It goes back to "what kind of computer do you want" question. First off, is reliablity. Check around and find out who has the most reliable service. Regardless of speed and price, if its not working, its useless. Now this is rarely thought about in the xDSL/Cable debate, but what do you do on the net? If you do lots of large file transfers, then cable will be your best bet, unless you are in a highly populated area. I mostly do netsurfing and a few meg downloads here and there, and my DSL is perfect. What you also want to think about is contracts and equipment. And of course, the main reason why I love my DSL ... because I have had it for 5 months and I never paid a penny for service or equipment and I can cancel it anytime I want and keep the equipment!! Maybe one day their billing dept will get a clue!! ------------------ Im too drunk to walk ... Im driving home!
Oh sorry about that. All these names that start with D. ------------------ Never Underestimate the Heart of a Champion
What about the satelite based service? I heard to would be a good option if you don't do much uploading. (very cost effective for speed of downloading and surfing) Anyone have other thoughts?
They're both really great but it boils down to this. DSL is a direct connection Cable is a shared connection Depending on the number of subscribers in your neighborhood, if a lot of people have the same cable provider you could experience slower downloads at peak times! But if you are the only one in the 'hood with a cable modem you will see phenominal speeds. With DSL, you are the only one with that connection. One connection per user. good luck rH oh and http://www.dslreports.com is THA BOMB! they even have really good message boards. I say go lurkin' and you'll learn alot! ------------------ visit: The Psychedelic Groove House of Rockets Basketball Love! President, CEO & Charter Member of Rocketholics Anonymous Jiizz Coach Sloan, "OK guys, after we practice layups, I want everyone to pair up with a buddy and practice your flops" [This message has been edited by rockHEAD (edited April 30, 2001).]
In essence you're right, but at the telco several people share a DSLAM. And of course several people share the ISP's hardware. There's sharing going on everywhere except with a cable modem it happens to start right at the freakin' wall. ------------------ Yugo grills, Yugo mills, Check out the oil my Yugo spills...
I just heard on the radio here in Austin that RoadRunner is having free installations until tomorrow. Now, there isn't much to install. I could go to their office, pick up the modem, and plug it in, but I'm sure that they will charge me an installation fee. I want to get RoadRunner this summer in Houston so I was wondering if you guys have heard of the free installation offer. ------------------
Any thoughts about satellite internet provider services (e.g., deal through Direct TV)? [This message has been edited by Desert Scar (edited May 01, 2001).]
I say cable is best. I requested DSL from SWBell in Houston last November, and it took them a month to "get it hooked up" even though I was doing a self install. I eventually get it all set up, and find out that I have a very poor DSL connection to my apartment. SWBell try several things over the course of a week, but they still cannot get it working - I spent freaking hours on tech support. Eventuall ythey tell me that the problem must be in interference in the cluster of lines going to my apartment (bridge tap maybe?) and that they will put in an engineering request to get it fixed. Get this - it was going to tke 4 weeks and they still couldn't gaurantee if that would fix it. Wising up, I tell them that I want to cancel - they say I have to pay the $300 fee for renegging on my 1 year agreement. I argue bitterly and threaten to take further action, and they let me off. They even tell me to not bother sending the equipment back. I call Time Warner and they come out and install roadrunner cable - no charge, the next day. No problems at all, no contracts. Speed is lightening - I consistently get download speeds of over 1MB/s and I live in a high density neighbourhood. ------------------ ..as a man danced so the drums were beaten for him. Current Rocket's Salary & Contract Info
