Robyn Lyons <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > We have SBC Ameritech (one of the branches that was > specifically fined by the state of Illinois for service > issues, repeatedly) and dealing with the DSL division is an > experiment in patience limits.
I guess I've been lucky with Ameritech here (Champaign-Urbana, IL). I didn't talk to anyone when I signed up. I just entered my phone number on the web site and it told me that I could get it, so I applied via the web. It took a month or so for the equipment to finally arrive, but to be fair to Ameritech, the connection was actually live several days BEFORE they said it would be. It's been rock-solid. In close to a year there's been only one outage of a few hours. I've (luckily, from what I hear) never had to make any tech support calls. If you sign up they'll ask you if you have a machine with a USB port. Be forewarned that if you answer yes they'll send you a junky USB modem (actually, I don't remember if their USB modems support Macs or not. Even if they do, you don't want one. :-) Hold out for an Ethernet modem. The Ethernet modem will let you connect multiple machines much more easily than the USB type (the USB model requires that the machine it's connected to be turned on before any other machine can use the net, while the Ethernet model can be plugged directly into a router). I opted for the customer self-install (nothing to it... if you can plug in a phone, you can do the self-install), so I've never had to deal with a human being. They had to upgrade the outside line but that was done while I wasn't here. The inside wiring was fine (I pulled multiple CAT5 to all the rooms after we bought this house). I found out recently that Speakeasy is now available here. I'm reluctant to mess with something that's working, given all the DSL horror stories, but Speakeasy has a great reputation and their enhanced services (static IPs, etc.) appear to be a better deal than Ameritech is offering. I may switch to them once my Ameritech contract is up in a month or two. This is pretty far off-topic, but if anyone has any questions I'd be happy to discuss it off the list. -- Causality violation: Universe dumped. Tony Hursh, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- SuperMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | Service & Replacement Parts [EMAIL PROTECTED] | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> SuperMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/supermacs/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/supermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
