Is Home Internet Connection Essential?

[medicomel]

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hi guys,

i've been accessing the internet in free wi-fi locations and at work. do i really need one for home? comcast is really expensive, and i don't know if i need to tack on yet another expense?

i just don't want to kick myself at 2am when i'm studying and can't look at something online when i need to. is that a typical scenario or does that happen seldom enough to forget about home access? another thing i worry about is incessant sdn browsing and posting. you guys know what i mean

please advise when you have a sec,
'mel

 

[LauraPaz]

hi guys,

i've been accessing the internet in free wi-fi locations and at work. do i really need one for home? comcast is really expensive, and i don't know if i need to tack on yet another expense?

i just don't want to kick myself at 2am when i'm studying and can't look at something online when i need to. is that a typical scenario or does that happen seldom enough to forget about home access? another thing i worry about is incessant sdn browsing and posting. you guys know what i mean

please advise when you have a sec,
'mel

Are there any other ISP's in your area? I started looking into internet prices in St. Louis recently, and found that yes, the cable company rips you off something awful. When looking into AT&T DSL, I was hesitant, because they said you have to have phone service, and I had planned to just live on my cell phone. BUT, a local service-only line is really cheap, and their DSL is really cheap, so I ended up setting up my internet for like $20/month (including the phone line). Granted, that's based on their sign-up special, but even once the usual rate kicks in (after a year) it's still cheaper than the sign-on special was with the cable people.

Basically, look into all your options. Cable's not the only way to go, and even if DSL is a tad bit slower, it's worth paying less than half for it, in my book.

 

[t33sg1rl]

No, it isn't essential-I know several people who do fine without it. Try it without for a semester, and if it really starts getting annoying, then sign up.

 

[medicomel]

hey there,

thanks for the post! i guess i'll take a wait and see approach. unfortunately, yahoo only offers DIAL-UP in my area, which is really sad, as does RCN. i've really looked at all options, and DSL isn't here yet. that's really crazy considering i live in east village. (chicago)

 

[LauraPaz]

hey there,

thanks for the post! i guess i'll take a wait and see approach. unfortunately, yahoo only offers DIAL-UP in my area, which is really sad, as does RCN. i've really looked at all options, and DSL isn't here yet. that's really crazy considering i live in east village. (chicago)

Ouch, that's unfortunate. I'd agree with t33sg1rl though and give it a few months to figure out if you really need it. My boyfriend has been living out in the stick in Ohio teaching for the past few years and only has one (really expensive) ISP in his area. While he's not still in school, he's managed just fine using the internet at work or at his local library for about 3 years now.

 

[cbgray]

hey there,

thanks for the post! i guess i'll take a wait and see approach. unfortunately, yahoo only offers DIAL-UP in my area, which is really sad, as does RCN. i've really looked at all options, and DSL isn't here yet. that's really crazy considering i live in east village. (chicago)

Wow - only dial-up in Chicago?!? The only thing more insane than that is how crazy you are going to get if you were to actually use the dial-up. I'm in the same boat as you - my primary phone is my mobile. My apartment complex has an exclusive agreement with AT&T, which means I'll need that land-line for DSL. I figure I'll be at school non-stop this first semester anyway, what with anatomy and all, so I'm going to try the no-internet-at-home strategy. At the same time, I'm not going to give it much of a leash: saving money is great, but this IS our education, after all.

 

[medicomel]

hahah! no, it's just in MY area, of all places. i moved to a nicer neighborhood, and ironically lost high-speed DSL capabilities. it'll happen sooner or later; i'll just have to wait for their sign-up deals and hop on that. i know that yahoo is starting the no-voice or "naked" dsl in my area, meaning that you get internet connection without having to pay for a voice landline. sounds like the best of both worlds.

and as for my neighborhood, i think comcast has some kind of control over it, and RCN can't compete in that realm, except for just dial-up.

i've gone without internet at home for my post-bac classes; we'll see how i fare this semester. thanks guys!

 

[njbmd]

hi guys,

i've been accessing the internet in free wi-fi locations and at work. do i really need one for home? comcast is really expensive, and i don't know if i need to tack on yet another expense?

i just don't want to kick myself at 2am when i'm studying and can't look at something online when i need to. is that a typical scenario or does that happen seldom enough to forget about home access? another thing i worry about is incessant sdn browsing and posting. you guys know what i mean

please advise when you have a sec,
'mel

Hi there,
Use your library's high speed connection and stay with your free wi-fi. If you study at the library, you can download what you need when you need it and leave home for sleeping and "chillin".

My whole school was wired so we could access the internet from every seat in every class, our study rooms as well as the hospital and the library. That made things much easier and much cheaper. Save the bucks and opt for using what you have already paid for.

njbmd 🙂

 

[sentrosi]

Dial up is cheap. You can probably manage with that if you are only going to use to get study materials occasionally.

 

[NonTradMed]

Use dial-up,it's slower but it's relatively cheap and your school may offer it for free.

Personally, I can't go without my broadband but that's me. Also, my schools put all lectures and histology videos online, as well as all documents, so having a fast connection means I have instant access to all this at home. I am also an internet junkie so not having broadband is out of the question. If you can get all your downloading and surfing down at public places or the campus, then you may not need it. Try it for a while and see.

 

[Seph09]

Yes! 😀

 

[Law2Doc]

hi guys,

i've been accessing the internet in free wi-fi locations and at work. do i really need one for home? comcast is really expensive, and i don't know if i need to tack on yet another expense?

i just don't want to kick myself at 2am when i'm studying and can't look at something online when i need to. is that a typical scenario or does that happen seldom enough to forget about home access? another thing i worry about is incessant sdn browsing and posting. you guys know what i mean

please advise when you have a sec,
'mel

Depends what you mean by essential. More and more schools are becoming more computerized, and most schools incorporate at least some web based access aspects. And everybody talks on email. So yes, you can do without it, download stuff daily from campus, the library computers or find a starbucks as necessary. But will it be a tremendous pain not to have quick home access to documents emailed to you, or lecture slides or videos posted on wesites? Absolutely.
I personally would consider this to be bordering on necessity, but do know one or two people who did not have home access and managed.

 

[Darth Asclepius]

Depends what you mean by essential. More and more schools are becoming more computerized, and most schools incorporate at least some web based access aspects. And everybody talks on email. So yes, you can do without it, download stuff daily from campus, the library computers or find a starbucks as necessary. But will it be a tremendous pain not to have quick home access to documents emailed to you, or lecture slides or videos posted on wesites? Absolutely.
I personally would consider this to be bordering on necessity, but do know one or two people who did not have home access and managed.

I agree. Technically, you can get by without internet at home, but at least at my school, I think it would be a disadvantage. They even send out emails the day before or day of when they want you to know stuff. These are never essential in the sense that you would fail, but more of a convenience matter. More importantly, I want instant access to the course materials online. When you're studying late (after the library is closed) and you need to clarify something, it's nice to be able to download the lecture videos right away. I also tend to run into something small that I don't know (just a word or concept I'm not familiar with) when I'm reading through my lectures and I just google it, read the definition, and move on. Also, if your professors are on top of things, sometimes if you email them a question, you'll get a response that night. It's just convenient to have instant access to your email. I had to live without internet in my apartment for a week this year when I moved and I hated it.

If you're the kind of person who practically lives in the library, it might be okay without it, but if you study at home, I think internet is almost essential.

 

[Direct Laryngoscopy]

I would say you prolly need it. At my school lectures notes are posted as well as student falculty discussion board. DSL shouldn't be more than 20 bucks a month ($15/month in NY). If dial up is your only option fuhgetabutit. Dial up sucks ass

 

[Paws]

I was ok with dial up for a while when I moved to where I am for school. I have had DSL 1.5 M as well as the slow poke earthlink dial up. I think you can see for yourself what works for you. My pocketbook dictates what I do mostly, but I have also done some research and was able to find that my local university had a quiet DSL link for a lot less money. It's not advertised but I am really glad I found it. Still, I might cancel during third year if I find I am never using it. (No cancellation or startup fees! 🙂 )

 

[Rogue Synapse]

I think that in today's world, Internet is like power or water - a necessary utility. Like power or water, the utility becomes more affordable if you can find people to help to bear the costs, i.e. roommates. With wireless internet though, you don't even need roommates! There are three girls living in the apartment above me, and they've agreed to share the cost of my Comcast internet with my roommate and myself - in return, I give them the key to my wireless router, and all five of us get a good strong signal in our respective apartments. Even pricey Comcast split five ways is pretty affordable (<$10 per capita). Do you have any neighbors that would be willing to do this as well?

 

[billclinton]

hi guys,

i've been accessing the internet in free wi-fi locations and at work. do i really need one for home? comcast is really expensive, and i don't know if i need to tack on yet another expense?

i just don't want to kick myself at 2am when i'm studying and can't look at something online when i need to. is that a typical scenario or does that happen seldom enough to forget about home access? another thing i worry about is incessant sdn browsing and posting. you guys know what i mean

please advise when you have a sec,
'mel

You could probably get by... would you be at a disadvantage? Probably. Unless you are living in the library and the library is close, I personally could not go without it. My school is really wired though.... we can access a ton of material online: online lectures, powerpoints, old exams, class email, etc. There have been a ton of times where people have sent emails with review sheets or info about the exam the next day. My advice to you is to at least get a dial-up connection!

 

[billclinton]

I think that in today's world, Internet is like power or water - a necessary utility. Like power or water, the utility becomes more affordable if you can find people to help to bear the costs, i.e. roommates. With wireless internet though, you don't even need roommates! There are three girls living in the apartment above me, and they've agreed to share the cost of my Comcast internet with my roommate and myself - in return, I give them the key to my wireless router, and all five of us get a good strong signal in our respective apartments. Even pricey Comcast split five ways is pretty affordable (<$10 per capita). Do you have any neighbors that would be willing to do this as well?

Yeah. this is definately a good idea if you can trust the people not to do anyting illegal on your account (if the account is in your name).

 

[cbgray]

Yeah, but the key here is that you still have to wait and see how it works out for you. Some schools aren't so high-tech, and further, some students aren't so high-tech. My school isn't exactly the most "wired," especially compared to other schools with lecture vids, laptop requirements, and in-class computerized exams. We have our own study carrels and I'm just thinking of parking my computer there and making my apartment what it is truly meant to be: a bachelor pad of epic proportions.

Of course, your mileage may vary - and that's the point.