Good news for me today. I received a letter from my service provider and to my sup rise it was not a price increase but an increase to my bandwidth. My broadband just went from 1 meg to 1.5 megs at no extra charge to me. I know what your thinking ! I'm just promoting this service but no I'm not. I won't even mention their name.Now With all this extra speed what am I going to do with it.

Ok faster downloads, that saves a few seconds and what about uploads, Flickr pictures and some web sites might go faster but I usually surf the net and read. I've also got the option to upgrade to 3 megs for 10 euro more a month, but why would I want to do this I mean how often do you need all this speed. I play online sometimes so maybe this will become useful but in the end it's just another way of competing with the other service providers and promoting their speed compared to to the opposition in a way to convince customers speed is better but service is second. I have had connection problems a lot in the past and after many complaints a tech called to the house and replaced the cable modem. Problem solved but what about the next time how long does it take to get a reply and their web site is terrible, it's like navigating a bale of hay you never know where your going as the links only lead you back to main pages where they promote their services. If you want help you get directed to a page with a list of problems, when you click on them you end up back on the main page. In the end I gave up.

I expect a good customers service for my money and hate using the phone to resolve a problem (don't forget the cost of the call). When you finally get to talk to someone they can't understand you as their english is terrible and they are trying to resolve the problem as quick as possible. They have to meet a certain quota each day by answering a set number of calls. I used eircom broadband in the past which was dependable but cost to much and in the end I changed to a cable broadband. I still use eircom but only by hijacking a wifi signal I find nearby which is not locked down. I have found a number of these signals throughout the town and I use a home made map so I'm never out of reach online. I can go online from almost anywhere within the main area of the town. Right now I sitting in the car waiting for the wife to finish the shopping. This is much better than pushing the trolley at the end of November with all those early christmas shoppers preparing for a yearly famine. Why do people spend so much on food at christmas do you grow an extra stomach or play host to a small country for the festive season. I might be tight with money but that due to money being tight with only a student grant providing an income. My wife is one of those that believes if you borrow for the christmas season and pay pack weekly it's ok it costs less. What is she thinking it cost more but you spread it out over the coming year. When next christmas comes your still paying back last years bill and need to borrow more for the coming year, this eventually pushes people into debt and ruins the season for everyone.

Ok enough complaining I admit I'm a scrooge at christmas buy I have memories of past christmases as a child and money the cause of all my grief. On the bright side christmas with my children does bring back the meaning of it all seeing their faces that morning is worth it in the end. I always get the camera to record these moments before their lost and only the bills remain.