| Are you still using a dial-up internet connection? |
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Asked 187 days ago
by Wingnutt  Germany |
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About
US Citizen. Retired Military living in Germany.
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10 Points
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No, and I don't listen to anything on LP or cassette, and I don't cure headaches with leaches, either.
;)
That was a good retort. I asked the question because I was curious how many people don't have a DSL or a cable hook up. A couple of old friends don't have either yet and the only thing besides expensive satellite is dial up. You know like, hit send and receive and then go take a walk or have something to eat until it's done down loading.
I live in an area where the choices are satellite or dial-up, and will be for the foreseeable future. Certainly Verizon has explicitly stated that they have no plans to upgrade the copper wires to accept DSL, and I can't imagine that any cable provider is eager to penetrate a market that is already pretty well satellite (for TV only) saturated.
It's slow, but not quite as bad as dial-up. It is also EXPENSIVE: the initial two-year contract, including system purchase, installation, and monthly charges will cost me more than $2,000.00
Damn. I'm likely to end up paying aournd $1200 over the next 2 years, and I'm fairly sure that I'll be getting screwed at THAT price!
No doubt about it. If your provider is anything like mine, that is. My provider rations bandwidth. If you use 70% of your allotted bandwidth in any consecutive 30 day period, your speed is reduced to dial-up. Use more, it is further reduced so that you can only access email--if you are patient. Use still more, exceeding your allotment, and no connectivity until the enough days have passed to put your use below the 70% mark. No watching your favorite TV show or a Netflix download, no way. Unless you want to pay for more bandwidth, which still won't let you do much downloading like that.
I do most of my important stuff online before 9:00 AM EST because access slows so much during hours when anyone else is using the system. My portal is in Syracuse, NY, so THEIR bad weather (as well as any local bad weather) can knock me off line.
To top it off, the installer tried to get me involved in a pyramid scheme!!1!
If i weren't so heavily invested in the system (and didn't have another 12 months to run on contract!) I would be on dial-up with a booster program so fast your head would spin.
My god, that's an appalling fix. I think I must be rather lucky. My Broadband provider (Virgin) just gave me free 10 meg connection for 30 days. Presumably to ensure I don't fall back to 2M; paying for the joy. Rather a lot of the world has no better than dial-up. I'm happy with the idea that many poorer states are able to connect with us, even at a lower rate. It's a slow progression, but all will be connected to all.
I was reading in a couple of British and German computer magazines about internet connections. They all commented on the fact that as far as internet connections go, High-Tech America is standing in the back of almost everybody else in the industrial world. There are possibilities for better connections but the companies aren't updating the equipment or providing the service. They look at it this way, "Why should we update? They'll take what we have to offer and pay what we ask for to have it". Here, there was a huge up-roar because Telecom wasn't going to update from copper lines to the the glass line(maybe wrong name) in quite a few places. The government and courts got into the act. They said something like it put The German Citizens behind everybody else like the Americans and we can't allow that. Germany's internet has to keep the German Folk internationally competitive with the rest of the world. It took them 5 years to get to my part of town but not only do we have the right phone lines now but the cable television company, Kabel Deutschland, also offers high speed connections even faster than Telecom. One can even use his/her cell phone to connect and it isn't very expensive. There aren't too many areas in Germany any more where high speed connections aren't available and the number is shrinking. Maybe someone should call Algore. After all he invented the internet, or was that created, whatever, and maybe he will create or invent something to take care of it.
Leeches (the other spelling is a verb, not a noun) are on the cutting edge of MODERN medical treatment. So are maggots. Google it.
Nope xD
The last time i had dial-up was in 6th grade, i'm a senior in high school now... I currently have high speed internet from the cable company, and 3G internet on my iPhone.