ok lets here it,

time to get rid of dial-up and i have talked to the sales people of both types, and they both told me why they were better than the other and that i should go with them.


so what i want is to hear from people that actually use it

thanks

 

I love my cable, I've had it for over a year and have not had one problem.....none. Never had downtime and the speed is amazing to say the least. I know of a couple of ppl that switched from DSL and love the cable. My d/l times are usually 200-250 kbs depending on where you are downloading. I just tested it on msn and came back between 1436 kbs to 1650 kbs. Once was off the chart. I don't really know to much about DSL but you will not be dissapointed with cable. I usually d/l from www.winmx.com (music) at about 50kbs average, but have had up to 150 depending on the connection. Hope this helps.

john

 

who are you getting your cable through

i can get mine through Time Warner's Roadrunner

 

It will depend a lot on the providers in your area.

I'm on cable and love it. The only real problem here (Kansas) is email and it can be flakey at times. RoadRunner has made improvements in this area but more work needs to be done. DSL wasn't an option for me because I'm too far away from a central station. I do know people that have DSL and the speeds don't compare.

I have had contact through another newsgroup with a user of RoadRunner in Houston and he seems quite satisfied.

If you do go cable them watch the installer. Make sure that when they split the cable that one side goes straight to the cable modem. From the other side you can then split the cable to TV's and such. Don't let them take a line that has already been split, split it again and run the line to the modem from the second splitter.

 

My Cable provider is ***. I don't know if they are anywhere else but Las Vegas.

 

Here's my unbiased take on this.

Cable is generally cheaper and faster than dsl.

Cable is only as good as the provider. In my area, my cable company can barely keep the tv signal going. Power outages can totally shut down cable service unless your provider has made provisions for it.

If anybody is going to hack into your system, chances are better that it will happen on cable.

dsl is more expensive than cable.

The dsl line and equipment is provided by your phone company. It's as secure and dependable as your phone service is. I have yet to lose my phone line or dsl service during the various power outtages we're prone to having. The phone company's equipment is battery powered and they have backup generators all over the place. My ISP has backup power too. I have backup power at my house. I'm never offline because of a power outtage.

dsl is as secure as your phone line is. Cable modems share a single line with a number of cable modem users on that same coaxial line.

If you can get both services and money isn't a problem, go with dsl. It's more secure and dependable and worth the extra bucks if you do a lot of financial transactions (trading and banking) online. If you're just want to surf and look at ****, then cable is just fine.

BTW, if you're having problems with your provider's mail service or you are prone to changing isps often, use yahoo mail. You can set it up as a pop account and your email program will automatically check for mail and download it. Once you set it up right, you won't have to go to the yahoo site more than a few times a year.

 

I'm like lightning, in Las Vegas using *** Cable and I love it so far. I heard lots of great things about both, probably more so about cable. I went with cable because DSL isn't available where I'm at, plus no contracts (unlike Sprint who would've required a year contract).

I have had it for about a month and I love it. I could not imagine going back to dialup. Shoot, by the time I got rid of the dialup service and the extra telephone line I now end up paying the same for the cable which is worth it.

 

Any internet connection that is "always on" such as cable and dsl, is prone to hacking regardless of service provider. Hackers do ping sweeps of open ports on computers within a certain IP address range, and just sit back and wait for the results to see if any open ports are found. So security wise, cable and dsl are the same. Just go to cnet.com and download Zone Alarm's free personal firewall if you decide to switch to broadband access of any kind. I have a cable modem and I love it. I also download at 50kb average, but alot of times its higher, up to 150kb, from winmx.If you go dsl, the closer you are to the main station, the faster you will be. If you go cable, ask them how many people within oh say a mile or 2 have cable modem access,more will slow you down depending on the size of bandwith the provider carries. The firewall was my 1st download and I have had no security breaches at all. The firewall has a log that stores all the attempts(ping sweeps) to get to your pc...I have darn near a 100 a day, on a slow day. The hackers are out there so I cant stress the importance of a firewall enough if you do switch to cable or Damn Slow Line...err...DSL, sorry couldnt resist throwing in my preference.

 

And they will ping you! I left the Zone Alarm warning alert on, got messages constantly that I was being pinged. Finally turned it off and just review the log occassionally.

My uncle e-mailed me a nifty little program that you can look up the IP address that was pinging you. The cable company did it a lot, AOL, some German company, Korean Network etc.....

 

If you decide to try DSL just stay as far away from Telocity as you can, They have one of the worst services I have ever had... unless you like to sit on hold for a hour waiting for a tech to pickup.

I went back to cable here on mediaone's road runner service and so far it has been great. At times I see almost 2meg d/l's, my uploads are only 300meg but I can deal with that.

I agree with others that you MUST get some type of protection, I would recommend a Cable/DSL Router. For under 100.00 bucks you can install one and not worry about all the hackers. I am running with a program call WinRoute Pro and I serves as my firewall but if you are a game player you will have to learn how to map ports to IP's, Some times a pain.

Good luck in your decision.

 

1st off Zone Alarm is hands down a must for dsl or cable

2nd I had DSL for 1 year and had tons of problems with it. If you do get it make sure you get an external modem and force them to come out and put a new NIC on your house.

I have had my cable modem for almost 2 years now and it smokes! Ask your cable provider how they "transport" is it through fiber or copper? Does it "terminate" at their site as fiber or copper? Also most cable providers should all be "2 Way" now but I do believe that there may still be a few "1 Way" companies out there. If they are still using "1 way" modems just say no!

Just buy whatever is cheapest in your area and wait for specials. For instance I got all my stuff hooked up for free and all the needed hardware for free when I ordered cable tv and cable modem from the same company. Plus I got a discount on the service, my cable modem monthly is $35 and my TV is $28 (Basic)

my .02

peace

 

Definitely watch for specials. I was one of the first dsl customers in my area. It was so long ago, I don't remember when. The phone company ran a special, trying to get people to subscribe to dsl. Installation was $99 and it included the $400 modem with a 1 year contract.

I get maybe one or two pings a day and maybe 2 a week are from sources unknown.

 

You'll be happy with either one. Get the one that is cheapest. The DSL should be at least 700kbs on the download side. Cable is almost always faster. Cable can fluctuate during peak/off peak hours and you are generally not guaranteed what I'd call broadband speeds. DSL is always the same speed. Cable can be tougher to network in your home in some markets due to one IP address only and you might need to run a separate computer to distribute the connection. Some of the new networking boxes may take care of that though.

 

So why is it the local cable company advertises a rate ($39.95) for non-cable subscribers.... then, when you call them about the plan, the say you have to have at least "basic cable" which brings your total cost to over $50 per month.

 

I'm thinking of going with either one as dial up seems to be getting slower and slower. My dad just got cable and it is fast. The strange thing is he lives in a small city of around 18,000 or so I live less than 10 miles in a small town of about 2,500 to 3,000. I can get DSL service from Bell South but he can't and his house is closer to Memphis and Jackson compared to mine and I can get DSL and he can't go figure.