Stupid internet...

Sunday, January 13, 2008
So my internet is slow. I mean real slow. Slow enough that I can't play an 8 year old online game.

So I want to upgrade (IE: change service). We have the new Verizon FIOS in our area, so I went there first. They have a great deal on internet (first month free, $35 for months 2-7, no installation charge). Which is great, until you get to the LAST page where it says "with 1 year agreement." Hmm. They forgot to mention that before. And because I don't know where I will be a year from now, that won't work for me.

So I look at their month-to-month rates. $55 a month... too expensive for my blood, then I see the installation charge: $80! That's right! $80 for a guy to come to my apartment and run a wire through the wall. What a rip-off!

So on to Charter (what I have used before). For their internet, they don't tell you how fast it is, but they do say "up to six times as fast as 1.5Mbps DSL." So up to 9 Mbps. A good speed, but if they aren't going to TELL me that, I don't know if I should trust it. It is $35 a month. Oh, and they want to charge me $50 for "installation," IE: come to my place and acknowledge that THE FREAKEN CABLE IS ALREADY RUN!

Oh, and explain this to me. Their basic internet package ("Internet", $19.99/month) says "Get the fastest and most reliable speeds." But they have an "Internet Pro" package for $34.99 a month. If you get the "fastest speeds" on their lower end product, then why would you upgrade? (Answer: because they are using fluff words to make something that is OK sound like the BEST DEAL EVER!!!!!! Sound familiar, Jimmy?)

Arg, all of this is giving me a headache. With all of the activation charges, setup fees, installation this-or-that, then you have to rent a box from them... That is the reason that I liked my current internet when I first signed up: It is $25 a month, no strings attached, no contract, and they had a clearly stated $10 activation charge. No fuss, no hidden fees. The one downfall is that for one week during every other month someone on my connection uses some downloading software that brings my internet to a crawl.

*sigh* I am just depressed because the Cowboys lost (they haven't won a play off game in 12 years). Off to play broomball!

EDIT: OK, I don't feel like driving 30 minutes each way to broomball, so I am going to crash here for the night. I hope that my allergies will go away long enough for me to get some sleep tonight.

EDIT 2: See? Sucky internet!



In reality I don't get even that.

Matthew

3 comments:

Matt said...

Yeah, the Cowboys made me sad, see? :-( <== This is a very sad "the Cowboys Lost" face. I don't know what the deal was, but it looked like they were playing like Junior Varsity or something.

Matt said...

Oh and you have nothing to complain about. Here are my numbers:

7kb/sec
2.04s lat (yes, that's 2 SECONDS)

How's that for stoneage?

Katanna said...

ya, I did it again today, and it was fluctuating, but was as low as 190k down 10k up.

Matthew