The Internet: Now Half Off

In today's society, it's hard to get by without the Internet, but that is no reason to overpay for it!

Home Internet

If you already have a phone line, it's time to ask yourself "Why?" If it isn't easy to defend, then answer these questions: Is there any reason I can't just give out my cell phone number to the people that have my home phone number? Do I have an alarm system that relies on the phone line? Do I use pay-per-view movies and don't want to have to call-in my movies over the phone?

If the answer is "No" to all of those questions, then you can just get rid of your home phone line.

Personally, I do have satellite TV service, but I don't use pay-per-view; I have an alarm system, but it connects through an on-board cell phone; and I never did have home phone service, but I still have DSL Internet, and a wireless router. I have it unlocked, in case my neighbors or passers by want a WiFi hotspot.

If you go through AT&T, you can get Internet a la carte for $20 a month (inc. taxes or fees) and if they ever change your billing schedule (which they generally do after about a year) you can call up and complain about it and get one month for free!

If you are getting a bundle deal, it's time to ask yourself if it really is a deal.

Look at what you can get without bundling them all together and chances are you are going to pay much less (like I do.

I pay $50/month for my cell phone, $20 a month for home Internet and $30 a month for satellite. And that pretty much covers it.


On the Road

If you travel a lot, like I used to, it is very convienient to have the Internet with you wherever you go.

Wifi Hotspots

They aren't free anymore...or at least not everywhere.

Here are a few places that you can find free Internet: public libraries, places such as Krystals (a burger joint similar to White Castle)and certain hotels such as La Quinta. (But try to stay out of sight while using the Internet, as they don't appreciate people sucking off their internet for some reason.) There are websites dedicated to telling you where free hotspots are. But if you want to get Internet literally anywhere, you are going to want wireless internet from a cell phone company.

If you already have a smart phone with Windows Mobile, Pdanet, or the Google operating system, then there is no reason to pay the extra $25-$60 a month for wireless Internet on your computer. You can use PDAnet From June Fabric.

You install it on your computer and hook your computer up to your phone and install it there as well. This will allow you to have internet in places that you couldn't before. The drawback is that PDAnet can be buggy when used with certian versions of Windows and needs to be re-connected often in some cases. However, that does not stop me. I am using it right now!

In the mall where I have my store, their WiFi is a joke. It works about 8% of the time, so my G1 (Google phone) is connected to the computer and provides me with an internet speed that I can live with.

It's not enough to seamlessly stream video, but then, I usually don't use it for that in any case.