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DON'T GET TECHNICAL WITH ME — Page 4

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was called up by one the other day. she wanted to know about the different brands of soft drinks i drink/see commercials for/would like to see in DK.
"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."
Qui-Gon Jinn (R.I.P.)
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Ask her what she'll pay you for your opinions.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
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Kevin A
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Better yet, ask her if Drano counts as a soft drink.

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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DSL is a weird technology and its limits are well documented. It can only be carried over copper, which is why it's not available everywhere. Newer networks based on fiber can't use it. It's also true that you must be within a certain distance from the telco office in order for it to work. One benefit is that latency over DSL is rather low, so it's great for online gaming.

I went with cable because the speeds in my area are higher for less money than DSL. I get throughput of roughly 350 to 400kbps. I also use a Netgear router and wireless hub so other machines in the house can share the same connection. Unfortunately they started capping upload speeds a few years back so running a server is out of the question. I used to run a kickass Quake 3 server before the cap because the upload speeds were sick.
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MTFBWY…A

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How much money in extra equipment do you have to spend for both Cable and DSL? I'm pricing broadband options.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
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i pay around 100 USD a month for my 2mbit ADSL. i didnt pay anything for equipment of set-up of material.
"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."
Qui-Gon Jinn (R.I.P.)
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I know that DSL locally costs around US$40 per month and cable is about US$35. I'm just wondering where the hidden charges come in.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
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damn, thats cheap.
"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."
Qui-Gon Jinn (R.I.P.)
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I'd have to check my cable bill, but I think I'm paying $40 a month for the service and maybe a few extra dollars for modem rental. I can't remember if the modem is included in the $40 or not.

I think that rate applies because I also get my cable TV from the same company. If I were to get just the internet service, I think the price goes up to $50.

You have a Mac, right? It should have built-in ethernet for connection to the cable modem. I use an ethernet router connected to the cable modem so I can split the connection across multiple machines, then I connect that to the network card in the PCs. I also have a wireless hub connected to the router for my fiance's laptop and the PC I use in my home theater on the other side of my apartment.

At some point I'll probably ditch the ethernet router, get a wireless one, and put wireless adapters in all my PCs. Wireless has finally reached respectable speeds (108mbps for the high-end stuff), and the equipment isn't terribly expensive.
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MTFBWY…A

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Yeah, I do have Ethernet in my laptop and the iMac my wife and I want to buy has it also. We're probably gonna wait until we get the iMac to get ethernet. Don't want to invest in the wireless stuff just yet especially since my PowerBook is not AirPort compliant. No real point in it. So we wouldn't need the router to split the connection. That would save some money. I'll have to check and see what SBC offers in terms of equipment for DSL or Comcast for a cable connection.

My city was trying last year to pass a referendum that would allow the city to offer cable, broadband, and phone service to its residents. It was voted down (I voted in favor). Right now, all we have is SBC for phone and Comcast for cable. This would have offered up more options despite raising taxes a fraction of a percent. Now that it's been voted down, Comcast changed their channel structure and upped their costs and everyone's fuming. The people who voted in favor of the referendum now have the chance to call everyone else a jackass and curse their existence for not voting in favor of it. I think they were going to try to get it back on the ballot this November. I'd vote for it again. The city already provides our gas, so it would be one big bill paid to one place instead of several going out. Then the only other bill we'd have is electric.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
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kapgar.com
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Shop around. If you time things right, you might be able to get your cable/DSL modem for free or @ a substantially reduced price, or get a reduced rate for the first few months. I pay ~$35 + taxes for my DSL service. You don't have to get a network card, do you?

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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i had dialup 4 years ago... changed it very fast... never again.
"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."
Qui-Gon Jinn (R.I.P.)
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Nope, like I said, I already have the Ethernet connection. But I'm still gonna hold off until we have a new computer.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
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Good idea, and make sure you have a good firewall, too.

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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i dont have a firewall... but been thinking about it for a long time.
"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."
Qui-Gon Jinn (R.I.P.)
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it is actually, i wholeheartedly agree, but ive never had something serious happen, something that norton antivirus couldnt handle. i know that past experience can not foresee the future, but still... argh, who am i kidding? ill get a firewall...
"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."
Qui-Gon Jinn (R.I.P.)
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What is a good firewall for Mac?
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
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I'm not sure; if Norton produces Personal Firewall for Mac, I'd go that way. It's been a real lifesaver for my PC.

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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nroton is a computer saver, true... not sure which one is good, or if you even need one.
"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."
Qui-Gon Jinn (R.I.P.)
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are the builtin ones any good dayv?
"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."
Qui-Gon Jinn (R.I.P.)