Western PA ISP? Gotta be something better!

I'm sure folks here can relate. Got the classic call from the parents this evening. Can't get on the internet and want to know if I canceled it. I signed them up a couple of years back and pay for their account so I sorta expect these calls. Neither one of them are computer savvy so no biggie. They're setup with ADSL (I couldn't handle the calls that I was getting when they couldn't hook up via dial-up)

The thing that sends me into absolutely conniptions is dealing with Earthlink playing transfer bingo. Is there not a better service in the Western PA these days? I thank you and my sanity thanks you.

Sadly Verizon is probably the best option these days if you can get DSL, unless you want (and will pay for) Speakeasy.

Depending on where they are in Western PA, I've been pleased with Adelphia HSI. Outages are few and far between, speeds are consistent. Though, Adelphia here will be Comcast in the nearish future, so who knows what will happen. *fingers crossed*

I was happy with Comcast's cable Internet service back in the Philly area, but I hate the company so much, I think I'll have some difficulties staying with cable once they take over.

[Sigh] that's what I was afraid of and unfortunately, cable won't fly because of the added installation and setup. On-site support from London is a little pricey. Thanks for the replies though. Earthlink/Verizon has now joined SW Bell on my "No Go" list.

On a related note, what's the latest and greatest for remote control software? XP Remote Desktop works about 1 in 10 times.

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On a related note, what's the latest and greatest for remote control software? XP Remote Desktop works about 1 in 10 times.

I quite like the approach Joel (of "Joel on Software") took with https://www.copilot.com/

It a service rather than an installed bit of software. It is based on the VNC codebase, but no software gets permenantly installed on either the client or remote machine. It also dodges any firewall/NAT issues by having both client and remote machine connect to a remote server to exchange data.

It costs $9.95 for 24 hours of access, so obviously not ideal for remote controlling a computer you have to access regularly, but perfect for when some friend/relative has a problem and they don't have any remote control software in place already.