Techsurvivors
Archives => 2003 => Topic started by: Larry on January 19, 2003, 01:40:00 PM
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I've just been to lunch with my nephew who has been extolling broadband to me. He has a PC and says he can download the latest film before it comes out here, or latest CD of music at no extra cost.
Can you do this on a Mac?
I'm a little hesitant on seeing my phonebill increase.
Also I would have to buy a modem - an ethernet one....
What do you think?
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Yes, you can download movies (either crappy recordings from the cinema or DVD-rips) and mp3 music... however that's not very legal. But yes, there's software and communities where you can do that.
Broadband is something diffrent, firstly your house need to be connected to it (fiber cable) or getting it through your cable company. That usually involves a higher cost but you more or less plug an eithernet cable into the wall.
However, not all houses are prepared for broadband, cable internet etc but offers ADSL or DSL which is sort of a boosted modem speed, but not at all supposed to be called broadband since you won't get the same speeds as if you had "true" broadband. But ADSL or DSL is a lot cheaper than broadband, at least if it has to be a new installation since those goes through the phone lines.
But... and now things get tricky, not everyone can get ADSL or DSL either, it depends on how for they live from the closest telephone station where they relay the phones from. So you still might not be able to get it.
The best bet would be to investigate what's being offered in your neck of the woods and then do a comparision of the costs and how much it's worth it.
Here in Sweden broadband is coming on a broadly (some pun intended) and almost all households is offered to connect cheaply.
In our small apartment building we pay about $25 USD a month for our 2MBit connection and we paid an initially fee of about $150 USD.
Petra
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Other than the fact that your nephew is engaging in illegal activities there, downloading both movies & complete CD's...broadband is wonderful, and I would never go back to dial-up! I made the switch 2 years ago, and though the cost has spiraled from about $29/mo (rolled into a package including digital phone and digital cable TV service) to $42/mo, I still won't give it up. Fast downloads, no worries about software updates tying up the phone for hours...or losing the connection half way through a download.
You really have to guage your usage though - do you spend much time online? Do you keep your software updated with the latest updates? Do you want to be able to download & watch QuickTime movies easily? Do you do much downloading period? If you only spend an hour or less online daily doing a bit of surfing and email , it may not be worth it - but that's a judgement only you can make.
One thing - once you go broadband, you'll never go back!
As for the movies and music - I've heard the odd complaint that downloading this stuff either isn't possible (movies) or isn't as easy (music) on a Mac because of the lack of software making these downloads possible, but since it's ALL illegal, I've never paid much attention.
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To be an informed future-user, I'd start here . . .
DSL Explained
Then, I'd search to see who has a "deal". When DSL first came to San Francisco 3+ years ago, installation was about $300 to $400. Monthly fees were 29 bucks.
Competition soon changed all that. Many/most vendors now have free installation(includes hook-up, splitter, "modem" and even an ethernet card for those who need it!), but monthly fees range up to 50 dollars per month. Be an aggressive shopper. Look for the deal that does not compel you to remain with your vendor if the service is shaky.
When we found we could conveniently cancel 2 (of4) phone lines, costs become quite attractive. At any given moment we may have an incoming fax, a phone conversation and 2 Macs on-line, harmoniously operating simultaneously on our single DSL phone line.
How dothey do that?.
Once in a great while you may swear at your DSL, but you're not likely ever to want to do without it.
Good luck.
[ 01-19-2003, 04:11 PM: Message edited by: RHPConsult ]
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I know in the US that you have flat rates on dial-up connections, but here in Sweden we pay for every minute. Something that was a nightmare a few years back when that was the only option (I'm not going to tell how large my phonebills were, especially when my husband still was back in Canada).
The advantages of broadband in my view:
• Speedier downloads (of everything, including Apple's huge updates)
• I can stay online how long as I want without having to keep an eye on the clock
• I can talk to my new family in Canada everyday, for as long as I want (it's mainly chat).
• I can work from home, quickly download the images/illustrations and texts (several MB's) that I need for work and then upload the finished work afterwards.
So besides from the fact that you *can* get hold of illegal movies and music, there's also other advantages that's wonderful with more bandwidth. Plus, if you have teen's in the family and only one phoneline, you don't have to bug them to get on the phone so you can check your mail.
Petra
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Petra I live in London and can get Broadband at 512kps via my telephone line. It costs between £24-29 (US $38.69 - 48.75) monthly depending on the company. I believe there is a charge to connect which maybe up to £60 ($96.72) as a one-off. Although some ISPs are offering a USB connection - I would prefer to get an ethernet if I decide to connect.
Paddy - I use the internet more than ten hours a week. I mainly use it to access academic nursing articles on-line at databases. I visit this forum and one other. I have recently put photos and films on a dotmac website for friends overseas.
Currently I spends £12.99 ($20.96) on continuous internet at ordinary speed.
I guess I'm beginning to react to the ads on Broadband we're subject here everyday too.
I realise what Broadband is.
Which modem do you suggest?
Currently I am only connecting via my iBook but I have an iMac next door which is rarely used.
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My opinion is that anybody who can get broadband, should. It might be pricey, but if you pay 2x as much for 10x as much speed, I think it's worth it
I have no reccomendations on a modem, as we got our Cable modem on loan (free loan), from the cable company.
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clp62, that's very expensive! I think that's what you get if you choose ADSL as well, same speed I mean. We pay less and get 4 times as much speed (fiber connection).
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I don't know about Sweden, but here in the U.S. ADSL definately qualifies as broadband. I have had both Cable and ADSL. I currently have ADSL and do not plan to switch back. I do not know too many people who have the ability to receive 2Mbit/ second downloads for in home internet service. I suppose you could pay for a T3 line to your home at a cost of several thousand dollars/month but for the average home user... this is not likely. I only get a 512kb connection with my DSL service, but that is all Charter cable was offering for cable modem service when I had that so.... not a lot of difference. On the other hand, my brother in law is paying for T1 speeds through a DSL connection so it is possible and does exist for those that want to pay for it. I know that many on here are getting much faster speeds from cable modem services and that is great. I wish it would happen here. My point is that there are varying degrees within the broadband spectrum, but under most people's definition, DSL is a broadband connection.
As for whether it is worth it? Absolutely. Here is an example from today. I have just recently reformatted my hard drive. Instead of just blindly reinstalling everything, I am just installing things as I need it. Tonight, I decided I wanted to put Netscape 7.1 back. Instead of digging through my back up CD's, I just redownloaded the 19.2 MB file from Netscape's website. This took just over 6 minutes. If I was on dialup, it would have taken several hours, and I would never have even considered doing it that way.
As for downloading movies and Music... you can do both (even with a mac)... but it is not legal, and I would not be using this as a reason to purchase broadband. Doesn't exactly set a very good example for a child either
Steve
[ 01-19-2003, 08:25 PM: Message edited by: swhitset ]
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RHPConsult's link is great for info. on the the difference between Analog"Dial-up " and Cable or DSL ( ISDN is only 4 times faster than analog) If I were you over on your side of the world. I'd look for a Cable or DSL provider that has a Monlhly plan or Trial plan that you can try. Believe me. You'll notice the speed increase right away Go for it
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Whether or it's worth it is something that only the individual can answer. However, I've been using DSL now for about 3 months. I can say that my family and I have been very happy, and for our situation, it has definitely been worth it.
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RHP touched on one of the amazing features of DSL.
My wife and I share one DSL connection on our two Macs - we can both be online and the phone line is still free to make or accept calls, and, my stand alone fax machine can also receive and transmit.
No install charge here - $29 Canadian a month, unlimited use - can rent the modem for $5 a month, or purchase it. The ISP has built in antivirus and spam programs which work beautifully before any of this crud can get past their servers.
Never a dropped connection or a time out cut-off.
WDL
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Hi clp. Just got in on this thread. Haven't got broadband myself as, according to BT site my house is too far from exchange. From what I've read, main problem in the UK is that all the normal landlines are owned by BT, which sets controls to a great extent the prices ISPs can charge. There have also been claims of 'fixing' - one customer claimed her ISP's link through BT said she was out of range, but checking on the BT site said she WAS within range.
BT seems to be selling mainly on the line of faster downloads AND you can use your phone at the same time. Reports I've read suggest that NTL cable is slower than BT. Haven't read anything about Telewest cable.
According to latest issue of Web User, however, BT's wholesale arm is reducing its prices for a limited period (until March 31) so your own ISP may be able to offer a better deal. Worth checking out. Hope that's some help
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In Sweden anything less than 2MBit is not qualified as broadband. That's the goverments word on the matter.
But there's companies that offers 10MBit which they claim should be "REAL" broadband. I tend to agree, but I sure don't mind anything that's faster than 56K.
Something that's note-worthy is that even if you do have broadband, (whatever speed), you will still suffer from sites which is painfully slow. So the rule is: Internet is not faster than it's weakest link.
If I had the option I'd go with 2MBit, but I sure wouldn't sneeze at 512KBit either!!!
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It's worth it
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Love it, love it, love it! Broadband changes the entire Internet experience for the better. It's the difference between early radio tinkerers straining to dial-in weak stations and being able to just turn it on and receive stereo music. Your computer becomes more of an "appliance," instead of something for geeks. Which is how it should be!
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You answers are interesting and I'll reconsider soon. Our families main expenditure is calls to Philippines from London UK which cost between 16-18 pence per minute (29 cents a minute!) (2.49 Swedish Krona) - if you have ideas to get this down - then you are really talking!!!
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Larry
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Haven't tried it myself, but a friend in Germany calls his parents in the US and got it working after som fiddlin' around in the firewall settings:
http://www.versiontracker.com/moreinfo.fcg...id=16520&db=mac
Petra
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Well Petra - I visited https://www.nikotel.com/nikotel-signup/java...ad?software=mac the page you recommended and in good faith filled in the details including my credit card. Is it safe? I don't know this organisation and took a chance. Having filled in the form - the download didn't activate. I hope I haven't found a dragon?! Or a nasty surprise - I have finally found out that I will need broadband to get it to work....
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As an add to my earlier post (and if it's not too late ) this Web User page is a comprehensive list of broadband suppliers and costs in the UK.
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On 6 February I started using Broadband - I postively responded to your advice
Thanks
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Welcome to the world of fast internet (well... mostly that is, hehehe).
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Welcome to broadband. It's a little like stereo; if you never heard it you'd never miss it; once you've had it you can't do without it. (a 12 step program is in the works).
Our broadband connection has allowed us to:
1. not get frustrated with arbitrary disconnects
2. throw out our fax machine and all it's attendent foibles
3. change the way we do business
4. Talk with someone, while accessing a website or two while sending/receiving a fax document and sending an email, all on one phone line. (You'd have to be as old as me to know how amazing that all sounds)
5. Use Instant messenging (aol/icq whichever) while doing all this other stuff.
If you can actually carry on a phone conversation while sending a fax, receiving an email and instant messaging a friend; while also handling a call on the cel, you are truly a 21st century person.
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Well thank you Roger I must be a 21st person now - and thank you Marcel !
Playing around I signed up to Real Player for 14 days but should I keep it at $9.95 a month or what? Couldn't get Windows player to connect with IE.... Or should i watch movies elsewhere?
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A fast Internet connection is a thing-a-majig.