High-speed internet questions

[accguy]

Please be patient with me. I ain't the most tech-savvy.

I'm planning on moving into the high-speed world at home and ditching the dial-up. In my area, I can get high speed internet from the cable company or DSL from the phone company.

Now for the stupid questions: What is the difference? And which one is better?

The phone company probably has a better special deal so that might be a factor in my decision.

And (another stupid question coming, here) do I need anything more than just a router to hook up wireless. It's a house and not an apartment so I'm not as concerned about the neighbors ripping it off.

Thanks much in advance.

 

[sportsed]

Cable's better than DSL. Many places that sell DSL give you the GREAT, AWESOME DEAL!!! based on a low-bandwidth version of DSL (there are varying grades of it). The rookie version of DSL is quicker than dial-up but not blazing by any means. Cable is.

Just set a password on your wireless modem if you're worried about your neighbors sharing your connection ... or be cool and "stick it to the man" and let them have some. Yes, neighbors in houses can take your wireless just as easy as neighbors in apartments.

 

[accguy]

anybody else have an opinion on this one?

 

[Chi City 81]

Go with the cable modem.

 

[DyePack]

I hear they have the Internet(s) on computers now.

 

[Ledbetter]

I have DSL Lite with Bellsouth and it's fast enough for my needs and only like $20 a month. I don't download much music, so I don't worry that it's a bit slower than most other high-speed options.

 

[markvid]

Anyone here have Verizon FIOS yet?

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

It depends on what you're going to use it for too. If you want to watch videos from the web or download music a lot, faster is probably better.

But if just general surfing, email, is all you need, you can probably go a little slower. I'd still get cable modem because a lot of companies have two or three tiers of service you can choose.


In fact, a lot of cable companies will bundle their services. High speed Internet, phone (free long distance with some) and basic cable for around $90.

 

[leo1]

a lot of phone companies will let you try them out for three months free. mine did. so for awhile i had DSL and a cable modem and figured out which was better.

fwiw, in addition to a router, i have a "repeater" which in theory picks up the signal from my router and shoots it into the back of the house. it took for-****ing-ever to set it up because it didn't come with instructions.

 

[KJIM]

I am happy with my cable modem, but I don't know the differences between that and DSL.

I don't think you need more than a modem and the router for the wireless, but I'm not sure. I rent my modem from the cable company.

 

[Theoldbenchwarmer]

Sorry to resurrect, but I have a question for the tech savvy folks out there.

I'm moving in a week and need to do the whole transfer of service thing for cable and high speed internet. I pay a ****LOAD for it now through Comcast and I've realized that I don't need the "On Demand" crap or all those movie channels. I just want the basics like ESPN, Bravo, ABC, NBC, SciFi (I love GhostHunters, sue me), etc. Now, for that aspect, I imagine that Standard Service is fine, as opposed to Comcast's digital deal (which I have now). Correct?

Second question: They have two High Speed Internet packages. One is for 8.0 Mbps Comcast High-Speed Internet and the other is for 6.0 Mbps Comcast High-Speed Internet. The price difference between the two is about 30 bucks. I have a wireless network and my fiancee and I use the internet for random crap, like e-mail, random web pages, etc. I also have my Wii hooked up to it and my wireless printer. I have no clue what my speed is currently, but I'm paying about 50 bucks (which is what the 8.0 appears to cost). Is there that big of a difference between 8.0 and 6.0? Should I spend the money on the 8.0? Mind you, we're moving to a significantly more expensive apartment and we're not "rich" but doing ok. In other words, 50 bucks ain't gonna break the bank, but it's not a drop in the bucket, either.

I'm just looking for thoughts from people with experience.

 

[JR]

We have a service called Hi Speed Lite. Works fine for us.

I may be wrong, but if you're only using your computer for e-mail, browsing the web tubes and not downloading movies, you don't need super high speed access

 

[Theoldbenchwarmer]

We have a service called Hi Speed Lite. Works fine for us.

I may be wrong, but if you're only using your computer for e-mail, browsing the web tubes and not downloading movies, you don't need super high speed access

I figured as much. I think that those people who need the highest speed are either running a huge network in their home or doing internet-related work from home. Either way, 6.0 is significantly faster than verizon, a la the banner ad below.

Thanks for your reassurance, JR.

 

[JR]

We have a service called Hi Speed Lite. Works fine for us.

I may be wrong, but if you're only using your computer for e-mail, browsing the web tubes and not downloading movies, you don't need super high speed access

I figured as much. I think that those people who need the highest speed are either running a huge network in their home or doing internet-related work from home. Either way, 6.0 is significantly faster than verizon, a la the banner ad below.

Thanks for your reassurance, JR.

I'm an old g uy around here. Don't take my word for it. Get a second opinion.

 

[93Devil]

Anyone here have Verizon FIOS yet?

No, but I have heard it is the Holy Grail.

 

[Gomer]

For you Wii, you wouldn't want the "lite" option JR's talking about. But the stuff you're talking about is much faster than that, so go for the 6.0.