WhiteFence High-Speed Internet Information

One of the busiest categories on WhiteFence.com is the high-speed Internet category. With more broadband choices and plans than ever, consumers looking to save money while getting the best possible download rates around have a multitude of options available to them.

The problem with all of these choices can be an overload of information at times. I know that trying to decide between certain broadband types can be a bit tricky, especially when you've got Cable and DSL, each with their own benefits and speeds. Below, we've put together a list of WhiteFence's best resources on high-speed Internet. Hopefully, browsing these pages will help you figure out everything you need to know to make your high-speed Internet decision.

High-Speed Internet Comparisons

Broadband vs. Dial-Up
Cable vs. DSL
High-Speed Internet Plan Comparisons

General High-Speed Internet

High-Speed Internet Providers
High-Speed Providers in My Area
How to Choose the Best Internet Speed
How to Get Satellite Internet Access
What Is Broadband?
What Is Cable Internet?
What Is DSL Internet?

Provider Deals

AT&T Internet Deals
Comcast Internet Deals
Verizon Internet Deals

Placing Smoke Alarms Around Your Home

Now that we've been in our house for just a few weeks over a year, it's time for my wife and I to start checking all of our smoke alarms. It's recommended that your home smoke detectors receive a new set of batteries once a year, so setting it around a yearly event such as a holiday (or in our case, the end of Daylight Savings this weekend) helps to keep track of it.

If you're wondering about the best places to put detectors, Charles & Hudson Home Security has a new blog post up about Where to Install Smoke Alarms in Your Home. Considering that each year, nearly two-thirds of all home fire deaths can be traced to improperly working smoke detectors, this is valuable information that could help you protect your family, yourself and your belongings.

Here's a rundown of the list:

• Put a smoke alarm in each bedroom and on each floor of the house. Yes, that includes the basement!

• Connect the alarms so that one alarm will trigger each one. That way you will be alerted if an alarm happens to go off somewhere that you would not have heard it before.

• Smoke rises, so place alarms either on the ceiling or near the top of a wall. Too low and the warning could come too late.

• Test your batteries each month, just in case!

Hopefully this list proves helpful for anybody that needs to re-inspect their smoke alarms in the near future. For more information, be sure to visit Charles & Hudson.

10 Free Ways to Learn More About Home Repair

It is no secret to my friends and my loved ones that I'm the opposite of handy, whatever the name for that happens to be. There are some people that just seem to know how to do everything in the handyman's repertoire, and I'm just not one of them. Give me a hammer, and I'll find a way to put a hole in something. Tell me to hang something on the wall, and I'll stare back at you for a few absentminded moments with a blank look on my face. That's just the way it's always been for me.

However, I'm always up for the opportunity to learn more. I'm sure there are probably classes that do this kind of thing, but I never know where to start. For the handy-challenged like myself out there, MSN has put together a list of 10 Free Sources for Home Repair Know-How. This list is actually full of both practical suggestions such as volunteering with home building organizations or helping a handy neighbor. It also sports a few online resources such as Expert Village's YouTube account. No matter what tips you're looking for, you're sure to find something that meets your needs on the list.

For those of you that happen to be handier than the rest, what resources did you use to learn more about home repair and home improvement? Was it just one of those things where you had to jump in and get your hands dirty? Did you do any of the things on the list? Share in the comments!

To read more of the article, visit MSN. For help with home improvement, visit WhiteFence.

Poll: On Demand or Premium Content?

Over the weekend, I began doing some research to see how I could expand on the already numerous features of my current TV package. Having never really sought for more channels, it was a brand new experience for me, and one that I wasn't aware of before. Through our DVR interface, I was able to see what other channel options I could add instantly, including sports (was very tempted by NFL RedZone) premium and on demand content.

I actually ended up ordering a premium channel, and was surprised at just how simple the whole thing was. Honestly, the thought never really occurred to me that it would be something I would be interested in, but this weekend proved me wrong. Since then, I've caught myself going through on demand content, just testing the waters to see if there are any movies or shows I'd like to catch instantly.

Even though this was new for me, I'm guessing it's a practice that's fairly common for many avid TV watchers out there. So I thought I'd do a poll to see where our readers stand. Do you guys watch premium, on demand content, or both? Feel free to vote and tell us in the comments!

How To: Build Your Own Compost Pile

One of my wife's goals when we moved into our home was to start her own compost pile. As we lived in an apartment before, there are a number of obvious reasons why we couldn't leave our organic waste like eggshells and fruit skins lying around, so she couldn't wait to start once we had our own yard and our own space to experiment with. The question I always had for her before I understood the process was "why do you want to compost?"

There are actually a number of benefits to starting your own compost pile that I wasn't aware of. For one, starting and maintaining a compost heap in your backyard will actually help you come up with good, fertile soil for plants and gardens. Not only will you cut down on what you spend to fertilize your own plants, it also is scientifically proven to grow plants with less pests.

On top of all of that, there are actually a lot of green benefits to composting. With a growing problem of waste in landfills, cutting down on the amount we set out in trash bins is ultimately a green endeavor. Why throw it away when you can turn it into something useful and help out the environment?

So, if you've ever been interested in starting your own compost pile, here are a few tips for beginners.

The Pros and Cons of CFL Lighting

Over the last few weeks, we've been trying to find new ways to save money around the household. For some reason, the spending has gradually gotten out of hand, so now we want to take a step back and make a better budget.

One of the areas that we want to cut back on in particular is our home energy bill, and perhaps one of the easiest starting steps is to switch over to using compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs. However, as much as I want to save money, I do have some concerns about the process of switching over.

While doing some research about the pros and cons of CFL lighting, I actually came across this video by the guys over at Microsoft Hohm, which talks about this very subject. It's got some great information, and will probably teach you a new thing or two about traditional lightbulbs versus CFLs.

So, who else out there has made this switch or is thinking about making the switch? Tell us in the comments!

How to Choose a Contractor

Like Eddy, I love watching the HGTV show Holmes on Homes. If you haven't seen the show, it's basically just a Canadian superhero (Mike Holmes) visiting people who have been burned by bad contractors and fixing the job. The show's mantra is "make it right" and they indeed always make things perfect.

As someone who can be a little obsessive about my house, I can't get enough of the show. The man is one of my personal heroes. So, you'd think after watching umpteen hours of the show, I'd never end up with a bad contractor, right? Wrong.

Despite seeing so many people get burned by not doing their due diligence when picking a contractor, when my wife and I choose a contractor to install slate in our new house last year, we fell into the same traps. It's easy to trust contractors and get swept up in what they say. Now we're stuck with a bad installation and there's no one to blame but ourselves.

Take it from me, picking a contractor is a very important process. Take the time to do a little research though, and you can ensure you get quality work. Here are the top tips for choosing a contractor:

• Get recommendations – Ask your friends, family, whoever is selling you materials or even people on the Internet if they know of anyone that might work for what you need done. 

• Ask for references – While the contractor is only going to give you the contact details of people that were happy with their service, it's still important to make sure someone was happy with the service. Make sure you get references for the specific job you are working on and get pictures or a visit in person.

How to Stream Movies and TV Shows with Netflix

High-speed Internet packages seem to be getting faster and faster every month. Remember back in the day when a 1.0 Mbps connection meant you were some sort of super-geek and had the quickest connection in the neighborhood? Now, 1.0 Mbps is what we recommend for "normal people."

So, what are we using all this speed for? There are endless ways to use your megabits from video-gaming to video-chatting, but for most people the need for speed is based on their desire to stream things quickly.

Back in the day, you had to download almost everything you wanted to watch. Remember the Internet before YouTube when to watch the latest hilarious viral video you had to download a huge .wmv or .mov file? It could take hours for just one cat video, even with a speedy connection. These days though with our super-fast broadband connections, it's all about streaming. We even now have the ability to watch HD movies and TV shows over a streaming connection with no endless buffering and interruptions.

WhiteFence 101: Home Service Categories

We post quite a bit on this blog about home services and how you can save yourself both time and money when you shop with us or use our tips. Typically, the conversation centers around things like TV, high-speed Internet, electricity or phone, because these are the categories that many people are interested in. However, we may have a few additional categories that you weren't aware of:

Home Security

Appliance Rental

Maid Services

Lawncare

Pest Control

Newspapers

Magazines

Moving

Auto Insurance

Homeowners Insurance

Product Warranty

Credit Cards

Cell Phones

Who knew, right? Entering your address with WhiteFence can help you find the best results for your area for each of these categories. You really can get everything you need for your home, all in one place.

DIRECTV Installation Tutorial

There are several big questions when ordering new services for your home, including the timeline of installation, what you need to do to be ready, what items you will need taken care of, etc. Sometimes, this process can be confusing, but luckily DIRECTV is offering a helpful video to assist your installation worries and make the process easier for you. If you've recently ordered or are planning to check out satellite TV service from DIRECTV, this video should answer some questions for you.

Visit DIRECTV on WhiteFence to find out more about DIRECTV and its offerings.