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Dial up antique? not yet! One can save a lot of $$Jun 01 '04 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Make sure there's enough numbers to dial up. Great if you travel a lot...gives you a connection practically anyplace. Despite being slow, still effective and inexpensive way to connect. Is dial-up service dead? Not really. Those who are on the internet a lot (such as the Epinions browsers!) tend to have cable or DSL hook-ups, but believe it or not, the majority of the country is still on dial-up service. Cable and DSL are costly from special modems and monthly fees from $35 to $50 and up. If one is only on the internet a few hours a week, phone hook up is perfectly acceptable. Many of those on dial up service will go to a public library or do their downloads at work if something is intense. Also, there are still many parts of the country that do not have rapid connections. For example, even though I have cable, I cannot get DSL as I am too far from a telephone transmitter. With 56k modems, one gets reasonable response on websites. If a website is well designed, it should load in less than 30 seconds. Some advantages to dial-up: 1. Portability of service. If you travel a lot with a laptop, there may not always be a broadband connection in the hotel room, bed and breakfast, or your cousin in smalltown, USA. This is where AOL is good. They often have a local dial up line for you to access your messages practically anyplace in the country. 2. If you only have one telephone line, you tend to get off the web much faster as you don’t want to lose a phone call (having a second phone line can make the cost as much as cable or DSL). 3. Can be very inexpensive if you know how to shop. For example, one can get NetZero (www.netzero.net), wherein you can get 10 hours free a month or unlimited time for $9.95. Also, WalMart has just come out with their brand of internet connecting service. Theirs is unlimited for $9.95 a month. Also, many people don’t realize it, but you can get 7 hours of AOL for $4.95 a month. As I travel infrequently, I use this service of AOL so that I can access messages when I’m away. If you are going to do a lot of traveling with the laptop to your summer/winter cabin, make sure you have local connecting numbers. 4. Good if you have more than one residence. I know of many people who summer in some remote locations and having a phone dial up service is the only way to go. 5. The free services (except for NetZero) are almost a thing of the past. However, with $9.95 service popular with a few companies, it is something to consider. As inflation is creeping up on people this year with skyrocketing gas, food, and clothing, we need to make some decisions about our discretionary income and where it is going. If one were to total up where their income was going on communications from television to phones (land/cell) to cable, as well as internet, many families are spending $200 and up per month. That is close to $2,500 a year which is a huge expense just so that we can be tracked down wherever we go. 6. Less apt to get hacked. Hackers are too impatient to wait 20 minutes to see what you’re doing. Disadvantages to dial-up are obvious: 1. If only one phone line, caller gets a busy signal. (you can get special services from your phone company so that messages go straight to voice mail) 2. If you are emailing or downloading large files, it can take forever for an attachment to go through. 3. Graphically rich websites can be notoriously slow. 4. Can time out which can be a real bear when doing financial transactions, purchases, etc. 5. Busy signals do occur when dialing up for internet service. This can happen much more when you have a free service. Making the Choice 1. If you are going to be using the computer in more than one location, make sure that you have local dial up where you are going. 2. Find out how many local numbers they have for dial-up. You don’t want busy signals for a few hours every night at prime time when you wish to use the internet. 3. Ask a few friends what they are using. 4. If you don’t travel with a computer, consider a local service. They are often 20-40% cheaper than AOL which is about $26 a month now. 5. Use the free trial period to evaluate the service. However, if you change your mind, make sure you advise the credit card company IMMEDIATELY or you’ll get stuck with bills for a few extra months. The Bottom Line If you need to save some money and your boss ain’t coming up with a raise real soon, converting from a faster service to dial up can free up quite a few bucks a year. It’ll more than compensate for the prices at the pump. If your company allows it, do your shopping and banking after hours or during lunch. Or, be like a few friends of mine, just disconnect the service at home and do it at work! The money saved will pay for a pretty nice vacation!  |
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