apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Picasa vs. Flickr: please discuss.
(I don't like how Flickr makes all my photos available to the world, and I don't want to have to do private settings each time. Does Picasa do the same thing?)

About a month ago I canceled my Comcast cable and internet service because of poor picture quality and service. I live in a pre-war bldg and they only have one box for everyone; which they run and split all the cable from. So living on the 5th floor and furthest from the box, they told me I'd never have perfect service because of how far the signal had to go.

I wanted to switch to DirectTV. But after 5 tries, they can't mount the high definition satellite on my roof. And there are no other cable providers in my town. (I tried Fios, not available till next year). So I thought to watch TV through my MacBook until Fios comes around.

Here's my problem: I can't seem to find a simple high-speed internet provider. Verizon and AT&T are not available in my area. I could go back (shudder) to Comcast, but they charge $60/month for internet if you don't have their cable service - which I think is pricey! Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm almost thinking about moving!

2T-

Give dslreport.com's broadband finder a try: http://www.dslreports.com/search

Just enter in your zipcode, and they list local DSL, Fiber, and Cable options for your area. Many times there are smaller independent DSL carriers that you can use.

2T- If you end up desperate and go back, consider our story: Comcast was going to jack up our rates, but my DH found out through local city blogs that if we "switched" to Earthlink by Comcast, we'd get it cheaper, like $15-$20 a month cheaper. Don't install all of the Earthlink crud they try to throw at you, and the switch was remarkably painful considering the service was provided by the same company, just being billed by someone different, but it was cheaper nonetheless.

Thanks for the suggestions. No luck though. And Earthlink through Comcast is available in only certain states; NJ is not one of them. =(
I'll be visiting Panera for their wi-fi this weekend...