J. A. Powell, Jr.
I remember growing up in the 60s listening to Motown songs in, of all places, the skating rink. One of the best tunes was "Stop! In the Name of Love" by The Supremes. After years of living with sloooow dial up access to the Internet, we are bombarded with many different high speed connections. Everyone is being stampeded by high pressure sales people. I just want to tell everyone to "Stop! In the Name of the Love." (Sorry Diana.) Don't sign anything. Especially don't sign a contract for two or three years. Here's why:
I have been contacted by four or five sales people trying to get me to sign up for high speed internet access. Every one of them wanted me to sign a multi-year contract for hundreds of dollars. The speeds offered range from 128kbs to 3200kbs. (3200kbs is the same speed as 3.2mbps). These have come in three basic flavors.
The fastest, at least in theory, is Cox's cable modem system. Cox's cable modems run at 3.2mbs. This speed is about one third of the speed of an Ethernet network that most of us are using in our offices. The problem with cable modem systems is that the speed is shared by everyone else on the node. A node is like a splitter for your TV cable. Cox places nodes every few blocks. If you are the only one connected then you get the full 3.2mbps speed offered by the system. If you and a neighbor are downloading large files, then you get 1.6mbs, etc. Cox says that if the speed drops below 60% of 3.2mbps, they will split the node in two, thereby raising the speed.
I had the Cox salesman come by and make his pitch. I was ready so sign on the dotted line and asked for a price. After picking myself off of the floor, I showed him the door. Cox prices their cable access depending on the number of computers that will access the Internet. He gave me a price of $575 per month for 12 computers with a one year commitment. I decided to pass.
Another high speed service is something called a fractional T1 line. A T1 line is basically 24 voice lines bundled together to make a line capable of going 1.5Mbps. There are several companies that are splitting the bandwidth up among several users. After recovering from the Cox interview, I felt strong enough to seek the price for a fractional T1. The nice lady on the phone was a little vague about what I would get. Of course, she could come by to see me after this is written. I asked her to fax me some information about her service. I am still waiting.
I believe that she said that I could get about 300kbs for about $300 per month if I sign a 3 year contract. Wow! What a deal. Lets see, to get a tenth the speed of Cox I get to pay half the price. I decided to pass.
The last high speed access is the DSL service offered by Bell South and others. The DSL service is the same speed as the full T1. If you will remember past issues, DSL uses ordinary telephone lines to deliver the service. The problem with DSL is that you must be within about 3 miles of the switch. All of downtown is covered so most of the attorneys in Macon can get it.
There are some companies that are reselling Bell South's service while others are install their own equipment. All of these companies are charging hundreds of dollars and require yearly contracts. I think I will pass.
Finally, there is Bell South. I went to Bell South's web site and learned that they will offer DSL beginning in November for less than $60 per month with no contract. I repeat, Bell South will offer DSL beginning in November for less than $60 per month with no contract. I could not believe it so I call and talked to a real person. She said it was true and she said they don't care how many computers share the connection. I signed up. I hope this is true.
During the research of this high speed article, I was told that T1 is faster that DSL. It is not. I was told that comparing Cox to DSL is like comparing a Corvette to a Chevette. It is not. I was told that both are more reliable than DSL. They are not. In other words, I was told whatever it takes to make the sale. So, when you are talking to these sales people don't believe everything they say. And don't sign a multi-year contract. This technology is changing rapidly and there maybe something much better around the corner.
Or maybe a dud. After several attempts, I finally got Linux to work on a computer. It was not easy. At least for everyday desktop use, Linux needs some improving.
Now if I can only get it to attach to the network and if can get on the Internet to down load programs to try out, maybe, I will be able to tell you more about Linux in the next article. That may be too many "ifs" for me.