DSL Modem
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In this article we are going to discuss a few of the differences between the different choices for ways to get on the Internet. Initially, let's explain the two general types of Internet connection, before getting more specific about some of the more particular dial up and broadband access methods inside these two general categories.
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When looked at as broadly as possible there are two common computer terms which are about different kinds of Internet connection: dialup and "broadband".
Dialup is, of course, the outdated way to connect to the Internet, where you utilize a dialup modem. Dialup modems have been around for much longer than most people know: I bought my first one around 1986 and they date back to in the 1960s. difference broadband dsl
It was a "1200 bps" (bps is a way to measure of speed) modem that I bought for something like $200 for back then. Dialup modems hit a maximum speed of 56K bps back in the late 1990s, and now go for less than $10 if you go to the right place.
So in other words that would make it approximately forty-six times faster, and twenty times cheaper.
At this point you could think to yourself "Wow! That sounds really fast!"
If you're thinking that, you're wrong.
Dialup is very outdated technology, and hasn't been improved in over ten years, which means it's something like one hundred fifty years out of date in relative terms!
So the simple way to think of it is, dialup = slow.
Many computer users are stuck in the stone age of dialup, either because they don't see any reason not to, or they have no choice where they live.
What you may not realize is that even if you are still on dialup and are thinking "Good enough, why bother? -- you're making a mistake.
I'll get to why that is in a minute.
First, I should explain the primary alternative to dialup. It's called "broadband", which simply just means "fast Internet".
Broadband is delivered in a number of varieties, covering a range of speeds, even the slowest way better than dialup.
Beyond lots faster, broadband generally doesn't tie up your phone line, so people you know aren't annoyed by busy signals when they try calling you, and you're able to place phone calls even when you're connected to the Internet.
The two main flavors of broadband are cable and DSL. Cable internet comes over the same cable as cable TV, and is available from a variety of companies using various different brand names -- Roadrunner is one example of cable internet.
DSL actually comes over your phone lines like dialup, but it's a lot quicker and, much like cable Internet, you can make phone calls while you're online.
You've got less-common varieties such as satellite, which gives you fairly speedy connections to the Internet by sending the signal through a satellite dish like satellite TV. It's slow for broadband, but a lot faster than dialup. It's primarily used by people away from population centers who don't have a better option.
What I would suggest to most computer users is to get DSL, if they can get it where you live. In most cases it's really only a bit more expensive than dialup is, and in many cases it's the same price or even costs less!
It's not generally as fast as cable Internet, but it is plenty fast for most people, and lets you do a lot of things that just aren't possible (or are extremely annoyingly sluggish) on dialup, such as viewing videos on YouTube or other sites, or downloading large files.
This brings me to one of the most important reasons I strongly suggest people stop using dialup and step up to some kind of broadband -- downloading large files.
You might make the mistake of thinking that you never do that, but on the other hand... Maybe you do (or should be) and don't realize it.
First off, people are sharing big pictures (or several smaller images), or even videosvia email constantly now.
If you're on dialup and you tried checking your email and it never seemed to arrive, or it took forever to do so, you may have become a victim of this.
So that's one reason.
But there's an even more important one: computers have things called "security updates" or "patches" which are incredibly important to get. It's important for both Windows or Macs.
Unless you have these patches, your computer can be vulnerable to invasion by viruses, worms, and more.
But these security updates (think Windows Update, or Apple's Software Update) more and more frequently can be very large files.
So huge that it can take many hours, or even DAYS to download. And if you skip downloading them, your computer is left at risk.
Which leaves you between a rock and a hard place if you're stuck using dialup.
So seriously consider about switching if you haven't already, and tell your friends who haven't. And remember there are a selection of good sites out there where you can discover computer how to instruction, so make sure you use them if you need them.
