It is really difficult to believe that it is 2010 and people near where I live are still using dial-up. I can’t even imagine using dial-up. I’d rather just not have internet at all. Waiting forever for pictures to download would drive me nuts, and not being able to watch streaming video would just be sad. A lot of people around here–meaning outside of the city limits–just don’t bother having internet at all, and I can’t say that I blame them if dial-up is all they have to choose from. The thing is, they DO have other options. They could check out some of the satellite internet service providers, for examples. I’m so addicted to the internet that I’ve checked into satellite before to see if I could get better internet access in my car. These people using dial-up could definitely upgrade their service into something workable!

Satellite internet will definitely be on my list if I ever decide to build that summer home outside of Taos, New Mexico. The land is off-grid, but it DOES have a nice clear view of the blue sky, and plenty of it. All I’ll need is a generator to power things up and I’ll be in business. Yes–I could do my cooking over an open fire and use a composting toilet, but I have to have my high-speed internet. I suppose I’ll never be able to be totally off-grid, but that’s okay.