1) Good luck finding something nonprofit-ish... You could always get to know your neighbors and go in with some of them for internet.
if it's available in your area, I would suggest Cavtel (cavalier Telephone). They were a lot friendlier than Verizon, but we ended up with Verizon because they gave us a few free months. With Cavtel you can get DSL for $25/month, but you have to have some kind of phone service with them. Their regular phone service is $25 a month, which might be too much to be spending on phone+internet. Their other option, which I was seriously considering is called Phonom and it's VoIP (voice over IP). It still hooks up to your regular phones/phone jack, but the signal is transmitted over your internet connection. It's like $35/month (including DSL), so a prety good deal I think.
2) As for Skype, I wouldn't try it over dial-up. Even with DSL sometimes the connection gets wonky.
Well, I really did mean that I need "dial-up" because it doesn't look like the apartment is even wired for DSL (at least Verizon doesn't offer it at my address, and I think they're the biggest provider in the area), so I don't think those are options for me. $25 is a lot for regular service alone, and it doesn't look like Cavtel offers residential service in DC anyway.
Cable internet is really fast but really expensive. It's only something I'd consider if I were interested in cable tv, which I'm totally not.
Fortunately, I've been considering investing in a laptop (a mac even) for some time now, which I can take out and about to wireless hotspots if the dial-up really bugs me. I've used dial-up in the past without much problem. My family had an unlimited AOL account I could sign into when I wasn't at Swat, but they discontinued it recently because they got a cable package instead.
Yeah, Cavtel is weird because they're based in RICHMOND, and they have coverage fours hours north in PHILLY, but not in all the places between them. I guess they thought the market conditions in Philly were better than in DC?
Sharing is a good idea. I'll definitely look into that.
Broadband wireless and cable are running ~$60/mo, which doesn't seem worth it since I typically only use not-fancy applications like email/lj/some surfing and occasional shopping and am not interested in cable tv. I would like DSL, but so far it appears that the apartment does not have DSL capabilities. (At least Verizon doesn't offer it, and Verizon is probably the largest provider in the area.) I think polexa's suggestion of going in on wireless with some neighbors is a good one; I'll proably try that first. If I'm lucky there's already a wireless network in the building. Hope hope hope!
You probably don't remember me, especially considering I'm anon. now. I did buy you coffee and cookies in Gutenberg January 3, 2005, but I doubt you remember. Wireless is the way to go. If you have a desktop, definately put down for a good external antenna for it. Hell, one of the best options is to get a USB wireless adapter, as they often have fairly high powered antennas/radios. Use Netstumbler on windows (kismac on mac) to search for wireless in your area. -me
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Good luck finding something nonprofit-ish... You could always get to know your neighbors and go in with some of them for internet.
if it's available in your area, I would suggest Cavtel (cavalier Telephone). They were a lot friendlier than Verizon, but we ended up with Verizon because they gave us a few free months. With Cavtel you can get DSL for $25/month, but you have to have some kind of phone service with them. Their regular phone service is $25 a month, which might be too much to be spending on phone+internet. Their other option, which I was seriously considering is called Phonom and it's VoIP (voice over IP). It still hooks up to your regular phones/phone jack, but the signal is transmitted over your internet connection. It's like $35/month (including DSL), so a prety good deal I think.
2) As for Skype, I wouldn't try it over dial-up. Even with DSL sometimes the connection gets wonky.
and yay for wind energy
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Cable internet is really fast but really expensive. It's only something I'd consider if I were interested in cable tv, which I'm totally not.
Fortunately, I've been considering investing in a laptop (a mac even) for some time now, which I can take out and about to wireless hotspots if the dial-up really bugs me. I've used dial-up in the past without much problem. My family had an unlimited AOL account I could sign into when I wasn't at Swat, but they discontinued it recently because they got a cable package instead.
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I wasn't sure about Cavtel offering service in your area, since I hadn't heard of them at all until someone on LJ recommended them for Philly.
I think offering to split it with some neighbors might be the best way to go. Residential internet connections are really wasted on 1 or 2 people.
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Sharing is a good idea. I'll definitely look into that.
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-me
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-your tablemate at Prom
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