I've had dial-up for years. I'd like to switch to high speed. Recommendations?

[nicknameless]

I've stuck with dial-up for 10 years. It's time to switch, but I don't know which company is good.

Do you have an ISP you like? Is there one you'd recommend?

Thanks :)

[flowomo]

1. you may not have many choices....

depending on where you live. I have one choice: Comcast. Been fine for me.

[nicknameless]

8. Thanks

[CabalPowered]

2. It depends where you are.

I like the smaller shops personally. dslreports.com is also a good place to shop around for your location.

[nicknameless]

5. My dial-up ISP is a smaller company and I've really liked that.

I'll check out dslreports.com.

Thanks

[skipos]

3. I had DSL and Comcast. Comcast is WAY faster and more reliable.

A bit pricey though.

[nicknameless]

6. I'd like fast & reliable, of course,

but cost does matter so I'll check them both out.

Thanks.

[Nite Owl]

4. When I had dsl we used

http://www.speakeasy.net/home/dsl/

They were good but with dsl you have to be a close to the station (has another name) so Verizon decided our line wasn't good enough and we lost dsl capability.
We now have cable, TimeWarner, Roadrunner and it is much faster and service is excellent.

It really depends on what provider is near you, we don't get a whole lot of choices but if it is cable or dsl the cable is much better in my experience. Faster and more stable.

[nicknameless]

7. TimeWarner, Roadrunner

Is that an expensive service?

[Kutjara]

11. I'm using TWC Roadrunner.

I got a bundled deal with cable TV and 6mbps broadband. It was pretty well priced in my area, compared with alternative offerings. I don't have a home phone because I use Skype for international calls and my cellphone for US calls, so that saves me the monthly subscription for phone service to my home.

The Internet service is fast and reliable, with no downtime that I've noticed.

I'm not one to recommend large companies, but in this case, I don't have anything to complain about.

[nicknameless]

13. That you don't have anything to complain about with

that service is very good to know.

So many people have complaints about cable or satellite television service, I was concerned that internet service would be similar.

[Kutjara]

14. In my area (the National Socialist Republic of Orange County, CA)...

...Comcast and Adelphia have been swallowed-up by Time Warner Cable. It's still the honeymoon period because the Comcast and Adelphia customers haven't been migrated to TWC's network yet. I suspect that means that we TWC customers have a pretty empty network to ourselves at the moment. Whether service will continue to be good when all the migration is going on I don't know, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[nicknameless]

15. I hadn't heard of TWC, but if it's swallowing Comcast, it's got to be huge.

Well, I hope the service remains good.

My sympathies for your living in Orange County :(

[Bridget Burke]

38. Comcast & Time Warner are swallowing Adelphia.

Next, Comcast & TWC will divvy-up their territories.

We've got TWC in Houston; soon, it will become Comcast.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

41. And in Minneapolis, Comcast has swallowed Time-Warner

:shrug:

But I've had both cable and DSL, and cable rules, as far as I'm concerned.

You'll never want to go back to dial-up.

[nicknameless]

42. Actually, it looks like I can get DSL for nearly the same price I've been

paying for dial-up.

Happy dance --> :bounce:

:)

[nicknameless]

43. Wonder if anti-trust laws will ever be enforced again.

:(

[KitchenWitch]

22. Which village in the National Socialist Republic of Orange County CA

are you in?

I am in the Peoples Republic of Irvine.

[Kutjara]

30. I'm in the Kingdom of Brea.

Just up the road from you. Howdy neighbor! :hi:

[Nite Owl]

37. The first six months

are relatively inexpensive:

http://www.roadrunneroffers.com/9/?cid=52103&affid=GEO_ALB_time_warner

but then it doubles.

It may not be available in your area, it depends on who the provider is where you live. I also had Cablevision broadband and they were not very good.

[nicknameless]

44. Looks like they don't have service in my area. They switched me over to Comcast.

Comcast would be pretty expensive because I don't have cable TV already. Current subscribers with them get a big discount.

Thanks for the info. I like learning what's out there.

[lizziegrace]

40. I had to switch to TimeWarner when I moved

my old provider doesn't serve this area.

I have my phone through Vonage and the RoadRunner service has been spotty and as a result, so has my phone service. :eyes: I don't know if it's my location (rural) or a bigger problem with Time Warner.

I had Wide Open West in town and loved it. I can't even remember it ever going down.

[nicknameless]

45. Definitely seems like there's more available when you're in an urban area.

I hope those services improve.

[nicknameless]

9. Isn't there some sort of high-speed connection which can be tapped into?

Eg: Someone in a car, outside your home, can tap into your line/signal?

I didn't pay much attention to that story when I read it, because it didn't apply to me at the time.
But whichever service that was, I'd like to avoid it.

:shrug:

[nicknameless]

16. Answering my own question here, in case anyone else is interested:

Wireless internet can be tapped into by others.

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/04/State/Wi_Fi_cloaks_a_new_br.shtml

[Kutjara]

17. I suspect that's some of the metropolitan wireless services...

...that are being rolled out in some places. If users don't secure their wireless connection to these services (and many of them have very little security built in), anyone with the right equipment can tap into the communication link between the user and the service provider's wireless router. It's basically the same problem as unsecured home wireless networks, but on a much larger scale.

I use a wireless router at home, that connects to my TWC Roadrunner router, giving me wireless internet access throughout my house. I use WPA security, only allow certain MAC addresses to access the wireless router (those that correspond to the wireless cards in my computers and no others), have a firewall on the router, and turn off the feature that makes the wireless router broadcast its existence to the world. With those safeguards in place, I'm about as secure from attack as I can be.

[nicknameless]

18. That sounds right. Some systems just aren't secured, so theft can happen.

It's good that you know where the vulnerabilities are and have a set-up that protects them.

I don't need to be wireless, so the cable or phone line connection should work fine.

[nicknameless]

27. Thanks for the helpful info

:)

[jobycom]

10. Just do it.

I've used DSL and cable. Couldn't tell the difference, really. Both were way better than dial-up. With cable (my choice now) you can cancel your regular phone line and use Vonage, or go cellular. With DSL, you have to pay for a phone line, but if you already pay for a phone line that's not a problem.

Just Google something like "high speed internet" and your city name. You should get all the available options. Usually you'll get your phone company for DSL, and Time Warner for cable, with the option to use Earthlink and a couple other "brands," who really use your phone company or Time Warner, anyway. You may get Comcast or some other smaller company. Just shop for the best price--the quality difference isn't going to be that great--unless you just hate one of the companies more than the other.

[nicknameless]

12. So it's pretty much cable or phone line?

Thanks for all the info. :)
I'm a real novice on this topic, so I'm not even sure which questions I should be asking.

BTW -- Do you know the answer to post #9?

[jobycom]

19. #9 is a different thing, sort of. Some basics.

Cable is the same as the cable you get tv on. If you get cable tv already, it's through the same line, though you need a modem, which they will provide. Vonage and the other Internet phone services generally use cable hookups. Don't use Time Warner's phone service--it's almost twice as much as Vonage.

DSL comes in through your phone lines, if your phone lines have been prepared for it at the trunk. If you live in an urban area, they probably are. If you are rural, you'll have to check. There are sites on the Internet (google "DSL availability" or something like that, or just find the web page for your local phone company, and they usually have a web page where you can enter your phone number and see if it's available). With DSL, your computer is always online, and you can use the phone at the same time.

You could also go satellite--I don't know much about that, except that it costs more, and it's the only option in some areas. It's the same type of dish as satellite tv.

What you are describing in post 9 is something different. Once you get high speed internet, you will have a modem (external) attached to either your phone lines or your cable. That modem allows you to hook up one computer in your house. If you want to add additional computers, you can buy a router, allowing you to hook up several computers. Routers connect to your computers through cables (one for each computer), but can also be wireless, meaning that the router broadcasts a signal outwards, and anyone with a wireless receiver in their computer (if your computer is new, you might already have one) can connect to your router, and if they know how, can get into your computer from it (they have to be in range, which is usually no further than the street outside and the neighboring houses, so this isn't toomuch of a threat). To preven anyone else from connecting, you can set a security code.

That's the basics. There are websites that will help you find services. You can go to Earthlink.com and use their locator service, and they can tell you if they offer services at your address, and what services they are, and what specials they have. I'm sure Time Warner and your phone company and Comcast have the same thing. There are a couple of sites that will search all options for you, but I don't know what they are. A little Googling would find them.

[nicknameless]

20. I don't have cable, but there's a connection for it here.

I'll have to look into DSL. It's probably available too.

That's good to know that the wifi theft can only take place within a short distance.
I'll check out Earthlink, my phone company, and Comcast.

Thanks for the info. :)

Here's a weird question: I don't have a very good firewall, and disconnect my computer from the internet at times.
Would that be possible to do with cable or DSL?

[jobycom]

32. Sure, you can just unplug the cable from your computer, or the modem, or the wall.

Windows will just reconnect when you plug the cable in. No need to sign back in.

[nicknameless]

33. Is that true just for cable or for DSL too?

Cable looks to be a lot more expensive than DSL from what I'm seeing.
Is DSL easy to unplug too?

[jobycom]

34. Yes, it's the same.

Once you've established the connection for the first time, all you have to do is reconnect the cable and Windows will reconnect again. Unplug the cable between the modem and your computer. It takes longer to reconect if you unplug the modem from the wall, although with XP, it will reconnect automatically, too.

[nicknameless]

46. Thanks. I have a Mac, but I imagine they work pretty much the same way.

Looks like I'm going to be taking the plunge: DSL for $14.99 + taxes per month.
My dial-up service was $14.99.

The speed of download is 384 Kbps - 768 Kbps.

Sounds like that's fast enough to stream a video conference.

[nedbal]

21. go for the $15 verizon/yahoo dsl package

I've used DSL and cable. Couldn't tell the difference, if you're used to dial up the 750kb speed is all you need to view streaming video etc. if you're moving large files , playing high graphic multi user online games you need faster speed than the 750kb


for dsl you need to be in range of a telco office check here if you're within the limits http://www.dslreports.com/prequal


if you set up a wireless router with out setting up the wep security encription one can crack/latch onto your computer

[nicknameless]

23. I want to view an online event. So it will be 8 continuous hours of video.

Which would be better suited for that kind of usage?
The event itself is expensive, so I'll want as good a connection as possible.

[nedbal]

25. it's not the length of the event it's the bandwidth/speed they are sending

I can't recall any streaming video that is currently sent higher than 300kb/sec the 750kb dsl could handle 2 such events at the same time

[nicknameless]

26. Very good to know

:)

[nicknameless]

24. I should have mentioned this in the OP, I want to stream an online event

that's 8 hours continuous video per day.

Does that effect the choice I should make? Cable or DSL would be best for that?
The event itself is expensive, so I should try to go for the best connection.

Must. Resist. Compulsion. To. Be. Cheap.

;)

[nedbal]

28. r u sending or receiving this event

""I want to stream an online event that's 8 hours continuous video per day.""


receiving is no problem on 750kb dsl

SENDING has more variables too complex for me to go over all the details here

[nicknameless]

29. I'll just be receiving it.

I'm waaay too technologically challenged to send video.

:)

[nicknameless]

31. I don't have a very good firewall,

so I disconnect my computer from the internet at times.
Would that be possible to do with cable or DSL?

[Bridget Burke]

35. You can just remove the cable connection from your PC....

I've got cable internet from Time/Warner in Houston. (I already had their cable TV.)

TW uses Roadrunner or Earthlink; I picked the latter because they had a "special" when I hooked up. No problems. (Earthlink also has firewall, popup blocker & virus zapper software, free to users.)

DSL was not an option, since AT&T couldn't maintain a decent phone line to my house. (Sure, I could stay home from work & wait for the repairman. Maybe it wouldn't cost very much.) So I cut the cord & am now cell-only.

[nicknameless]

47. I like to threaten AT&T that I'm on the verge of cutting the cord,

whenever they screw up my bill. ;)

But they had the best price. Hopefully the service will be okay.

[graywarrior]

36. Verizon fiberoptics is reasonable

But it is not in every loaction.

[nicknameless]

48. I saw one of their internet ads last night, so I tried to check them out.

But something weird was happening with their website.

It kept asking me the same questions over and over.

I think I've decided on DSL through AT&T for now.
But I'm bookmarking these other services in case that dosn"t work out for some reason.
Thanks for the tip.

:)

[Ptah]

39. Is this another I'm leaving du rants?

Oh, Dial Up.

never mind.

[nicknameless]

49. Emily. Pay attention.

:spank:

[nicknameless]

50. DUers totally rock.

Whenever I’ve needed answers and information in a hurry, DUers have always come through.
Thanks for all the helpful info!


:yourock: