"About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most recent data collected by the federal government... To many, landline phones have come to seem as essential as steamships
and telegrams in the smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer distinct advantages. Prompted by the AT&T outage on Feb. 22 and a push by AT&T to phase out traditional landlines in California, those who have them are speaking out in
defense of their old phones... “Like Blockbuster rentals and Kodak film, POTS has fallen from technological primacy to effective obsolescence in the course of a generation,” AT&T wrote in its application to the California Public Utilities Commission..
."

Landline Users Remain Proudly ‘Old-Fashioned’ in the Digital Age

Traditional phones may seem like relics in the iPhone era, but a recent AT&T cellular service outage had some landline lovers extolling their

By Michael Levenson - March 16, 2024 - THE NEW YORK TIMES

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/16/business/landline-phones-att.html

"When millions of AT&T customers across the country briefly lost their cellphone service last month, Francella Jackson, 61, of Fairview Heights, Ill., said she picked up her well-worn Southwestern Bell push-button landline phone and called her friends “
just so we could laugh at the people who could not use their phones.”

“Why, isn’t it great that we can talk and have a great conversation?” she recalled saying. “We had a good laugh.”

Derek Shaw, 68, of York, Pa., said he has an Android mobile phone, but prefers talking on his black cordless landline at home. The sound quality is better, he said, and the phone is easier to hold during long conversations. Mr. Shaw said that he also
likes talking to people face to face rather than on Zoom and never got rid of his vinyl record collection when CDs got hot in the 1990s.

“I’ve never even thought about giving up my landline,” he said. “I’ll go kicking and screaming when I have to.”

To many, landline phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in the smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer distinct advantages. Prompted by the AT&T outage on Feb. 22 and a push by AT&T to phase out traditional
landlines in California, those who have them are speaking out in defense of their old phones.

To them, the landline is a lifeline during power outages, a welcome throwback to the era before doomscrolling and push alerts, and a more comfortable, better-sounding alternative to tinny, thin smartphones.

“I love my landline,” said Ms. Jackson, who has had hers since the 1980s. “People call me old-fashioned, but I’ll be old-fashioned.”

She has a cellphone but no internet at home, she said. She likes that she still remembers her friends’ phone numbers and never has a dropped call. “I’m a little nostalgic,” Ms. Jackson said. “With technology, although I embrace it, there are
some things I like to hold on to.”

Some younger people also see upsides to landlines. Cory Sechrest, 32, of Chicago, said he and his girlfriend got a pink landline phone to use just in case the power goes out. He said he doesn’t know anyone else his age who has one.

When friends visit, “They take a pause, look at it and say, ‘What’s that?’” he said. “It gets a few chuckles.”

Landlines can feel like a portal to the pre-internet era. Many Americans grew up with the classic rotary phone mounted on the kitchen wall that the whole family had to share, offering reliability but no privacy. Some got the burger phone in their teenage
bedroom after begging their parents for weeks. Some coveted the football phone that came free with a subscription to Sports Illustrated.

The writer Charli Penn wrote in Apartment Therapy that, as a millennial, she got a landline phone because it gives her a break from her cellphone, is easier for her father to use and takes her back in time.

“If plaid mini skirts, ivy garland, and thick-soled combat boots can enjoy a welcome comeback, why can’t I cozy up to an hourslong conversation using my cordless house phone, just like I did back in my teen years and early 20s?” Ms. Penn wrote.

Some also like landline phones for aesthetic reasons. Mark Treutelaar, the co-owner, with his wife, Galina, of the Old Phone Shop, which sells and repairs landline phones in Franklin, Wis., said he has noticed an uptick in sales of brightly colored,
rotary-dial wall and desk phones from the 1960s and ’70s.

“We are selling more phones recently than ever before,” Mr. Treutelaar said. “People like them just because they remember them from when they were younger and, even if they don’t have a landline, they are buying them as just decoration or are
hooking them to cellphones through Bluetooth.”

Others rely on landlines in rural areas with spotty cellphone coverage. Still, landline users are a distinct minority in the United States.

About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most recent data collected by the federal government. Age, not surprisingly, was a key factor in phone use. Nearly 90 percent
of Americans ages 25 to 29 reported that they used only cellphones, compared to less than half of Americans over 65.

Citing the plummeting popularity of landlines, AT&T asked California regulators last year to be relieved of its obligation to maintain its traditional copper-wire phone network, the kind that connected American households for most of the last century.

AT&T said the number of copper landlines, known as plain old telephone service, or POTS, that it provides in California fell by 89 percent from 2000 to 2021. Customers generally pay about $34.50 a month for that service, according to the California
Public Advocates Office. But even most landline users rely primarily on their cellphones, according to AT&T.

“Like Blockbuster rentals and Kodak film, POTS has fallen from technological primacy to effective obsolescence in the course of a generation,” AT&T wrote in its application to the California Public Utilities Commission.

AT&T described the proposal as part of a multiyear effort to eventually move landline customers to mobile phones or to fiber optic cables that carry internet and landline phone service. It says 20 other states have already allowed it to make that
transition.

“No customer will be left without voice or 911 service,” Susan Johnson, executive vice president of wireline transformation for AT&T, said in a statement. “For customers who do not have alternative options available yet, we will continue to provide
their existing voice service as long as is needed.”

Still, the proposal has unleashed a fierce blowback, with hundreds of landline users submitting public comments urging California to reject it. Many say the copper wire system, because it is generally self-powered, is the most reliable way to reach
emergency services if the power fails during a flood, wildfire or storm. AT&T says fiber cables are more resilient and easier to repair, although a fiber optic phone will die without a backup battery in place.

“If we have health issues, especially, it’s the most important thing to be able to use our rotary phone,” said Francesca Ciancutti, who lives in Mendocino County, Calif. “It’s absolutely crucial. And all our neighbors feel the same way.”

It’s a concern that has led many people around the country to hold on to their landlines.

Katie Lanza, 37, of Fort Worth, said she had once been waiting for an insurance replacement for her cellphone, which had been chewed by her dog, when she got sick in the middle of the night. With no way to call for help, she found herself knocking on a
neighbor’s door at 2 a.m. That was about 14 years ago, she said, and she’s had a landline ever since.

“It’s always been my fear that if something happened to my cellphone, I wouldn’t be able to call anybody,” Ms. Lanza said.

Ms. Jackson said she worries about cyberattacks disrupting her cellphone service. But mostly, she said, her landline is just a nicer way to talk to people after work.

“I just like to chill and remember things how they were,” she said. “It’s relaxing for me to pick up and have a long conversation with my friends on my landline phone...”



--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 3/16/2024 6:21 PM, GM wrote:

"About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no
landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most
recent data collected by the federal government... To many, landline
phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in the smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer distinct advantages.

We live in a location that has no cell reception , no TV , and on a
good day 3 FM radio stations . Our landline is our connection to the
outside world ... we're lucky enough to have fiber optic within a couple
of miles , so our internet is reasonably fast (for our demands) at 10-12
Mb/sec most of the time (running about 9.5 right now , not bad for a
Saturday evening) .
--
Snag
"They may take our lives but
they'll never take our freedom."
William Wallace

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 20:17:46 -0500, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 6:21 PM, GM wrote:

"About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no
landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most
recent data collected by the federal government... To many, landline
phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in the
smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer distinct
advantages.

We live in a location that has no cell reception , no TV , and on a
good day 3 FM radio stations . Our landline is our connection to the
outside world ... we're lucky enough to have fiber optic within a couple
of miles , so our internet is reasonably fast (for our demands) at 10-12 >Mb/sec most of the time (running about 9.5 right now , not bad for a
Saturday evening) .

We had 1 MB/sec until a year ago. Now we have 5-6 with frequent
dropouts. Sometimes it's faster to print my email and attach it to a
kangaroo.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 3/16/2024 10:19 PM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 20:17:46 -0500, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 6:21 PM, GM wrote:

"About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no
landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most
recent data collected by the federal government... To many, landline
phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in the >>> smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer distinct
advantages.

We live in a location that has no cell reception , no TV , and on a
good day 3 FM radio stations . Our landline is our connection to the
outside world ... we're lucky enough to have fiber optic within a couple
of miles , so our internet is reasonably fast (for our demands) at 10-12
Mb/sec most of the time (running about 9.5 right now , not bad for a
Saturday evening) .

We had 1 MB/sec until a year ago. Now we have 5-6 with frequent
dropouts. Sometimes it's faster to print my email and attach it to a kangaroo.

Now I can see why you plan to move. I thought my 1200 baud modem was
slow and 10 mb was fantastic. Now I can hit 400 on a good day.

Just ran a test

Internet speed test

17.4
Megabits per second
Testing upload...

291.1
Mbps download

Latency: 16 ms
Server: Miami
Your Internet connection is very fast.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-03-16 11:11 p.m., Ed P wrote:

On 3/16/2024 10:19 PM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 20:17:46 -0500, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 6:21 PM, GM wrote:

"About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no
landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most
recent data collected by the federal government... To many, landline
phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in
the
smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer distinct
advantages.

   We live in a location that has no cell reception , no TV , and on a >>> good day 3 FM radio stations . Our landline is our connection to the
outside world ... we're lucky enough to have fiber optic within a couple >>> of miles , so our internet is reasonably fast (for our demands) at 10-12 >>> Mb/sec most of the time (running about 9.5 right now , not bad for a
Saturday evening) .

We had 1 MB/sec until a year ago. Now we have 5-6 with frequent
dropouts. Sometimes it's faster to print my email and attach it to a
kangaroo.

Now I can see why you plan to move.  I thought my 1200 baud modem was
slow and 10 mb was fantastic.  Now I can hit 400 on a good day.

Just ran a test

Internet speed test

17.4
Megabits per second
Testing upload...

291.1
Mbps download

Latency: 16 ms
Server: Miami
Your Internet connection is very fast.

A couple years ago I got sucked into signing on to something the called
Fibe, but it is not a fiber optic to the house. Have a sort of dish that
is aimed at a tower about two miles away. It works great when it is
working but during prime time it tends to get swamped and it cuts in
and out.

I am expecting to upgrade to real fiber optic soon. There is a major installation program going on in the area. Last summer they installed
the conduit and now they seem to be running the cables through it.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 23:11:55 -0400, Ed P <esp@snet.xxx> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 10:19 PM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 20:17:46 -0500, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 6:21 PM, GM wrote:

"About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no
landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most
recent data collected by the federal government... To many, landline
phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in the >>>> smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer distinct
advantages.

We live in a location that has no cell reception , no TV , and on a
good day 3 FM radio stations . Our landline is our connection to the
outside world ... we're lucky enough to have fiber optic within a couple >>> of miles , so our internet is reasonably fast (for our demands) at 10-12 >>> Mb/sec most of the time (running about 9.5 right now , not bad for a
Saturday evening) .

We had 1 MB/sec until a year ago. Now we have 5-6 with frequent
dropouts. Sometimes it's faster to print my email and attach it to a
kangaroo.

Now I can see why you plan to move. I thought my 1200 baud modem was
slow and 10 mb was fantastic. Now I can hit 400 on a good day.

Just ran a test

Internet speed test

17.4
Megabits per second
Testing upload...

291.1
Mbps download

Latency: 16 ms
Server: Miami
Your Internet connection is very fast.

Yes, that's very fast. I don't really need more speed than I already
have, but I guess it would be nice.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 3/16/2024 9:17 PM, Snag wrote:

On 3/16/2024 6:21 PM, GM wrote:

"About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no
landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most
recent data collected by the federal government... To many, landline
phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in
the smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer
distinct advantages.

  We live in a location that has no cell reception , no TV , and on a
good day 3 FM radio stations . Our landline is our connection to the
outside world ... we're lucky enough to have fiber optic within a couple
of miles , so our internet is reasonably fast (for our demands) at 10-12 Mb/sec most of the time (running about 9.5 right now , not bad for a
Saturday evening) .

I have a landline. Very poor reception here for a cell phone.

Jill

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 3/17/2024 12:36 AM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 23:11:55 -0400, Ed P <esp@snet.xxx> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 10:19 PM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 20:17:46 -0500, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 6:21 PM, GM wrote:

"About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no
landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most
recent data collected by the federal government... To many, landline >>>>> phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in the >>>>> smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer distinct >>>>> advantages.

We live in a location that has no cell reception , no TV , and on a >>>> good day 3 FM radio stations . Our landline is our connection to the
outside world ... we're lucky enough to have fiber optic within a couple >>>> of miles , so our internet is reasonably fast (for our demands) at 10-12 >>>> Mb/sec most of the time (running about 9.5 right now , not bad for a
Saturday evening) .

We had 1 MB/sec until a year ago. Now we have 5-6 with frequent
dropouts. Sometimes it's faster to print my email and attach it to a
kangaroo.

Now I can see why you plan to move. I thought my 1200 baud modem was
slow and 10 mb was fantastic. Now I can hit 400 on a good day.

Just ran a test

Internet speed test

17.4
Megabits per second
Testing upload...

291.1
Mbps download

Latency: 16 ms
Server: Miami
Your Internet connection is very fast.

Yes, that's very fast. I don't really need more speed than I already
have, but I guess it would be nice.

For text, it matters little. Graphics though, are a treat a higher speeds.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-03-17, Ed P <esp@snet.xxx> wrote:

On 3/17/2024 12:36 AM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 23:11:55 -0400, Ed P <esp@snet.xxx> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 10:19 PM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 20:17:46 -0500, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 6:21 PM, GM wrote:

"About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no
landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most >>>>>> recent data collected by the federal government... To many, landline >>>>>> phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in the >>>>>> smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer distinct >>>>>> advantages.

We live in a location that has no cell reception , no TV , and on a >>>>> good day 3 FM radio stations . Our landline is our connection to the >>>>> outside world ... we're lucky enough to have fiber optic within a couple >>>>> of miles , so our internet is reasonably fast (for our demands) at 10-12 >>>>> Mb/sec most of the time (running about 9.5 right now , not bad for a >>>>> Saturday evening) .

We had 1 MB/sec until a year ago. Now we have 5-6 with frequent
dropouts. Sometimes it's faster to print my email and attach it to a
kangaroo.

Now I can see why you plan to move. I thought my 1200 baud modem was
slow and 10 mb was fantastic. Now I can hit 400 on a good day.

Just ran a test

Internet speed test

17.4
Megabits per second
Testing upload...

291.1
Mbps download

Latency: 16 ms
Server: Miami
Your Internet connection is very fast.

Yes, that's very fast. I don't really need more speed than I already
have, but I guess it would be nice.

For text, it matters little. Graphics though, are a treat a higher speeds.

I have a 100 Mbps Ethernet card in my PC, so that's a hard limit. I've
never had much trouble streaming video. Although if I really want
a good experience, I stream it to my television.

--
Cindy Hamilton

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 3/17/2024 8:50 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:

On 2024-03-17, Ed P <esp@snet.xxx> wrote:

On 3/17/2024 12:36 AM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 23:11:55 -0400, Ed P <esp@snet.xxx> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 10:19 PM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 20:17:46 -0500, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 6:21 PM, GM wrote:

"About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no >>>>>>> landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most >>>>>>> recent data collected by the federal government... To many, landline >>>>>>> phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in the
smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer distinct >>>>>>> advantages.

We live in a location that has no cell reception , no TV , and on a >>>>>> good day 3 FM radio stations . Our landline is our connection to the >>>>>> outside world ... we're lucky enough to have fiber optic within a couple >>>>>> of miles , so our internet is reasonably fast (for our demands) at 10-12 >>>>>> Mb/sec most of the time (running about 9.5 right now , not bad for a >>>>>> Saturday evening) .

We had 1 MB/sec until a year ago. Now we have 5-6 with frequent
dropouts. Sometimes it's faster to print my email and attach it to a >>>>> kangaroo.

Now I can see why you plan to move. I thought my 1200 baud modem was
slow and 10 mb was fantastic. Now I can hit 400 on a good day.

Just ran a test

Internet speed test

17.4
Megabits per second
Testing upload...

291.1
Mbps download

Latency: 16 ms
Server: Miami
Your Internet connection is very fast.

Yes, that's very fast. I don't really need more speed than I already
have, but I guess it would be nice.

For text, it matters little. Graphics though, are a treat a higher speeds.

I have a 100 Mbps Ethernet card in my PC, so that's a hard limit. I've
never had much trouble streaming video. Although if I really want
a good experience, I stream it to my television.

ROKU . Some paid for , many free channels . Now playing : Gordon
Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen .
--
Snag
"They may take our lives but
they'll never take our freedom."
William Wallace

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-03-17, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

On 3/17/2024 8:50 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:

On 2024-03-17, Ed P <esp@snet.xxx> wrote:

On 3/17/2024 12:36 AM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 23:11:55 -0400, Ed P <esp@snet.xxx> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 10:19 PM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 20:17:46 -0500, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote: >>>>>>

On 3/16/2024 6:21 PM, GM wrote:

"About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no >>>>>>>> landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most >>>>>>>> recent data collected by the federal government... To many, landline >>>>>>>> phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in the
smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer distinct >>>>>>>> advantages.

We live in a location that has no cell reception , no TV , and on a
good day 3 FM radio stations . Our landline is our connection to the >>>>>>> outside world ... we're lucky enough to have fiber optic within a couple
of miles , so our internet is reasonably fast (for our demands) at 10-12
Mb/sec most of the time (running about 9.5 right now , not bad for a >>>>>>> Saturday evening) .

We had 1 MB/sec until a year ago. Now we have 5-6 with frequent
dropouts. Sometimes it's faster to print my email and attach it to a >>>>>> kangaroo.

Now I can see why you plan to move. I thought my 1200 baud modem was >>>>> slow and 10 mb was fantastic. Now I can hit 400 on a good day.

Just ran a test

Internet speed test

17.4
Megabits per second
Testing upload...

291.1
Mbps download

Latency: 16 ms
Server: Miami
Your Internet connection is very fast.

Yes, that's very fast. I don't really need more speed than I already
have, but I guess it would be nice.

For text, it matters little. Graphics though, are a treat a higher speeds. >>

I have a 100 Mbps Ethernet card in my PC, so that's a hard limit. I've
never had much trouble streaming video. Although if I really want
a good experience, I stream it to my television.

ROKU . Some paid for , many free channels . Now playing : Gordon
Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen .

I do just fine with my smart TV, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and
(occasionally) YouTube.

We're more than willing to pay to watch commercial-free content.

--
Cindy Hamilton

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-03-17 10:03 a.m., Snag wrote:

On 3/17/2024 8:50 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:

I have a 100 Mbps Ethernet card in my PC, so that's a hard limit.  I've
never had much trouble streaming video.  Although if I really want
a good experience, I stream it to my television.

  ROKU . Some paid for , many free channels . Now playing : Gordon
Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen .

I found a great sort of free streaming service. Kanopy has an incredible catalogue of great movies. All you need to subscribe is a library card
from a supporting library. My local library is a supporter.

There are a couple drawbacks. There are a limited number of credits each
month. The recently made some changes but it used to be 8 movies per
month. Unfortunately, there are no previews so once you click on a movie
there goes a credit. The icons for the movie are small and hard to read
and have no descriptions. I learned to use my laptop to go through their catalogue to find something and see if it was worth watching.

The limit is annoying but if there are several people in the house with accounts you can use their cards. When I run out of cards I use my
wife's account.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-03-17 10:29 a.m., Cindy Hamilton wrote:

On 2024-03-17, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

ROKU . Some paid for , many free channels . Now playing : Gordon
Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen .

I do just fine with my smart TV, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and
(occasionally) YouTube.

We're more than willing to pay to watch commercial-free content.

I had cancelled my Netflix account some time ago but renewed when I was
mislead into thinking they carried a program I had been hooked on with
another provider. It turned out that they didn't. Now I am back to
spending ridiculous amounts of time trying to find something to watch.

I get Crave through my satellite subscription. I find it hard to
navigate and the often have only limited shows in a series. I had been watching a great Danish show, Seaside Hotel, but was disappointed to
ding they had only one season. That was the one that I was led to
believe Netflix carried.

There is a free streaming service called Tubi that has a lot of good
movies and tv series. The problem is that they use commercials.
However.... there are very few ad and they are short. When you start a
show you will see two or three 10 second ads. Then you get to see 20-25
minutes of the show until there is another very brief commercial break,
maybe 20-30 seconds.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 3/17/2024 9:32 AM, Dave Smith wrote:

On 2024-03-17 10:03 a.m., Snag wrote:

On 3/17/2024 8:50 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:

I have a 100 Mbps Ethernet card in my PC, so that's a hard limit.  I've >>> never had much trouble streaming video.  Although if I really want
a good experience, I stream it to my television.

   ROKU . Some paid for , many free channels . Now playing : Gordon
Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen .

I found a great sort of free streaming service. Kanopy has an incredible catalogue of great movies. All you need to subscribe is a library card
from a supporting library. My local library is a supporter.

There are a couple drawbacks. There are a limited number of credits each month. The recently made some changes but it used to be 8 movies per
month. Unfortunately, there are no previews so once you click on a movie there goes a credit. The icons for the movie are small and hard to read
and have no descriptions. I learned to use my laptop to go through their catalogue to find something and see if it was worth watching.

The limit is annoying but if there are several people in the house with accounts you can use their cards. When I run out of cards I use my
wife's account.

We pay for IIRC 3 or 4 providers on the ROKU because they have
content we can't get for free . Like local news broadcasts and some alternatives to MSM news .
--
Snag
"They may take our lives but
they'll never take our freedom."
William Wallace

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sun, 17 Mar 2024, Dave Smith wrote:

On 2024-03-17 10:29 a.m., Cindy Hamilton wrote:

On 2024-03-17, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

ROKU . Some paid for , many free channels . Now playing : Gordon
Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen .

I do just fine with my smart TV, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and
(occasionally) YouTube.

We're more than willing to pay to watch commercial-free content.

I had cancelled my Netflix account some time ago but renewed when I was mislead into thinking they carried a program I had been hooked on with another provider. It turned out that they didn't. Now I am back to spending ridiculous amounts of time trying to find something to watch.

I get Crave through my satellite subscription. I find it hard to navigate and the often have only limited shows in a series. I had been watching a great Danish show, Seaside Hotel, but was disappointed to ding they had only one season. That was the one that I was led to believe Netflix carried.

You're talking about Badehotellet?? I thought no one watched that except
danish and swedish people. Amazing! It has 10 seasons: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2960144/episodes/ so plenty of viewing
pleasure left for you!

Best regards,
Daniel

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On 2024-03-17, Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> wrote:

On 2024-03-17 10:03 a.m., Snag wrote:

On 3/17/2024 8:50 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:

I have a 100 Mbps Ethernet card in my PC, so that's a hard limit.  I've >>> never had much trouble streaming video.  Although if I really want
a good experience, I stream it to my television.

  ROKU . Some paid for , many free channels . Now playing : Gordon
Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen .

I found a great sort of free streaming service. Kanopy has an incredible catalogue of great movies. All you need to subscribe is a library card
from a supporting library. My local library is a supporter.

My local library seems to have their own streaming service. It's
pretty pitiful. But most Ann Arborites have the means to subscribe
to whatever streaming services they want.

--
Cindy Hamilton

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On 2024-03-17, Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> wrote:

On 2024-03-17 10:29 a.m., Cindy Hamilton wrote:

On 2024-03-17, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

ROKU . Some paid for , many free channels . Now playing : Gordon
Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen .

I do just fine with my smart TV, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and
(occasionally) YouTube.

We're more than willing to pay to watch commercial-free content.

I had cancelled my Netflix account some time ago but renewed when I was mislead into thinking they carried a program I had been hooked on with another provider. It turned out that they didn't. Now I am back to
spending ridiculous amounts of time trying to find something to watch.

I get Crave through my satellite subscription. I find it hard to
navigate and the often have only limited shows in a series. I had been watching a great Danish show, Seaside Hotel, but was disappointed to
ding they had only one season. That was the one that I was led to
believe Netflix carried.

Roku or Amazon Prime Video (with the PBS Masterpiece add-on). I see
Amazon has only the first 9 seasons.

There is a free streaming service called Tubi that has a lot of good
movies and tv series. The problem is that they use commercials.
However.... there are very few ad and they are short. When you start a
show you will see two or three 10 second ads. Then you get to see 20-25 minutes of the show until there is another very brief commercial break,
maybe 20-30 seconds.

I've got more to watch than I have time to watch it, even if I spent
all my waking hours in front of the TV. Perhaps my standards are a
wee bit lower than yours.

I just finished up Bosch: Legacy on Prime, and I'll turn my
attention to Ultraviolet (the British televion series, not
the 2006 movie, although both are about vampires). After that,
Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I think. I still haven't watched Everything,
Everywhere, All at Once.

Every morning we watch Forged in Fire together. We've seen every
episode a couple of times, but hot metal is just fascinating.

Blown Away (on Netflix) has a new season, so that gives us molten
glass and pretentious artists to mock.

He's watching some British show about scrapping aircraft. I'm
watching Food Network's Tournament of Champions (with a lot of fast
forward and mute).

Apple+ is attractive, but I haven't quite convinced myself that
another streaming service would be good for me. But Masters of
the Air, Slow Horses, For All Mankind, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,
and Hijack are calling to me.

--
Cindy Hamilton

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On 3/17/2024 12:31 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:

Every morning we watch Forged in Fire together. We've seen every
episode a couple of times, but hot metal is just fascinating.

Remember the episode with Shawn Ellis ? He did a sword IIRC . And
when he plunged it into the oil to quench he hollered "SHAZAAAMMM!" . He
lives near us ... nice enough guy , though a bit cocky . And rightly so
, he's a very talented blacksmith . I understand these days he's doing
mostly knives , so would that make him a bladesmith ?
--
Snag
"They may take our lives but
they'll never take our freedom."
William Wallace

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On Sun, 17 Mar 2024 09:20:02 -0400, Ed P <esp@snet.xxx> wrote:

On 3/17/2024 12:36 AM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 23:11:55 -0400, Ed P <esp@snet.xxx> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 10:19 PM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 20:17:46 -0500, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 6:21 PM, GM wrote:

"About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no
landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most >>>>>> recent data collected by the federal government... To many, landline >>>>>> phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in the >>>>>> smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer distinct >>>>>> advantages.

We live in a location that has no cell reception , no TV , and on a >>>>> good day 3 FM radio stations . Our landline is our connection to the >>>>> outside world ... we're lucky enough to have fiber optic within a couple >>>>> of miles , so our internet is reasonably fast (for our demands) at 10-12 >>>>> Mb/sec most of the time (running about 9.5 right now , not bad for a >>>>> Saturday evening) .

We had 1 MB/sec until a year ago. Now we have 5-6 with frequent
dropouts. Sometimes it's faster to print my email and attach it to a
kangaroo.

Now I can see why you plan to move. I thought my 1200 baud modem was
slow and 10 mb was fantastic. Now I can hit 400 on a good day.

Just ran a test

Internet speed test

17.4
Megabits per second
Testing upload...

291.1
Mbps download

Latency: 16 ms
Server: Miami
Your Internet connection is very fast.

Yes, that's very fast. I don't really need more speed than I already
have, but I guess it would be nice.

For text, it matters little. Graphics though, are a treat a higher speeds.

I download movies and TV programs, so it would be handy for that, but
it also depends how fast the sender is.

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On 17 Mar 2024 13:50:22 GMT, Cindy Hamilton <hamilton@invalid.com>
wrote:

On 2024-03-17, Ed P <esp@snet.xxx> wrote:

On 3/17/2024 12:36 AM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 23:11:55 -0400, Ed P <esp@snet.xxx> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 10:19 PM, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 20:17:46 -0500, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

On 3/16/2024 6:21 PM, GM wrote:

"About 73 percent of American adults lived in a household with no >>>>>>> landline but at least one cellphone in 2022, according to the most >>>>>>> recent data collected by the federal government... To many, landline >>>>>>> phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in the
smartphone era. But to those who still use them, they offer distinct >>>>>>> advantages.

We live in a location that has no cell reception , no TV , and on a >>>>>> good day 3 FM radio stations . Our landline is our connection to the >>>>>> outside world ... we're lucky enough to have fiber optic within a couple >>>>>> of miles , so our internet is reasonably fast (for our demands) at 10-12 >>>>>> Mb/sec most of the time (running about 9.5 right now , not bad for a >>>>>> Saturday evening) .

We had 1 MB/sec until a year ago. Now we have 5-6 with frequent
dropouts. Sometimes it's faster to print my email and attach it to a >>>>> kangaroo.

Now I can see why you plan to move. I thought my 1200 baud modem was
slow and 10 mb was fantastic. Now I can hit 400 on a good day.

Just ran a test

Internet speed test

17.4
Megabits per second
Testing upload...

291.1
Mbps download

Latency: 16 ms
Server: Miami
Your Internet connection is very fast.

Yes, that's very fast. I don't really need more speed than I already
have, but I guess it would be nice.

For text, it matters little. Graphics though, are a treat a higher speeds.

I have a 100 Mbps Ethernet card in my PC, so that's a hard limit. I've
never had much trouble streaming video. Although if I really want
a good experience, I stream it to my television.

If you stream at super high speed to your TV, won't the movie be
finished in 2 minutes?

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On 2024-03-17, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

On 3/17/2024 12:31 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:

Every morning we watch Forged in Fire together. We've seen every
episode a couple of times, but hot metal is just fascinating.

Remember the episode with Shawn Ellis ? He did a sword IIRC . And
when he plunged it into the oil to quench he hollered "SHAZAAAMMM!" . He

Yes, I remember him. We just saw his episode in the last week or two.
One of his opponents lives relatively near here.

lives near us ... nice enough guy , though a bit cocky . And rightly so
, he's a very talented blacksmith . I understand these days he's doing
mostly knives , so would that make him a bladesmith ?

Yes, that's what they call them.

--
Cindy Hamilton

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