Do you really have that much time on your hands?
I hate to beat a dead horse, but I need to know. One of the most common responses I get from people who don't have a high speed Internet connection is, "I have plenty of time to wait and am in no hurry." While I admire the Zen like focus and calm nerves of these folks, I have to ask the obvious. "Really?"
Today, I worked with a customer who lives literally in the middle of the mountains...the nearest town (about 200 people) is more than 20 miles away and the phone line sounds like popcorn in a microwave and there is no cell service. She has been patiently using dial-up Internet service for more than 7 years connecting at speeds of between 12 kbps and 14.4 kbps on a good day. Yes, you read that correctly...12-14 kbps!!! That is half the speed of a poor dial-up connection...good dial-up connections range from 44 kbps to 52 kbps. An entry level DSL connection starts at 256 kbps. When I setup her new computer today, it took almost thirty minutes to download and install the flash plug-in for her browser. I ended up disabling graphics from showing in her browser and showed her how to view a graphic if she really needed to since a 54kb graphic would take nearly two minutes to load.
The only other option this customer has for an Internet connection is satellite. Satellite, however, is costly...$200 to setup and $50 a month for service. To justify a satellite connection, you really need to evaluate how much you use the Internet and for what purposes. I explained to my customer that going with a satellite connection (if her budget allowed) would give her at least three valuable advantages over her current dial-up service:
Always on connection that does not interfere with her phone line's ability to make and receive phone calls.
She would actually save time by performing functions on the Internet in about 1/8 or faster the time she currently spends.
Because Windows and security software need almost continuous updates in order to keep her computer secure, she would save time and money by keeping the system secure and not requiring tech support.
It's a tough call, but the Internet is leaving dial-up customers further and further behind every day. Unless you can get a strong dial-up connection (33.6 kbps or greater), you really need to consider the benefits of a broadband connection.
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Updates/Upgrades??
Last night my new HP w/Vista performed some type of update or upgrade. The only difference I can see or am aware of is it put a rather large (1 or 2 inch) dial clock face and a small (2 inch?) slide show on the right side of my computer screen. I see no benefit to these "features". The digital clock on the lower right corner of my screen is perfectly adequate and I don't need a bunch of "generic" photos rotating on my screen. There was an "X" on each item so I could turn them off, but why were they put there in the first place. I didn't ask for them. Was not told in advance that they would be "given" to me. I am so disappointed and frustrated with this new computer and the software. I have problems with motion and flashing on the screen as it affects my vision and migraine condition. It seems that something is always flashing or moving on the screen. Much worse than Windows XP on my old computer. (Even playing Solitaire on this computer is a big change in the animation and activity on the screen. Very hard on my eyes and I don't see how to adjust it.) I also have not been able to get Outlook back on this new computer. As to "dial-up" access, I still use that and am almost afraid to even consider upgrading to the faster and "always on" system. I have tried friends' computers who have the instant on and their computers don't seem much faster than mine when looking on the internet. I paid to have Norton anti-virus on this machine and now am hearing how much it slows down the computer, but don't know if McAfee would be better. Friend who has McAfee got a "trojan" on his new Dell computer. I have referred him to "helpmerick.com" for assistance. He is much more computer literate than I. I do feel that considering the price of DSL (is that what the instant access is called?)I might have more time than money. I mainly use the "net" for email and not too much internet and don't do any photography or data storage. This is a toy so I feel I don't need a lot of frills. I wish I had my old computer back. I thought a new computer would be faster just due to improved technology, but I am not finding that to be the case. I enjoy the weekly newsletter and do recommend the website to anyone having computer issues.
web emails such as excite. com
The hints on forwarding emails without the previous addresses be forwarded do not work on excite email.. Anyone have a solution?
computers
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