It sux so bad to have a lousy 'net speed!

[ShadowsDad]

For quite some time now I've had a computer that was limping along. It started the downward spiral that I didn't notice but  got so bad that I couldn't even do a speed test. One day it worked better and a speed test showed me 177kbps. It's supposed to be 200+mbps. Between Spectrum and myself we got it up to 2+mbps; still not right but I could do more online. What suffered in the meanwhile was opening emails and such. The tech' just got done fixing things and I now have 400+mbps. A small difference from 177kbps. The problem was a splitter that wasn't necessary as a connector between the incoming line and the line going to the modem. I've never had much over 200mbps and that was fast enough. The computer is at mach 6 now.

[Whiterook]

I've got 22mbs for the whole house. I tried to get fiber pulled in but both of my conduits are collapsed. The estimate I got was about $4,000 to cut a trench and install new conduits. I am hoping 5G home internet service comes to my area before my current connection stops working. Dish cannot supply data service here, so that's not an option. You are right it is suboptimal.

[Dave in KY]

33 mps here   (but I only pay $18 a month for it)

[GAW9576]

Slow internet definitely sux. I just checked mine and am getting 46.03 mbps. Sometimes it's considerably slower though. It's still better now than when I was on satellite internet. And the satellite internet cost twice as much. We live in a rural area though and I'd rather have slower internet and almost zero traffic on the roads than faster internet and traffic jams everywhere I go.

[ShadowsDad]

FWIW, I got 400mbps using fast.com. Using Spectrums net speed tester I got a result more in line with what I should be getting, 230ish mbps. This is in rural Maine. I don't like traffic either.

FWIW #2, we're (the wife and I) just entering the world of smart phones. 3G is on the way out (in Dec') so we're making the move now with 4g phones. The price was right for entry level phones. I didn't use my cell phone for anything more than calling out. Anyone calling me could leave a message and I'd get back to them maybe in a week or 2. Mostly it was folks telling me that my vehicle warranty has expired. I plan to do just as little with the smart phone but we'll see. The lady I talked to re: our plans agreed with me that the least expensive plan would work for us but I can upgrade should I need more data. I see me using data for GPS. Our car is wired for a smartphone to the display but we never had one.

[Whiterook]

I use my phone for almost everything. I can go days without firing up my computer. I can pay bills, stream music to my car stereo, order prescriptions, and even keep track of my razor collection with the Shave Buddy app. Before I retired I thought I might be able to go back to a flip phone. I'm glad I didn’t!

[ShadowsDad]

If we could have kept our existing numbers with a flip phone we'd have stayed with them and just get flip phones that do 4G. But when we looked into them we were told that at this time it's not possible to transfer existing phone numbers to them. Phooey on that. We have too many contacts to send new phone #s to. We were there (WalMart phone section) at the same time as another woman who was griping about the inability to use her old #. The phone gent told het to stomp on a desk at the FCC or somewhere. That made our discussion about it rather short.

Maybe it'll take the place of my computer, but I doubt it (tiny screen, tiny faux keyboard). My 10" Kindle has a bigger keyboard and I hate using it immensely. I think I'll use it the same as I did the flip phone. That is, not a slave to it, carrying it around and such, or running to get the call. Whoever calls can leave a message and I might actually get to it in a week or so. I had no use for most calls that I got on my flip phone so I stopped answering it. Soon those calls reduced to pretty much nothing. I can't remember the last time I got one, it's been that long. Text messaging? I find it just rude. If someone has something to say, let's talk. Or send me an email. But most texts are just "Where are you?" that interrupt conversation. I don't need someone to mind my business for me or interrupt what I have going on. Maybe I'm wrong about texts, but I know what I see when friends are over. I place texts in the same category as being put on hold during a private conversation. I hang up if the incoming call is so important that I need to be put on hold. I've been known to not pick up if I get a call back. Yeah, I know, I'm a dinosaur.

One thing I found surprising was the speed with which they charge. They arrived with less than a 50% charge and in roughly an hour were fully charged. Now I need a block of time to call the wireless co' to get them up and running. I'll probably also load both with maximum memory (just in case) and be done with it. Memory is inexpensive.

[Whiterook]

My daughter rarely calls me, she just texts. That's just how the younger generation works, sadly.

[ShadowsDad]

I'm not fully up to speed with the dumb phone, but I'm better than a few weeks ago. Some aspects of it I like and some aspects tell me that I'll ignore it. It beeps to get my attention when a useless advert' email or text comes in. I think that's to condition me to ignore all beeps. It's working, I'm easily conditioned when it comes to ignoring things I don't need. Many people might think I'm nuts to ignore stuff, but it's a tool that I use, and I won't allow it to use me. I've told a friend who might text me to not waste the time. I think I just delete texts unread. I need to find out if I actually am, that's my intent.

I like that I have games on it so that I don't need to carry my 10" Kindle when I'm in a waiting room. I like the music when I'm on the treadmill, it makes the time go by. I dislike the music app always trying to get me to listen to todays garbage music. I just want it to play my collection, that's it, At my age I definitely know what I like. Phone calls are easy to make, and the speaker phone has good clarity on both ends. The battery isn't as short lived as I've heard some other phones are. Unless I play lots of games I can get at least 2 days out of it. Games really chew up the charge. It appears to have a decent camera, but I detest snapshots so I doubt that I'll use it very much. Selfies? Yeah right! I'm not that much in love with myself or think that I'm that important. Selfies aren't going to happen. Some non-game apps are valuable, like a CCW reciprocity ap, the timer ap, GPS, and others.

So it IS more valuable than the old flip phone. But it'll also be throttled back in importance (at this time) and not be surgically implanted as I see so many other phones that seem to have been in others.

I use my desktop computer alot with it's full size display and keyboard and will continue to. The Kindle is for games and movies, the phone I already discussed. Of course the Kindle also does pix and video and it's never been used for that. I have a real camera for when I want to take photographs (as opposed to snapshots).

[CrustyCat]

I like my phone, but I still prefer my computer. The only reason I bought one a little over 5 years ago was for work. I find it convenient, but it still can't replace what I do on my PC. I have two 27 inch monitors I use on my PC. I use it for gaming, photo editing, expenses, visiting tost3, etc. I still have a landline that I prefer to use when talking to people. The cell reception at my house is kinda crappy.