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10-16-2015, 02:42 PM
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#241
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gone traveling
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 202
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HFWR
I have to pay "retail" for internet, so around $75
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That can't be right. I pay $45 / month for TW internet and basic cable. They must have you set up for the lightning fastest Internet available (that you probably don't need). Mine is 50 Mbps download / 5 Mbps upload.
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10-16-2015, 02:46 PM
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#242
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 2,745
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Called Dish to cancel my subscription. Instead, got a $25 discount per month for the next 8 months. a $200 saving. May call again to cancel it for good when I retire before 8 months is up.
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10-16-2015, 02:54 PM
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#243
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,198
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HFWR
Of course, TWC says that since I'm not on a "bundle", I have to pay "retail" for internet, so around $75.
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Are you sure?
I have nothing but internet via TWC. The "standard" internet is $34.99 and I have the "extreme" upgrade to 30/5 speed for an additional $20, so $54.99 total. Maybe you have a faster speed than you need?
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10-16-2015, 03:02 PM
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#244
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,473
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ETFs_Rule
That can't be right. I pay $45 / month for TW internet and basic cable. They must have you set up for the lightning fastest Internet available (that you probably don't need). Mine is 50 Mbps download / 5 Mbps upload.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by braumeister
Are you sure?
I have nothing but internet via TWC. The "standard" internet is $34.99 and I have the "extreme" upgrade to 30/5 speed for an additional $20, so $54.99 total. Maybe you have a faster speed than you need?
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But TW internet is not available at every location in the country. Maybe you two are getting an exceptionally good deal and have the same provider?
I'm getting Cox Cable mid-level internet (up to 50 Mbps download/5Mbps upload also), for $66.99/month. That's not very much less than what HFWR is being charged.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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10-16-2015, 03:10 PM
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#245
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,198
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Well, HFWR said he was using TWC for internet, so it seems a fair comparison.
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10-16-2015, 03:16 PM
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#246
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Administrator
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 40,585
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Comcast gives us a $10 break if we bundle with TV, charging only $60 for internet. Plus fees. Of course, there's no alternative in our neighborhood, so they have no incentive to lower the price.
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10-16-2015, 03:20 PM
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#247
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,473
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Quote:
Originally Posted by braumeister
Well, HFWR said he was using TWC for internet, so it seems a fair comparison.
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Oh!!! I'm sorry. I didn't notice that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelB
Comcast gives us a $10 break if we bundle with TV, charging only $60 for internet. Plus fees. Of course, there's no alternative in our neighborhood, so they have no incentive to lower the price.
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Cable internet from just one cable company has been given a near monopoly in most locations, it seems to me.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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10-16-2015, 03:27 PM
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#248
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Independence
Posts: 7,281
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So we use Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and a small fistful of other channels. For phone we are happy with Ooma, and then for surfing it is the internet provider in La Quinta California or Oregon. No OTA, as our locations are surrounded by hills that block the transmissions. We have matching routers and our home network names and passwords are the same in each location - when we shift from Oregon to California all we do is disconnect our CPUs and move them, leaving all wires and keyboards and mice and printers in place. Idea is to have minimal possibilities for error and seamless transitions. We call ahead by a few days and get service turned on and make our payment at that time.
All that said, Time Warner failed to get us hooked up - again - and wasted about 4 hours of our time on cell phones yesterday and today, with THREE alleged supervisors failing to call back as promised after claiming to escalate our service request. This should have been simple, and yet the mutton headed system seemed to delight in raising my ire, though I was very aware each person I spoke with was only earning a wage and not directly responsible for the failings of the system. When we finally got a tech on site he discovered the tech who disconnected our internet 6 months ago took the lazy route and put a block (removable only with a security tool) at our house rather than disconnecting at the pole. Remove block, instant internet.
Time Warner sux.
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10-16-2015, 03:39 PM
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#249
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9,343
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steelyman
I did the same as easysurfer today (Sling) and the thing that tipped the scale was the NL Division Series on TBS.
I think maybe it was Mulligan that brought it up as an option since I'm not really a sports nut.
I do really like TCM so I imagine I'll stay on with Sling for at least a while (I'm 7-day trial and missed a chance for 14 had I signed up on the Roku). Even if I stay, it's still much, much less than I'd been forking over to Comcast every month!
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I think I could survive on Sling along with finding a way to watch CNBC. I can already get NHL package on internet and I have found a way to get a computer number (I forget the correct term) established in Europe and then you can buy the NFL package through Europe at a cheaper price. Im just a bit lazy and counting Sling and CBS I would only save about $40 a month which isn't quite there yet to force me to learn a new way to learn to watch tv. I am retired and don't have a lot of desire to learn anything new. If my budget ever got crunched enough, my cranial capacity to learn would increase quickly though.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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10-16-2015, 03:42 PM
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#250
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lawn chair in Texas
Posts: 14,183
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Quote:
Originally Posted by braumeister
Are you sure?
I have nothing but internet via TWC. The "standard" internet is $34.99 and I have the "extreme" upgrade to 30/5 speed for an additional $20, so $54.99 total. Maybe you have a faster speed than you need?
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Nope, it's the 15mb/s... Maybe you got an "introductory" rate, or maybe they're punishing me for having the audacity...
According to their website, I can upgrade to the next level for $10/ mo.
__________________
Have Funds, Will Retire
...not doing anything of true substance...
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10-16-2015, 03:50 PM
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#251
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 903
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HFWR
Nope, it's the 15mb/s... Maybe you got an "introductory" rate, or maybe they're punishing me for having the audacity...
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I actually got fed up with having to call every year to get the "introductory" rate which is why I cancelled cable TV 8 years back. I haven't regretted it for a moment.
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10-16-2015, 05:29 PM
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#252
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mulligan
... and I have found a way to get a computer number (I forget the correct term) established in Europe and then you can buy the NFL package through Europe at a cheaper price.
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I believe you are probably talking about VPN software which gives your computer a "visible" IP address based out of Europe? That's how we've been getting the Beeb.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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10-16-2015, 05:38 PM
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#253
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Dryer sheet wannabe
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: San Jose
Posts: 20
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I cut my cable years ago. Only have internet now. Saved myself $140/mo. Don't regret it a bit.
__________________
Mary
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10-16-2015, 06:00 PM
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#254
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: On a hill in the Pine Barrens
Posts: 9,686
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Funny story. Local paving operation planned, and over a period of 1-2 months we noticed all the utilities (save one) coming out and marking off their lines. Everything is underground. There were actually two times I saw this, as the paving was delayed at one point, and the utilities needed to come again. Lots of colorful flags.
There was curb work, as well as corner access ramps, and of course the underground fiber was severed one day. I did not notice, as I was out at a job. That evening we saw orange cable laying on the ground as a temporary patch. This went around two corners of the block, so very long. Sometimes in the street. Other times on grass. Went on for a few weeks, with helpful neighbor at one point hanging the orange cable over a no-doggy-doodoo sign. What a smart maneuver.
Today an independent contractor came out and made all the necessary connections. Of course there was no warning, and some number of homes (maybe 50?) lost TV, Internet and phone. Of course I was home, and had time to go and converse with the contractor. He confirmed that Comcast did not mark off the underground fiber, and it is not the first time they did not respond to such a request.
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10-16-2015, 08:09 PM
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#255
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9,343
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ziggy29
I believe you are probably talking about VPN software which gives your computer a "visible" IP address based out of Europe? That's how we've been getting the Beeb.
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Yes, that is it Ziggy. I was also reading the other day a lot of US sports bettors are doing this too so they can gamble online and get the money flowing both ways.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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10-17-2015, 06:55 AM
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#256
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 94
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Cableless for years
My ISP is charging around $60 for speed of up to 60 Mbps here in L.A. I use to pay half of that a couple of years ago. Fortunately, I haven't had cable for years. I have OTA and pretty much everything I want to watch via Kodi. My hardware components includes a laptop using mini display cable, wireless keyboard and an LCD TV screen. I also have Roku, Chromecast and MS wireless display adapter and a PS3. For subscription, I have Netflix, Hulu and Espn (the latter two I get from my kids). I get more streaming that I could ever want for around $70. To be honest with you, I'd rather be moving around outdoors hiking or biking, going places and visiting the grandkids in Hawaii. But it is nice to know that I can be a couch potato occasionally and have all these access to entertainment.
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10-18-2015, 08:17 AM
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#257
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 880
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I would love to get rid of cable and DTV. We have Comcast at main house and DTV at island (will be main house next June). I could be just fine with OTA and occasional movies on Netflix, but DH doesn't want to give up channel surfing at either location. And HAS to have sports. UGH!
Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
__________________
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver
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10-23-2015, 07:48 AM
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#258
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NC Triangle
Posts: 5,807
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Dropped Cable TV Today
I've decided to stay with Sling for the next several months at least. I think that the pro/con list earlier in this thread is a fair assessment but I seem to have less connection-related problems (big exception: a few dropouts during the NLDS broadcasts from TBS).
My trial is over and I find enough offerings to make it worth it to me. I learned that the freebies they offer are valid for existing subscribers, not just newcomers. What they want is for you to prepay 3 months to claim the offer. I'm curious about the Roku streaming stick, so that's what I'm going to get. I already own Roku 2 and 3 units to handle the TVs, only one of which supports HDMI.
Between that and Hulu/Amazon Prime (also OTA), I feel that my viewing options are way better than when I was shackled to Comcast TV. It's not free of course, but I think in terms of overall value-for-the-buck.
Getting lots of sports is another issue, but less important for me, but if it were I'd have a different perspective.
__________________
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10-23-2015, 10:40 AM
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#259
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 214
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I'm dropping everything, inc internet effective November 7. I'll get one of those antenna attachments.
Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
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10-23-2015, 11:03 AM
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#260
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Everett
Posts: 1,592
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We haven't had cable for 18 years. Back then, we had it only because the house I bought had it, and the cable guy must have forgotten to unhook it when the previous owners moved. (I swear we did not hook it up ourselves.)
An antenna works pretty well in my area. We get a couple movie channels (albeit, old movies), PBS, some other channels we don't care about and my current favorite, Antenna TV! We're also on the 1-disc-at-a-time program with Netflix.
We also check out DVDs from the library. They have a pretty good collection of fairly recent movies.
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