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#1
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Which DSL Package?
Finally my local phone company (SBC) if offering DSL in my area. At least that's what their web site says when I punch in my phone number Ok, they offer two packages - one is $19.95 and up to 1.5Mbps with free activation and modem. The other is 29.99 and up to 3.0Mbps with free activation and modem. I am currently using Earthlink dial-up paying 21.95 a month. I have had very very few problems with Earthlink dial-up and would recommend them to anyone. But I desperately what to jump on the broad band bandwagon. Ok, so how fast is 1.5 Mbps and how fast is 3.0Mbps? Are they worth the 19.95 and 29.99 respectively? How would they both do with watching live video clips and live camera chat? Also, what's the word on SBC Yahoo DSL? Do they have a decent reputation? What kind of costumer support am I likely to get from them? Thanks! |
#2
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"Von Fourche" wrote in message nk.net... Finally my local phone company (SBC) if offering DSL in my area. At least that's what their web site says when I punch in my phone number Ok, they offer two packages - one is $19.95 and up to 1.5Mbps with free activation and modem. The other is 29.99 and up to 3.0Mbps with free activation and modem. I am currently using Earthlink dial-up paying 21.95 a month. I have had very very few problems with Earthlink dial-up and would recommend them to anyone. But I desperately what to jump on the broad band bandwagon. Ok, so how fast is 1.5 Mbps and how fast is 3.0Mbps? Are they worth the 19.95 and 29.99 respectively? How would they both do with watching live video clips and live camera chat? Also, what's the word on SBC Yahoo DSL? Do they have a decent reputation? What kind of costumer support am I likely to get from them? Thanks! Also, will I be able to use any home page I want? I currently don't use any Earthlink software. I only use their dial up number and e-mail address. I just use Internet Explorer with Google as my home page. Can I continue doing this? Also, I have a lot of links on my desktop to webpages. I just click a link on my desktop and Internet Explorer opens up and goes to that page. Could I still continue doing that? Finally, I currently have a second phone line for my dial up. Could I get rid of this phone line and use the main talking line number? If so, my computer sits in a corner of the living room. The main talking phone line is across the room. Would it be safe to run a cable all across the room to the main phone hookup? Thanks! |
#3
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"Von Fourche" wrote in message nk.net... Finally my local phone company (SBC) if offering DSL in my area. At least that's what their web site says when I punch in my phone number Ok, they offer two packages - one is $19.95 and up to 1.5Mbps with free activation and modem. The other is 29.99 and up to 3.0Mbps with free activation and modem. I am currently using Earthlink dial-up paying 21.95 a month. I have had very very few problems with Earthlink dial-up and would recommend them to anyone. But I desperately what to jump on the broad band bandwagon. Ok, so how fast is 1.5 Mbps and how fast is 3.0Mbps? Are they worth the 19.95 and 29.99 respectively? How would they both do with watching live video clips and live camera chat? Also, what's the word on SBC Yahoo DSL? Do they have a decent reputation? What kind of costumer support am I likely to get from them? Thanks! I just called SBC. Only the 1.5 Mbps is available. So, how much faster is 1.5Mbps compared to regular dial-up? |
#4
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1500kbps / 50kbps = 30 times faster -- in theory
Reality might be less, but you'll go from agonizing to really using the web. Tom "Von Fourche" wrote in message ink.net... "Von Fourche" wrote in message nk.net... Finally my local phone company (SBC) if offering DSL in my area. At least that's what their web site says when I punch in my phone number Ok, they offer two packages - one is $19.95 and up to 1.5Mbps with free activation and modem. The other is 29.99 and up to 3.0Mbps with free activation and modem. I am currently using Earthlink dial-up paying 21.95 a month. I have had very very few problems with Earthlink dial-up and would recommend them to anyone. But I desperately what to jump on the broad band bandwagon. Ok, so how fast is 1.5 Mbps and how fast is 3.0Mbps? Are they worth the 19.95 and 29.99 respectively? How would they both do with watching live video clips and live camera chat? Also, what's the word on SBC Yahoo DSL? Do they have a decent reputation? What kind of costumer support am I likely to get from them? Thanks! I just called SBC. Only the 1.5 Mbps is available. So, how much faster is 1.5Mbps compared to regular dial-up? |
#5
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Go for it. 1.5Mbps is lightning fast compared to dialup. Use any home page you
want. Connect up one or more computers via Ethernet, i.e. do not use a USB port to connect to the DSL modem... Ben Myers On Sun, 08 May 2005 02:31:37 GMT, "Von Fourche" wrote: "Von Fourche" wrote in message ink.net... Finally my local phone company (SBC) if offering DSL in my area. At least that's what their web site says when I punch in my phone number Ok, they offer two packages - one is $19.95 and up to 1.5Mbps with free activation and modem. The other is 29.99 and up to 3.0Mbps with free activation and modem. I am currently using Earthlink dial-up paying 21.95 a month. I have had very very few problems with Earthlink dial-up and would recommend them to anyone. But I desperately what to jump on the broad band bandwagon. Ok, so how fast is 1.5 Mbps and how fast is 3.0Mbps? Are they worth the 19.95 and 29.99 respectively? How would they both do with watching live video clips and live camera chat? Also, what's the word on SBC Yahoo DSL? Do they have a decent reputation? What kind of costumer support am I likely to get from them? Thanks! I just called SBC. Only the 1.5 Mbps is available. So, how much faster is 1.5Mbps compared to regular dial-up? |
#6
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On Sun, 08 May 2005 02:31:37 GMT, "Von Fourche"
wrote: I just called SBC. Only the 1.5 Mbps is available. So, how much faster is 1.5Mbps compared to regular dial-up? The actual speed you get is likely to be limited by the server you connect to. The only time you are likely to see the full 1.5 Mbps is when downloading a big file from a lightly-loaded FTP site. Yes, you can use one phone line for DSL and voice service. Bear in mind that a DSL connection is always on, so whenever your computer is on, it is subject to various attacks. Get a gateway router from Linksys or D-Link, get a copy of ZoneAlarm and use it instead of the weak Windows XP firewall, and get a better browser than Internet Exploiter. The Mozilla suite is free, combines browser, email client and newsreader, and isn't as malware-friendly as MSIE. I use Opera for browsing and mail and read Usenet with Free Agent. The best defense against many attacks is to break out of Windows entirely. Once you get your DSL line working, you can download Knoppix from www.distrowatch.com and burn it to a CD. A 600 megabyte file is big, even for DSL, but you can start the download and go to lunch. This CD will boot into a running Linux system without installing _anything_ to your hard disk. The K Desktop Environment feels a lot like Windows, except for the single-clicl-to-launch convention. Opera and Firefox under Linux look just like they do under Windows. Open Office (included with Knoppix and most other Linux distributions) does what Microsoft Office does, including reading and writing MS Office file formats, and is free. If you don't like what you see, remove the CD and reboot and you're back in Windows. You can have it both ways. My Presario R3010 laptop dual-boots Ubuntu Linux and Windows XP. The boot menu was installed by the Ubuntu installer, which includes a partition resizing tool that can safely shrink the Windows partition without losing anything. |
#7
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Von Fourche wrote:
Finally my local phone company (SBC) if offering DSL in my area. At least that's what their web site says when I punch in my phone number Ok, they offer two packages - one is $19.95 and up to 1.5Mbps with free activation and modem. The other is 29.99 and up to 3.0Mbps with free activation and modem. I am currently using Earthlink dial-up paying 21.95 a month. I have had very very few problems with Earthlink dial-up and would recommend them to anyone. But I desperately what to jump on the broad band bandwagon. Ok, so how fast is 1.5 Mbps and how fast is 3.0Mbps? Are they worth the 19.95 and 29.99 respectively? How would they both do with watching live video clips and live camera chat? Also, what's the word on SBC Yahoo DSL? Do they have a decent reputation? What kind of costumer support am I likely to get from them? Thanks! To all who have knowledge about the following: Once you change to DSL, do you still need to pay for an ISP such as Earthlink? What is SBC Yahoo DSL? Does it take the place of Earthlink? Is there a charge for it? From the comments of others about DSL always being on, and the need for a "gateway router from Linksys or D-Link," how much would such a router cost? I guess my questions are just what does DSL replace if anything (except dial up phone service), and what additional expenses would one incur? Before I would pay more for Internet access, I would like to know exactly what it would cost and how it would work. Thanks. Ken |
#8
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See Embeded reply.
KC ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ken" Newsgroups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2005 8:06 AM Subject: Which DSL Package? Von Fourche wrote: Finally my local phone company (SBC) if offering DSL in my area. At least that's what their web site says when I punch in my phone number Ok, they offer two packages - one is $19.95 and up to 1.5Mbps with free activation and modem. The other is 29.99 and up to 3.0Mbps with free activation and modem. I am currently using Earthlink dial-up paying 21.95 a month. I have had very very few problems with Earthlink dial-up and would recommend them to anyone. But I desperately what to jump on the broad band bandwagon. Ok, so how fast is 1.5 Mbps and how fast is 3.0Mbps? Are they worth the 19.95 and 29.99 respectively? How would they both do with watching live video clips and live camera chat? Also, what's the word on SBC Yahoo DSL? Do they have a decent reputation? What kind of costumer support am I likely to get from them? Thanks! To all who have knowledge about the following: Once you change to DSL, do you still need to pay for an ISP such as Earthlink? They (SBC) are your ISP. Yahoo handles it for them as far as web content, Email and Usnenet. What is SBC Yahoo DSL? Does it take the place of Earthlink? Is there a charge for it? It is a full Digital Subscriber Line from the provider to your location. It can be used to replace your existing service provider or it can be used in conjunction with their services. Various main stream ISPs (Earthlink, MSN, etc.) have entered into joint ventures with broadband providers (DSL, Cable, Satelite, etc.). Prices vary from provider to provider and in accordance with the bandwidth provided. From the comments of others about DSL always being on, and the need for a "gateway router from Linksys or D-Link," how much would such a router cost? Generally a decent router runs under $100.00 (US). The trade off is you can connect multiple computers (CAT 5 and/or WiFi). Connection time is zero, as soon as you machine finishes booting your able to go online. Some folks boot to an active desktop with live links updated at boot. I guess my questions are just what does DSL replace if anything (except dial up phone service), and what additional expenses would one incur? Before I would pay more for Internet access, I would like to know exactly what it would cost and how it would work. Thanks. It's all really about speed and accessability. By not having to convert digital signals to analog and push them down a standard telephone wire, you can get data from the server to your home much faster. As long as you have at least a PII or faster PC your computer can handle the data recieved and display it in near real time. You can watch streaming video, live webcast, etc. as opposed to downloading content before you can watch it in a smooth and undelayed manner. As has been mentioned else where in this thread, large files downloaded via dial-up, you start the download, and then gone to lunch. With a broadband connection the same file can be downloaded in less time than it take to get a fresh cup of coffee. The added cost are as stated above, and vary from location to location as far as the service cost go. Shop around and you can get a router pretty cheap. Also see what you potential future provider offers as some have offered discout prices on routers or on tourer/modems (Actually only dial-up uses modems (MOdulate/DEModulate) broadband uses terminal devices.) |
#9
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wrote in message news On Sun, 08 May 2005 02:31:37 GMT, "Von Fourche" wrote: I just called SBC. Only the 1.5 Mbps is available. So, how much faster is 1.5Mbps compared to regular dial-up? The actual speed you get is likely to be limited by the server you connect to. The only time you are likely to see the full 1.5 Mbps is when downloading a big file from a lightly-loaded FTP site. Yes, you can use one phone line for DSL and voice service. Bear in mind that a DSL connection is always on, so whenever your computer is on, it is subject to various attacks. Get a gateway router from Linksys or D-Link, get a copy of ZoneAlarm and use it instead of the weak Windows XP firewall, and get a better browser than Internet Exploiter. The Mozilla suite is free, combines browser, email client and newsreader, and isn't as malware-friendly as MSIE. I use Opera for browsing and mail and read Usenet with Free Agent. I think I'm going to give a call to SBC Monday and sign up. I also think I should be able to save some money. I have a separate phone line in the house in the corner of the living room for the dial-up. I will call and switch that phone line number to the regular phone line number. Then I will have only one phone number coming into the house so I will only have to pay for that number. Then sign up for the DSL package. The DSL runs over the phone line? A person talking on the phone will not hear the DSL data, right? Do people ever hear the DSL data while on the phone? Are problems common? Also, you need an Ethernet card. My computer is about five years old now. It did come with a 10/100Mb PCI NIC. Is that an Ethernet card? I've never used it. Will it work even tho I have never used it since I got the computer five years ago? |
#10
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DSL and voice share the same line, and, when set up properly, one does not
interfere with the other. The 10/100 Ethernet NIC is just what you need. As long as the drivers are installed for it, it should work right away. I've worked with DSL self-install kit which includes the DSL modem, filters for the voice phones, and a CD which you run in your computer. Pretty easy. Your costs should be almost the same, with the elimination of one phone line. I endorse the recommendations in another posting: Linksys router ZoneAlarm firewall (disable the brain-damaged Windows firewall) any browser other than Internet Explorer any email instead of Outlook or Outlook Express .... Ben Myers On Sun, 08 May 2005 18:51:45 GMT, "Von Fourche" wrote: wrote in message news On Sun, 08 May 2005 02:31:37 GMT, "Von Fourche" wrote: I just called SBC. Only the 1.5 Mbps is available. So, how much faster is 1.5Mbps compared to regular dial-up? The actual speed you get is likely to be limited by the server you connect to. The only time you are likely to see the full 1.5 Mbps is when downloading a big file from a lightly-loaded FTP site. Yes, you can use one phone line for DSL and voice service. Bear in mind that a DSL connection is always on, so whenever your computer is on, it is subject to various attacks. Get a gateway router from Linksys or D-Link, get a copy of ZoneAlarm and use it instead of the weak Windows XP firewall, and get a better browser than Internet Exploiter. The Mozilla suite is free, combines browser, email client and newsreader, and isn't as malware-friendly as MSIE. I use Opera for browsing and mail and read Usenet with Free Agent. I think I'm going to give a call to SBC Monday and sign up. I also think I should be able to save some money. I have a separate phone line in the house in the corner of the living room for the dial-up. I will call and switch that phone line number to the regular phone line number. Then I will have only one phone number coming into the house so I will only have to pay for that number. Then sign up for the DSL package. The DSL runs over the phone line? A person talking on the phone will not hear the DSL data, right? Do people ever hear the DSL data while on the phone? Are problems common? Also, you need an Ethernet card. My computer is about five years old now. It did come with a 10/100Mb PCI NIC. Is that an Ethernet card? I've never used it. Will it work even tho I have never used it since I got the computer five years ago? |
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