Internet Service Providers (Please Help)

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NYU has kindly informed me that as of Feb. 1 they will no longer be providing dial-up service free of charge, or at all. Who should I pick as my provider? Who is the cheapest and best? Should I go to broadband? Does broadband provide e-mail or do I have to get that extra? How much will this cost? Who is good for broadband? Thank you thank you.

― Mary (Mary), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 20:58 (twenty-two years ago)

I would check and see if there are any WiFi nodes around you first.

― Dale the Titled (cprek), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 21:11 (twenty-two years ago)

There are but 99% of the free nodes in NYC are hidden by layers of concrete and several floors above or below wherever you may be situated. I found tons of networks walking around the UWS but I couldn't get a decent signal from any of them. The best bet for WiFi in NYC I found was the surfandsip network which only charges $5 for a day pass vs. $10 for T-Mobile. Verizon also offers free access to their regular internet customers courtesy of hotspots located in every pay phone in Manhattan.

For broadband I suggest looking at DSL first before cable modem, it's cheaper by and large ($26 a month vs. $45 on average). Time Warner has the cable monopoly through most of NYC, right? So if you go cable you have little choice re: provider.

Broadband will provide email and all providers (I assume) now have webmail access to your account as well. Also teensy amounts of free hosting space, like 10-15mb.

I would stick with dialup or DSL if you're already paying for a landline. Try Verizon and see if their DSL looks good, it might well be worth it.

― TOMBOT, Wednesday, 7 January 2004 21:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Er, what are WiFi and nodes? Are you assuming I will be roaming the city hoping to tap into the broadband? I don't leave my house people, you know that:)

― Mary (Mary), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 21:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I've been using panix.com for over ten years, and I love them dearly--they give you a UNIX shell, and their customer service policy, in my experience, is that you call them, somebody picks up the phone, and they fix your problem.

― Douglas (Douglas), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 21:58 (twenty-two years ago)

What is a UNIX shell?

― Mary (Mary), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 22:05 (twenty-two years ago)

I think it's fair to say that if you don't know that you a) are not a computer geek, and b) you don't want one.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 22:48 (twenty-two years ago)

It looks like Verizon DSL won't provide for me :( , so I will check Roadrunner beep beep.

― Mary (Mary), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 23:36 (twenty-two years ago)

OK, I can do TimeWarner Cable + Earthlink for $44.95. But do i have ethernet? If not, how do I get it?

― Mary (Mary), Thursday, 8 January 2004 00:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Your computer should have a port on the back of it that looks like this:
http://www.cyberwalker.net/connectors/images/network-plug.jpg
It is like a phone jack but bigger and wider.

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 8 January 2004 00:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Cool, I've got it. Thanks Tombot, you're the best. And thanks to all the other techies out there too.

― Mary (Mary), Thursday, 8 January 2004 00:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Ha ha I just called Verizon to make sure that they couldn't provide for me, and they never picked up. You guys were right about their service sucking. Funny, when I don't pay my phone bill on time they don't seem to have a problem with contacting me.

― Mary (Mary), Thursday, 8 January 2004 00:39 (twenty-two years ago)

I've just picked up the kit. I have a question about e-mail tho. Right now I have nyu pop server through dial-up on outlook express. When I switch to earthlink broadband, with outlook express, will all my old emails and folders stay there, or disappear?

― Mary (Mary), Sunday, 11 January 2004 21:46 (twenty-two years ago)

stay there

― Ed (dali), Sunday, 11 January 2004 21:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Do I need a clamp or something to get the TV cable thing out of the wall?

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 12 January 2004 00:27 (twenty-two years ago)

So I set everything up properly, but the idiot Time Warner Cable people apparently have some vengeance against Mac and 8.6 (even though it said in their specs that 8.6 is ok). They told me to install 9.0 and call back:( Grrrrrrrrrrr

And the wires do go through the cable tv box which means my TV and computer are now like joined together forever. How do I get the wireless thingy?

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 12 January 2004 03:19 (twenty-two years ago)

And the wires do go through the cable tv box which means my TV and computer are now like joined together forever. How do I get the wireless thingy?

The coaxial cable doesn't go directly to your TV. It originates from the source and connects over to the special modem Time Warner will provide you (mine is a Toshiba, but I don't know if that's going to be the same nationwide), which then connects to the computer. I believe if you want to do the wireless thing, you'd have to specify that you want the wireless cable modem, and I don't know the setup for that, being that I have no need for the wireless setup (I have a desktop PC).

I have Roadrunner and I love the technical support I've been given. I went through a 48-hr period of time some four months ago or so where I was having real trouble with my connection, and every one of the four times I called Time Warner I was put on hold for no longer than five, maybe ten minutes, and the people on the other end were really helpful to me. (The connection's been steady since then, FYI.)

― Tenacious Dee (Dee the Lurker), Monday, 12 January 2004 03:45 (twenty-two years ago)

The way I set it up was: take line from tv cable box, connect to splitter, then connect splitter to modem and cable box. I thought that was the directions, because I already have cable tv and I only have one source for the cable line.

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 12 January 2004 03:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Duh. Sorry -- forgot it could work that way as well. Many apologies for the mixup, then! Yes, that sounds about right.

*curses self out for being stupid dullard before*

― Tenacious Dee (Dee the Lurker), Monday, 12 January 2004 05:25 (twenty-two years ago)

you can get a longer ethernet cable (the one from cable box to the computer, from any computer store), wireless will cost you.

j and r have wireless cards from $30 and routers from $50

― Ed (dali), Monday, 12 January 2004 09:04 (twenty-two years ago)

cool. what will still need to be wired?

the ethernet isn't the problem, it's the cable tv box connecting to the computer modem that is a problem--these two things are not near eachother

i'm being weird about this bc my apt is very small and my tv and computer are as of now across from eachother, meaning i have to walk over the cable

i guess it is time to redecorate

also i need a live-in tech boyfriend asap

i plan to change set up so they are next to eachother though

but i don't know if i'll ever have enough memory/OS's to even do this...life was so much easier before...

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 12 January 2004 09:24 (twenty-two years ago)

the modem box can be by the TV if you have a long enough ethernet cable (tv to desk). Route the cable round the wall (cable can be as long as you like) tacking it to the wall as necessary.

― Ed (dali), Monday, 12 January 2004 09:27 (twenty-two years ago)

what's short is the splitter cord (one of 2) that connects from the computer modem to the back of the tv cable box; the out cord?

but this just means all these wires are falling over my bed and under my feet

yea, for the cable tv they routed it and stapled it all along the wall, that's kind of the problem now, tho i can undo it

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 12 January 2004 09:34 (twenty-two years ago)

also, how can i get rid of the xtra cable after i unstaple it, so it is not making a lasso at my feet?

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 12 January 2004 09:35 (twenty-two years ago)

oh i get it! you meant extend the ethernet cord so that the computer box moves to sit next to the cable tv, on the other side of the room...very interesting (yes i have two ethernet cords, one short and one super duper long)

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 12 January 2004 09:37 (twenty-two years ago)

and then i'd have to staple down the cord to the wall i suppose...like you said. seems like a lot of work...

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 12 January 2004 09:38 (twenty-two years ago)

It will not take long. Why did you let the cable guy put the cable modem all the way round the room rather than next to the tv anyway?

― Ed (dali), Monday, 12 January 2004 09:40 (twenty-two years ago)

because I wanted the TV to be on the other side of the room from where the cable outlet was, bc i was stupid, and before they could tell me nicely that they would have to route the cord along all the way of the wall, they were stapling and stapling and it was all over

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 12 January 2004 09:47 (twenty-two years ago)

(the cable box is on top of the tv, it's the cable outlet that is across the room)

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 12 January 2004 09:48 (twenty-two years ago)

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