I received my new modem today, but haven't hooked it up yet. I'll wait till tomorrow when I'm sure someone will be there to make the connection (I have to call my IP folks and tell them the new MAC address).

Last night I spoke to my son about the connectivity problem, but he said his computer was downloading and sending data quite fast. I unplugged the line to his computer in my equipment cupboard and plugged my computer line into that port. And it works fast. Darn. That means it was the router, not the modem that was on the fritz.

With one port down I need to replace the router. I use all four ports around the house (my son's room, my office, the BluRay player for streaming NetFlix, and the computer in the living room). I've had these pieces of equipment for two or three years, so I suppose it's time. When I replace items, I need to find the intersection of reasonable prices and new technology. There are now routers that are geared for farther and faster wireless connections. I don't have many of those devices now, but potential in the future is there, so I'll upgrade to a newer technology router for about the same price I paid for the one I'm replacing. I compared devices and ordered one via NewEgg that I should have by the end of the week. It's quite conceivable to buy televisions with wireless connections for the Internet, to buy BluRay devices with wireless in them (many of them now have an expensive attachment for wireless, but competition will probably force more of them to make it automatically part of the device). I suspect that as I replace the huge big-honker old televisions around the house, I could end up with something that gets a boost through the router.

My son arrived back at college this evening, and has an extra day to buy books. The Obamas are going to campus on Wednesday, which would have been the first day of classes. I hope he's able to go listen to the talk. The return trip timing was good, our drive to the airport was on a day that had cold conditions but none of the ice they predicted. The rest of the week is supposed to be really cold, and I'll be bringing the dogs in for the next few nights.

The dishes are finished, and tomorrow I'll do laundry. I see lots of school opening delays on the news tonight, so it looks like people are anticipating a slow start to the day. I don't need to go anywhere. No yard work this week, but I can start some seeds in the house.

SRS