What you did today

[Deraldin]

Sitting around this morning wondering what our average internet bandwidth usage might actually be, in light of the seeming new/upcoming trend of companies w/download limits.

 

Ive been wondering the same thing. My cable internet provider (Comcast) is instituting a 250GB per month cap before you have to pay extra. I play WoW quite a bit and am curious how much juice that game sucks. I looked at my bill last night and it doesnt detail my monthy usage, which makes sense seeing as how there has never been a limit before, but still.

 

Quick search shows that it's probably around 10-20mb/hour of play. Not enough that I think you should really be worried about with a 250GB cap.

[taks]

I hadn't come across professional home inspectors. It's a great idea.

a friend of mine is co-owner of a business with his dad that does exactly that in missouri.

 

taks

[Gfted1]

Sitting around this morning wondering what our average internet bandwidth usage might actually be, in light of the seeming new/upcoming trend of companies w/download limits.

 

Ive been wondering the same thing. My cable internet provider (Comcast) is instituting a 250GB per month cap before you have to pay extra. I play WoW quite a bit and am curious how much juice that game sucks. I looked at my bill last night and it doesnt detail my monthy usage, which makes sense seeing as how there has never been a limit before, but still.

 

Quick search shows that it's probably around 10-20mb/hour of play. Not enough that I think you should really be worried about with a 250GB cap.

 

 

Thanks for looking that up.

 

*does some quick math*

 

So, 20mb/hour = 50hours/GB = 12,500hours/250GB cap?

[Meshugger]

I downloaded chrome, and i am now writing this post by using it.

 

 

Wee.

[samm]

Wee? Like tiny? Me wants review of new br0wzar

[Meshugger]

www.google.com/chrome

[I want teh kotor 3]

Chrome. Is. better. Than. Mozilla. In. Another. LSD-influenced. Universe. But seriously, it lacks the versatility of Mozilla, and is about equal in every other respect, after an hour or so of casual observation.

[theslug]

I hadn't come across professional home inspectors. It's a great idea.

Are you serious? That is a huge deal. That's like completely unheard of in the U.S not to have a home inspection. What most homeowners don't do though is get enough inspectors. They usually get a general inspector (usually a mediocre one if they are lucky) when they should get that and others that are specialists in other areas. I mean we are talking about cumulative 1 grand, maybe a tad more if you don't shop around, for something that could potentially save you tens of thousands of dollars or more. Unless you know the general inspector is really good and they have the option of a deeper inspection I'd recommend foundation, plumbing, electrical, chimney, pests/mold, and general inspector.

[Dark_Raven]

www.google.com/chrome

Another flash in the pan.

[Enoch]

I hadn't come across professional home inspectors. It's a great idea.

Are you serious? That is a huge deal. That's like completely unheard of in the U.S not to have a home inspection. What most homeowners don't do though is get enough inspectors. They usually get a general inspector (usually a mediocre one if they are lucky) when they should get that and others that are specialists in other areas. I mean we are talking about cumulative 1 grand, maybe a tad more if you don't shop around, for something that could potentially save you tens of thousands of dollars or more. Unless you know the general inspector is really good and they have the option of a deeper inspection I'd recommend foundation, plumbing, electrical, chimney, pests/mold, and general inspector.

The key with home inspectors is 1) Get one with an ASHI certification, and 2) Don't hire the one your realtor recommends.

 

Realtors, at this point in the process, simply don't want anything to happen that will kill a deal. They don't have any incentive to care whether you're happy with the place after you've bought it-- they just want the sale to happen. Thus, they tend to get chummy with the inspectors who let things go and avoid freaking out the buyers.

 

For my part, I doubt that the home inspection will be a major hurdle in this particular deal. The current buyers in this house only bought back in '04 (they're actually losing money on the sale), so it presumably has been inspected fairly recently. Also, the state we're looking at buying in has very pro-buyer disclosure rules. If the sellers know or reasonably ought to know about any fact that would materially affect the sale, they can be liable for not telling the buyers.

[LadyCrimson]

Sitting around this morning wondering what our average internet bandwidth usage might actually be, in light of the seeming new/upcoming trend of companies w/download limits.

 

Ive been wondering the same thing. My cable internet provider (Comcast) is instituting a 250GB per month cap before you have to pay extra. I play WoW quite a bit and am curious how much juice that game sucks. I looked at my bill last night and it doesnt detail my monthy usage, which makes sense seeing as how there has never been a limit before, but still.

 

Quick search shows that it's probably around 10-20mb/hour of play. Not enough that I think you should really be worried about with a 250GB cap.

 

 

Thanks for looking that up.

 

*does some quick math*

 

So, 20mb/hour = 50hours/GB = 12,500hours/250GB cap?

Someone else I know who has lived with severe dorm-room limits thought playing D2 non-stop for 24 hours might be 50Mb.

Other people have tried things like watching a few streaming video/listening to streaming audio, then downloading some large files etc. and reported figures like 2-5GB for an hour or two of such "common" activity. If you're a big gamer who downloads tons of big game patches/online-bought games every month on top of that, it could be a problem. But otherwise, I think most people won't have any problems at all w/Comcasts cap. Some other companies, however, have - or are proposing - much lower caps...like under 50GB.

 

I'd hanker a guess that between hubby's work stuff and my internet surfing/gaming, we might suck up close to 100GB a month, but it's really hard to estimate and I could be way off either way. I definitely think any company w/a cap should include a bandwidth usage meter w/their package.

[Gorth]

You guys are spoiled

 

I have a 30Gb monthly cap at the moment and that is a vast improvement over my previous provider.

[LadyCrimson]

You guys are spoiled

I don't know what you're talking about.

Now excuse me as I go watch some HD-HBO while I'm waiting for my humongous download to finish.

[Gorth]

You guys are spoiled

I don't know what you're talking about.

Now excuse me as I go watch some HD-HBO while I'm waiting for my humongous download to finish.

Sure, rub the wound with salt

[tripleRRR]

What ISP do you use that limits you to 30GB?

[Gorth]

What ISP do you use that limits you to 30GB?

Optus.

[tripleRRR]

Ewww.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Only 30GB?! I might go through that much in a week...

[Hurlshort]

Most ISP's have download limits, they just don't publish them. They just slow your connection speed to a crawl if it gets out of hand.

[theslug]

Only 30GB?! I might go through that much in a week...

Yeah there was a time when I could knock half or more of that off in one over night, easily....

[Walsingham]

Wait, I mean we have Chartered Surveyors, who assesss teh property once the initial offer is made. But we don't have people who come in just before handover and make certain small details like no crap left behind in the attic are obeyed. I got stuck with (among other things) an old fashioned TV which is big enough to be hollowed out and used as a bath. But on my own I'd have a hard time backing out of the deal. Whereas if the vendor knew a man would come in who had powers and obligations to cancel the deal if that was done, then it would certainly not happen.

[Tigranes]

I pay an exorbitant amount for 20GB, and that's more than 90% of the country.

 

(New Zealand)

[Gfted1]

Wait, I mean we have Chartered Surveyors, who assesss teh property once the initial offer is made. But we don't have people who come in just before handover and make certain small details like no crap left behind in the attic are obeyed. I got stuck with (among other things) an old fashioned TV which is big enough to be hollowed out and used as a bath. But on my own I'd have a hard time backing out of the deal. Whereas if the vendor knew a man would come in who had powers and obligations to cancel the deal if that was done, then it would certainly not happen.

 

 

That sounds about the same. Our inspectors are there to check the structure, electrical, plumbing, AC, heat, roof, etc..., they have nothing to do with the cleanliness of the property. Just prior to closing you will go through a "final walkthrough" where you will verify that any problems the inspector found have been remedied and that the place wasnt trashed when the previous owners moved out.

[taks]

The wife and I are getting very close to agreeing to buy the house we've been looking at. It is frighteningly expensive-- we're essentially skipping the usual "starter home" step and taking advantage of the weak market and one large drawback this property has to get a much larger and nicer house than we would otherwise be able to afford in the community in question.

it's really screwy how that works, isn't it? i mean, as long as you can afford the down payment, it's actually a good idea to buy, perhaps even sell, right now. if you aren't selling, and simply buying, yeah, you can get a lot of house. this is particularly true given the current interest rates. while higher than they were several years ago, historically a 6.5% rate is quite low (my first house, bought in 2002, came with an 8.75% rate). now, it is true that you get the screws on a sale, but if you are stepping up, i.e., buying a more expensive house, you actually end up with a net gain. you lose 10% or so (relatively speaking) on your sale, but gain 10% on a more expensive deal, so you end up ahead overall. yay!

 

i need to pay down some of my debt before i consider buying again, but i'll likely be in a new house within 2 years. that and john's school costs are going down every year. last year was $900/month (goddard, private pre-k), this year will be $600/month ($300/month for full-day k, $300/month for hope montessori after school care) and next year will be $300/month (after school care only).

 

btw, enoch, we didn't really do a starter home, either (the 2002 house), but the two of us were both working making quite a lot together without a child. we waaaaay under-bought on the first one which worked out well when my company folded and we had a ton of cash in the bank to afford a several month job search. phew!

 

taks

[Enoch]

Well, it's very nearly official. They agreed to our last counter-offer on price (which was only a few thousand less than their supposedly "best" offer), but they changed the provision on the dates by which the inspections (general home inspection; radon inspection) have to happen. Once we sign off on those minor changes, we will be officially under contract. It's a relatively long escrow (Nov. 7 settlement date), but that'll give us some time to save additional funds and increase the down payment.

 

I'm still a little bewildered. Part of me is dreading all the various work that now has to get done (finalizing financing, setting up and attending the inspections, preparing to move, and such. Other parts of me are also fearing the financial burden of a quite high monthly mortgage, closing costs/down payment that will soak up pretty much all of our savings, and the subsequent expenses for furniture, rugs, window treatments, etc. But it's also pretty damned exciting, and I'm certainly looking forward to getting out of the packed-full 1-bedroom apartment we're in now.

Edited September 3, 2008 by Enoch