Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Google and other such oddities

I am thinking about getting rid of my high-speed internet and going back to the primitive use of a dial-up service with a local provider.  There are a couple of reasons behind this, some of them are mundane, some of them are complex. 

  1. The money is tight.  Trying to squeeze all of my bills out of a GS-5 salary when I am used to living larger than that is quite the chore.  Right now $40.00 a month is $40.00 a month. 
  2. A variation on the issues that I have brought up in the past with sewers being delivered into homes.  In many ways, high speed internet offers the same sewer in a different package.  By backing down to dial up speeds, I seriously limit the availability of YouTube, porn, and mass media strangeness into my house.
  3. Google scares me.  They store all of your data and apparently has no desire whatsoever to get rid of it at any point in time. 
  4. What does “high-speed” internet really offer me?  Does it make my life better?  Does it allow me to better raise my children or maintain my home?  Most of the answers to the critical questions appear to be “no”.

Any thoughts?

4 comments:

Mayberry said...

Speaking for myself, my "free" time is very limited. I read a LOT online, and do a lot of research. I'm also very impatient...... I couldn't go back to dialup unless I did nothing else but my blog and pay bills. I reckon what I pay for broadband is way cheaper than the books I'd otherwise be buying, and the gas I'd burn going to get them.... Just my 2 cents....

Anonymous said...

How much will you save? Have you downloaded ALL printable information you need/want? Aren´t there any films or any music you´d like to steal?
This doesn´t seem thought through...

Stephanie in AR said...

Downloading books is a real hassle on dial-up. Our old provider is/has switched to high speed dialup but we had already switched so cannot say how it compares. Also, it ties up the phone line. We didn't have a cell phone & now have prepaid for emergencies so a busy signal is a problem. Could you get a discount from your phone company?

If you did go to dial up then I'd make a list of books & such that you'd like to download, then take an afternoon to go someplace that offers free internet access. Buy a coffee and spend sometime downloading.

I read a woman who has only dial up & she has problems when loading/downloading with 'timing out'. (Which I did too) So sending/receiving pictures would also go on the to-do list. Some internet is better than none but managing your money well is the best. Hey, if it doesn't work you can always change your mind.

An Unsheltered Life said...

If you do go back to dialup, grab a download manager before you downgrade. You can find some for free that don't clog up your computer with spyware or other crap - and with the manager, you should be able to resume downloads that time out, instead of having to start all over.

Years ago, I used GetRight. I have no idea of whether that program still exists or not...or if it's still decent. Download.com should have some good suggestions.