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Poll: cable internet or T1? (read the post first!)

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I'll stop after I post this:

The phone number for my local Time Warner Cable/Road Runner office is 612-522-2000. Punch through the options to get to Road Runner sales. Ask them if you can have free basic cable if you pay for Road Runner, but don?t already have cable TV service. You might need to try during "business hours." I did not mess with any of the cable company?s equipment, nor do I own an illegal descrambler. If they tell you that they consider simply hooking up a TV to a cable that they installed directly into my home illegal, I will unscrew the damn cable from my TV.
 
one of my friends lives in an apt that has its own T1 and it sucks ass. So just try out the T1 for a month or so (don't sign a year contract or whatever), and if it sucks go to the cable. You might get lucky with the T1 though.
 
Just remember that a t1 is not really best based on your speed needs. It will certainly be reliable, but you will essentially be splitting the bandwidth that a cable service would provide between....what did you say...16people?


I wouldn't hesitate to get cable, even if it were sort of crumby...but you might as well try out the t1 to see if the other folks DO nOT use all the bandwidth..maybe the line is regulated...


By the way, even if you have a static ip, it will not help you much unless you run a webserver to take advantage of it. YOu will still need a ROUTER to do the NAT...a switch or HUb will NOT cut it
 
Originally posted by: ffmcobalt
First of all, I'm not <STRONG>gay-ass</strong> enough to play CounterStrike.
rolleye.gif


Second of all, we'll be running a switch, yes. But having a static IP would be nice. With a potential 1.5kbps upload, a static IP would be <EM>very nice</em>. And running ethernet along the baseboard out one room into another isn't hard. We don't care if it looks like crap. But drilling through the walls is probably going to be frowned upon. I thought stuff like that was frowned upon at appartment complexes. Am I wrong?

nik
Click to expand...

It probably is frowned upon, unless they dont see you and the holes are out of sight😀
You could always get a wireless router, which would be nice if you had a laptop🙂
 
oh and if you do get cable I'm sure you know to buy a cable modem, renting/leasing a cable modem (unless it's truely FREE) is for morons.
 
Originally posted by: RossMAN
oh and if you do get cable I'm sure you know to buy a cable modem, renting/leasing a cable modem (unless it's truely FREE) is for morons.
Click to expand...

The local provider here dosen't let you buy your own modem. Check with the ISP before you rush out and grab that modem 🙂 (BTW, this comment is for everyone in general, ffm would know this already since he works for his ISP 🙂 )
 
Originally posted by: ffmcobalt
Originally posted by: Garfang
But I'm not stealing. They told me I could have it.
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haha - right
rolleye.gif
You can stop talking now. No, really. I don't want to hear any more from you.

<STRONG>AmusedOne</STRONG>,
I might just do that. Thanks for the tip 🙂

nik
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As a matter of fact, Roadrunner advertises that you can have the Free Basic Cable as an incentive to getting roadrunner.
 
Originally posted by: Spikesoldier
As a matter of fact, Roadrunner advertises that you can have the Free Basic Cable as an incentive to getting roadrunner.
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Thank you. That's what they told me I could do, and that's what I will continue to do until they tell me to stop.

AT&T simply has a bug up their collective ass about their own system limitations. If AssT&T doesn't want to give away a $12 service that doesn't even have the 35 or so "standard" channels (just the local broadcasts, CNN, public access, and all the shopping channels), they should find a way to turn it off independent of the broadband service. Don?t feed the TV signal into the customer?s home and expect them not to take advantage.

Road Runner and Time-Warner are definitely taking the right approach for the long haul, accepting the limitations of their current switching systems, and not waging war with paying customers who do nothing more than screw a cable onto their television.
 
Originally posted by: Garfang
Originally posted by: Spikesoldier
As a matter of fact, Roadrunner advertises that you can have the Free Basic Cable as an incentive to getting roadrunner.
Click to expand...
Thank you. That's what they told me I could do, and that's what I will continue to do until they tell me to stop.

AT&T simply has a bug up their collective ass about their own system limitations. If AssT&T doesn't want to give away a $12 service that doesn't even have the 35 or so "standard" channels (just the local broadcasts, CNN, public access, and all the shopping channels), they should find a way to turn it off independent of the broadband service. Don?t feed the TV signal into the customer?s home and expect them not to take advantage.

Road Runner and Time-Warner are definitely taking the right approach for the long haul, accepting the limitations of their current switching systems, and not waging war with paying customers who do nothing more than screw a cable onto their television.
Click to expand...

You mean... we could have done this all along? 😕 lol.. AT&T called us and asked if we wanted 12$ basic cable.. we said sure, and the guy came and hooked it up.. lol...
 
Originally posted by: RossMAN
oh and if you do get cable I'm sure you know to buy a cable modem, renting/leasing a cable modem (unless it's truely FREE) is for morons.
Click to expand...

Let's look at this. My Cable company charges $5 a month for cable modem rental. That's $60 a year.

If I buy the one I would want to use, it would take a nearly 2 years to make it pay for itself. And if it breaks, I can't blame the cable company anymore.

If you're in college, or move around every few years, buying the modem is not cost effective. What if the next place you move has only DSL? What if your next cable company does not support your modem?

What if the standards change? (They do, and they will)

Not so moronic any more, is it?

[edit] Also, if you own your modem, and call the cable tech support for service interruption or crappy speeds, guess what is the first thing they'll try to pin it on?

Well, in my case, they always try to blame my computers. In your case, they have two things to pin it on. Your computers and your modem.
 
Road Runner provided me with a free modem. I don't need to pay rent on it, but I think they'll want it back if I move or cancel.
 
Originally posted by: AmusedOne
Originally posted by: RossMAN
oh and if you do get cable I'm sure you know to buy a cable modem, renting/leasing a cable modem (unless it's truely FREE) is for morons.
Click to expand...

Let's look at this. My Cable company charges $5 a month for cable modem rental. That's $60 a year.

If I buy the one I would want to use, it would take a nearly 2 years to make it pay for itself. And if it breaks, I can't blame the cable company anymore.

If you're in college, or move around every few years, buying the modem is not cost effective. What if the next place you move has only DSL? What if your next cable company does not support your modem?

What if the standards change? (They do, and they will)

Not so moronic any more, is it?

[edit] Also, if you own your modem, and call the cable tech support for service interruption or crappy speeds, guess what is the first thing they'll try to pin it on?

Well, in my case, they always try to blame my computers. In your case, they have two things to pin it on. Your computers and your modem.
Click to expand...

I should have put the standard YMMV disclaimer with my post. I've seen RCA, Toshiba and Motorola cable modems going for roughly [YMMV] $99 after rebate [YMMV], and AT&T used to [YMMV] give a discount of [YMMV] $10 per month [YMMV] if you used your own cable modem. Assuming that scenario [YMMV] it would only take 10 months to recoup the costs of buying your own cable modem.

As always [YMMV].
 
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Originally posted by: AmusedOne
Originally posted by: RossMAN oh and if you do get cable I'm sure you know to buy a cable modem, renting/leasing a cable modem (unless it's truely FREE) is for morons.
Click to expand...
Let's look at this. My Cable company charges $5 a month for cable modem rental. That's $60 a year. If I buy the one I would want to use, it would take a nearly 2 years to make it pay for itself. And if it breaks, I can't blame the cable company anymore. If you're in college, or move around every few years, buying the modem is not cost effective. What if the next place you move has only DSL? What if your next cable company does not support your modem? What if the standards change? (They do, and they will) Not so moronic any more, is it? [edit] Also, if you own your modem, and call the cable tech support for service interruption or crappy speeds, guess what is the first thing they'll try to pin it on? Well, in my case, they always try to blame my computers. In your case, they have two things to pin it on. Your computers and your modem.
Click to expand...
I should have put the standard YMMV disclaimer with my post. I've seen RCA, Toshiba and Motorola cable modems going for roughly [YMMV] $99 after rebate [YMMV], and AT&T used to [YMMV] give a discount of [YMMV] $10 per month [YMMV] if you used your own cable modem. Assuming that scenario [YMMV] it would only take 10 months to recoup the costs of buying your own cable modem. As always [YMMV].
Click to expand...

It's only a $3 difference for renting your cable modem each month now.

nik
 
Get the cable. 1. You can be a bandwith monkey and no one will complain. 2. You won't have to put up with other bandwith monkeys on the T1. 3. You won't have to have faith in someone elses tech suport, you can provide your own. 4. With the T1 you may have a lot more upstream bandwith but what can you do with it thats not going bother the people sharing it. 5 Just how static do you need your IP to be? My IP through ATTBI hasn't changed since I got it and i'm willing to bet it never will as long as never have to get the nic reprovisioned.
 
Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
Get the cable. 1. You can be a bandwith monkey and no one will complain. 2. You won't have to put up with other bandwith monkeys on the T1. 3. You won't have to have faith in someone elses tech suport, you can provide your own. 4. With the T1 you may have a lot more upstream bandwith but what can you do with it thats not going bother the people sharing it. 5 Just how static do you need your IP to be? My IP through ATTBI hasn't changed since I got it and i'm willing to bet it never will as long as never have to get the nic reprovisioned.
Click to expand...

First of all, on a regular customer account, the IP changes every four days. Either you're not paying close enough attention to what your IP is and when it changes you don't notice, or there's a problem with your DHCP server. It should change, plain and simple. As for "just how static" I want my IP, if I were paying for a static IP, I would expect it not to change unless I specifically request it or there be some sort of major service problem that requires it.

And, as far as "bandwidth monkeys," your connection speed will change on cable, too, smart guy. No matter what anyone tells you, there could be two people on your node and both be on at the same time and you see top-end speeds -meanwhile there could be 600 people on your node and at peak times you see speeds like 100kbps download. You're not guaranteed a minimum speed. Nobody guarantees a minimum speed. That would be stupid unless it's something like a dedicated T1 to your house only or something. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: ffmcobalt
Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
Get the cable. 1. You can be a bandwith monkey and no one will complain. 2. You won't have to put up with other bandwith monkeys on the T1. 3. You won't have to have faith in someone elses tech suport, you can provide your own. 4. With the T1 you may have a lot more upstream bandwith but what can you do with it thats not going bother the people sharing it. 5 Just how static do you need your IP to be? My IP through ATTBI hasn't changed since I got it and i'm willing to bet it never will as long as never have to get the nic reprovisioned.
Click to expand...

First of all, on a regular customer account, the IP changes every four days. Either you're not paying close enough attention to what your IP is and when it changes you don't notice, or there's a problem with your DHCP server. It should change, plain and simple. As for "just how static" I want my IP, if I were paying for a static IP, I would expect it not to change unless I specifically request it or there be some sort of major service problem that requires it.

And, as far as "bandwidth monkeys," your connection speed will change on cable, too, smart guy. No matter what anyone tells you, there could be two people on your node and both be on at the same time and you see top-end speeds -meanwhile there could be 600 people on your node and at peak times you see speeds like 100kbps download. You're not guaranteed a minimum speed. Nobody guarantees a minimum speed. That would be stupid unless it's something like a dedicated T1 to your house only or something. 🙂
Click to expand...

hehehe, AT&T made the mistake of guaranteeing "no slow downs due to over selling" (or something to that effect) in the ad I used to sign up. They ended up giving me over 6 months of cable free before they finally got it fixed 🙂

Of course, you remember some of that, don't you? 😀

 
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