DevilsPGD wrote:
>> I'm going to be just outside of Chicago (Skokie, if you must know) for
>> an unknown period of time and looking to find out what the cheapest
>> way to get internet access would be.
>> I have no need for anything other then basic connectivity, and the
>> ability to establish HTTPS connections to a known IP and PPTP
>> connections to another known IP (not even DNS is required) and I
>> certainly will not need ISP provided email, webspace, or anything of
>> the sort. I also absolutely refuse to install any crapware provided >> by an ISP.
>> I'm eyeballing dialup access through ISP.COM which offers $8.95 - 56K
>> Regular Dial-up -- any thoughts, good or bad? Can I do better?
>> Any thoughts?
> Don't you want news-server access? That's the most common
> deal-breaker for me.
Nope. No web hosting, no email, no usenet, no technical support, hell, they don't even need a tollfree customer service number.
DNS is about the only thing I'd use (other then IP transit) but it's not mandatory, I run my own DNS servers anyway (and most of the stuff I'll be accessing will be through my VPN and in-house proxies anyway)
Once the VPN is up I can access literally everything I need right through there. Just PPTP at the moment, although if I have the time to get IPSec working, I might switch over.
Budget ISPs often contract with dialup providers. The quality of
> service can depend on this, and the ISP's representative may not be in
> a position to know what's wrong.
True enough.
At $9.95 I've been with localnet a couple of years, I guess. At times
> I've looked for alternatives, but in the long run things have worked > out.
I'll check 'em out, thanks! Any idea what they're like for short-term access?
> Don't you want news-server access? That's the most common
>> deal-breaker for me.
> It shouldn't be a concern.
> If the price is cheap enough for an ISP you've chosen and they don't
> provide a news server, also get a news account at Newsguy
>
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. They have a special plan that they offer
> one year of news server access for forty dollars. I used them once
> when a ten dollar a month ISP I was then using dropped their news
> server without telling anyone.
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-- You can't beat free. Oh, and as soon as Mike updates the page, my name will be appearing on
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too :)