Earthlink vs. Roadrunner
I am planning to get a broadband service and will likely go with AOL/Time Warner. We already have their cable TV. They offer 3 ISPs (is that the proper term?) through their cable lines: AOL Broadband, Roadrunner, and Earthlink. I was prepared to go with Earthlink but my son wants Roadrunner. I?ve listed some the advantages of each. If you have any experience or information that would help us decide, I would appreciate it greatly. We live in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County.
Roadrunner
-Being Time-Warner?s own brand, all tech support for Roadrunner is in-house
-They claim its slightly faster because there is no filter(?) as there is for Earthlink
-My son likes the idea of ?channels? that you can quickly access for common needs
Earthlink
-Most compatible with Apple?s OS (son doesn?t care, he has Wintel!)
-Most flexible in terms of choosing your own browsers, etc
-About $4 cheaper per month
Try to look at this from more of a consumer point of view, as we are not expert computer nor Internet users. We will download songs, movie and video game clips, etc. I?ve heard that Earthlink has a rather pure service and has few compatibility problems with browser?s, plug-ins, etc. Does Roadrunner have any known conflicts with Internet related software? Finally, I once bookmarked a website that had great broadband info, including consumer feedback but I lost it when I changed computers. If you have a good referral, please share it with me. Thank you.
Roadrunner
-Being Time-Warner?s own brand, all tech support for Roadrunner is in-house
-They claim its slightly faster because there is no filter(?) as there is for Earthlink
-My son likes the idea of ?channels? that you can quickly access for common needs
Earthlink
-Most compatible with Apple?s OS (son doesn?t care, he has Wintel!)
-Most flexible in terms of choosing your own browsers, etc
-About $4 cheaper per month
Try to look at this from more of a consumer point of view, as we are not expert computer nor Internet users. We will download songs, movie and video game clips, etc. I?ve heard that Earthlink has a rather pure service and has few compatibility problems with browser?s, plug-ins, etc. Does Roadrunner have any known conflicts with Internet related software? Finally, I once bookmarked a website that had great broadband info, including consumer feedback but I lost it when I changed computers. If you have a good referral, please share it with me. Thank you.
Comments
The connection is excellent. I download all type of huge files with ease. Data is data and if the server it's hosted on is just as fast (or faster) than your connection, you'll be pulling things offline in lightening speeds regardless of what kind of file it is. Speed does also depend on where you live and how many people have RR in your area. I live in NYC and have never had a slow down.
As far as compatibility goes, I don't think I understand. There is no software (needed) to install for RoadRunner access on either the Mac or the PC. What wouldn't be compatible? There is no browser to choose or any software that you have to use. When they hook it up they may make TWC Support (etc) your homepage with either Netscape or IE and stuff like that - but none of that matters and doesn't change anything with the connection.
When I got my Mac, I just used a $29 Ethernet hub, plugged the PC in the first port and the Mac in the second. Unplug the cable modem (so when it turns back on it will be forced to read the Ethernet card in the additional computer and the existing one), shut down the Mac - plug the cable modem back in, then power up the Mac and there you are. You're online completely ready to go with nothing to configure or install and no one to call to help you through it.
If you're like me and don't want to mess with routers or network the computers, go with the hub and an additional IP address so both you and your son can share the connection without any hassle. I pay $5 per month for the IP address for my Mac. There are of course ways around this added fee. But, I also have 2 PC notebooks using Wireless TrueMobile sharing the single connection as it is, so I don't mind.
Regarding my comments about comapatibilities well, for one, I don't know what Im talking about. How's that for being candid? Second, the problems I hear about may be for dial-up service. It's just that I read on bulletin boards and in print how some email programs or browers don't work well a particular person's provider. And even if that were true for broadband, I would think that Roadrunner would be more inclined to have worked out those problems. I've only had dial-up AOL and I know there were some sites that didn't function well with their default browser. I used to have to switch over to Netscape.
Anyway, sounds like Roadrunner has it well sorted out in the New York area. I hope our left coast service is as good. I'm not prepared to move just for the service. My lungs might not be compatible with the cleaner air.
P.S. I live in Michigan. (about an hour away from Detroit)
my cable modem craps out whenever we move it... it is only stable in one place--my brother's room, but what happens when I want the modem in my room (because my brother is away?) it doesnt want to connect... maybe its just my house or my cables... but the problem is persistant and even after calls to customer service (which was admittatly good...) still has no long term fix...
I'd go w/earthlink only because they are cheaper... why is RR more expensive? what are they doing to add to your experience that you cant do yourself on earthlink?
$4 a month adds up...
just my 2¢
-Paul
Note that I am a current RR subscriber, but plan on moving to Earthlink soon, and will give reasons later in the post.
Roadrunner
-Being Time-Warner?s own brand, all tech support for Roadrunner is in-house
Not true. Tech support is centralized from a call center outside of the local MSO. They are no more "in-house" than Earthlink. However, if a problem is determined to be plant related, it is routed to MSO service techs. I would count both as equals in this regard, with Earthlink having more experience in dealing with the net at large.
-They claim its slightly faster because there is no filter(?) as there is for Earthlink
Nah. No difference. You get what the node will allow, regardless of ISP. All modems are capped at essentially the same rate.
-My son likes the idea of ?channels? that you can quickly access for common needs
All publicly available stuff, just as fast to access. Trust me, you'll never use it. Neither will your son.
Earthlink
-Most compatible with Apple?s OS (son doesn?t care, he has Wintel!)
ISPs are ISPs. They transmit bits back and forth the same regardless of platform. The real question is, on the rare instance when you need tech support, will the person at the other end know how a Mac works? Earthlink, IMHO, wins here.
-Most flexible in terms of choosing your own browsers, etc
Earthlink has branded IE browsers just like RR. I would insist that they DO NOT install their branded crud on your system. I hated looking at the Earthlink logo all the time. Theer is NO advantage to using their browser, save five saved minutes on the installer's setup time.
-About $4 cheaper per month
True. EL has em beat there.
Here's why I'm switching - MOBILE ACCESS. RR has a list of POP numbers, but some funky script you have to run in order to use their dialup service while on the road. Earthlink on the other hand has POP numbers all over the world, and for a laptop owner, that makes me feel good. They cut their teeth on dialup access and do it better than most. Not sure what (if any) rates they charge for using their dialup network, but RR charges after a certain amount of time/mo.
Finally, the email addresses for RR are too long and hard to rattle off to colleagues. ([email protected]). [email protected] doesn't have to be spelled out and repeated over and over. This is important for me as I give my email out to co workers and colleagues a lot. I want them to remember it if they don't write it down.
My .02. They are both very good services, but I am putting my money on Earthlink for stability, longevity, experience and price.
And DSL in my neighborhood is even more, $49/month. How can ATT&T do it for 30% less? The high price doesn't endear me to AOL/Time Warner.
Anyway, thank you for your time and expertise.
1. The dialup service from RR is Windows only! Earthlink has a Mac-compatible dial-up.
2. Because of #1 above, I was paying $5.00 extra for a service I couldn't use.
3. Earthlink and RR both have the same type of centralized support, but from dealing with RR, there are MANY more systems in my area (Green Bay, Wisconsin) that are infected with Nimda and I was constantly getting my Apache web server logs filled with Nimda-related scripts attempting to run. I emailed RR several times and attached my web logs, but to no avail. I asked if they could put a small blurb or link to Microsoft's site to help novices understand that they need to patch their systems. Unfortunately, the advice fell on deaf ears.
3. The tech support I have received from RR is fairly poor - they basically say, Windows is supported, Mac is kinda supported, and forget about *nix. They don't have the knowledge to support it. Earthlink helped me and even knew the proper screens/menus to navigate through when resetting the connection for Mac OS X.
4. Billing. Both are billed on the same cable bill, so there was no separate bill or anything to deal with so either way, you get one bill.
5. The only bad thing I've noticed is that for home networking, they require a router (a cheap Netgear or Linksys is fine). I used to just use a hub and connect all my systems through it. That doesn't seem to work with Earthlink - their tech support said that the preferred method is a router. The system had a hard time leasing an IP from their DHCP servers initially, and when I did get it and hooked the hub inline, the system would lose the connection and I had to go back to a direct connection between my Mac web server and the cable modem.
I am probably going to go with an Apple Airport, but want to make sure it is Earthlink-approved, if there is such a thing.
My thoughts.