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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
 Posted - 01/19/2005 : 09:09:14 AM
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Karl,
You generally were right about what it is. To be more specific, it is a generic name for either of 3 (currently) very fast internet access mechanisms.
1. Cable modem
2. DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)
3. WiFi (Wireless into some high speed internet router within about 1000 feet of where you are, and then into the net by various means. - There is a WiFi Hotspot locator on the web and I can get you the URL if you are interested. You can also hijack an unsecured Hotspot :-)
What you can get depends on what the companies in your area have installed (which usual means fibre optic lines to the utility pole where I live). Obviously, cable companies provide the cable connection *service* but I own my own *cheap*, but good modem and WiFi/hardwire router. My total system bandwidth is 11 mbps and I can upgrade to 100 in the future (because I have the hardware).DSL is supplied by Phone companies and they were the first kids on the block (which is important in a way that is good for cable modem users). There can be most any kind of connection on the other side of a WiFi router, including anything from DSL to direct fiber optic to the National Spine.
DSL has limits (imposed by the company) on how fast you can upload and download, BUT, you are guaranteed those speeds. In our area, you have to sign up for an extended (1 - 2 year) contract.
Cable has only upload speed limits, but they are quite high. No download limit here. The downside is that, if other folks near you sign up for that service, you share the pipe - the fiber bandwidth - and can, potentially slow down. No contract, only just the same month to month charges as DSL - about $45.
So, what happened here, is that everyone signed up for DSL when it hit town and got locked in and they stay because of simple inertia. Cable then came along and I signed up for that. Since there are so few people on my leg, I essentially have it all to myself. And all the web test of my transfer speeds, both ways at this point, are between 3 and 4 megabits per second per computer - we have 2: a laptop and desktop tower.
It is also true that there is an arms race between service types, so every time one improves, the other leap-frogs. But cable has always stayed ahead in Megalopolis.
There are free WiFi hotsposts around here (just be near a college or university), but most places like Internet Cafes and Airports really clip you for time used.
These speeds make the Net very easy to live with, do work on, etc.
...Reid
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 01/20/2005 : 4:49:20 PM
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Reid,
Thanks, That wil take some time for this old codger to digest,but I am sure it will help.
Karl |
Karl
Frozen North |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 01/21/2005 : 05:36:18 AM
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Karl,
It may be a help for you if you took a look at a series of articles written by a guy I used to work with. It is called "PC Lube and Tune" and it is very entertaining, sometimes downright funny and very easy to understand, although *perfectly* complete. Howard is an example of the ultimate hacker, when "hacker" was a term of praise. PCLT also will even tell you all you want to know about TV, HDTV, CD-R, DVD, and what is going on with that part of the industry.
Start out with the first article on the PC at:
http://www.yale.edu/pclt/
and you will find a link in that article to the subject of Ethernet and networking (DSL, etc.) or go directly to the URL at:
http://www.yale.edu/pclt/PCHW/ethernet.htm
Then, since it is so funny, read about TV.
All 3 articles were updated just about a month ago.
...Reid |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 01/21/2005 : 3:11:10 PM
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Ah, Reid, thanks again for the links and help. Although they say you need no prior knowledge, or no knowledge is assumed, right off the bat they lost me when they began talking about a CPU and made it seem like a pretty important piece of the puzzle. Nowhere is it explained or defined. I asked my newest employee, and she said it was a central processing unit, whatever that is.
Tried 3 nights in a row to get a new printer to work with my computer. Failure.
Can;t figure out how to work garageband. What I really need is to rent a 14 year old kid!
I read the articles above, but had to stop after a while, Much more info than I need to know, but done well.
I do know we are limited in our area as to what levels of access we can get, and in my particular case, living as I do off the power grid, we can only get wireless cable, and I am not sure how much speed we can get out of that, but I will find out
NOw, if I could only remember why i was interested in broadband in the first place..... |
Karl
Frozen North |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 01/21/2005 : 3:14:08 PM
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Reid,
just re-read your first post, and do you think the third option, wifi, could be what i already have?
You mentioned a url ( i don;t know what that is either,but i think it has to do with a web address), and yes, i would like it.Thanks again
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Karl
Frozen North |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2005 : 05:03:09 AM
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Karl,
You almost certainly do not have WiFi. WiFi is a radio connection between your computer and a small box called a router – both have antennas. The router is then connected to to another small box (a modem) that changes the format of the signal so that your cable or phone company knows what to do with it. It may well be possible that your wireless cable company *can* handle broadband and offer it. It doesn’t really matter (it does technically, but we won’t go into that) if the carrier medium is wire, fiber optic, microwaves. It does matter if your company does not offer the service (have equipment to deal with a certain kind and number of signals. You just ask them. If the answer is yes, you pay them money :-)
URL stands for Universal Resource Locator. It is just an address that has a form similar to the addresses of the files and folders on your computer disk. Your phone number is an address of a different form; your house has an address. That’s how calls and mail get to you, and that is how you get to a particular file on your disk drive.
The WiFi locater URL (note how its form is like one of your disk files, such as c:/my documents/letter.doc) is:
http://www.jiwire.com/
Just keep at it for a while: Computer stuff is mostly lingo/vocabulary.
…Reid
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 01/23/2005 : 7:58:35 PM
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Yeah, right, and playing guitar is just strings, wood, and black smudges on paper:)
Thanks for the help. I havent thrown this box out the window yet. |
Karl
Frozen North |
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