Connectivity options

[Bridget]

I thought I'd ask the techno gurus here this question. I have been away from the US for 4 years and am now back soon to be reinhabiting my previous abode. My question is - what is the easiest way to do research to determine the best type of connectivity? My house is in Vacaville, CA, and I would like to know my options for phone, internet and TV availability/connectivity. Is there a place/website which lists the options I have? I know there are satellite options, cable options, other wireless options, but I'd like to be able to compare prices and features of those.

When I last left, I had a regular phone line I used for phone calls and dialing in for network connectivity and I used the rabbit ears on my TV for my albeit very limited viewing pastimes.

Thanks in advance for any help---and if there isn't a succint place with the info - I guess its heaps of research in the future for me.

Bridget aka Deserat

 

[johnblake]

Try this one:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Broadband_power_search/4002-6549_7-5114723.html?tag=tool

If you already are planning to have a phone line, DSL is usually the least expensive way to get broadband access.

 

[Hyperborea]

Reviews and discussion of broadband connection. Also equipment reviews and discussions.

http://www.dslreports.com/

 

[dex]

I know this may be way out of fashion but, it saves some $.
I only have 1 land line telephone line but I have a splitter and for the telephone line.
One line goes to the telephone and the other to the laptop.
When I'm on line the phone rings and I can answer.
As to wireless - go for it if you want.
I just got a longer telephone line for the computer.
I think the best spent money is to get the fastest and and most ROM you can afford.
I have an IBM G40 laptom 3.0 processor and 512 cache.
All for about $1500 - has the properties of a desktop in a laptop. It weights about 8lbs but I only travel in the house.

 

[MJ]

I only have 1 land line telephone line but I have a splitter and for the telephone line. One line goes to the telephone and the other to the laptop. When I'm on line the phone rings and I can answer.

Dex,
If I understand you, you can use your phone and be online at the same time. I didn't know that was possible. Are you still getting close to 56k speed.

MJ

 

[Spanky]

Cable: Comcast
Phone: Qwest
Internet: Earthlink ADSL or Comcast cable

 

[MJ]

I guess I didn't understand dex.

I thought he was refering to using the phone line for phone calls and at the same time be able to have dialup connection using a splitter without having an expensive dsl conection.

I have adsl with earthlink which of course uses a splitter.
Right now my company is paying $50 a month for this. When I ER in several months, I'll need to come up with a reliable cheaper connection solution.

Anyone use netscape for $9.95? I still use the latest netscape browser which I think is better than IE so I'm hoping that netscape might have a reliable connection as well.

MJ

 

[Janie]

I just switched to Netzero (%9.95) after BigZoo ($1.99) closed up shop. It works fine- I don't do a lot of downloading, so I am happy with the connection speed (and the price). Only complaint is that every time you sign on a clunky Netzero page comes up, and I have to wait, then cllck on Internet Explorer to have my default Yahoo page pop up. I need to call customer service to see if I can get rid of the Netzero page coming up every time. Anyone know how to do this?

 

[Spanky]

I stay away from dial-up even though it is $10. It takes so long to browse (not to mention any kind of download). Also, dial-up connection is not reliable (frequent drops).

I prefer low-cost DSL. In my area, Qwest offers 256K DSL with MSN for about $30 a month.

Spanky