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AOL DSL, All Gone, Thank God! Written by: Dan Daily
Hi Gang! Long time no see. Today I have a story for ya about DSL, versus Cable. I can comment on the two first hand. As you know, I wrote a positive article on AOL/DSL, but perhaps that was faulty. Not because of AOL, per se, but the way the service actually works. So come on in, let us explore this issue together. .
This has nothing to do with AOL6, Stay Away From It!!! A Little History! I've had AOL/DSL for about seven months now. I've always had problems with Windows being glitchy. Start up Problems, shut down problems, never serious stuff, just a big nuisance really. I always thought it was my setup more then anything else. When I got Windows Me, I started having trouble with the browser. It would Jam up at times, it was strange. I blamed Windows Me. Two and a half weeks ago, the DSL went down. I don't attribute this to AOL. I believe this was caused by Verizon, (my telephone company) they own the phone lines. The routing went away. It was connected, but wouldn't establish the circuit to me. Many many calls to AOL, and no answers. AOL techs agreed it wasn't my system, but couldn't seem to give Verizon the incentive they needed to fix it. (after all, Verizon does sell it's own) So I axed them. Two weeks was my limit. This is why you haven't heard from me lately. I even ran out of material for "Danny's Daily's." 20 second uploads to my site were now at least 15 minutes on dial up.
So What Did I Do? I called Adelphia Cable for a Power Link (cable modem) connection. I won't get into the differences between DSL and Cable in this article. For a refresher, see the article: The Need For Speed. I never was a fan of Cable, but what the hell. Verizon is one of the worst rated DSL providers at DSL Reports.com, and they already get enough of my money, thank you very much. So I called Adelphia.
I learned A Lot They had the cable modem hooked up and running with-in four days. Not a month, four days. This system, unlike the DSL (which is USB) just plugs into your ethernet card. Don't have one? No problem, they bring one. I had one. There are no drivers to install, no Internet adapters added to your Windows stack. Nothing. Very simple setup with no software to add to your computer at all. On the other hand, The AOL DSL needed a driver for the modem, (four Internet adapters) and a driver for Winpoet. (the link between the AOL software, and the DSL driver) This added another two Internet adapters to Windows. Now add this to the four AOL puts in anyway, and you have a total of 10 Internet adapters that AOL adds to the computer for the DSL to work.
The cable modem added ZERO! And this is where the story begins: Simple Is Better I've always believed that simple is better: Windows, by it's very nature, wants to work good, it's very stable if it's left alone. Internet adapters, which are nothing more then 3rd party programs jamming themselves in, muck it up. I know this now in absolute certainty! Before the Adelphia folks came by, I uninstalled everything related to the DSL side of my system. I wanted it to be clean before any new stuff was added. Little did I know, nothing would be added at all.
A Miracle Happened! All the glitches, annoying problems, and lock ups were all gone. Forever! I owe Windows Me one hell of a big apology. (god, I hate to apologize, LOL) The cable modem, by connecting into the ethernet card, is just using two adapters that Windows controls. NOT TEN! Incidentally; now I'm using the Tcp/Ip protocol for AOL, and it's never run better. Hard to believe actually. What's that? The Tcp/Ip protocol is what AOL uses when it senses an outside Internet connection. It by-passes the dial up section of AOL and piggy backs on your new connection. This seems to be the best setup for AOL. At least in my opinion. Using the BYOA (bring your own access) plan saves you money as well. AOL only costs $9.95 a month unlimited.
I Highly Recommend No matter how your broadband connects, stay simple. Look for the system that only uses your ethernet card. If you don't have one, only two drivers will have to be added. (along with the card) If you already have one, nothing will have to be added to your computer at all. This is IMPORTANT!!! My system, for the very first time, is Rock Stable! I didn't even think that was possible... Window 98, and Windows Me are getting a bad rap on this one gang.
The Speed Difference? Understand, this is my system, in my area. This has nothing to do with what you can expect, so please, don't complain if your not getting it. The cable modem service is rated at 1000k down, and 124k up. Here's the comparison: The DSL averaged 485k down, and 90k up. The Cable at peak time is 2,000k down, and 125 up. I had a certified connection at DSL Reports.com at 3,226 down, during my normal surfing time. (off peak) Dial up folks? You have a maximum of 53 down, and 33 up. Yes, we're not talking a little difference here, we're talking a magnitude of 60 times faster. Down is the speed you download something from the Internet; up, is the speed you upload something to the Internet. (get it?) And ping times?
Ping Times This is a most important factor in any system. What ping time means, is how fast a request to the internet is met. You call out for this page, and it calls back, "Hey! I'm over here!" is ping time. My DSL averaged on a full blown country wide ping test; (about 90 separate servers) 124ms (milliseconds). The cable is at 52. It set a new record at DSL Reports.com. For an average user ping, the DSL ran between 89 and 99ms. The Cable is at 21ms. Really! And believe me, this is extremely noticeable, much more then the speed is. No more one two three count before it even finds a site. (that's where ping time effects your real time surfing) Please keep in mind, this is my system only. Adelphia told me that our system is only a year old, and very few people in my area use it. I'm sure this is a major reason why these numbers are so good.
Real World Quite frankly, I don't see a large advantage for all the additional speed. The ping time is the most noticeable difference of all. My main site (with a clear cache) loads in 3 seconds on Cable. It did exactly the same thing on the DSL connection. But, you save the one two three wait finding the site, and all the additional sites thereafter. Also, this system is so fast, I have my Temporary Internet Files set to erase every time IE closes. Believe it or not, on this computer with this connection, the Temp files actually slow it down!
Conclusion I won't say whether Cable is better then DSL. That's for you to decide. Whatever you do, don't sign any contract that binds you to long term commitments. If you're not happy with it, you must be able to say, "Stick it where the sun don't shine." Neither AOL DSL, or Adelphia asks for long term commitments. And most important of all, stay simple gang. Remember what Mister Scott from Star Trek says: "The more you overtake the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain." Words To Live By! For a more comprehensive write up on this cable setup, I wrote a running commentary for DSL Reports.com, you can read it here. Click Here
I hope this helps you on your road. Your Road? Yes, Your Road To Computer Sanity Danny
Dear Danny: I was in our University Bookstore the other day looking at software when I overheard a salesman talking to a lady about an iMac.
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