When I was on dial-up I gave up using the software provided by my ISP because it was always screwing up and causing conflicts with my other software. If I had a problem that resulted in a reinstall it wanted me to re-register but the ISP server wouldn't let me do so... so I connected using their free-phone number, my user name and password instead - result - no further problems.
The cable's much more reliable and I've had no problems with it as all I need to do to reconnect after a format is to reinstall the drivers.
The worst thing about tech support is actually getting through to a technician, especially at weekends. Once connected though they've always been great and gone out of their way to help even when the problem has not technically been within their brief(eg. problem with my computer rather than the software or ISP).
Hey, you should go to the homepage and read some more computer related foul-ups, they should provide me with hours of fun!