I have a small business (2 people, 2 computers, p2p lan) in a home
office. We are currently running Windows 2000 with Office 2000 plus a
few business apps (Quicken, QuickBooks, TimeSlips, and Time Matters).
We have our own domain and use Outlook for email.

Our computers are leased. They are 4 years old and need to be
replaced. When we first signed this lease, the leasing company was
also providing internet access (DSL). They have since discontinued
that service, so we also need to find our own internet provider.

I believe our DSL service is through XO & Covad. I think one of them
is the actual DSL line and the other is the ISP, but I'm not sure. I
don't get a bill from either -- it's included in our lease payment.
The DSL service was pretty good at first (4 years ago), but recently,
it's been only so-so.

So, I am facing several upgrades and I have several questions. I would
appreciate any pointers or suggestions such as on the order to do them
in and which providers to go for.

1. Is Comcast broadband a good alternative to DSL? I already have
Comcast cable TV. Is it generally true that cable broadband is better
than DSL?

2. It seems to me that I should complete the DSL upgrade first and
then upgrade the computers. Does that make sense? That way I don't
have to install DSL on the new computers and then upgrade to cable.

3. Can I have the DSL service and the new cable service running at the
same time? I would like to minimize the downtime.

4. Email. I believe our email is handled by Critical Path. That was
also pretty good initially, but has been mediocre to poor recently. As
I understand it, that is completely separate from the ISP and
broadband. Can Comcast also take over my email service using my own
domain? Should I do that after I chage ISP and broadband providers?

5. What should I do to ensure that no email is lost and so that it
isn't out of service?

Thanks

--
For email, use Usenet-20031220@spamex.com

In article <irkal15ccsp065j9o9bts823b2vaqdhena@4ax.com>, LurfysMa
<invalid@invalid.invalid> wrote:

DSL service as good.

I don't know of any software needed for either kind of service, and I
wouldn't suggest installing anything until you know what it is.
On the other hand, if your OS needs updating, do whatever it recommends.



program to access it. No one else is involved.
Your ISP is simply _access_ to the internet.

How you get access doesn't have any effect on what is going on in a
domain you own or the addresses or e-mail there.

services. You won't be able to use the address when you cancel.

Setup should be simple.
You mentioned that you have a P2P network.
The only software you should be concerned with is the Firewall and AV.
Other than that, you will most likely change your TCP/IP configuration to
whatever your new Internet Service Provider sets up (gateway
IP/DHCP/DNS/etc..)

Updating your PCs is unrelated to your ISP change. You can do that anytime.
For the apps you are running, you may not need to replace your current PC's.
Unless you have machines rated below 1GHz, reinstalling the OS and apps with
additional memory should do the job.

-a|ex

"LurfysMa" <invalid@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:irkal15ccsp065j9o9bts823b2vaqdhena@4ax.com...

In article <ni8bl198v0d19o4iun7e11j33cfm50em23@4ax.com>, Evan Platt
<evan@theobvious.espphotography.com> wrote:

local cable service? (Although cable rates seem to vary a lot, too, and
I wouldn't guess you'd know what their speeds are.)
Last time I checked DSL rates (2003) the major service offered 256, 512
and 768 rates between something like 15/mo and 45/mo. Don't recall if
they offered more.

Everywhere I've been they fight each other's claims routinely!

And DSL always slams the same claim -- that cable is a shared line.
It's misleading and has very little significance.
They always miss what I think is a much more significant benefit --
that DSL service is scalable, so you can pay as much as you think is
important to you.