<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by vesselle:


i have friends in singapore, who don't even have dialups in their homes. they go to internet bars, and hookup their laptops and go at it. even tho it's extremely expensive for them, singapore has one of the world's liveliest online community with tons of mmorpgs.
{that's prolly one of the reasons LordBritish (Rich Garriot of Ultima/Origin Systems) has inked dev deals with Singapore companies. the man with the plan sees the future in online gaming.}

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Actually in Singapore (you see, I am a singaporean) you can get internet connections extremely easy.
Almost all of my friends have an internet connection (no wait, change that to ALL of my friends) be it narrowband or broadband.
Dialup can be considered cheap here, depending on how much you stay online each day. (From FREE, yes FREE 56k unlimited access, to US$12 for 45hrs of access a month...varies depending on ISP)
The entire island gets internet connection, no single area has no access.

What really shine is the broadband connection.
First of all, everyone is able to get broadband. The whole island is wired up.
Secondly, you get many choices...Cable, ADSL, VDSL...
Finally, its cheap.
512kbps max. download with ADSL goes for about US$44/35 a month or less at UNLIMITED access. No limit whatsoever...heck all of my friends keep their connection live 24/7.
There are also cheaper packages...
256kpbs ADSL UNLIMITED goes for about US$25 a month or less.
Those with capping (limit by usage time or MB downloaded goes for even cheaper).

Why do people still go to lan gaming shops? (internet bars...lan cafes...internet cafes...etc)
To meet with friends, hang out...various reasons.
Majority of our lan gaming shops provides LAN services and not internet connection anyway.
Those that do provide internet connections cater to tourists, backpack travelers, foreigh workers...etc
You hardly see Singaporeans going to shops to get connected. (70% of the time, they have broadband at home)
Furthermore, I have never ever heard of people hooking up with laptops.
All the shops that provides internet connections have decent computers to go with it.

On top of all these, the rates for internet shops, lan shops, gaming cafe...etc in Singapore is dirt cheap compared to places like America, Europe, rest of asia...
You can find places offering lan or internet services for as low as ONE US DOLLAR per hour of usage.
YES you heard it correct US$1 per hour of usage.

Its not as bad as you think.

P.S.
I wonder who your "friend" is lol.