 |
|
|
ICQ# 16388743
|
Cable or DSL?
Written on: April 05, 2001 Written By: Quantum
Introduction…Looking to upgrade your 56kbps modem to something a little faster? Which such things a streaming video, 50 MB game demo’s etc, I pity anyone trying to get in on the action with a 56kbps modem or worse yet a 33.6kbps modem. There are numerous high-speed Internet connections out there you have to choose from, we take a look at the two most popular ones being Cable and DSL. We hope this will help you with your decision.
Downstream and Upstream…To start off, let me give you a brief description of what downstream (download) and upstream (upload) is for the people that don’t know because you will hear it throughout this article. Downstream speed is the amount of time it takes you to download something. It means information is traveling from the Internet to your computer. An example of downloading would be opening a web page like www.madnesspc.com, or retrieving your e-mail messages. Upstream is when you are sending information from your computer to the Internet. An example of upstream is sending e-mail messages or hosting a web server. If you have ever tried to send e-mail with a large attachment, like pictures, large spreadsheets, or electronic presentations, you understand how a slow upstream connection can be time-consuming. Positives and Negatives…Cable does have its perks, for example you are always connected, there is no waiting to dial up to your ISP (Internet Service Provider) by modem, it’s just a click away. Another positive thing would be that it doesn’t tie up a telephone line like a dial-up modem, you are still able to use your telephone while you are surfing the web. If you are coming from dial-up connection you will notice a big difference in the downloading speed, and the time it takes pages to load. The speeds do vary if you are downloading something and there are a lot of users connected at the same time. The main negative would be that cable is a shared line with other users in your neighborhood. What this means is, if all your neighbors are all surfing the net at the same time you may have a slower connection. Since cable is being shared there is also a security risk, this means that some data traveling from your computer may be available to other computers on its way to the open Internet. As a result, other computers may have access to your e-mail address, to URLs of the sites you're visiting, and maybe even to data you're sending / receiving. A way to get around the problem is by putting up a software firewall such as “BlackICE”. Many cable companies are working to secure this problem, but so far this has not been achieved. Most companies give you one IP so you can only connect one computer to the Internet. To get around this you can use an “Internet sharing program”, such as “Sygate” which shares the one Internet connection. Another idea is to get a router like the Linksys, which sets it’s own IP’s from your assigned IP and also has a built in firewall
|
News Updated every 15 minutes, 365 days a year
Reference MadnessPC Monthly Giveaway Page
|
Send mail to merc@merc100.com with questions or comments about this web site. Got news? send to news@merc100.comCopyright © 2000-2001 MERC100.com. Privacy Policy. Most the information contained on this site is copyrighted material. It is illegal to copy in this information without the written consent of the appropriate owner(s). MERC100.com is not responsible for damages that the information on this site may cause to your components / system etc...Logo design by Janne Puonti |
