Give me packets, or give me death!

[crashska]

So I got my second paycheck, and now I'm looking for a way to hook into teh Intarweb from our place. Sarah and I are both tired of using the setup at the library, and miss being able to talk to people on a semi-regular basis

Comments

[blueroo]

DSL service, without the phone. http://www.speakeasy.net/home/onelink/ Truthfully, almost all of the DSL carriers should be able to offer you that kind of package. The only wireless service I know of worth having, Clearwire, doesn't offer service in your area.

Comcast makes noise about requirements and such, but the truth is that they're full of crap. You don't need any of it. The catch with Comcast (and most cable companies) is that their service can be spotty. If you do nothing else, find a non-comcast DNS server to use. They can't manage DNS to save their lives.

Stay away from Satellite if you actually want to do much more than send email and browse a few websites. They have very strict download policies and short tolerances for large downloads.

[ctnijo]

You don't need any extra software to setup Comcast. All you need to do is plug a router into it and it'll work. They want to market their professional installation to you as a way of making money because they operate under the assumption that their customers don't know shit about computers. The only way to do this is to order the most minimal installation possible, and do the rest yourself. Unfortunately I don't think they'll just let you order the service without some type of installation. We didn't have to pay for any installation when we signed up for Comcast High Speed Internet years ago, but that was only because since we already had cable TV through them, our house was already wired for cable by them, so they knew that none of our household wiring infrastructure needed to be changed. Since you're a new customer, they don't know what kind of setup you have, and therefor need to come out, check everything, and while they're there, bill you for professional installation.

[ctnijo]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, DSL, by the nature of how the technology works, does in fact need a phone line to operate on, unless you go with some sort of wireless provider, which then would just be considered WiFi instead of DSL.

It's too bad you guys don't live in some of the mid-western cities that have implimented WiMAX. Basically, think city-wide wireless internet access that you pay a monthly access fee for. Sit in the city park, the beach, wherever, and be online =)

[blueroo]

We have Clearwire WiMax all over the west coast, including here in Seattle. :)

[ctnijo]

Ooh nice! I wish we had that out here. Well....actually it doesn't bother me that much, cause I have my own dedicated fiber line straight to my house, so my 15MBits is all good =)

[crashska]

Thanks for the advice, guys!