SBC/Yahoo DSL questions

[lobo_pac]

right now i'm seriously considering dsl with sbc/yahoo. price is right at $29.95 a month for a year. i have a few questions and concerns that i know i've read before on various threads, but can't seem to find them.

sbc/yahoo is my only choice now for broadband, but comcast cable will be available soon. i have basic cable with them and i've heard they stick you pricewise if you don't have digital/premium cable. i'm really not interested in that even when it does show up.

any comments on dsl in general or sbc/yahoo specifically is appreciated.

few specific questions:

1)i've heard about bloatware or spyware associated with sbc/yahoo dsl. is this a concern? i also remember a way to install it without all the extra stuff. how do i set it so i got the connection, but not all the extras?

2) right now i have only 1 comp, but planning on using a wireless router in the future for laptop/pda. not too difficult to set up?

3) will i have an "always on" connection. i've read a bit about ppoe.....someone give it to me in a nutshell. how do i set it up so i don't drop connection? i've heard a router and even xp will handle it pretty well.

4) i do game on occasion, and possibly would like to set up a server for my friends. will i be able to use some service to set a "static ip?" sbc yahoo is dynamic i'm pretty sure. any resources, links, etc on that would be good.

5) finally....how do i find the distance from the CO (central office). i want to estimate what kind of connection speeds i'm going to get.

thanks for you help.

[Mike]

1) Bloatware or spyware? What OS are you running right now? The software CD that comes with it, you don't even have to install it. XP and even Linux detected it fine for me.

2) The wireless Router shouldn't really be a problem.

3) You'll always have an "always on" connection. The only time I get disconnected is when they go down for service. (Go figure, eh? ) Never had the internet go down for more then 10 minutes without knowing why and when it would happen also.

4) Not so sure about this since I haven't set up a game server.

5) Ah I figured SBC's web-site would let you test how far it is. Perhaps you could call SBC and they will even test it for you. Or try LINKAGE

1) mikes right, no need to install

2) wireless is easy. Follow the manual

3) not sure

4) doing a gaming server really wont be feasible as most likely your upload speed will not be all that great 15k - 35K is the usual. Not great for gaming.

5) dont know, might want to call and ask the nearest one to you

[Mike]

Ah good point on the server GZ3.. My upload speeds are pretty horrible. Of course you could pay extra per month and have them bump up the speed as well.
I never saw the need to do that, just too expensive for the extra upload speeds.

[lobo_pac]

thanks for the tips.

the upload is supposed to be 128 and 1.5 down. is that not realistic? 15-35 sounds painfully slow.

sbc's site would not provide an estimate...only if i could get service. dslreports would only give me the co...not an estimate.

[sKiT]

If you dont have a router currently to keep your connection alive, You will have to establish your PPPoE connection upon rebooting. My brothers SBC yahoo connection is getting what they said it would....13KB/sec Upload and 1.3Mb/sec download on a 128/1.5 SBC line. The bloatware nailed him in the form of Yahoo hijacking IE. His ping times are good also. I pay twice what he pays using speakeasy through Covad. and get my full 1.5Mb/sec downspeed. Is it worth it, to me ....yes. You should be able to get a telco distance reading using www.dslreports.com


The difference in distance from what dslreports said and covad said was something like 15 feet for me, so I believe it may be fairly accurate