| Most people connect to the Internet using a modem, a device that connects your PC to a standard voice phone line. Almost every modern computer comes with a built-in, preinstalled modem. 10.2.1 Cable Modems and DSL On the other hand, a growing minority of computer fans connects to the Internet with much faster gear called cable modems and DSL. These contraptions offer several gigantic advantages over dial-up modems. For example: -
Speed . These modems operate at 5 to 50 times the speed of a traditional dial-up modem. For example, you might wait 5 minutes to download a 2 MB file with a standard modem ”a job that would take about 10 seconds with a cable modem. And complex Web pages that take almost a minute to appear in your browser with a standard modem will pop up almost immediately with a cable modem or DSL. POWER USERS' CLINIC Installing a Modem If you're among the six people whose PC didn't come with a built-in modem, you can install one yourself. You can choose between an internal modem (a small circuit board that you push into a slot inside the PC, saving some desktop clutter, a power socket, and a few dollars) or an external one (which is easier to transfer from machine to machine). An external modem connects to the back of the PC via a cable, or takes the form of a PC Card that slips into your laptop. After completing the physical installation of your modem, you must install the modem's software ”its drivers . The instructions that accompany the modem should guide you through the process. | -
No dialing . These fancier connection methods hook you up to the Internet permanently, full time, so that you don't waste time connecting or disconnecting ”ever. You're always online. -
No weekends lost to setup . Best of all, there's no need to do any of the setup yourself. A representative from the phone company or cable company generally comes to your home or office to install the modem and configure Windows XP to use it. If you sign up for a cable modem, the cable TV company pays you a visit, supplies the modem, installs a network card into your PC, and sets up the software for you. -
Possible savings . At this writing, cable modems and DSL services cost about $30 to $50 a month. That includes the Internet account for which you'd ordinarily pay $20 if you signed up for a traditional ISP. And since you're connecting to the Internet via cable TV wires or unused signal capacity on your telephone lines, you may be able to save even more money by canceling your second phone line. Not all cable TV companies offer cable modem service, but the list is quickly growing. Unfortunately, you can't get DSL unless the phone company has a central office within 18,000 feet (about three miles) of your home. It's also worth noting that cable modems and DSL modems aren't always blazing fast. The speed of your cable modem decreases slightly when too many people in your area use their cable modems simultaneously . And DSL modems are slower the farther away you are from the telephone company. Even so, these devices are always faster than a dial-up modem. NOTE Actually, neither cable modems nor DSL modems are modems, since they don't mo dulate or dem odulate anything. (That's where the term modems comes from: they convert data into bursts of sound.) Still, we need to call them something, so most people call them modems anyway. 10.2.2 ISP vs. Online Service After choosing a method of connecting to the Net, you need an Internet account. You can get one in either of two ways: by signing up for an online service, such as America Online or MSN, or through a direct Internet account with an Internet service provider (or ISP , as insiders and magazines inevitably call them). National ISPs like EarthLink and AT&T have local telephone numbers in every U.S. state and many other countries . If you don't travel much, you may not need such broad coverage. Instead, you may be able to save money by signing up for a local or regional ISP. Either way, dialing the Internet is a local call for most people. NOTE The Internet is filled with Web sites that list, describe, and recommend ISPs. To find such directories, visit a search page like http://www.google.com and search for ISP listings. One of the best Web-based listings, for example, can be found at http://www. boardwatch .com. (Of course, until you've actually got your Internet account working, you'll have to do this research on a PC that is online, like the free terminals available at most public libraries.) Each route to the Internet (online services or ISP) has significant pros and cons. -
Most national ISPs charge $22 a month for unlimited Internet use; America Online costs $24 per month. NOTE Free Internet access is also available ”if you can tolerate an ad window that sits on your desktop and can limit your time online to ten hours each month. (To investigate these services, visit http://www.juno.com and http://www.netzero.com.) Some stores even offer gigantic discounts on new computers if you commit to paying for several years of service with one online service or another. -
Online services strike many people as easier to use, since a single program operates all Internet functions, including email and Web surfing. When using an ISP, on the other hand, you fire up a different application for each function: Internet Explorer for surfing the Web, Outlook Express for email, and so on. -
Some online services, notably America Online, disconnect automatically if you haven't clicked or typed for several minutes. ISPs don't hang up on you nearly as quickly, if at all. -
Some online services are screened to block out pornography. The Internet itself, of course, isn't sanitized in this way. (Of course, you can get to the Internet from any online service, which makes this point less relevant.) -
Online services provide proprietary, members -only features like games and chat rooms. -
Because online services are slightly easier to use than ISP accounts, you'll run into people who look down on MSN and America Online members. |