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General discussion

DSL verses dial-up on older systems

Aug 18, 2005 10:48PM PDT

I see the discussion has begun.

My first point is : When I left dialup for DSL back in 1998 (Yes, 1998 MPower 8M ADSL), the computer systems that you see out there now didn't exist and my best system was a P166-MMX with 64M RAM, and I have always had a 486 DX-2 20M running win95 working on the Internet since - it still lives.

So ... what is the DSL verses dial-up. DSL, cable, etc has absolutely NOTHING to do with your computer system. It is the speed that they deliver raw information to your computer at.

Since the mid 90's and prob earlier, many systems have had a 10M card for running on the networks, and more oft than not was only in your office. So even an AT machine could work with 10Mbps (10,000,000 bps).

A modem will get a hardware connection upto 57,600 bps.
DSL will vary, I am 3,000,000 and had 8,000,000.
DSL benefit ... is faster than a PC Modem. Do you want the file faster than your current connection.

Enough history : DSL will most definately bring the files you request from the net in quicker, and every one of my clients have grown to use the additional internet speed that high-speed gives them.

BEYOND the technical

Some ISPs claim DSL and it has been a whole lot worse that 8 Mbps, as slow as 384bps using ZFilters on phone lines to mask the fact the DLS is running on the same to wires as your phone (other ISPs ran dedicated wires)

IF you install DSL with a router the only factor you should need to be concerned with is can your computer use TCP/IP on a 10/100 Ethernet card to the router.

You do not want to be installing even more ISP software like PPPoE on your system (router can handle) to bog an already burdened system with even more to try to do.

What you do not want, is a whole slew of new software running on your PC to bog it down. Check with your local techs. Your DSL/Cable will come in to your demark point, through their modem, and they suggest from there to your PC.

Invest in a router! This will allow you to firewall your internal systems from the Internet without having a whole lot of junk (anti-spyware, spam-blockers, etc).

A proper install is DSL goes to their modem, to your router, to your PCs - you are now behind a firewall. The job of a properly installed router is to only allow information that was requested from your LAN side to pass through it from Internet WAN side.

(read up on routers)

Got to run before Im done.

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