Dialup vs Broadband

[Cory Cooper]

Just a quick poll to see how our members connect. Helpful for posting linked images.

 

[Gale]

Well it is hard for me to vote. Mine isn't there.

Think it is 256k Bellsouth DSL light..

Stinks :>)))

 

[JordanLFW]

Gotta love cable.

 

[PhotoByMark]

Sadly, my choice is not even on the poll list.

How bout a modem conection at 20k?

I am however on the waiting list for this new satellite service called Wildblue. It is not cheap but, my only choice right now. And hopefully it will get my out of the 1980's as far as connection speed goes.

 

[Gale]

OMG Mark,

that is horrible....Guess mine is not so bad. :>)))

Mark, I seem to be having pm probs here.

Did you get mine this afternoon.

 

[spanishbayonet]

DSL is great and does not slow down with increased use like cable. CS Dayan

 

[Cory Cooper]

Gale - you would fall into Broadband - DSL

Jordan - I love mine too: 6000/768

PhotoByMark - you would still be in the Dialup - 56K Modem section

spanishbayonet - True, but not all cable users experience that. I don't, as the cable relay switch/line amplifier box is on the pole in front of my house. It depends on where you are in the network and how many "neighbors" are subscribers as well. Kinda like the distance from the CO for DSL folks.

C

 

[ScottR]

Sadly, my choice is not even on the poll list.

How bout a modem conection at 20k?

I am however on the waiting list for this new satellite service called Wildblue. It is not cheap but, my only choice right now. And hopefully it will get my out of the 1980's as far as connection speed goes.

Mark,

You could always get a T1 line from your phone company. I assume money is of no concern :twisted:

Seriously though, I went DSL first and loved it. I moved to an area where DSL is not an option so I am held prisoner by the cable company now. But I couldn't live on 56K again. :wink:

 

[gbenic]

Jordan - I love mine too: 6000/768

You guys are so lucky! My DSL was bumped up to 1500/256. Even if I switch to cable, it is "only" 3000/256. I know that it is double what I have now, but it costs more and I hate change! D&E (my ISP) is promising a more competitive speed later this year. I hope so!

 

[marc]

t3 at my office

t2 direct at my home

wonderful

 

[PhotoByMark]

Gale-PM's got them.

Yes, money is a concern unfortunately. Neither Mr. Trump nor Mr. Gates will adopt me. I do not understand why not. I am potty trained and only require coffee in the morning and cold beer at night.

4 years ago. I had ISDN about $300/month. Work paid for it. Whew! But, that job is no more! Got laid off when tech market went down the tubes.

Spoke to the phone company said they would have it out here. That was 3 years ago. It is a co-op and bad for me, they have undergone lots of management changes and such and the project to put in the equipment to have DSL has been dropped from the list of priorities.

Hopeful that this satellite thing works ok. Of course, not in T-Storms or Heavy Rain. Seeing how it does not seem to rain here anymore, I guess I am good to go.

Ok - I will click the 56k modem. But hey that is over twice as fast as I really get. So I should only cast 1/2 of a vote. :?

We will see.

 

[jkamphof]

I am in Korea where a common home cable connection is roughly a T1-T3 equvilant back in Canada and the US. Gotta love this country, technically the top internet country in the world. My top download time of a 200MB file was under 1 minute (depends on the source however)....but I will lose this wonderful speed as I return to Canada next Monday and say goodbye to Korea forever ;(
and it will be slooooow internet again..

 

[confused]

I am on Broadband Cable. Comcast is my broadband company. It works fast enough for me.

Joel, why is it so fast in korea? like..why do they make it sooo fast. Doesn't it get expensive?

 

[jkamphof]

Well personally I think it's Korea's longterm goal to be the best country digitally (they have a complex you see with Japan always bettering them). With companies like LG, Samsung and Korea Telecom making and developing a good portion of the worlds digital componants and hardware the internet is simply a part of the total hype. A starting package for the internet is about $25US (DSL/Cable) and Ultra-High Speed will start at about $50-100.

Basically nearly all Koreans live in apartment buildings. As they are all so close, you can have a local Hub station every 100 metres and it'll serve thousands of apartments, technically its really cheap compared to America where in 100 metres you have only 5-10 houses. My city of Ilsan (north of Seoul) is only about 10-15 years old. It is developed to be digital ready and a digital city. This means that buildings like mine are made specifically to be part of a digital network that allows people to control their apartment while at work or play, or even on holidays.

So the result of Korea's efforts means a totally wired country (which it is, telephone and basic internet does not exist anywhere here). On my walk to my school (I am an English teacher) I pass over 20 PC Rooms, but in Ilsan alone there are between 2500-5000 serving the city.

These PC Rooms are similar but also completely different than western Internet Cafes. Anyone can go in, but usually they are set for gamers. The PC's are usually a year old at the latest and are fully wired to Korea's vast network of website and gaming communities. Games like Warcraft, Starcraft, Counterstrike are all part of the hub. The huge benefit is that it only costs about $1-1.50 per hour (that's crazy cheap) and you usually have about 50 top games to play for no extra charge.

So, that is why most Korean children have very big bottoms, they are always playing on the computer. It is a very advanced country in many respects but also killing itself as most Koreans spend have their day playing on their silly machines.....

 

[confused]

All I can say after reading your post is wow and whoa.........

Sounds like movies I watch that are set in the year 2050 or something. Just better hope the power never goes out there or something of the sort or a surge?

I want to go over there now and see what its like playing Counter Strike in one of those cafes. Gaming over here is about $5 an hour.

That is amazing what they have over there. *adds place to visit for when I am older*

 

[Cory Cooper]

Joel, why is it so fast in korea? like..why do they make it sooo fast. Doesn't it get expensive?

Mainly because they actually have better government support monitoring the communications companies, and they have a more agressive national directive which cuts out the fat cats, political red tape, and finger pointers.

How many times in the past 25 years have you seen a great thing get ruined by capitalism and money-passing between corporations and government? Not to say it's all bad, but...

-Beta vs VHS
-8-Track vs Cassette
-Windows vs Mac
-Bernoulli vs SyQuest vs Zip
-Windows Media vs Real vs QuickTime
-8mm vs Hi8 vs DV
-SACD vs DVD-Audio
-DSL vs Cable
-DVD vs HD DVD and Blu-Ray

Etcetera. We, the consumers, are the ones who pay thru inflated pricing, longer to market times, ridiculous standardization times, and several equipment purchases that are outdated and prehistoric within months/years.

Ever seen television in Eurpoe or Asia...been HD for years and even before that, twice the resolution of the NTSC signals here in the US.

Sad isn't it? Americans are famous for throwing money at everything...you'd think this would be the market that leads the world, but it's the others that are.

Don't get me wrong...competition is GOOD for consumers. Greed and the underbelly of capitilism is bad.

Enough of my soap box,

C

 

[jkamphof]

Thats true Cory. Korean technology is heavily supported and invested by not only the locals but especially by the governments. Korea Telcom (KT) is heavily subsidised and is given monopoly rights to land-based-telecom here (not mobile or satellite however, LG, Samsung and SK dominate heavily in these catagories). This is a big reason why internet and technology is cheap, because R&D is so heavily subsidised by the governments.

Only in the last 2 years have forign companies made heavy headway here. The car industry had been nearly exlusivily held by Korean companies (Hyundai, Kia, Samsung, Ssangyoung, Daewoo), comunications were LG and Samsung etc. Finally I can see BMW's and Mercedes (Koreans love German cars) and Motorola & Nokia mobile phones. Otherwise it is a truly Korean dominated industry. Most of my stuents still believe Hyundai is the worlds best car company....


Joel.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Cheers for that Joel.

C

 

[Zulu-]

1024/512 DSL

 

[Pa]

Cable broadband here, but $54.95/month is a royal pain...

I'd go for DSL if it were available.