You have to vehemently suggested that your nephew were going to move more quickly in the form of Internet access. Maybe you’ve heard the term “broadband.” He probably heaved a huge sigh. “Finally!” he said. But when you asked for advice on which service to choose, you’ll soon were sorry you asked. Two or three short sentences, he left you behind, babbling technical gobblydegook that you could not follow – when all you really wanted to know was “What should I get?” Breathe easy. We will tell you what the options are faster Internet connections (which is what is meant by “broadband” or “fast Internet”), only a little bit, “how it works,” so you have some sense of what you’re re-select and why. So we do not believe that you want to become a computer wizard. All what you want, we assume, have access to the benefits of high-speed Internet: the computer, which is always connected to the Internet, which allows you to zip around Web pages faster than you thought to be possible, and that opens up a whole new set of ways to waste time online. Oh, we mean completely new ways to be more productive. Regardless. Let’s start off the key issue, and then work our way back to questions. Q: What should I get? DSL or cable? Most of the technical people will give you all sorts of “this is how it works” answers, and they talk about performance (ie, a DSL or cable service faster?) And settings (ie how to get the computer hooked into the modem?). There are differences between technologies, and as we get a moment. But someone is simply trying to find a simple and credible answer, the truth is that the “fastest” is not really the main issue. It’s just like choosing a car. Yes, auto enthusiasts will discuss the performance and 0-to-60 speeds, and other things, includes, above all other automotive enthusiasts. But if all you want the car to travel to work, so what matters most is reliability, gas mileage, phone number and a mechanic whose work you trust. And affordable. It should be affordable. What high-speed Internet connections, it means that:
1) Find out if you have a choice. In many places, you can get one such service, but not the second. (We’ll explain why for a moment.)
2) Choose a provider you trust. If you do not like the phone company or if you are already irked with the cable TV provider, why more pain in your life? Select a service provider whose service you trust the most (or that you hate the least, which may be closer to the characters).
3) When you select the account in pricing, be sure to determine your installation options. Many cable and DSL providers come to your home or business use of network and Internet connection. If a provider is doing, and the other does not, your decision easier. Like many things in life – such as garage door openers – it is important that you get a high-speed Internet service is installed first of all, or it will never fully work correctly. It may be worth the expense to pay a pro.
4) If the company provided the installation is not an option, then ask a “local techie” – the same nephew, who is sure that he knows everything – what type of access to services, and follow his advice. If you do not rely on family, provided technical support, it is reasonable to choose the option that this is a nice family. Doing so will avoid those nasty “I told you so” conversations during the Thanksgiving table.
5) Consider the price is only one part of the equation. In most cases the price difference is negligible. But the existing telephone and cable company may be able to, in order to sweeten the deal, for example, some cable companies can offer a reduced price if you get Internet access, telephone services, and TV stations for them.
What – none of these things about technology! Is it the key issue? If I did not choose one, which is better? Yes, there are technical differences between the two types of service. Can not be a big speed differences. But in the real world, “convenience” is often much more important.
Q: What is DSL and cable services have in common? Both the service provides “always-on” connection. That is, they automatically connect to the Internet as long as the computer is turned on. You do not have to worry about busy signals or any connection with the release process. Both will be invoiced monthly, often on the same invoice to your phone or cable TV service. Both work with Windows or Macintosh computers without any fiddling. They also work with other operating systems. However, a typical high-speed Internet service, technical support representative may have to get all the details known to work with your “alternative choice.” It may have additional expertise, and you may need further guidance (ie, waiting to buy a nephew of dinner). In most places, DSL and cable access will pay about the same. Q: How does the Internet speed is measured … and to what extent does it matter? When the computer experts talk about Internet connection speed, it usually mbps: millions of bits per second. This can be confusing, because everything else in the world of computers is measured in bytes. Bits and bytes are not the same thing. But put it in context: Send photo, which is 2 2 megabytes (MB) when it is stored on your hard disk, it’ll take about 3 minutes to transfer, if you have a 5 Mbps Internet connection. If we get technical, we could quibble with the reliability of those numbers and whether they are more useful than a general reference. So you should be good nephew. If you later want to find out the underlying technology, you will learn the causes. But now, just assume that 6 Mpbs is faster than 5 Mpbs, a useful oversimplification. It is clear that most people prefer the faster the speed slower. Many service providers price their services. Realistically, if you use a modem to access the Internet, it all seems blazingly fast. If you plan to use the Internet to a relatively ordinary purposes, such as e-mail, web browsing and instant messaging, service provider, then the “basic” rate is probably enough, whether you choose cable or DSL. Speed matters a lot more if you intend to do with large files such as movies, photos, music, games and other applications, which caused the computer vendor to say, “Hmm, you probably get a larger hard disk.” Q: Why are Internet service providers in the list upload and download speed in isolation? Should I care? One aspect of the connection speed is an important difference between upload speed and download speed. Download speed is a measure of how fast information on the Internet is sent to you, such as your e-mail or Web pages, which appear in the browser. Speeding up the download shows how fast data is sent from your computer … Well, nowhere else. In many cases, especially in cable service, the download speed is much slower than download speed. Sounds like a bad thing, but in most cases the download speed is a key issue. Think about how you got this article. You probably wrote something to the browser window (like “comparing DSL and cable services in search engine). Clicked a few links. And that’s it. A few words about writing, and clicks. These do not need to speed up the line warp speed, you can manage it, although writing skills are generously described as a “hunt and peck.” But the computer with this page is saved to send you several pages of information – so you want to upload speed is fast. (This is a very simple example. You have “just a few clicks,” it could also be shown you a movie that would be much data to be downloaded!) In some cases, the upload speed issues. But the ordinary home use it is fine the upload speed is much lower than download speed. Q: How do cable modems work? Cable modem connected to one computer to the Internet using a cable TV network. If you have cable TV service in your neighborhood, you can almost certainly get a cable service. In particular, the cable modem is a black box of blinking lights. It connects to a computer network cable, which can be Ethernet, USB, or any other plug. It does not matter how old your computer, it will almost certainly be one of those plug-in connection. Q: Do you need cable TV to cable modem ‘No you need to be in an area where the cable company provides the service, and cable company needs physical access to the cable slot, if it has not already done so. Also expect the sales pitch the choice of cable TV service attached to a new Internet connection, perhaps the price to encourage ( “Do you want fries that?”), but technically speaking, does not need you to sign up for HBO just so you can send an e-mail faster. Q: How does DSL work? DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) connects a computer to the Internet using the same wires as a normal telephone line. Although it sounds like it makes the phone line “reserved” for DSL does not work this way, the phone service does not affect your Internet connection. In most cases, the U.S., DSL, phone socket, and the existing house wiring and telephone and data. That, too, can use black (or white), with flashing lights. Q: Why is the distance the issue of DSL? And the distance between what? The main difference between the DSL is that its speed depends on the distance from the “central office” or CO. The term sounds as though there are office workers slaving away doing the paperwork, but in most cases, CO is a large building with a large number of threads – no one at all. Further computer from CO, worse signal quality, and thus the connection speed has decreased. Do not take out a tape measure. When the phone company judges your distance from the CO, they measure the cables installed in the home and their equipment, which probably is not a straight line . Although it is not technically accurate, to imagine someone shouting over the field. At some point, another person can not hear you. If you are within 5000 feet of CO, Internet connection speed is faster than if you are 15 000 meters away. And if you are 22 000 meters away from the CO , you probably can not even get DSL service because the provider knows you’ll never be satisfied with the performance. There are different types of DSL service and you may be able to use one of them even if you do not (relatively speaking) far from the CO, but you can not expect top connection speeds. Q: Why are there different flavors of DSL? Do they matter? When it comes to DSL, they generally mean ADSL (Asymmetric DSL). It would be easy to very technical here, but a simplified explanation is that ADSL is primarily intended for low use with download speeds many times faster than upload speeds. It for most housing. Instead, upload speeds of Symmetric DSL (SDSL) is almost the same as its download speeds. That matters if you plan to do a lot of online games or perform any kind of Internet server (the latter is likely to be drinking, but the former is quite common if you have children at home). However, SDSL is more expensive than ADSL, and you tend to be fairly close to the CO can get the service. There are a few other types of DSL connections. You’re more likely to choose them, but you know the names you will see them lists. Very high bit-rate DSL (VDSL) and price-adaptive DSL (RADSL) are used mainly for companies. IDSL is based on ISDN technology, and can be linked as far back as 50 000 feet are currently used versions, it is much more expensive, because it is based on the second telecom technology. Q: I have heard that one is slower than the others …? It depends on whom you talk. Cable service, critics point out that you share a connection to all other Internet users in your neighborhood. Thus, one person playing an interactive game can hog all the resources and reduce your connection speed, particularly at peak times (eg . when a neighbor’s son should do his homework). These descriptions so it looks as though you have a telephone party (if you’re old enough to remember them …) with a neighbor listens to your conversations. It’s not like that, the situation is much closer to the expected long row of the bank at lunchtime. They never seem to have enough tellers deal with sudden up-tick on customer demand. On the other hand, people who criticize the DSL notes that housing DSL is also over-subscribed, and Internet connection speed suffers – another example of the lack of bank tellers . So summary: yes, one is slower than the others. But which is faster depends on the area in which to live, and which service is more popular! Q: What if there is more than one computer? This essay is written assuming that you only have one computer at home. But many families (and many people) to use more than one computer, when you want them all to use the same high-speed Internet connection. To do so, you need to set up a small home network where one computer (directly connected to a cable or DSL connection ) will judge all the other computers in the house. Setup for such a network is not covered in this article, but is convinced that it is not difficult to obtain within one working day. You should be able to find a local computer consultant (or great nephew) to help you if you do not want to take on the challenge themselves . In addition, some providers sell your networking setup at a premium price. Question: Does it matter if I’m running the business, vs. the Internet from home? Maybe. It depends on the nature of the software you use for your business, and how many people use the Internet simultaneously. For most small businesses, only a few workers, there was nothing on the difference between residential and business service, regardless of DSL or cable modem. Business, where many (ie at least ten people) are at the same time using the Internet should probably look into business services, part of the DSL or cable provider. These cost more than housing versions, but they also give you additional services, such as more e-mail accounts. Another reason you need a business-class DSL or cable services, even if alone in the study, it is, if you want to perform certain types of Internet software, such as e-mail server or Web server. These applications require the so-called “private IP address”, which will give you a moment. If you want to add the Internet business, you’ll probably need professional help. It is more likely that you can arrange with another company, you can manage a Web site and e-mail, which makes DSL vs. cable gives us a lot simpler. Q: What is all this stuff about “IP addresses” and why should I care? In most situations, you do not need to know what an IP address. But you’ve certainly come across the discussions while you’re shopping for broadband services, so you might as well be a basic term. Most simply think of an IP address in the “phone” on your computer. Just as you must know his phone number to call the nephew of assistance, computers, which computers interact online need to address to achieve, at least for the current debate. Compatible with both DSL and connectors, standard type of IP address is called “dynamic IP.” This is an Internet service provider can change the IP address of your computer at any time. It was never a problem when so to speak, the computer is the only one crying. Just as it does not matter, your nephew what the phone number called to him, the only thing both concern is that you dialed the right number, so that he could pick up the phone. But on the Internet (such as computers to manage and send e-mail or a host of all time Web pages you view) is a constant address, called the “static IP address.” It is one of option when considering the business-class DSL or cable modem service, and it costs more. Q: Do I need to buy additional equipment? Usually you do not need to buy anything other than cable or DSL provider is the service. If your computer is older, you may need to buy a network card ( techie nephew to call this a “NIC), which would have cost about $ 10. If you choose to network with home computers will probably buy accessories. But generally, you do not need to spend the extra money. Q: What about security? This is somewhat tangent to the DSL versus cable, but it is an important topic to mention all those who consider switching from dial-up connection is always-on Internet. Like most of the faster Internet connection has been a great experience. It will change the way you work online and give you more freedom to explore the world. But one drawback, that someone needs to warn. You’ve probably heard of computer viruses, spyware, spam, bots, and other “malware” (malicious software). You can even more vulnerable to it. One side effect of faster your connection is that it is easier for Bad Guys to use a computer because the computer is more regularly available. The result is that you need to buy anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and probably a software firewall – especially if you are using Windows-based computer. (Other computers are not immune, but they are much less at risk.)
