many more choices than I was aware of!

Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :

Talk to your neighbors to find out if they want faster internet access, and how much they are willing to pay.
Nowadays it is quite easy and relatively cheap to set up a rural shared WiFi network -- even an extremely small one -- leading to a server linked directly to a high-speed connection, wide-band satellite if nothing else is available.

Have your neighbors talk with their neighbors.
Write articles for your local papers to make sure that folks know that a higher-speed option is available.
If there is sufficient interest, talk with a local utility to see if they are willing to finance and/or run the operation. Bring the topic up at your local government public meetings, including school/etc board meetings.

Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :

If a local dial-up provider has good tech support hours, I'd go with that.

I'm stuck with dial-up until I can wrangle a cable modem from Cox, which could be a while, and I use the university dial-up. I'm friends with one of the university computer guys, so if something goes wrong, I can probably get it taken care of pretty quickly. But just in case, I have a back up account with a national provider with a twenty-four-hour tech support line.

Yes, I am a paranoid addict.

-pH

Posted by Silkie (Member # 8853) on :

I'm trying People PC and so far I haven't been dropped once. They have an accelerator too. While the speed is the same the accelerator helps. It is also super cheap, $5.47/mo for three months and then $10.95/mo.

AND I am still looking into Broadband. If I can fit that into our budget I'll work on getting that later this spring.

Thanks for the good advice and info!

Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :

pH, you just need a cable modem? If so, send me an email. I'll mail you mine. I can't use it where I live and it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to for a long time yet.

Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :

Well, I think I also need to get ahold of Cox and get them to turn the service on (I don't think the previous occupant, who still has the utilities in her name, had cable Internet). But they've got hold times of over an hour. [Frown]

I'm wondering if I could physically go into their office and say, "Hey, put the cable in my name, and gimme Internet and phone."

But after that's done, if I need a modem, I'll let you know! Thanks! [Big Grin]

-pH

Posted by human_2.0 (Member # 6006) on :

A few years back I heard about some guy who didn't have access to cable or dsl and he HAD to have broadband (for work I think) so he got on his roof with a telescope and found a house 11 miles away or something and asked the guy to get dsl/cable and put a wifi antenna on the house pointing at the other house. So both guys got broadband that way.

If you are really desperate.

Posted by Silkie (Member # 8853) on :

quote:
Originally posted by pH:
Well, I think I also need to get ahold of Cox and get them to turn the service on (I don't think the previous occupant, who still has the utilities in her name, had cable Internet). But they've got hold times of over an hour. I'm wondering if I could physically go into their office and say, "Hey, put the cable in my name, and gimme Internet and phone."

But after that's done, if I need a modem, I'll let you know! Thanks!

-pH

I've always found that I get better response in person pH. [Wink]

No hangups. From what I have seen on TV (huge lines for building permits, for instance) you may have a line to deal with. Bring a good book and a sense of humor!

Good luck!