In a lot of areas, it's either the monopoly cable ISP or expensive satellite Internet with a far smaller monthly data quota.

The server knows which subscribers have expressed a filtering preference. It also knows which modems' MAC numbers are associated with each subscriber's account. So packets coming from a modem on a "don't know whether to filter" account don't go to the Internet at all. There's no "client-side scripting" about it; the closest thing is how the server intercepts requests on port 80 to all addresses, so that when you open your browser to the start page for the first time on this connection, you get an HTTP response whose Location: header points to the filtering preference page.

Depends on where you live, what taxes and unfunded mandate compliance costs they tack on, how much your long distance carrier charges, etc. Plus the cost of a phone.

True of smartphone service. Dumbphone service can be far cheaper, depending on how long you spend on the phone every month.

I think that's the third time you've made that excuse. You really need to get that fixed. Perhaps after I finish explaining everything again, we can schedule a date to go into the cell phone shop.

Which carrier in which country is getting your $300 per year?

That might be the case for someone who drives. But I spend at least an hour a day if not more riding public transit to work and back, and the buses here lack Wi-Fi.

For an extra $500 per year on top of what you already pay for Internet at home. And no, you can't cancel your Internet at home and just use the 4G if you use any sort of video on demand (Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, or even just ads on web pages nowadays) because of the single digit GB/mo cap.

Good luck sending e-mail when all the hotspots around you have locks on them and none are willing to give the password to a non-employee.

Since when, and in what country? My U.S. carrier quoted me $35 per month for a smartphone or $5 per month for a dumbphone.

I can. For example, see this comment from someone complaining that he can't provide a environment in which his children can learn to program because all he has are tablets.

I think the idea is that you "buy a smell phone and pay for a plan" and then cancel your land line because a cell phone has become cheaper.

Because calling a land line doesn't always leave a "missed call" entry. Caller ID costs $100 per year extra on my home town's ILEC.

My point is that others did not, and they still expect to be able to contact you at the number you publish. You can't text at all from a land line, and doing so from a flip phone is a pain.

Because you already spent 25 seconds waiting for the phone to ring (for which cellular providers charge, but not land line long distance providers), plus 7 listening to the greeting that the user recorded.

There are still carriers that charge $100 per year extra for a call log. And these carriers still have customers.

Have you tried sending a text on a flip phone? Or a land line?

And you end up waiting for hours for someone to get to a desk to compose and send the email.