Cable Connection.. Friend or Foe?
Aug 06 '00
Okay, you just got your UPS box, dumped the Styrofoam peanuts all over the living room floor, and tore open the box to get at your brand new cable modem. You're excited and ready to go. Its a dream to install, you register with your cable ISP (Internet Service Provider) and start up the connection software. WHAT? Sure you're connecting faster, but no by much. To top that off, a month later your ISP terminates your account for illegal activity.
Okay, the above is an absolute worse case scenario. It can and does happen though. First, the pros and cons...
Pros: Cable modems (in general) run very fast. Is you are upgrading from a regular dial up connection (modem and phone line) than you are in for a treat. With a high speed connection, you can enjoy streaming video and audio. This means you can watch live videos (Or television shows) and listen to just about any radio station in the world. To top it all off, you don't have to wait for your modem to connect, it is always connected.
Cons: With a cable connection, bandwidth can be used up if there are a lot of users. (Bandwidth is the amount of speed available to divide between the users) If everyone in your neighborhood has cable connections, the speeds won't be as fast as if you were the only one. For most services, this isn't a problem, however I have talked to people that claimed that their dial up modem connected faster than the cable. Also, with cable modems, you are always connected to the Internet. Depending on your service provider, your computer may be easily accessible to hackers. Do you ever wonder how people run those web sites with illegal content on them? (Illegal pornography, warez, hacking tools, etc.) Sometimes they hack someone's computer that has a high speed constant connection (Cable, DSL, T1, etc.) and use it to post these things. Now most people would notice if they had programs on their computer that they didn't put there, but there is always the exception.
Now do keep in mind, the cons listed above don't happen often, but it would be a good idea not to get yourself bound to a contract or agreement without first knowing that you are secure, and are guaranteed a certain connection speed. Many companies will guarantee a specific minimum speed, and they're the best to go with. Cable is one of the cheaper high speed connection and you can sometimes get a discount if you have cable TV service. Just watch out for the headaches.
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Epinions.com ID:
MDragon53
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Member: Nick LaPrell
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Reviews written: 66
Trusted by: 7 members
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