Anyone still use dial up?

[K15]

Just wondering how many unlucky suckers here still have to use dial up. We haven't used it for about 6 years or more.
On a related note, is there any real advantage to cable VS DSL? Or DSL VS cable?

[four4875]

Working at a dialup ISP, i see TONS of people who are on dialup, not many of them are like you and I tho (enthusiasts)

I believe there is a thread regarding what connection members have, think its a poll.

As to DSL vs cable, i think its really a local thing. around here, the basic DSL package is 1 mbit down and i dont even know what up, for i tihnk $30 month, while we can get roadrunner cable service from time warner cable for almost $50 a month, and get 5 mbits downstream and 384 Kbits upstream, and im pretty sure the bandwidth is suppsoed to increase in the near future. I'm not sure how fast you can get (residentially targeted) DSL around here for what price. but you can get any connection anywhere, if the money is right (might involve buying property and laying fibre, but it can be done if you have the checkbook to cover it.)

[Fr3@k3r]

56kers are still around only because some people only use thier pc's for emailing and such, not to play games, or download huge files.

[deadlysyn]

Sadly enough I am back to using dial up, but after Christmas I am going to be switching to wireless. Its only 1 meg down and like 256 k up, but its faster than 56 k down. I was hoping for faster, but around here its basically get what you can for where you are. All that is available as far out of town as I am is wireless and dial up, but I'll be moving closer into town in the spring.

[four4875]

or the fact that they CANT get anytihng else, as in there is no cable lines, phone lines quality sucks. thats why wireless ISPs can have TONS of market, just go to rural areas.

BTW, alot of the people forced to be on dialup dont even get good 48 or 52 kbps connections, the phone line quality is so bad that they're LUCKY to get a 28 8 connection. at least thats the case around here. its fun to see the faces of customers we just hooked up with wireless going from 14.4 to 384 kbps.

[Captain Newbie]

Up here in the heights of a suburban area where I live, the maximum dialup speed is around 48.8, but is usually 33.6 or 24.4. That's why most of us get DSL, so we don't deal with the crappy phone lines.

[damarble]

or the fact that they CANT get anytihng else, as in there is no cable lines, phone lines quality sucks. thats why wireless ISPs can have TONS of market, just go to rural areas.

BTW, alot of the people forced to be on dialup dont even get good 48 or 52 kbps connections, the phone line quality is so bad that they're LUCKY to get a 28 8 connection. at least thats the case around here. its fun to see the faces of customers we just hooked up with wireless going from 14.4 to 384 kbps.

You just discribed my situation. Yes, I'm one of those "suckers" still on dial up. I usualy connect at around 37 kbps.

[tenchi86]

56kers are still around only because some people only use thier pc's for emailing and such, not to play games, or download huge files.


Not true, I am on 56k soley because I cannot get BB up where I live. Probably never will be able to either, not atleast until something better is devoloped which I am hoping is soon. Anyway just last night I finished a 600+ DL and started on a 300MB+ dl tonight. So there are some of us still using it besides just email checkers.

[RJARRRPCGP]

You just discribed my situation. Yes, I'm one of those "suckers" still on dial up. I usualy connect at around 37 kbps.

I usually get 40 kbps. It seems to sometimes go to 48 kbps, possibly 53 kbps.

[Webzta]

10meg down 1Meg up -

NTL UK Cable £34.99 / month


As for the DSL Vs Cable....

I prefer Cable , I think it's better... However only main thing i've noticed different between the two, is on dsl when i downloaded at max speed, the line was real slow browsing + Ping shot up, whereas on cable downloading isn't really an issue, it's only when you max your upstream you notice a slow-down.

[gorilly]

i go to peoples homes and fix computers, two of them have been on dial up... what a waste, £2 difference in cost too

[Webzta]

Yeah I Can understand if you can't get broadband where you are, but being able to and using dialup makes no sense whatsoever to me.

[Webzta]

Not true, I am on 56k soley because I cannot get BB up where I live. Probably never will be able to either, not atleast until something better is devoloped which I am hoping is soon. Anyway just last night I finished a 600+ DL and started on a 300MB+ dl tonight. So there are some of us still using it besides just email checkers.

I downloaded xp 64 (680meg~) from MS in around 8minutes a few days ago. :)

[lemings]

I am lucky enough to be on dial up :) (Heh) It may be like having a broke leg in the First person shooters, but I still manage to keep pace with the average BB user who plays (Good in my book :P). Am getting DSL soon though so that should be a new experience being able to download 1mb less than 8 minutes (Yeah I know, my connection is at around 15kbs).

[jmh547]

I finaly move away to school... and yes my dad then goes and gets dsl pffft

[K15]

Not true, I am on 56k soley because I cannot get BB up where I live. Probably never will be able to either, not atleast until something better is devoloped which I am hoping is soon. Anyway just last night I finished a 600+ DL and started on a 300MB+ dl tonight. So there are some of us still using it besides just email checkers.


Yeah, I talk to someone on MSN that uses 28.8 dial up. I don't know what quality his phone lines are, but he has a 28.8 MODEM, so that is effing slow :eek:

They don't have DSL there, although i'm not sure if cable is available.
As for dial up, i'm guessing there are packages where you pay a flat rate? Or does there HAVE to be a minute limit? If no limit, I would use a seperate phone line and download all major things at night/during school. I always got mad at dial up, not only about the slowness, but the limit on the time I could spend on it. I always felt bad, or wondered how much money it was costing.
I think my DSL does about 1000kb/s download, I forget the unit. Not nearly as fast as some cable, and I think the cable service around here is faster. But for most of the stuff I do, it works fine. As long as browsing is smooth, i'm happy. With dial-up, it wasn't slow downloads I hated, it was slow browsing. I jump from site to site like MAD. I probably look at 20-70 different pages every night.

[mich43L]

dial-up isn't what it used to. The relatively new v.92 modems provide a faster connection and cut the time it takes to dial-up in half (~15secs). If you're not downloading media, dial-up will do just fine.

And if you live in NYC, dial-up ISP is free:
http://www.metconnect.com/

[ƒÓÒl]

Yeah, I'm on dialup. Speed ranges from 32Kb to 36Kb depending on the time of day.

Now personally I prefer DSL to Cable, mostly cause I work in the phone industry. But because I see people's rates climb higher and higher every year for the same service on the same cable...that just sucks.

Now if SBC would ever pull their you know what out of you know where, I'd have broadband DSL in a heartbeat. For now though, I guess I'll trade being able to leave my doors unlocked for 15 years (as they have been, don't even know where the keys are) to having broadband.

BTW, last numbers I saw claimed that HALF of North America was still on dialup for lack of available broadband access. An additional 15% liked dialup because it fits their usage. So be nice and enjoy being spoiled just because of where you live (and don't forget to lock that door tonight).

[Webzta]

My cable is the opposite, It was originally 1meg - £30.99 then 3meg - £34.99, it's now 10meg, for £34.99 - and in 5-6months time 20meg, end of 06 50meg, all free upgrades...

[Ducker]

I moved out to the country a few months ago and had to leave my dsl behind. The best dialup speeds I could get was 26k on a very good day. I guess thats the price you have to pay to live out in the sticks. I finally broke down & shelled out big $ to get a satalight hookup. It's nice to be back in modern times again.

[K15]

Yeah, I'm on dialup. Speed ranges from 32Kb to 36Kb depending on the time of day.

Now personally I prefer DSL to Cable, mostly cause I work in the phone industry. But because I see people's rates climb higher and higher every year for the same service on the same cable...that just sucks.

Now if SBC would ever pull their you know what out of you know where, I'd have broadband DSL in a heartbeat. For now though, I guess I'll trade being able to leave my doors unlocked for 15 years (as they have been, don't even know where the keys are) to having broadband.

BTW, last numbers I saw claimed that HALF of North America was still on dialup for lack of available broadband access. An additional 15% liked dialup because it fits their usage. So be nice and enjoy being spoiled just because of where you live (and don't forget to lock that door tonight).


I guess that's true. Never thought that many people still used dial up. How old is that info? Anyway, DSL/cable is very nice.

[Enablingwolf]

When I get mad at my carrier I go back to dial. It don't bother me much either. If I was online less, the $40 difference would be a no brainer for me. I would do dial.

[Chaos_Being]

I'm on dialup now in my new house while I wait for my DSL to be activated. It SUCKS. I used to have 6mb down/384 up cable at my old apartment. The DSL I'm getting is supposed to be 3mb/786 (or something close to that for the upload.) The cable available here is 4mb down, 384 up. I actually tried for that first (I prefer cable,) but the people who lived at my house before ran up a big cable bill so the cable company wouldn't let my sign up for service without proving that they don't live here anymore. I wrangled with them for a while, showed them the deed to my house and still their systems were not updated so I could sign up. So I said the heck with them and decided to try out DSL instead. Morons...

Oh and it pains me when I'm working on a client's computer with dial up, most of the time they can get broadband but say their dialsuck is "fast enough." These are usually the people who are paying over $20 for AOL, when they can get basic DSL for the same price... :o

[Enablingwolf]

I wish I had a DSL option here. :( Be loads cheaper for me, Cable or dial limits my picks.

[Stavros]

Doesn't Dial Up run up the bill? Finally Got DSL after Katrina hit (a blessing and a curse). 256 ADSL (have no idea what that means exactly in terms of Download/Upload, but It's a ****load faster than Dial Up. Whenever I move out I want to move to a city (not huge, but not small). I'm just sick of slow internet (eventhough I haven't had DSL for very long I'm hungry for more bandwidth).

[Sephis]

I have unlimited use dial up at home cause it is the only thing we can get without another 10 to 15 bucks a month added on. Since it is mostly only my parents that use it, it works ok. I am at school 95% of the time so I get T1 speeds.

[mortimer]

Just wondering how many unlucky suckers here still have to use dial up. We haven't used it for about 6 years or more.
On a related note, is there any real advantage to cable VS DSL? Or DSL VS cable?

Not since I lived in a suburb of the boondocks. Cable, Comcast in my area, is much faster than any DSL available here. If you live in a Qwest area you should avoid DSL if possible. Nothing but problems.

[K15]

Doesn't Dial Up run up the bill? Finally Got DSL after Katrina hit (a blessing and a curse). 256 ADSL (have no idea what that means exactly in terms of Download/Upload, but It's a ****load faster than Dial Up. Whenever I move out I want to move to a city (not huge, but not small). I'm just sick of slow internet (eventhough I haven't had DSL for very long I'm hungry for more bandwidth).


My city only has like 200,000 people and has DSL, cable and the higher speeds (T1, T3).
I think anything larger than 20K people will have high speed of some sort.

[Chaos_Being]

I just got my DSL hooked up, thank god! No more dialsuck :D

[Nexus Realized]

I've got 56k, It's called Adelphia Cable...
They are by far the worst "highspeed" provider on the planet.

[Enablingwolf]

I've got 56k, It's called Adelphia Cable...
They are by far the worst "highspeed" provider on the planet.


I also have Adelphia. I think they are one of the better ones. No hassle over torrents. Plus the 150 megs of web space. I get 6200/900, not to shaby.

I have cut them and went back to dial from the jerks on the other side of the phone though.\


I am dreading the change over, then the hell begins!!

[DragoXT]

Im on dailup, as i have no choice since that is all i can get out here. Until about 3 months ago i was using phonelines that had water in them and i would barely connect at 33k.I have Finally i got my own phone line and then they found the problem and put in a new line and now i can get 44k. Sad part is i play online games lots and do better than most suckers on dsl and cable. I can even play fear in a good server with a ping of 200 and my ping will go to 300 in hosted servers. As long as you learn to aim with the lag you can be deadly.

What i think that is so funny is that the owner of the cable company lives out about 5 miles away from me and he doesnt even have cable. I guess living out side of a town with a population of 300 people has its drawbacks for internet connections, and TV. Woot antena with 9 channels.

[Rabid_Llama8]

I've used both the cable and DSL in my area and I live the cable much better. I had Comcast Cable with my parents at 8mb down and what fluxuated from 500k to 1m up, so it pretty much flies and I really havent seen much downtime...at least not when I use it. It was kinda frustrating when I moved out and my roomate decided on Yahoo/SBC DSL. I hate Yahoo. 1.5m down 256 up. Downloads are painfully slow now, but its still nothing compared to how AOL was...lol

I don't really understand how people can justify staying on AOL Unlimited when Yahoo/SBC is available in their area. Sure I hate Yahoo, but its $7 cheaper per month and its so much faster AND you aren't on the phone when you use it. I see it all the time too since I work computer sales at a major electronics retailer (think yellow tag).