I'm one of those dialup users. Anyone recommend a goos DSL provider? Ones to avoid like the plague?

Yes, I've just singed up with SBC/Yahoo DSL and I'm very pleased.

I agree with you David, I was offline for over a year and it was due to refusing to endure dial-up.

I had broad-band, but financial difficulties forced me to cut costs and I downgraded to dial-up but then cut it off completely because it was too much aggrivation.

If I can't get a simple web-page up in a few seconds, I don't want to see it at all.

After Philadelphia announced it's intention to wire itself for broadband because large swaths (poorer parts) of the city were being ignored by cable providers, Verizon and friends went to the state to have a bill written denying local municipalities the right to do exactly what Philly was intending to do. Philadelphia's mayor threatened the state with lawsuits up the kazoo.

Pennsylvania's legislature came up with a compromise. In November 2004, Verizon got through it's state law to stop future Philadelphia-like efforts, but with Philadelphia exempted.

Under the new law, municipal utilities wanting to sell their own internet service will be required to first give their local telephone company the option of providing that service within 14 months. Verizon operates 6 million of Pennsylvania’s 8 million land lines.

Across the country, nasty conflicts have erupted as local governments try to create publicly funded broadband services with for all their citizens. The phone and cable companies object, claiming government intervention in their business is not justified.

Currently there is a bill going through Congress, sponsored by Republican Pete Sessions of Texas, that aims to ban cities from building municipal broadband networks.

There is also an opposing bill in favour of the city networks, backed by Republican John McCain of Arizona and Democrat Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey.

One industry group has launched a TV ad backing a bill before Congress that opponents say would empower the private sector to block community internet services.

Is broadband just a modern luxury, or an essential public service?

My parents still use dial-up and it pained me to visit them and be stuck with that; thankfully, a couple of their neighbors have broadband and open wireless networks, so I borrowed theirs to check e-mail, etc.

In trying to get my folks to upgrade to DSL or cable, their excuse was "we only use it for an hour or less each day." My thought was, "yes, but you spend 45 minutes of it waiting."

They're certainly more than financially able to afford broadband, but until one actually has it and sees what it can bring you, the benefits apparently aren't obvious (sort of like how I once upon a time swore I'd never get nor need a cell phone).