Broadband = crack
Spoiled. Totally rotten. I freely confess.
After 8 years of continuous use, our DSL modem rolled over and presented its belly skyward. My wife then had one of those stereotypical engagements with the phone company that we all know and love, which went something like this:
Wife: (calling ahead to the nearest service center) "Do you have replacement units there for pick-up?"
Tech: "Oh yes."
Wife: "I mean, just a DSL modem. You're sure you have them. Please check."
Tech: "In the back. Yep. It says right here."
Wife drives to the center. Horrendous waiting room experience ensues, sucking away 90 minutes of her life and nearly bringing her to blows with another boorish customer who tries cutting in line. Finally, she reaches the counter.
Tech 2: "Nope. We don't have those."
Wife: (blood pressure at celestial levels) "I was told you have them in the back."
Tech 2: "There's nothing back there but dust. Got some on a pallet at the airport though."
Wife: "DSL modems?"
Tech 2: "Yep."
Wife: "Why should I believe you?"
Tech 2: "Says right here ... one pallet of routers."
Wife: "Nooooo... D-S-L modems. Read my lips: m-o-d-e-m."
Cutting to the chase, it took about a week to get a replacement modem during which I came close to securing one myself and then sending the bill to the phone company. Meantime, I trotted out my ancient laptop, which was the only computer that had a ready-to-use dial-up modem installed. And we made do with that.
Barely.
I think I've ground away 1/3 of the enamel on my teeth. My gods, how did (or does) anyone function with dial-up Internet access?
Our reaction was to curb all Internet activity except for cursory handling of e-mails. No blogging, bill-paying, web site updates, browsing, board-surfing, entertainment, gaming. Nada. Absolutely no inclination to do any of that at 56K bps speeds (on a good dial-up connection, if you're lucky to get 1 out of 5 tries).
For me, it pretty much cut-off all the writing-related activity that I use the net for. And why shouldn't it? Once you've developed the taste for Bordeaux, it's an intolerable substitute to quaff Boone's Farm Tickle Pink ever again.
Things are finally back to normal, including my wife's blood pressure. DSL is fixed and humming along. And I will eagerly and contentedly shell out that monthly fee to sustain our deep-rooted habit.
After 8 years of continuous use, our DSL modem rolled over and presented its belly skyward. My wife then had one of those stereotypical engagements with the phone company that we all know and love, which went something like this:
Wife: (calling ahead to the nearest service center) "Do you have replacement units there for pick-up?"
Tech: "Oh yes."
Wife: "I mean, just a DSL modem. You're sure you have them. Please check."
Tech: "In the back. Yep. It says right here."
Wife drives to the center. Horrendous waiting room experience ensues, sucking away 90 minutes of her life and nearly bringing her to blows with another boorish customer who tries cutting in line. Finally, she reaches the counter.
Tech 2: "Nope. We don't have those."
Wife: (blood pressure at celestial levels) "I was told you have them in the back."
Tech 2: "There's nothing back there but dust. Got some on a pallet at the airport though."
Wife: "DSL modems?"
Tech 2: "Yep."
Wife: "Why should I believe you?"
Tech 2: "Says right here ... one pallet of routers."
Wife: "Nooooo... D-S-L modems. Read my lips: m-o-d-e-m."
Cutting to the chase, it took about a week to get a replacement modem during which I came close to securing one myself and then sending the bill to the phone company. Meantime, I trotted out my ancient laptop, which was the only computer that had a ready-to-use dial-up modem installed. And we made do with that.
Barely.
I think I've ground away 1/3 of the enamel on my teeth. My gods, how did (or does) anyone function with dial-up Internet access?
Our reaction was to curb all Internet activity except for cursory handling of e-mails. No blogging, bill-paying, web site updates, browsing, board-surfing, entertainment, gaming. Nada. Absolutely no inclination to do any of that at 56K bps speeds (on a good dial-up connection, if you're lucky to get 1 out of 5 tries).
For me, it pretty much cut-off all the writing-related activity that I use the net for. And why shouldn't it? Once you've developed the taste for Bordeaux, it's an intolerable substitute to quaff Boone's Farm Tickle Pink ever again.
Things are finally back to normal, including my wife's blood pressure. DSL is fixed and humming along. And I will eagerly and contentedly shell out that monthly fee to sustain our deep-rooted habit.