I'm so ignorant that I don't even know the difference between all the options: DSL, wireless, broadband, high speed, cable, blah blah blah. It's all greek to me, and most not available to me anyway.

My friend has wireless and it's down about twice a week. People with DSL say it's slower than dial-up. What to do, what to do.

I've been with the same dial-up provider for years. About $13 a month when you pay for a year (plus the extra land line usage). It hardly EVER goes down, and my speed is 50.6 Kbps. Not fast enough tor youtube or receiving emails full of pictures, but good enough, I guess.