posted on August 28, 2005 05:25:43 PM
I am thinking seriously of making this life altering leap of faith into the world of high speed technology. Any body used it before? Is it worth the gross over expenditure of my slim Ebay profits?
posted on August 28, 2005 09:00:07 PM
Way too expensive, and not all that fast, unless it's your only broadband option. A good place to start reading about service and service providers is :
http://www.dslreports.com/
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Fue por lana y salió trasquilado...
posted on August 29, 2005 06:38:17 AM
Thank you profe...I knew there had to be a place to get better information than I had. The link you provided is greatly appreciated. I am one of those few unfortunate in my area that live just outside the boundaries for DSL.
Life is full of ups and down's....take advantage of them all...
Regarding DirecWay, we have had satellite TV via DirecTV for 10 years, and you would never, never go back to cable.
We tested cable internet service via a family member, which has cable internet, and we were totally unimpressed and as we could hardly tell the difference between our local cable internet service and our landline internet.
Because we are full time e-commerce, auctions are just a minor sideline for us compared to our web sites.
We talked to various folks who used DirecWay for a number of years, and all were extremely pleased. We desperately needed more speed than we can get via any time of Cable, and DSL is not available to us. We added DirecWay about 3 years ago, and are thoroughly pleased with it.
I noticed someone said that DirecWay wasn't all that fast. The only times I've seen DirecWay "drag" is when it wasn't installed properly, or properly adjusted, or it had a static build up in the networking system,when folks were networking computers, which most don't in a home situation.
Because we (my husband and I) are full time e-commerce, and can occasionally get high winds and heavy rain storms, we wanted a back up system, so we have also kept our landlines.
We have to update, remove or add to our web sites daily, pick up orders and the speed at which we can accomplish it via DirecWay has saved us endless hours.
IF you have choices, you might go to friends' homes that have different systems, and test their systems before making any decision.
If you are a part time e-commerce person, and think DirecWay is expensive, then you might be happier with cable.
We have our DirecWay networked between the three computers we work on at home and the network works wonderfully via DirecWay. If my husband wants to send me a file, or a picture, from his computer, he just drops it on my desk top....it is great!!
I cannot say there are not down times, there can be in very, bad weather, although our DirecTV stayed on constantly through a hurricane a few years ago – of course, we were running a generator for power.
Personally, regardless of where I lived I wouldn’t live in a house without a back up generator system – I went through the 1973 Ice Storm in Atlanta, without power for days, and that was the end of ever having a house without a backup generator system.
Also, we both have backup batteries for our computers so that we do not lose work if we get a power failure, which with Alabama Power is not unusual.
If you work on line enough (e-commerce, auctions, web sites, etc), the cost of whatever method of connection you choose, is tax deductible as a business expense.
Wishes on your search for the best system for you. Do your homework and research, and test other systems in folks homes if that is possible. What sales people say, and what reality is, is often VERY different.
We are preparing to make our last permanent move, from South Alabama, to the North Georgia Mountains, and believe me, we will have a major generating system, backup computer batteries for each computer, our network system and DirecTV and DirecWay at our new house.
Beau (jwpc)
~"It does not matter what I think, it does not matter what you think. The only thing which matters is: What is the TRUTH!"~
[ edited by jwpc on Aug 29, 2005 07:52 AM ]
posted on August 29, 2005 09:00:29 AM
I have been thinking about this also. Is the cost that much?? Don't you have to purchase the equipment?
Is there a way to get an Internet phone with DirecTV.
I have Comcast now and it's pretty fast but does go out daily for 10 or 15 minutes at a time and I loss it for 24 hours at a time about once a month. Not too bad unless I have auctions ready to launch with SMPro.
posted on August 29, 2005 10:01:33 AM
Beau...I have had DirecTV for years and love it...and I have been waiting (patiently???) for some type of improvement to the local ISP. It is through Alltel and I am not close enough to the substation for DSL.They say it will be another 3 years now before they attempt to improve anything, but are thrilled to charge me monthly for connections that vary from 4.8 kb(GASP!!!!) to 26.4kb on the best day. Frustration has set in and my normal cool persona is headed south. Try those speeds for Ebay!
Lady...until 8/31 they have a $100.00 rebate on Direcway. They are running a $99.00 a month for 15 month payoff plan that includes service for those times. After the equipment is paid for the service is $59.00 a month. Pretty darn pricey so I want to be sure what I am getting into.
Maybe I am over cautious. Thank you all for your input
Life is full of ups and down's...take advantage of them all
posted on August 29, 2005 10:54:25 AM
"After the equipment is paid for the service is $59.00 a month. Pretty darn pricey "
RoadRunner from the local cable company is $54.95 after all the taxes and junk, so that's not exceptionally high.
I am surprised that DirecWay makes you buy the equipment though. I picked up a DirecTV system a couple of years ago and remember it being REALLY cheap for the equipment. I guess things have changed!
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on August 29, 2005 12:12:50 PM
The $59.00 is not really the objection for me. It is the initial $600.00 for the equipment that bugs me to no end. They do let you pay it out at $99.00 a month (for 15 months including service), but it still seems pricey to me. I also thought that I could purchase the equipment elsewhere used and go with the $59.00 monthly straight away. But .....Direcway will not activate your service if they don't install it. And if you have your own equipment they want $250.00 installation fee.
Life is full of ups and down's...take advantage of them all
