Isn't the Internet Everywhere?

When I left the apartment (and apparently civilization) in mid-May I had no idea it would take so long to find an internet solution. During the 2 1/2 months I was without access, not only did I have Journal withdrawals, but I had to write checks, yes CHECKS to pay bills... no click click you're done, but actually writing and licking of stamps! How last century of me {LOL}

Now there are so many ways for civilized people who live in normal places to access the internet. We have:

Cable
DSL
Dial-up
Air Card
Even the library

Yep, if you live near civilization all of these are options. Heck, some people even have large areas covered by Wi-fi (Think New Orleans).....

Let's see if I live near civilization.....

Cable? Nope. If you want to watch anything except FOX (fuzzily I might add) then you get a sattelite dish. Yep, we have one of those {g}

DSL? Hmmmm..... yes on the south side of our little town they will get it in the next year, but we live on the north side. When questioned they talked about a 5 year plan.... EEEK!

Wide spread Wi-Fi? Well, seems there is a guy doing that here (because of the whole no cable no DSL thing) and it seems that we are line of sight... Oh, except for that pesky grove of trees we have growing right there in front of the property.... But if you want to put up a huge tower at your own expense we could.... Uh.. No!

Air Card? I bought one. Installed it. The signal out here for cell phones is weak and after about 2 hours the tech gave up trying to get it to work. Returned it for a refund.... Oh, did I mention that ONLY one cell phone company gets a signal (weak) out here AND you have to be sure to get the right phone <sigh>

The Library? Well, they only have 3 computers and you have to sign a list to get on. Then you are only allowed 30 minutes before the next person gets on.... It's summer... Schools out... 'Nuff said!

Dial-up? Well, yes.... Except that the phone system here is run by what used to be Sprint and is now Embarq. After talking to them on -3- seperate occasions and getting -3- totally different answers to my questions, I'm afraid that I said bad things to them and I don't think they would install a phone out here even if I asked {LOL} Anyway, it seems that it would cost a quarter each time I called either of the closest 'cities'where local access numbers are, or I could pay $49 a month for unlimited long-distance. Oh, and PLUS there would be seperate charge for a service to connect with (AOL is currently $26 for dial-up)

I was running out of ideas (and hair) when I met a very nice man who came out and set up the contraption you see in the picture below. Yep, I get my internet by beaming an infrared beam -directly- to a satellite and it beams the stuff back.

Yes, there are -2- dishes there. One provides us with TV, the other with internet access....

It's pretty quick, but it is hard to compare to DSL or Cable because it works different.Instead of the page loading as you watch it you kind of count to 6 (3 seconds upload/3 seconds download) and the things just appears... BOOM! Also, like all connections it flies late at night and is slower during the business day when net traffic is high. Buying the equipment and having it installed is usually very expensive, but I caught them with -2- rebates going on.... And, my monthly charge is -less- than the dial-up would cost (remember $49 for unlimited long-distance + $26 for AOL or $10 for one of the others like PeoplePC)

So, there you have the SAGA of my search for internet access..... I thought it would be such simple process.... Who Knew?