You and the Internet...

Kim mentions the advantages of sticking with good old DSL, so I'd just like to say that good old DSL is plenty good enough for me. And it can probably do nicely for you too.

One day, ten years ago this summer, I was in a mini-mall here near a fast food outlet which shall remain nameless, and I passed by a store selling used computers. I had never tried a computer before, but I thought, 'What the hell? let's check it out...' so in I went.

I got an old used Dell Optiplex with -would you believe - Windows 98SE on it.
But I also got a special offer on Internet from a company that was leasing its
distribution ports from the local giant phone company, and at $25/month who can refuse? That was a one-year deal, after which it went to $35. I took it.

Being a total 'newbie' to computers, and knowing nothing about Dell or the Windows 98SE on it, I also didn't know any better than pick up the phone to
call my ISP the first time I crashed it. (One of many, I might add!) And instead of being told to call my local serviceman, I was asked to sit down, turn on the computer, and tell what I'm seeing. This began my education in computers, and I didn't realize at first that this was a very special thing that didn't usually happen. It didn't normally come with the service. And it wasn't very long until I got over my 'fear of flying' and began learning the inner workings of the computer, as explained by a real expert. 

Because I was such a pest, I sent them a couple of donations 'for the coffee fund', and we became good friends. Some time ago, Bob decided to double the speed of our basic DSL, with no increase in price. I checked around and found that everybody else was charging about $40/month for the same service, so I sent Bob an email and pointed that out, and suggested it wouldn't kill us to pay another five bucks a month. My DSL is now $40 plus tax, everything I've learned about computers I owe to Bob at the ISP, and I wouldn't dream of going anywhere else. Money alone can't buy the kind of exceptional service I've received for the past ten years, and you should be so lucky!