The worst thing about them is their whole marketing scheme is geared to trendy people in their teens and 20s.

Yes, the "hipper-than-thou" Website is very tiresome. They should have an icon at the bottom where you can choose the normal or the supercool version of the site, kind of like choosing English or Spanish.

Anyone got a brand rec for a new wireless router, then? Our current one's a Linksys.

I\'ve used Linksys and D-link and been happy with both. I just go with what\'s on sale.

Dunno if you care, but some wireless routers can be hacked. Like loading a new version of the router OS. You can do cool stuff like radically increase the signal strength.

If you're interested I can try to find the info....

I could come over, get drunk, stumble into it, knock it over and break it, if it helps get you a new TV that plays well with a Harmony.

Just sayin'.

Gee, Sean, that's a great idea! How kind of you to offer to damage our property and then buy us an EVEN BETTER television! I didn't realize business was going so well! Could you make sure to also get us a Harmony remote as part of this generous gift?

Just sayin'.

I use Virgin\'s PaYG and I\'ve been happy with it. If you sign up for automatic top-offs the minimum is just $60 a year. But I only use a cell phone a few times a month. If you talk even an hour a week the contract plans start to look better.

I think Virgin may have increased that minimum to $80/year ($20 every 90 days). Even so, this may be the way to go for me. I can\'t imagine using it more than an hour per month. I know that once I get a cell phone, I\'ll probably start to use it more and more, but I can always switch to a contract later.

Thanks for the advice, all!

I think Virgin may have increased that minimum to $80/year ($20 every 90 days).

They reduce that to $15/90 if you sign-up for an automatic charge.

OK, thanks, Rick. I thought that\'s what you meant, but I couldn\'t find that on the website.

Jessica,

Anyone got a brand rec for a new wireless router, then? Our current one's a Linksys.

FWIW, all of the sudden 2-3 weeks ago, my laptop couldn't get wireless access - nor could any other device in the house, but the computer that was directly connected to the router hummed along nicely.

So after troubleshooting my ass off, I went to Best Buy, bought a new modem and a router. My modem was a D-link, router was a Linksys, and I bought a Linksys modem and router.

The new router and modem play very well together and I get a LOT more stability from the wireless than I did before. It got to the point where we would have to unplug the router every 2-3 days to bring back the signal.

Hmm - I think I'm stuck with the modem Cablevision gave me (since it's also where our phone service comes in), but I should check and see what brand it is so I can get a router that matches.