Our family has some online needs that require fast connection speeds. We are running an online business. Our son has discovered the online world and gaming and most of the shopping is also done online. Our needs are not that much different from other families. We not only need to have a reliable connection, we need to be able to download videos and files without losing the connection or timing out with a slower speed Internet connection.

We did evaluate several service packages available in our area. Surewest features broadband capacity that extends up to 50Mbs. However, the price tag increases as you add more speed. Nevertheless, we are fine with up to 10Mbs. Surewest does not bundle all three services. For instance, Surewest promotes an offer for Internet + digital TV or Internet + Phone as well as Volcano Vision, which has bundled digital TV + high speed Internet.

In addition, offers from other vendors did include On Demand services. As far as pricing goes, the first 12 months you pay $115 monthly, whereas with the Surewest plan, it starts at $150. There was not much to think about after learning all this. We have chosen a Comcast Triple Play Preferred Plus package. The package contains all 3 services we need at our home:

• Comcast Digital Plus with ON DEMAND
• Comcast High-Speed Internet
• Comcast Digital Voice

With the basic bundle of telephone, digital, TV and broadband, Comcast provides a useful package of free software including McAfee‘s VirusScan and Personal Firewall Plus and Simple Star’s Photo Show Deluxe photo editing and sharing software. You get free access to its Photo Center (Snapfish) with free storage and 12-cent prints. You also get a Comcast-specific version of Rhapsody Radio Plus Internet radio, with 25 free on-demand of song plays a month. Comcast’s Games Channel has loads of free online games.

Because we decided on the Comcast package combining all three services, we have saved about $70 a month on our budget. This makes everything well worth the change. Since I am looking forward to being a stay at home mom, I tend to look for the best ways to save money. Comcast was the only place that would save us money instead of matching it or being higher than what we paid already. Because we did shop around, we were able to find this deal at Comcast and now we have everything we need for everyone in the family to enjoy. It does make sense to shop around and know the different pricing and plans offered by all providers.

Related articles

• Getting to Know Mike (comcastdeal.net)
• Comcast Offers Really High Speed Internet at Really High Price (chicagoreader.com)

I am taking part in forums such as digitalpoint.com discussing ways to improve my blog’s ranking and traffic. I make new connections with people like myself, who are stay at home moms and dads. I am hoping that one day I can learn enough to advise my husband on how to optimize his company’s website.

In my line of work, you have to have efficient tools and have a high-speed Internet connection to do the work that needs to be done. This is mainly because of the web 2.0 technology that has made huge advancements. Some interactive sites just will not work on slow connections. If I plan to continue learning and become a work at home businessperson, I need high speed Internet that is reliable.

Our older son Jimmy is now 14. He is not as active as we would like him to be. You will not see him playing baseball, but you can be sure that he is at home surfing the net, making new friends through Facebook, Bebo, or Myspace or more often playing online games. He has his favorite games to play and needs a high speed Internet to enjoy the graphics and animations.

Rob also uses the home high-speed Internet. When he is at home you will see him with a laptop looking for music downloads, movies, streaming multimedia content, searching the net for health related information, or having long Skype calls with his business partners all over the world.

Overall, TV is still a way to entertain ourselves. We are people with different tastes. I like dramas and reality shows. Our son is fond of music channels. While every one is away, Jane and I often tune into The Learning Channel, which is an educational kids channel. Because of the digital TV change coming in February 2009, we need to have digital TV or we will not have this luxury in our home unless we buy a converter box for our relatively new analog TV.

I have a sister in South Carolina. She happens to be self-employed and works from home. We call each other quite often on the telephone. As two women with toddlers, we do have many things to tell to each other. Because we all use the telephone, Internet and the television, we were looking for something that might combine all these things together and save some money.

I did think Bellsouth was a good choice, but I realized it did not have the Video on Demand feature for TV shows, which is nice if you do not want to miss a show while you are gone. I would have had to pay extra to have the movies I wanted. Digital Classic with Channel 1 On Demand seemed to be more reasonable in terms of price and features. You could have a DVR player and additional HDTV channel for as little as $13.95. When I compared Comcast’s monthly fees they were less than what Bellsouth (Bellsouth Digital TV + movie pack $99.98) offered.

Direct TV offered a good package for TV entertainment. However, when signing up for it, I would have to commit to using the Direct TV service for 24 months. In addition, bad weather conditions will influence broadcasting video quality. It always came back to Comcast being the best and the cheapest with good service.

As for broadband Internet, I have checked a number of options. EmbarQ is providing high-speed Internet with up to 10Mbs for roughly $65 a month. Another broadband vendor is EarthLink. They offer DSL Internet up to 3Mbs for about $70 per month. When I compared the two, I could see that the cheapest one is EmbarQ. Then I checked with Comcast before making any final decisions.

I found Comcast to be the cheapest one. It is about $43 per month and the Internet speed reaches up to 12Mbs, which was the best bargain. Now I have my entire apartment digital. I have a fast Internet connection, which has allowed me to play World of Warcraft without any problems with speed or dropped moves. I have a television that can be paused and resumed whenever I want. Not only is the speed faster, I have the ability to download at faster speeds and share large files without taking forever to send and open when I receive them back.

Going digital is not a matter of whether you should do it or not. It is something you have to do to catch up with the fast-paced world and have all the technology that is offered for better television and Internet. In these times, it is also about getting the most for your money, which is something I did with Comcast.

My brother moved to Japan and I have moved into his apartment. I am now looking for a digital TV provider. Watching movies saves me from boredom since I am single. On Demand video and a huge selection of TV channels is something I need to have when I get home to unwind after a long day at my job. It is like having a home collection of favorite DVDs and TV shows. You can play them when you want. I am always watching TV and surfing the Internet. I enjoy being able to do both at the same time.

I used to play basketball when I was in high school. I no longer play, but I follow the sports broadcasts of NCAA and NBA games. This is another reason I need a good provider so that I can keep up to date on all the action. I enjoy watching the nightly news and catching up on US and local news stories. I do not enjoy reading the newspaper, so television is important to me for staying informed. I like to see news from all over the world so having television with many different news channels is something I needed.

Occasionally, my friends come over for dinner or a movie. They enjoy coming over because there is huge selection of things to watch. After they are gone, I put a music channel on and relax before going to sleep. I like soul music the best, but I do listen to other types of music as well. I enjoy having so many music channels to choose from when I am getting ready to do dishes or cleaning as well.

One of my favorite TV shows has been Dexter. I started watching this show when it first aired. Now that I have signed up for the Comcast digital TV with the Video on Demand service in HD format means much better resolution, detail, and overall video quality. Dexter’s back in the lineup for me.

Among the shows that I like on digital TV, Heroes, Jericho, Lost, and House are just the start. There is something about the storyline that mixes it up with the real life events as well as action packed scenes that keeps me coming back for more. The Comcast’s package offers them all. I have them on demand that saves me a lot of time and hassle.

Now you know why my friends say I have a TV lifestyle. They are always joking around because I have to have the best digital TV.

Related articles

• Comcast Adds 3,000 Hours of Streaming Video To Xfinity TV iPad App [Apps] (gizmodo.com)
• Netflix subscribers now equal Comcast’s (news.cnet.com)

Some broadband packages restrict the amount of data you can upload and download from the internet in any given month. Whenever you do something online, the data is being transferred. It is all right if you are a light user. Chatting or reading news online will never exceed your limit so you can go with a cheap Internet plan. However, if you are an active Internet user like myself, downloading multimedia files such as videos, music and games or you are using some file sharing programs, you will more than likely max out your allotted limit that is provided by some other providers.

Before committing to a single provider, I did a lot of research on the HSI providers in the area. Comcast’s High-Speed Internet for Non-Comcast Cable Customers service turned out to be my best solution for the money. I also looked at Charter. However, the broadband service was not available in my area. Comcast’s 6Mbs compared to Charters speed showed a big difference anyway. It is about three times slower than the Comcast’s High-Speed Internet. I wanted the best if I was going to keep in contact with the family and be able to stay in touch with my students.

Comcast is secure and reliable, which is more than what Charter would offer as well. The price would have been a factor since Charter does offer the three in one packages, but Comcast is the one that is not going to raise the price after a year like Charter does. Comcast HSI did not charge for equipment and installation. I also saved on McAfee‘s anti-virus and firewall software. That came with my broadband service for free. I also did not find any mention of monthly bandwidth limits with the Comcast plans.

Since I do have so many different needs for the Internet, it was a wise decision to select Comcast for my high-speed Internet provider. At home, my family also has Comcast, so I know that I will always be able to see them or talk to them when I want. This was another reason I chose Comcast. I could get it for my family as well as myself. In all, I am very happy with my research and my decision.

Related articles

• Internet Speed: What is it and how is it Measured? (comcastdeal.net)
• Comcast’s Extreme 105 service can reach monthly data limit in 5 hours (geek.com)
• Comcast offers faster home broadband in some U.S. cities (cnn.com)

However, there is always an alternative. If it was not for the Internet, I do not think I would be able to concentrate on my job. I would consistently be thinking about what my kids were doing and how much they were going to change before I could see them again. I needed to be connected at work and at home al the time so that I knew what was happening with my family.

Seriously, it is a great joy to keep in touch with little Mike and Anna over the Internet. They grow up so fast. Even though we are so far apart, we always talk about Mike’s school life, my wife’s career, leisure things, Anna’s new discoveries and experiences in a live conversation on Skype. In turn, I have things to share about my new work at the University.

A short time ago, I bought a wireless webcam on Amazon as a gift for my wife. She gave it to the kids to use. I sure do see many funny and weird things going on my laptop screen! My daughter is walking around under the kitchen table and her brother is trying to get away from her. No doubt, the kids cheer me up when I am down and missing home.

Even if we are not talking in video chat, I can log on to Youtube where my wife uploads family videos like picnics, hiking, and football games from time to time. With a slow connection, it would be a nuisance to even try watching the videos without buffering interruptions. If the Internet connection is to slow, Youtube will not even be able to load in most cases. If you need to view videos or presentations, you need something fast. This was my problem. I needed to be fast to do what I needed to do.

Concerning my career as a professor at Uconn, I need a reliable broadband service. I keep collaborating on various projects with my students in Oregon. I co-author or review their projects and we are sharing our projects over Google docs. In addition, I am involved in a remote studies program, which accounts for a lot of Internet use as well. Not to mention, one of my projects is the social phenomena online. These activities need a lot of performance, reliability and security as far as the Internet connection goes. That is why I subscribed to Comcast high speed Internet for my apartment in Connecticut.

Related articles

• Comcast Offers Really High Speed Internet at Really High Price (chicagoreader.com)
• Comcast Ultra-High Speed Internet Expands (technologizer.com)