Needing some ISP advice...

[GATER]

Hey ya'all, I seldom post in the Hangout but I know there is a wealth of information in here and would appreciate some (honest and serious) advice.

I got my first internet connection around 1998 and have never had a complaint with it. Although I have wanted to keep the same e-mail address, it looks as if times have changed and I've outgrown my dial-up connection. It appears I have 3 options:

* SBC Digital
* cable (probably TW Road Runner in Austin)
* wireless (I have satellite and use DirecTV for my League Pass).

If there are other options, I'm not aware of them.

Can some of you please relate your experiences (both good and bad) with these internet service providers?

Thanks.

[VooDooPope]

If you can afford it go with cable.

[JPM0016]

i've had Road Runner in the past and i liked it. Never had any problems with it, always had a great, fast connection. You can't beat 45 buck price either.

[rockHEAD]

stay away from satellite. if you have other options, satellite should be your last. dsl is decent but cable will probably be fastest.

go here for news, reviews and info on broadband in your zip code!!

http://www.broadbandreports.com

[KaiSeR SoZe]

Roadrunner offers 3000/384 for around $50, I've never had problems with them

[No Worries]

FYI, Roadrunner and your satelite can not share the same cable.

If you have a home page, RR blows since they give you next to no space.

I made the switch to RR and TWC, dumping DirecTv (whose 1-800 service is beyond bad), since I had to use the same cable. I kept my EV1 ISP account though, since I host my web page through them. Keeping EV1 allowed me to keep my email account.

Something to consider is using a remailer for your email. Rice U gives its grads a free remailer service which I give out as my permanent email address. Some other organizations that I belong to also offer free remailer service.

At one point I looked into a commercial remailer services. I think they were about $10 a month then; it might be less now. Anyway at $10 a month, you can get an EV1 account which includes web space and multiple email acounts.

[GATER]

Thanks to everyone who provided a comment thus far. It looks like cable is the overwhelming choice.

Originally posted by No Worries FYI, Roadrunner and your satelite can not share the same cable. If you have a home page, RR blows since they give you next to no space. I made the switch to RR and TWC, dumping DirecTv (whose 1-800 service is beyond bad), since I had to use the same cable. I kept my EV1 ISP account though, since I host my web page through them. Keeping EV1 allowed me to keep my email account. Something to consider is using a remailer for your email. Rice U gives its grads a free remailer service which I give out as my permanent email address. Some other organizations that I belong to also offer free remailer service. At one point I looked into a commercial remailer services. I think they were about $10 a month then; it might be less now. Anyway at $10 a month, you can get an EV1 account which includes web space and multiple email acounts.

No Worries -
I don't think my DirecTV/satelite and TW cable are in conflict. My home is currently wired for both and they are mutually independent. Other than internet surfing my computer(s) are primarily used for music...IOW, I don't do any web hosting or related technologies. Right now it's Clutch City, Google/info searches & music which are my primary uses.

One of the reasons I want to change to high-speed is e-mailing mp3's of my original songs to friends in other cities. The EV1 and "commercial remailer services" can do this? My modem allows me to receive but times out on a send.

[Man]

I have Earthlink Broadband Cable..it's great. It uses the same cables as AOL and Roadrunner I think in my area...Time Warner cable..but AOL was much slower. I recommend cable as well. Good luck

[bottlerocket]

Get a T1 connection if you can afford it. If not go with cable.

[KaiSeR SoZe]

Originally posted by bottlerocket Get a T1 connection if you can afford it. If not go with cable.

theres no point in having a T1 connection if he's gonna use it for his home, Road Runner would be faster anyways...

[Joshfast]

Originally posted by Man I have Earthlink Broadband Cable..it's great. It uses the same cables as AOL and Roadrunner I think in my area...Time Warner cable..but AOL was much slower. I recommend cable as well. Good luck

Isn't AOL just a browser?

[Man]

Originally posted by smashfast Isn't AOL just a browser?

I don't know..I know they are an ISP. They suck. Actually..they have lots of nice coollooking stuff..it just takes up too many resources and their network is slow...and it's for beginning internet users..newbies. It's very simple to use. It was all right. It just lagged like crazy for online gaming. I don't know which browser AOL software uses.

[Agent86]

Originally posted by bottlerocket Get a T1 connection if you can afford it. If not go with cable.

T1???
hes not hosting a bbs, he just wants to be on the internet

[FrancisFan]

Originally posted by Man I don't know..I know they are an ISP. They suck. Actually..they have lots of nice coollooking stuff..it just takes up too many resources and their network is slow...and it's for beginning internet users..newbies. It's very simple to use. It was all right. It just lagged like crazy for online gaming. I don't know which browser AOL software uses.

Slow network is dependant on location. If you dial in to a server that is loaded with users its going to tend to be slower. I agree with you in terms of that they aren't as fast as others...I liked EarthLink.

Also AOL doesn't allow remote login (or atleast in my location) meaning that I had to use their browser, so I decided to cancel that and go to Earthlink who had pretty good connection speeds and dependability, but their customer service was horrible. In order to cancel you have to call and I was on the phone for over an hour before I could get it canceled.

From my knowledge AOL user MSIE in their browser on their windows version and gecko (or something like that) for their mac.

Right now I have SBC DSL and its fast. I can get 5 mbps (compared to 1.5) for just $10 more a month, but I don't think that it is necissarily a must so I'll stick with the 1.5 mbps down and 256 kbps up. The only bad thing is that you must have a dial tone through SBC ($17 a month before taxes) and I had to pay $50 for the modem. But I think they sent me the wrong modem b/c it is a modem /router combo with 802.11b wireless AP and powerline network, and a built in firewall, but I use a Linksys router so the unit doesn't make that big of a deal.

[thadeus]

I wonder why cable is so expensive down here? In Michigan, one can get a cable connection for $25 a month.