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Stumbling out of the dark ages (broadband a go go)


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I?ve just had British Telecom here today removing my old ISDN line. It took a couple of hours with the engineer coming back and forth and leaving these space age devices connected to the phone line for a bit, but by the end of his visit he was happy to report my telephone line was strong enough to support 2MB ADSL.

 

So right now I am using a 56k modem from the days of yore whilst I await delivery of my password and username for my broadband account (I?ve gone with a 1MB service as 2MB is too expensive at the moment here). I?d love to be up and running by the weekend that way I can actually watch some of last weeks E3 videos.

 

Hooray for technology! (any of you across the Atlantic who dares to mention your 3 meg, 4 meg and upwards speeds will get a slap).

 

Daniel

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Welcome to the 20th Century, Dan! ;)

 

A programmer mate of mine in the UK finally got broadband a couple of months ago too after much ranting about how useless it was for him (he's a bit of a luddite at times). Once he got it, he switched upto a faster & unmetered plan within a month :)

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A programmer mate of mine in the UK finally got broadband a couple of months ago too after much ranting about how useless it was for him (he's a bit of a luddite at times). Once he got it, he switched upto a faster & unmetered plan within a month

 

I'm certainly not a big downloader, but the fact is the DSL route is cheaper than the age old ISDN one which was a combination of ISP monthly fee AND monthly line rental fee, so now I do away with the line rental fees and get that whopping speed increase on top (my ISDN speed was only 64k). There?s no monthly download limit either, so should I suddenly start downloading goodness knows what then I can do so without hassle.

 

It now also means of course that I can savour some of the fun of online gaming on the next generation consoles as and when they are released. It?s quite annoying having the phone line done, my DSL modem in front of me but no username and password to actually make use of it though. I should get a letter in the mail within a few days with all the details. It?s only a bit of a muddle because I?ve gone with a new ISP for broadband and they had to work around ISDN being removed so I got all the gear before I get the authorisation to plug any of it in.

 

Daniel

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I've got 2Mb cable broadband from NTL - ?24.99 a month (so about $55-$60, I think). 1Mb was much cheaper, but the 2Gb/month download limit and 100k/s upload speed rendered it a non-option. This way I get 200k/s up, and 30Gb/month limit.

 

So Dan, have you got one of those 2 month Live demos to try out yet? I don't think I've got any spare, unfortunately, but there's on on OXM this month (the one with the MotoGP3 demo).

 

edit - oh, and I'm actually mildly surprised Dan's had to choose if he wanted to pay extra for 2Mb/s or not; many providers charge the same for both, and you just get what your line can take.

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So Dan, have you got one of those 2 month Live demos to try out yet? I don't think I've got any spare, unfortunately, but there's on on OXM this month (the one with the MotoGP3 demo).

 

Funny you ask... You've just reminded me that the copy of Pro Evo 4 I got from Amazon the other week for under ?7 (oh yes) has one of the two month Live trials as it happens. I may give it a whirl!

 

 

oh, and I'm actually mildly surprised Dan's had to choose if he wanted to pay extra for 2Mb/s or not; many providers charge the same for both, and you just get what your line can take.

 

I think it was a good ?10 - ?12 more a month with Pipex and other ISPs I looked at for 2MB, again with no monthly download limit. NTLs offerings seem solid, I was looking to try them myself but they don't run cable down my road. The main road has it, but not my little hide away. I think 2mb with a one month download limit is the same as 1mb unlimited though (?24.99).

 

Now I know I have a line capable of 2mb, if I don't find myself suddenly downloading a heap of stuff then I may change packages. A friend of mine said he could host some HDTV stuff for me to look at which may be where the no limits could come in handy.

 

When 3-4mb becomes more common in the UK with ISPs toward the end of the year I think the price of 2mb will be no higher.

 

Dan

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the copy of Pro Evo 4 I got from Amazon the other week for under ?7 (oh yes)

 

Arrgh. I missed this (I was on holiday that week). They had really, really cheap bongos and Treasure's Astro Boy GBA game as well. And I missed it all. :(:(:(

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Oh well,you learn something new everyday,right?

 

We also call potato chips crisps! So there you go.

 

Daniel

 

PS: I've had confirmation e-mails that my account for boradband is now activated, but still not username and password so I shall call them later today to see when I can expect that stuff in the mail.

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Originally Posted by Angry the Clown

I'll have you know the chunky British chip could take on an army of thin and puny french fries.

 

Originally Posted by

Well, yeah. They'd just surrender, anyhow.

 

No, no, that's the French Fries. The British Crisps ruled the ketchup seas for a few hundred of years, only to lose condiment control to one of it's own young break away spuds who went on to become the most powerful condiment democracy. :D

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No, no, that's the French [/i']Fries. The British Crisps ruled the ketchup seas for a few hundred of years, only to lose condiment control to one of it's own young break away spuds who went on to become the most powerful condiment democracy. :D

 

Then there were the Tacos from the south, who came in and really fucked things up.

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lose condiment control to one of it's own young break away spuds who went on to become the most powerful condiment democracy. :D

 

When it comes to nibbles that have gained their own soverignty, I'm a big fan of veggie samosas myself.

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It?s alive. IT?S ALIVE!

 

Ok so I've still yet to receive any details in the post, so I rang Pipex (my ISP) this morning and they said my welcome pack had gone out on the 25th... Anyway, the girl was kind enough to give me my details over the phone, and after a good forty-five minutes of messing about I am now officially set up ? though I hope my details still arrive in the post as it?s a bit of a concern not having them.

 

The interesting thing is, when I log in my modem says I am connected at 2.2mb... Whether I am or not, I do not know. I'm still being billed for 1mb... The British Telecom guy did say it was a 2mb line, but I presumed he meant it could take up to 2mb rather than, even if I paid for 1.1mb I'd still get 2.2mb.

 

Daniel

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Pro Evo 4 is back up at under ?7 (xbox).

 

Dan

 

Yes, I've just noticed. Given that I've only played Pro Evo on the PS2 about twice (due to being shite at it, and not having time yet) I probably should restrain myself, though.

 

Unless you're planning on getting that Live subscription now you're running at speed - in which case, I have a perfect excuse!

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Well I looked at the Live 2-month trial slip inside the box again this morning and it seems it experied at the end of March which is a shame.

 

Dan

 

Have you actually tried using it? I've heard that the expiration date on those doesn't really mean anything.

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