. . . not simply because it's a fun place to post, but it's the only website that loads in under half a minute!
Does anyone else out there feel this way? Am I just cranking about nothing? Should I just get a life, bite the bullet and hook up to a cable modem? Or just discontinue the Earthlink dialup and enjoy the rest of the summer outside?
I'm becoming increasing fustrated at the growing amount of pictures and animations loaded onto websights. Checking out Weather channel.com required literally leaving the room and coming back in two to three minutes, only to find it's still loading. I'm not even checking E-mail much anymore due to the spam in my mailbox and all the picts that must be loaded before I can read my mail. Dialup seems slower than ever. And unfortunatly, when I moved to another state, I do connect slower than ever.
Is ANYONE still on dial up anymore?
I sing the birdie tune
It makes the birdies swoon
It sends them to the moon
Just like a big balloon
I am dialup and don't see a need to upgrade. The difference in cost can buy one or many decent whistles every year (depends on the company--I pay $100 a year for my dial up and the cheapest local DSL is $20 a month). Mozilla Firefox (competing browser) with the Open in Tabs function helps. Another technique that I use is to select a fast loading site first and a slower site second and read the first while the second loads, then open a third while reading the second. There are plenty of fast loading sites out there (plenty of slow ones too though). Some sites I avoid because of the long load time or only open them if I have a lot of stuff to read in already processed sites.
I open all Chiff threads in a new tab. Saves the server, because if I press BACK it reloads the main board with any new posts in the last minute--eating up precious bandwidth for no benefit to me.
For downloads I do something else or open up a quick game window.
Most browsers also let you suppress pictures and animations--that will help, but you will miss some of the content (I did and turned the pictures back on).
I'm on Earthlink dialup and I have no problems with it, particularly not with email.
If your email is full of spam, you need to turn on the Earthlink spamblocker. Spam does not get into my email. Period. Nor do I lose anything I might truly want.
If you have not already installed Earthlink Accelerator, you should do so. For an almost unnoticeable downgrade in graphics quality, you can increase your download speed significantly. The popup blocker is a blessing.
We have dialup too, but I don't really mind the slowness. What I don't like is losing the connection every five minutes, though I suppose other people don't have this problem. We've had AOL, Earthlink, and now PeoplePC, and they all do the same thing for us. This accelerator thing is nice though(PeoplePC has it too). It does make things faster.
I'm on dial up and I agree. Sometimes it takes forever to load! That's when I run the disk cleanup utility (Programs > accessories > system tools >disk cleanup).
I've also noticed that if the air conditioner is on, or if we have fans on in every room, then the computer is real slow. My nontechnical theory is that the wiring in the house is being strained and it's almost a brownout situation, so the computer isn't getting the power it needs to run.
I have the ATT accelerator but sometimes I think it runs slower with that on, so then I shut it off. Besides, the accelerator stops the GIFs from being animated.
Still, like I keep telling my daughter, it's a lot faster than any computer I had when I was her age (ha ha - never had a computer until I was in my 30s and got a C-64).
anniemcu
--- "You are what you do, not what you claim to believe." -Gene A. Statler
--- "Olé to you, none-the-less!" - Elizabeth Gilbert
--- http://www.sassafrassgrove.com
Tell us something.: A long time chatty Chiffer but have been absent for almost two decades. Returned in 2022 and still recognize some names! I also play anglo concertina now.
I'm on dialup, and I managed to find one of the few streets in the developed world where broadband is not an option...
None of the (phone, cable, net) providers we currently use cover my immediate region. To get broadband requires multiple changeovers and multiple monthly bills. Not really worth it at the moment.
Last edited by avanutria on Tue Aug 02, 2005 5:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
Tell us something.: This is the first sentence. This is the second of the recommended sentences intended to thwart spam its. This is a third, bonus sentence!
Tell us something.: I've picked up the tinwhistle again after several years, and have recently purchased a Chieftain v5 from Kerry Whistles that I cannot wait to get (why can't we beam stuff yet, come on Captain Kirk, get me my Low D!)
BillChin wrote:I am dialup and don't see a need to upgrade. The difference in cost can buy one or many decent whistles every year (depends on the company--I pay $100 a year for my dial up and the cheapest local DSL is $20 a month). Mozilla Firefox (competing browser) with the Open in Tabs function helps. Another technique that I use is to select a fast loading site first and a slower site second and read the first while the second loads, then open a third while reading the second. There are plenty of fast loading sites out there (plenty of slow ones too though). Some sites I avoid because of the long load time or only open them if I have a lot of stuff to read in already processed sites.
I open all Chiff threads in a new tab. Saves the server, because if I press BACK it reloads the main board with any new posts in the last minute--eating up precious bandwidth for no benefit to me.
For downloads I do something else or open up a quick game window.
Most browsers also let you suppress pictures and animations--that will help, but you will miss some of the content (I did and turned the pictures back on).
My sympathies to you!
My broadband is $20 per month, but that includes the purchase of the modem and the rediculous taxes they tack on. I always felt like twenty bucks was a little steep!!!
But, I have found that if I cancel my phone and use my cell (LOTS cheaper, less taxes) and cancel my broadband I can get high-speed cable for less than the combo of the two bills. (on top of that, my brother-in-law figured out how to git cable tv through his high-speed modem lotsa value )
“First lesson: money is not wealth; Second lesson: experiences are more valuable than possessions; Third lesson: by the time you arrive at your goal it’s never what you imagined it would be so learn to enjoy the process” - unknown
Thanks, everyone for letting me blow off some steam, and thank you for some of your suggestions. Whew! I feel better.
Lambchop, thanks for recommending the Earthlink Accelerator. After I update to Mac OSX(which I just ordered) I'll try using it. Charlene, you may have a point about the power drain=computer slowness. The house we moved in to is currently running on a 60 amp service. The house we moved from had 100. It may account for some of the drag.
I sing the birdie tune
It makes the birdies swoon
It sends them to the moon
Just like a big balloon
lotsa value 
)