Re: DSL

["Patricia M. Godfrey" pmgodfrey@xxxxxxxx]

One other thing: that "always on" is not necessarily so, nor is that a
bad thing. I certainly don't want my mission-critical PC always connected
to the Net whenever it's on (obviously, if the machine is turned off it's
not connected, though if you have Wake on Lan, I'd worry). If you have an
external modem, you may be able to turn it off (mine has a power switch)
and could certainly disconnect it from either the jack or your PC. Even
with an internal one, Verizon's software (something called WinPOET) can
be turned off; the icon sits in the tray, and if you right-click it, you
get an option to turn off. Despite all that, do not even think of getting
broadband without downloading the software firewall ZoneAlarm (the
plain-vanilla version is free for private individuals, though businesses
are expected to pay) from ZoneLabs. (Sorry, I don't have the URL here,
but search on ZoneAlarm and you'll find it quickly enough.)
	You definitely want a dialup connection as backup: I've had Verizon's
servers down twice now, in less than a month, and I don't try to connect
every day.
Patricia