A Housekeeping Note

One of my readers noted that folks who have dial-up Internet access are not in a position to read weblogs in a leisurely fashion.  An e-mail discussion group is better for this situation.

I wouldn't know how to set up such a group, but to enable access to All The Fulness via e-mail, I have set up a "Subscribe" box at the bottom of the left-hand column.  To subscribe, enter your e-mail address into the box and click the Subscribe button; then reply to the confirmation e-mail that you will receive.

Every time there's a new post at All The Fulness (that's once a year or so, for those of you keeping score), subscribers will receive the post in  their e-mail inbox.  If you want to comment on the post, e-mail me the comment and I will add it to the comments here on the weblog.

I'm using the Google Feedburner service for this, which I have never tried before.  So I can't guarantee that it will work.  We'll see.

Comments

[JS Bangs]

People still use dial-up?

[Chris Jones]

Yes, they do. There are (I think) two reasons for this. First, there are still some places in the US (and a lot more places elsewhere) where cable-based broadband and DSL are simply not available. And second, broadband is still significantly more expensive than dial-up. I think we pay about $40/month for broadband access (I'm not sure because it's bundled with our TV service and voice-over-IP telephone service and I am not sure how the (obscenely large) monthly cost breaks down among the three services); while dial-up can be had for ten or fifteen dollars.

That's not a huge cost difference for a middle-class family with a steady job (or two, if the wife works as well); but for retired folks or anyone who hasn't made it into the middle class, it's enough to make a difference. If that steady job proves to be not so steady, you find yourself wondering just how important that broadband connection really is (been there, done that, got the T-shirt).

[John H]

My parents-in-law still have dial-up, because British Telecom won't be able to get broadband to their house until at least 2010.

I take your point about the expense of broadband and how straitened circumstances might make it look like an unaffordable luxury. But if times were hard and I was forced to choose between broadband and (say) running water... well... I'd need a few minutes to think about my decision. :-)