High speed access vs. modems. Unless you have a direct connection to the Internet through a special line at work or school, you need a cable modem, DSL device or modem. If high speed service is available, choose it over modems. Road Runner high speed service is the best. The technical service is tops. If Road Runner isn't available, try DSL or ISDN. Check Broadband Reports.
If you can make a choice between cable and DSL, cable will always be the fastest choice. Cable may be slightly more expensive in some, but not all cases.
DSL or digital subscriber lines have a few hidden gotchas. To get the top sped with DSL, your point of service must be 15,000 feet from the phone company's central office switch. Past the 15,000-foot maker, the speed begins to drop because of the distance -- fact that is often ignored in phone company sales literature.
There are many trade-offs for choosing slow speed service. Web developers have ignored that some of America and many parts of the world don't have high speed service. An annoying pox should irritate them. This frustrates slow speed users.
And the frustration is unneeded. Skilled developers and Web planners can give online users the best of both worlds.
Analog Modems, devices allowing computers to communicate over telephone lines, do this by translating the digital language computers use into audio frequencies that can be sent over analog telephone networks. (The term "modem" comes from MOdulator-DEModulator.)
Modems are rapidly becoming obsolete because of cable modems, Digital Subscriber Lines and satellite dishes. The four methods all provide download speeds faster than most modems . . . but they are not always widely available.
Analog Modems are the cheapest way to go but don't always provide the best service. Modems rely on the telephone network. In Florida, the Florida Public Service Commission only requires telephone companies to provide connection rates of 9600 baud for dial-up Internet connection.
You may have an analog modem capable of delivery 56K speed, but if the phone lines will only deliver 9600 baud, it won't do much good.
In many rural areas of the state, the telephone networks don't have sufficient bandwidth to provide modem connections that provide faster net connections.
One solution to that problem is to purchase ISDN service from your phone company. ISDN allows connections at up to 128K -- fast enough for all but the most intense graphics on the net.
In Florida, the best ISDN service comes from Sprint. It's also the cheapest. Service and complaints are handled by a special ISDN center. Tech support is tops.
ISDN service is a little pricey compared to dial-up:
- Pay up to $120 for ISDN device
- Monthly charges of $36 a month for Sprint ISDN service
- Pay another $35 a month for a dial-up account
ISDN modems are incorrectly called modems. An ISDN device is actually a terminal adapter. However, it is not handicapped by the conversion of signals from digital to analog and back again. The digital signal allows downloading at 64K or 128K depending on the number of channels used.
Modems are among the most frustrating devices ever invented by man rating right up there with microwaves and VCR timers.
Very few new computers have external modems. The newest computers -- PCs and Macs alike -- come equipped with network cards that make it easier to connect with cable and DSL services.
Follow the modem's instructions and hook it to your telephone line. You can use your normal household line, or you can have a separate line installed -- one you use just for your modem, share with your fax, or let your teenagers use when they just have to make that call while you're talking to someone else).
If you use your household line, the call-waiting signal will wreak havoc if it beeps while you are online. It may freeze up and lose both the connection and the incoming call.Dial-up networking in Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT allows choosing an option to automatically turn off call-waiting, or enter the code in the string of numbers to dial. The code and instructions are in the front section of your phone book. In Daytona Beach, from a regular line, it's *70, (the comma is a two-second name).
We have a rule for modems: the faster, the better. In cyberspace, the faster the modem transmission speed, the less time it takes to transfer information across phone lines. Some files and documents are positively huge, and you'll think time is standing still if you try to transfer such a file over a slow modem.
What's a fast modem? Look for a modem that works at 33,600 bits per second (336 bps or CPS) or faster; we recommend a 56K version. Don't waste your time and money with anything slower than 33,600 bps, no matter how cheap the modem may seem. Even if you don't pay for connect time by the minute, or you never go over your limit, consider that the time you waste on a slow connection is also valuable.
Many newer computers offer the V.90 standard. And many 56K modems offer the ability to upgrade to faster speeds.
Portion of Cable or Modem first appeared in The Daytona News-Journal.
