Re:

[scuzzy]

Neon,



If I recall, AT&T Broadband is what Carol is using.



Is Sprint Wireless Broadband not an option? I hope it is, 'cause if you use me for a reference I can get a free month. Actually, I'm very pleased with Sprint. It has provided excellent service for me.



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Alex Garcia

[Carol]

Hi Neon,



I'm using Comcast Cable @ Home. I love it, have never had one problem except in the very beginning and it was a piece of cable.  I am renting my modem mainly because I figure if something happens to it it's their problem.  It's an RCA modem, I can look up the model number if you want it.  I know that I will never go back to dial-up unless there is absolutely no other choice.



I don't know how to clock the downloads, but I asked my son and he said he believed it was 512k per second.  Does that sound right?  I know I have downloaded a couple of megs in a few seconds.



You will be hooked if you get it.



Carol



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[Joanie]

Hi Guys + Girls,



Verizon called  me with a good deal for DSL. Is Cable preferred over DSL?  Also I would like to eliminate one phone line but my firend is using it for the Internet. With DSL I can connect the computers together to use the same line but they tell me I need a cable to connect them. The computers are many rooms appart and I would have to add additional cable which would be visible along the baseboard and through a tiled entry way. Are their any alternatives to allow two computers in different parts of the house to use the same line. I can't afford to keep two telephone lines and DSL too.



Joanie



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[Neon]

Hey Scuzzy,



I did a quick check on Sprint ION and its other broadband offerings, but they just are not available here.



Actually, I wanted to go with DSL, but Verizon is the only provider in the area, and they measured this location at just under 17,000 ft. from their CO. Verizon says 16,200 ft. is their max distance, so no DSL for me.



Joanie, if you can get a good deal from Verizon, I'd go for it. The advantage of DSL is that you have a dedicated line, whereas cable is a shared (with your neighbors) resource that can slow down a lot during peak usage hours if the cable co. doesn't keep up. I was planning to get DSL and hook up two networked computers. You might try a wireless networking solution, but you'll need to buy some hardware. I can't recommend specific hardware, but the block diagram would be something like:

/DSL line/--/DSL "modem"/--/wireless router/--/wireless network card on each computer/

check out C|Net Wireless Networking.



Carol, glad to hear that @home is working out for you. 512kbps sounds much preferable to my current 40kbps dialup. My AT&T would be an @home connection, too. How long have you had it, and did you have any problems or need to make any adjustments or upgrades to the RCA modem?







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[Carol]

Hi Neon,



We've had cable since the end of March.  The modem is rented from Comcast.  We picked up a self install kit that had everything we needed. Since I already had a network card in the computer and it was sitting right in front of a cable conection in the house, all we had to do was connect the modem.  We had problems the first day so I called them out and found it was a piece of cable that was bad on the outside of the house.  If it hadn't been for that we would have been on right away. We have had no trouble since, no down time.  We did install the @home software that came with it but I'm not really sure all of it was necessary.  I have had it unchecked from start up for a long time and have had no trouble.  It is still installed on my computer though.  We have networked my sons computer to it as a back-up (just in case something happens to this one) and he installed no software on his. I haven't noticed that at any time of the day when others might be on that it is any slower.  Haven't had to do anything with the modem as far as upgrades or adjustments.

Hope this helps.

Carol



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Edited by - carol on Sep 22 2001  10:45:01 AM

[Joanie]

Hi NEON,



Looks like the wireless router would be the way for me to go. I have a 10/100 card in my computer but it is not wireless and the other computer has nothing like that. Guess I would need a wireless card in each computer.



Do you think this is something I could do myself since I am challenged when it comes to working inside the computers.



Thanks for the link and the info.



Joanie







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[Neon]

Thanks Carol, that is very helpful. I think I'll just rent the modem, also. As you said, if there is any problem, they will have do deal with it, and there shouldn't be any compatibility headaches. The AT&T Broadband free software! seems to consist of a custom MSIE, RealPlayer, Apple QuickTime, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and a couple others, so it isn't such a big deal. I am quite encouraged that you have not experienced significant network lag during prime time. I've heard the unhappy stories of people setting the alarm to wake at 2AM to use their internet connection.



Joanie, installing a wireless card should be similar to installation of any other NIC, and would involve (I think, haven't done it yet) opening the case, plugging the card in, booting up, Windows finds the new hardware and asks for drivers, and you install the drivers from a disk. I plan to buy and install a 10/100 NIC (not wireless) this weekend, so if it's more difficult than that, I'll let you know.



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[Carol]

Neon,

Glad I could help.  This one is used all times of the day and evening.  And there have been times when both boys have needed the internet for homework research so both computers are being used and we still see no difference.

As far as the Network card, my 14 year old son put the one in his computer.  I'm sure it is not very hard.

Carol



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[Neon]

Hi Folks,



Neon moved last week, and it looks as though broadband may finally be a possibility. And that broadband provider will be AT&T cable - any good/bad/so-so experiences



My real question is whether to rent a cable modem from them, or go purchase a cable modem. If the latter, what should I look for



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