From: Darin McBride 

On December 23, 2003 10:54 pm, Bill.Birrell!2.25.200.0{at}filegate.net wrote:
>  > A couple of minor points:
>  >
>  > 1. The cost in Canada, at least, of high-speed
>  > internet is about the same as the cost of a dial-up
>  > ISP + phone line.  If you have an extra line because
>  > you're tying up your primary line when on the 'net,
>  > then you could trade in both the phone line + dial-up
>  > ISP, and pay about the same for high speed.
>
>     Here it is different. The cheapest broadband costs three times as much
> as the anytime dial-up deal and it's only twice as fast. The phone line is
> free of rental and there are no call charges - just the flat fee.

Only twice as fast?  You have analog dial-up modems that can get 50kB/s?  I
thought the fastest modems were 56kbps (aka 5.6kB/s) modems.
 1Mb is 20 times that speed.

>  > 2. If you have it, you may put more use to the
>  > internet.  Of course, this may be a justification for
>  > not getting high-speed ;-)
>
>     Precisely. I do not need instantaneous access, because I do not make my
> living from it. The 1 MB broadband rate is ludicrously expensive, and you

Need and want aren't the same thing.  ;-)  I paid for high-speed long
before I made any living from it.  The internet simply offers me too much
to wait on 56kbps modems for it.  That doesn't mean it offers you similar
utility.

Now, however, I do make my living through the internet - I work from
remote.  My manager, coworkers, and subordinates, are all over 3000km away.
 Or, rather, I am over 3000km away from them.  (I know this because I drove
that distance ;->)  Since I do telnet, ftp, email, and, worst of all, X,
all via the internet, it's important that this be reasonably fast.  Thus, I
have a 3Mbps cable connection.  Which the company pays for.  Thus price is
mostly irrelevant now.

However, I speak to you as someone who used to pay for the speed when my
company did not pay for it, and thus from the experience that I had which
drove me to that solution.  No where am I saying that this necessarily
applies to you - but if some of it may, then you may decide to think about
things differently.

> must allow me to be the judge of what I can afford. Economics has been

Of course - you must judge what you want, need, and can afford, and draw
the line between what you purchase and what you do not.  No one else can
make that decision for you.  Except, perhaps, your wife, if you're married.
 :-)

> defined as the relationship between ends and scarce means which have
> alternative uses. I can put that amount of money to much better use.

Fair enough.  We all have to live our own lives.

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