Okay, this is the situation. I do not know much about computer related stuff, and I have to find a more reliable way to play online poker. I was playing three $20 SNGs just now (two nine person games and one 180 person game) when the internet went down: in one of the nine person games I was heads up, and the difference between first and second place is $36; in the other nine person game I was third in chips with six left; and in the 180 person SNG I was an average chip stack with 80 left. By the time I got back on all of the games were finished: I finished 2nd, out of the money, and 34th out of 180. I'm telling you all of this A) to give you an idea of my frustration to give you an idea of my bankroll and how much I'm willing to pay for reliable internet.

Until recently I have been sharing wireless internet with my next door neighbor (in an apartment building) but the problem is that if his modem crashes and he is not home (as was the case today) then I am screwed.

This the problem: 1) I don't have a landline phone, and I cant get dialup without restarting the phone line 2) I have free cable so I'm afraid that if I order Time Warner to install high speed internet they will shut off the free cable and then I will have to pay around $100 for cable/internet.

As I said at the top, I know very little about this stuff, and I'm looking for the cheapest reliable solution...any suggestions very very much appreciated.

I think your only option is time warner for the cost. My parents use either nextel or verizon for their wireless but its like 50 bucks. without a landline you might be kind of limited

From the rest of your post it looks like your options are pretty limited. Have you tried fixing your friends modem so that it doesnt crash so often? It should not be happening all the time. It sounds like he doesnt have it set up right. You could even buy him a better modem.

BTW, do you mean his wireless router instead of his modem? My points still apply, but modems usually dont have alot of probelms.

right. but since time warner is also my local cable service (I live in upstate NY) I'm thinking that I will lose free cable and then will have to pay $70 a month to restore cable.

I'd be happy to transfer ten bucks to anyone who how I can keep my free cable and have reliable internet service for 30-40 dollars a month.

you're right--I mean wireless router. Well, he is a network administrator at Cornell (local college) and he says he cannot figure out how to fix it.

OK, but his router still shouldnt be crashing that often. I have mine on all the time, and it has never just crashed. Those routers should be very stable in keeping a connection (provided the connection is good). There's 4 possibilities here:

1. he has a crappy router
2. its the internet service provider and not the router thats the problem
3. your getting pounded by a hacker from the outside
4. he has a virus on his computer thats attacking his router from the inside

In all likelyhood its the internet service provider. I had this problem for a while until I bugged my provider long enough to fix the issue. Are you sure the router is crashing or is it just losing the signal from the provider? If you and your friend can still see each other on the router, then the router did not crash.

Ummmm ... wow, Ithaca? I live here (sort of). Are you a local or a student?

By the way, roadrunner is the nuts for internet here.