Gaming and the Internet

[Voor]

I’m just going to bow out of these discussions. It comes up almost monthly, everyone makes the same points they always make, and then we move on. Lol.

If you’re into online gaming, updates and patches are worth it*. If your more into solo and couch gaming, it’s a pain. Thankfully, there are a TON of great solo experiences to enjoy.

*Good example is rocket league: AWESOME game, it’s free, it’s cross platform, but you have to sit through a 15 minute update once every 2-3 months. Seems like a fair trade off.

One issue could be the critic’s habits. If you rotate between a bunch of systems, by the time you fire one up, and update is likely due. I have one console, play it almost daily, and this is just a non-issue for me.

[ActRaiser]

I pay over $230/mo for my internet (Comcast triple play) and there's really no other options besides FIOS (which has zero customer service). The problem is, you share the network with your neighbors, so if they are active enough it takes away from your bandwidth.

We used to have Comcast. Once a year I'd make the trip to the local office and bring in my most recent statement. I'd say the price went went up and ask if there was anything they could do. That normally dropped my price back down to the introduction rate for another 12 months.

We now have Dish and I'm now on the 2 year rotation of calling and asking to cancel. I call and ask to cancel. They transfer me to the keep department and I say my plan is to go Internet and use an over the air antenna. They drop my price by 50% and I'm good for another 2 years. At the moment we have Century Link with a 40 MB connection. For us the key is to get a wireless mesh network so that all areas of the home are covered.

I'm really surprised you're having speed issues with cable even if your neighbors are data hogs you should still be faster than what I've got. Do you have download speed issues when wired directly into the cable modem? I don't know how old your router is but that may be your bottleneck. We have a pretty good sized home. Until we got the mesh network Wi-Fi was pretty spotty. It made a huge difference. You may have similar problems assuming your download speeds through a wired connection are fine.

[Den]

$230 a month.... for internet alone???

I only pay $140 for my internet and cable combined!! And that includes whole-house DVR.

[BlasteroidAli]

We are the poor cousins of the Americans when it comes to broadband (not). I pay for 100 Mb broad band and get 109 Mb a sec. That is about the equivalent of 40 bucks. I am always amazed in one of the most technically innovative countries on the planet you have to pay so much for your internet infrastructure.

[VideoGameCritic]

$230 a month.... for internet alone???

I only pay $140 for my internet and cable combined!! And that includes whole-house DVR.

Actually that $230 includes internet, cable, and home phone. I actually dropped my DVR to save $10!
If you live in the Baltimore/DC area, this is normal.

As someone mentioned, you can complain to Comcast to get a temporary "promotional" rate. But once that runs out you're rate shoots WAY up and it's hard to get that resolved. It's a complete sham.

[mbd36]

You know what I can’t stand, is things malfunctioning. I have all my movies now on Apple TV. I miss DVD’s and even VHS because sometimes my TV will lose internet connection and I can’t watch my movies.

DVD and Blu Ray still exist and nothing's stopping you from buying them. The convenience of Apple TV must outweigh the negatives for you.

[Alucard1191]

Jesus, my small town internet is 56 a month. Comcast is ripping you off bad, that is insane.

[Voor]

$50 a month for AT&T fiber here, cell phones only, and no cable.

[ActRaiser]

$56 through Century Link for 40 MB DSL. I could go up to 80 MB but I think I have to pay to have an extra line buried. 40 MB seems to be good enough for now.

$110 for Dish for TV and no land lines.

[mbd36]

Jesus, my small town internet is 56 a month. Comcast is ripping you off bad, that is insane.

Will it stay that low? Usually internet companies will offer a low price for like a year and then go way up.