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Saturday
March 20, 2010 Since 1922 |
Internet connections: which is best for you
By Aaron Barbee
Contributor Published March 8, 2009 Question: It’s come that time that I need to look into getting a better Internet connection, but I don’t know which one to get. My friends told me that you’re the only one that can explain what I need in terms I can understand. Can you please guide me around all these confusing terms people are throwing at me?
Answer: There are three main Internet connections you can choose from, and there are a couple extra special ones at your disposal too. Primarily people choose cable, DSL or dial-up (listed in my order of preference), but you can also use wireless and satellite as well. Only your local cable provider can give you cable Internet. It’s the same for DSL, only your local phone company can provide that. Anyone else is just reselling the local provider’s service (sometimes at a discount), such as AOL, Yahoo, MSN, etc.
All of these connections have one thing in common; how they generally work. There is a download speed and an upload speed. Download means receiving things like web pages and attachments to e-mail, upload is for sending things like outgoing messages or sending attachments in e-mail.
Most places focus on advertising the download speed because that is what the majority of your experience will be, browsing the Internet. Nobody really cares about the upload speed since e-mails are so tiny compared to everything else, however if you want to send out a huge picture or video, you’ll notice the difference.
Cable modem is the fastest and most reliable in my experience. There’s very little configuration and a lot less headache. The down side is that cable is the most expensive at about $50 per month. Cable modem’s download/upload numbers are roughly 6000/1000 (the higher the better). There are ways you can get more, but unless you’re a really avid Internet browser, this is plenty.
DSL is a good second choice to cable. There is some configuration that needs to be done to the DSL modem, but you’ll get a CD you use on your computer to configure the modem. Once it’s set up, there’s not a whole lot that can go wrong, but expect some nudging or tweaking from time to time. DSL costs roughly $30 per month. DSL’s speeds are right around 3000/768. You can get DSL even if you don’t have phone service.
The old-school Internet connection is dial-up and it still has its place. Dial-up is for those who are very casual about browsing the Internet or checking their e-mail. If you don’t really use the Internet much or only check your e-mail for a few minutes every few days, dial-up may be your choice. It’s pretty cheap at about $10 per month, but the speed is excruciatingly slow at 56/56. It’ll also tie up your phone line and you need a dial-up modem in your computer.
Wireless and satellite are very expensive and a little slower than DSL, but you get the ability to hook up just about anywhere. Call companies like Verizon or DirecTV for those options. Just realize the connection is also flaky, but if you can’t get cable or DSL, wireless and satellite may be your only option.
Check out my web site www.TexasComputerGuru.com for supplemental information and previous articles as well.
Aaron Barbee owns Texas Computer Guru, a local computer services company for on-site business and residential needs. He can be contacted at 281-628-5099. E-mail questions for Aaron to sunnews(at)baytownsun.com.
Contributor Published March 8, 2009 Question: It’s come that time that I need to look into getting a better Internet connection, but I don’t know which one to get. My friends told me that you’re the only one that can explain what I need in terms I can understand. Can you please guide me around all these confusing terms people are throwing at me?
Answer: There are three main Internet connections you can choose from, and there are a couple extra special ones at your disposal too. Primarily people choose cable, DSL or dial-up (listed in my order of preference), but you can also use wireless and satellite as well. Only your local cable provider can give you cable Internet. It’s the same for DSL, only your local phone company can provide that. Anyone else is just reselling the local provider’s service (sometimes at a discount), such as AOL, Yahoo, MSN, etc.
All of these connections have one thing in common; how they generally work. There is a download speed and an upload speed. Download means receiving things like web pages and attachments to e-mail, upload is for sending things like outgoing messages or sending attachments in e-mail.
Most places focus on advertising the download speed because that is what the majority of your experience will be, browsing the Internet. Nobody really cares about the upload speed since e-mails are so tiny compared to everything else, however if you want to send out a huge picture or video, you’ll notice the difference.
Cable modem is the fastest and most reliable in my experience. There’s very little configuration and a lot less headache. The down side is that cable is the most expensive at about $50 per month. Cable modem’s download/upload numbers are roughly 6000/1000 (the higher the better). There are ways you can get more, but unless you’re a really avid Internet browser, this is plenty.
DSL is a good second choice to cable. There is some configuration that needs to be done to the DSL modem, but you’ll get a CD you use on your computer to configure the modem. Once it’s set up, there’s not a whole lot that can go wrong, but expect some nudging or tweaking from time to time. DSL costs roughly $30 per month. DSL’s speeds are right around 3000/768. You can get DSL even if you don’t have phone service.
The old-school Internet connection is dial-up and it still has its place. Dial-up is for those who are very casual about browsing the Internet or checking their e-mail. If you don’t really use the Internet much or only check your e-mail for a few minutes every few days, dial-up may be your choice. It’s pretty cheap at about $10 per month, but the speed is excruciatingly slow at 56/56. It’ll also tie up your phone line and you need a dial-up modem in your computer.
Wireless and satellite are very expensive and a little slower than DSL, but you get the ability to hook up just about anywhere. Call companies like Verizon or DirecTV for those options. Just realize the connection is also flaky, but if you can’t get cable or DSL, wireless and satellite may be your only option.
Check out my web site www.TexasComputerGuru.com for supplemental information and previous articles as well.
Aaron Barbee owns Texas Computer Guru, a local computer services company for on-site business and residential needs. He can be contacted at 281-628-5099. E-mail questions for Aaron to sunnews(at)baytownsun.com.