Sooo....how and why the hell does anyone use dial-up these days?

[eeyore]

I see from time-to-time people here mentioning they are on dial-up. How on earth does that work? How long does it take to load a single damn page? I haven't been on dial-up since probably 1997, because even at that point a 256k modem was so slow to me that I wanted to smash my damn computer.

This is not a value judgement post. I just can't conceive of how one could possibly have a functional internet experience these days on dial-up. Seems like it would just be an exercise in extreme frustration.

Please, enlighten me. Does it actually work?

:argh:

[Captain Hilts]

1. For e-mail it actually works okay. I used it recently at a friend's house. nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

2. There are many places in which dsl/cable are not available. n/t

[eeyore]

5. I understand that...

But does it actually work?

People don't design websites for dial-up anymore. Hell, I don't think they have since about 2001.

[ogneopasno]

3. I was on dialup until a year or two ago...we live in a remote area where cable and wireless are not

options and DSL was only recently installed. It was a pain in the ass.

[tabbycat31]

4. I know I couldnt

I couldnt put up with the speed, and using dialup would require that I actually had a landline phone, which I do not.

I jsut wish that there was an alternative to the cable company, that's way expensive. You need a landline for DSL too.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Because it's the only way they can get online?

My friend who lives in the country has only dialup available.

[Connie_Corleone]

7. Some people can't afford high-speed.

I have cable high-speed, and it's expensive.

[Ichingcarpenter]

13. Wifi Routers have enough range now that neighbors can easly share the expense

We do here.

[tabbycat31]

14. that is illegal

and considered a crime by the cable companies. I'm not even going to bring the ethics of it into the picture (as much as I hate my cable company)

[Ms. Toad]

27. Well - it is actually a matter of contract

and whether or not it is a breach of contract would depend on the terms of the contract.

I am certainly not required to encrypt and password protect access through my router, and access doesn't really respect property lines. If I did not occasionally send sensitive information, our access would not be encrypted and protected by a password. If I had an open port, I would not have any easy way of knowing (nor would I care) who was borrowing my DSL or cable.

[Ichingcarpenter]

32. I have two neighbors right now that have no wep or wpa protection

on their router that anyone could access their internet.

Our contract says we're able to have three, just cannot exceed a bandwidth
or the price goes up.

[tabbycat31]

39. it could come back to bite you

there was one instance that was on the news a few years ago. Someone had "piggybacked" off of his neighbor's wireless network, and downloaded thousands of songs from a file-sharing service. The RIAA later sued the owner of the network for something that he was unaware of what was going on.

I don't have a problem using the free wifi services provided in places like libraries, Panera, etc. They're there for the public good or as a perk for their customers.

[Ichingcarpenter]

40. What ever

its in our contract....

Bite me

[Ms. Toad]

47. RIAA might (bite you) - and I can assure you that it isn't fun,

or cheap. If you're sharing, make sure all the parties have an understanding (preferably written) about music downloading. The RIAA folks are rabid.

When they come at you, they usually have a list of hundreds or thousands of songs - by name, date of download, date of sharing with others, and how many others shared the files - meaning you can get hit multiple times for each song (basically, you get to pay for the song you downloaded - and again for each person who gets the file through you)

[Ms. Toad]

45. You are absolutely right -

if someone uses your service, RIAA will track back to you the "owner" of the service. They are very good at coercing settlements because it is far cheaper to settle than to fight the case (and often you know who used the service - perhaps a child, parent, or neighbor, and will be compelled to provide information about them for the next suit against them).

[Connie_Corleone]

18. It depends on what kind of neighborhood you're living in.

Wouldn't work in my neighborhood. That's considered "theft" around here. And I don't trust my neighbors that much to share any type of expense with them.

[scarletwoman]

8. Some of us live in the fucking boonies where dial-up is the only option.

And yes, it's incredibly frustrating. But it beats not having the internet at all.

sw

[eeyore]

9. Does it work?

How long does it take to load a page? I'm not judging, just curious how it could possibly work these days.

[ZombieHorde]

12. You're going to have to wait a few days for a reply.

(hehe)

[scarletwoman]

22. ...

:P

[scarletwoman]

19. Well, duh, of course it works. I'm here on DU, aren't I?

How long it takes to load a page depends entirely on how much crap is on the page. Clicking on DU posts is pretty much instantaneous, clicking on a corporate news site like CNN means I have time to make a sandwich while it's loading.

sw

[Ichingcarpenter]

10. Sooo....how and why the hell does anyone use dial-up these days?

answer:..................loading................. loading....................loading........ is slowly.

It would be possible but you have to take out a lot of the richness of the web such as
pictures and movies and gifs.

Damn mom get off the phone I just got on the internet...

Remember those days?

[scarletwoman]

24. Why? Because where I live there is no alternative, that's why. (nt)

[Ichingcarpenter]

36. That really sucks......... what do they charge you for dial up these days?

I think the last time I paid it was $14 a month for net zero.

[scarletwoman]

42. I pay $19.95 a month. I could probably pay less if I signed up with a non-local company, but I like

having a locally owned ISP. I just feel more protected. And their tech support is absolutely wonderful -- I really love their people. They're patient and helpful and good-humored -- and AVAILABLE!

sw

[Occam Bandage]

11. It works well for people who only occasionally use the internet,

for things such as e-mail and occasional recipe/information lookups, which go reasonably quickly. Plus, you know, you get used to waiting 30-60 seconds for a page to load. There was a time when 56k was fast, after all. My first modem was 9600 bps.

(I do assume you mean 56k.)

[eeyore]

16. Yes, 56k!

I do remember adding 256k of RAM to my 512k Mac Plus. Cost me 125 bucks but it made the damn thing scream!

[FarLeftRage]

15. I'm using it....

I live way out in the boondocks. Sure it's slow - takes about 8 seconds to load a page, but it is all I've got for now.

I have used PC that have high speed access and it doesn't do a thing for me.

So, yeah it actually works for me... for now.

[grammysandie]

17. My brother in rural northeastern Oklahoma

can only get dial-up. That's all there is. He can't even get cable TV out there.

He doesn't read my (family-oriented) blog very often because it's too photo-heavy and takes forever to load.

[Garbo 2004]

48. I use Opera browser and it has a setting to not show images. I use that setting whenever my cable

connection goes out and I'm on my backup dialup connection. It's s good feature to use on graphic laden sites when you just really want to read text and don't want to wait forever for all pics to load. Opera is a free download. Also,to me Opera seems a faster responding browser than the standard internet explorer.

I haven't used Firefox in years so don't know if that browser also has an easy "text only" setting. I rarely use Internet Explorer so I don't remember if you can turn off text with just a click as with Opera.

Anyway, something perhaps to consider when your bro wants to read text and ditch the pics on a dial up connection.

[Systematic Chaos]

20. My online experience began in the late 80s. Remember the Atari 800 XL? Commodore 64?

300 baud modems and local BBS lists posted on bulletin boards in your high school or the local library? Trying to access information on CompuServe at the low, low, LOW rate of $5/hr. off-peak?

I sure do. :D

[PufPuf23]

21. My choice is between dial-up or satelite and satelite is

expensive. I am on satelite which is expensive about $80/month (and also has weather outages).
The small and remote community is poor.
There is no local cell phone service.
But I was on dialup until mid-2008.

[Baikonour]

23. Broadband, especially Comcast and Verizon , is wildly overpriced.

Although Comcast has gone down recently to 19.99 a month, which is not bad. but Verizon's DSL service is still 29.99 a month in some places, which boggles the mind.

Also, Comcast has the lowest customer service rating out of EVERY company in America. I personally hate their service, too.

[ContinentalOp]

51. See, that seems cheap to me.

I pay about $40 a month for FIOS, which is a steal considering that it's a replacement for the television, newspapers, telephone, etc. My parents probably pay $50 a month or more for cable, maybe $10 a month for a newspaper subscription, and who knows how much a month for long distance phone service.

[unkachuck]

25. it ain't easy....

....right now I'm running at 45,333 bps....

....it keeps rif-raf like me on short threads with no pics....

[riderinthestorm]

26. Rural farmer here. And no, it doesnt work well. Frustrating as hell.

No cable or DSL available in my area. I explored satellite but at $80/month PLUS the $200 dish installation, I opted out once I learned that internet service is highly weather dependent and a good rainstorm (to say nothing of ice/sleet/snow) can knock out power (I live in No. Illinois).

I actually got an inependent wi-fi guy (Fox Valley.net) here who said I have too many trees in the way, so service is impossible.

That leaves me with dial-up. Slow, cumbersome and aggravating but my only real choice. I don't download any Youtube. I don't open any "pic heavy" threads. I don't open any mail that has an attachment that I haven't already discussed with the sender, No DU threads of more than 150 posts....

If I need to get onto my own website (which I can't even load on my dialup) for my farm/business updates, I go to Panera with my wi-fi laptop and spend the day doing anything high speed. Crazy.

[deaniac21]

28. 256k modem.....wtf?

[Ms. Toad]

29. I use it one week a year,

when my family gets together in a location without any other access.

It's slow, but functional. I turn off graphics wherever I have the option, and spend less time surfing, and I manage.

But then again, I think my fuzzy analog TV is just fine...

[1]

30. everybody (at least not the people you know) doesn't live in a "big" city, bud...

and all of the fancy technology is not available to a lot of us.

surprised? are you?

wow...

[undeterred]

31. I work for an ISP

In some rural areas there is no other option but dialup. Some people are reducing costs by choosing dialup. The problem is web pages are getting bigger all the time, and thus take longer to load.

[biopowertoday]

33. I have no real complaints with dial up.

[msongs]

34. earthlink on a 56k modem is usually about 30k actual lol nt

[notadmblnd]

35. believe it or not...in some places .. that all there is

My brother lives in Lapeer County Michigan. The population is'nt large enough for high speed to be profitable. It sucks but that's the way they do business.

[TorchTheWitch]

37. I was on dial-up until a few months ago

It functioned just fine. Downloading programs or music files in particular was obviously very slow, but most webpages not so bad. Viewing videos was slow enough to be pretty much worthless. I never felt much need to look at videos on the computer, so not doing it wasn't any kind of hardship. I have FIOS now, and have noticed the speed difference, but although it's nice to be able to view videos and download music files or programs much faster, I don't feel like dial-up was all that bad. My computer use habits are pretty much the same although once in awhile now I'll watch a video. I guess it depends on what one uses their computer for and how important it is to them.

Does dial-up actually work? What kind of moronic question is that? Of course it works. If it wasn't for the fact that I had no use for a home phone other than to get connected to the internet, I probably would have just stayed with dial-up since it's so cheap.

[SheilaT]

38. I can understand living out somewhere

in the country where dial-up is all that's available. However, I moved to Santa Fe, NM last July. I live in the city of Santa Fe, which while not the largest city in North America, is decent sized and I had more than one cable/internet/phone company to do business with. One, Earthlink to be exact, told me that didn't have DSL available at my address, but did have dial-up. "We are now eight years into the twenty-first century and you're offering me DIAL-UP???" I asked. "No thank you."

[Canuckistanian]

41. Oh, shut up

I would give my left nut for one o' them fancy T1 type connections.

BUT, we live in the country - no cable and no ADSL. I can't even get wireless. And satellite's too expensive for the installation.

So, here I am shopping for even faster modems that will inch me past a whopping 4kiB/sec.

Still, it not bad. I can load a DU page in a few seconds (thanks to Elad and Firefox No-AD).
But watching a Youtube video is a conscious decision. You have to plan for it and REALLY, REALLY want it, because it means no surfing or a 3-hour DL.

And I'm PISSED OFF at all the ISPs who send me "HIGH SPEED INTERNET NOW AT 15% OFF!". I call them back EVERY time just to hear them say "Ohhhh, I'm sorry, we can't offer you that"

The first company that offers me high-speed access gets my eternal business and loyalty.

Until then, they're all bastards.

[Gold Metal Flake]

43. Definition of Pergatory...

Huffington Post on Internet Explorer 7 via dial up.

[Gemini Cat]

44. Enlighten yourself.

You have got to be fucking kidding me.
Maybe some of us can't afford to use anything other than dial up. Some of us are lucky to even have internet service. Cable where I am is much more expensive. I can't afford it. I barely can afford what I have. Do you get it now?

[earth mom]

46. I have friends who refuse to order DSL. They can afford it, but I guess they think $35 a month

is too much. I think it's a total bargain. :shrug:

[SmileyRose]

49. $4.95 to $9.95 a month is why

yes it works fine if the sites most visited are text. Even graphics rich sites load the text first so 56K is functional.

[KillCapitalism]

50. The economic stimulus package NEEDS to expand broadband to everyone.

I have some relatives that live in rural western Nebraska. It's so rural that the county they live in barely has 5,000 residents. They'd kill to have DSL/cable internet. It's never fun for them to wait 25 minutes for the pics we e-mail to them to d/l on their 56K connection.

As someone above mentioned, the interent nowadays is a very unfriendly place for the dial-up user.

[Born_A_Truman]

52. Not much choice if you don't have cable or dsl lines in the boonies

I have satellite internet but keep a dialup account as backup. Snow in December knocked out my satellite isp for a few hours so I went on dialup. I work from home so have to have a backup.

I will be long gone before anyone puts dsl or cable out here in the desert but the lifestyle is well worth not having everything. No traffic, no car alarms going off, and a beautiful view.