I was with Giganews for quite awhile, but switching from one to the other wasn't a big deal for me at all, other than the extra stacks of cash I've saved.
I jumped on the 96 usd/year deal with Astraweb when they had that, am very happy with myself for doing it.
Actually, I was hoping Astraweb's prices would go up, what they offer for the price they give it at, is, amazing. I'd mostly want it to go up to make sure they're able to keep growing and getting better, since I'm already locked in at 96/yr. ;-)
One of the ISPs here in Australia offers both Giganews AND Astraweb for free, which is most certainly badass. (Internode)
Anywho, with Giganews, I did like having the panel with information like, if I was logged in, but it really doesn't do much of anything special.
I'd go with Astraweb, and spend your easy saved money on a block account with someone else as a fill-in if you really have a problem.
Astraweb does say you can cancel your account within 24hrs of getting it.
Spending 96 or 132 (11/month) a year seems much better than spending 305 (first 3 months 50%) or 360 every year after for basically the same thing.