DSL vs CABLE

[Megashrap]

  But doesen't the USB or Ethernet conn. depend on what type of modem you have also, cause my DSl is Ethernet connected, also I have no type of Dial-up to get connected it is always on.

[Kiyouta]

Is it that time of year already ? Ahem..."Oh yes it does !"  ;D

Yup, Blueyonder and NTL both use ethernet modems. However, recently they have started allowing users to use the USB socket on the modems too.

[gryphon]

Cable connects to my computer as standard through an Ethernet connection. Shure, it is coaxial cable upto the modem, but to my computer it is Ethernet, and as far as I have seen that is true for NTL and Telewest.

Your provider doesn't set the defaut connection for a cable modem. The interfase from the cable modem to your computer can be UTP, serial or USB for example like Scar5150 mentioned.

[erjin999]

When they set it up, it is set up with an Ethernet connection. It can be USB apparently (why would I want that ?).

Scar, yes I know ADSL can be Etherenet, I did say the cheaper offerings use USB.

[Megashrap]

??? Whew, and to think I almost originally bought a satellite. conn. way back.

Why Stationary Satellites Suck

For Geostationary satellite systems, such as the ones providing internet access to Direct-TV subscribers, and other newer internet-in-the-sky providers, Poor latency (indirectly caused by the maximum speed of radio waves in a vacuum), screws up their business models for good. The distance to the satellite, is some 36,000 odd kilometers .. more actually, since they are over the equator, and you are probably not directly below them. The absolute fixed minimum round-trip-time for these systems is something more than the time it takes light to travel from the ground, to the satellite, and back down again, times two (follow the path to your intended server and back again to see why it is times two). This amounts to some 200ms (1 fifth of a second), at least. Increase this further, because you are talking radio waves, not light, because once on the ground, the regular internet latency takes over, and because of packet processing times, multiplexing, and error-checking, and you have the kind of delays that made older international phone calls so annoying, and make any highly interactive internet use impossibly slow.

There will be at least a years notice before a low earth orbit (LEO) internet in the sky satellite system gets off the ground. If you havent read about that in the front page of your newspaper, it is still just a blueprint. (dont forget .. the last LEO system, Iridium, is busy burning itself up in the upper atmosphere as this is written)

[gryphon]

I agree that for home use and small business uses sat-linkups are really a no-go. Although for the larger corporations [ HP as an example ] having their own sattelites for an alternative to the land based backbone . . it's far from laggy im most day-to-day situations.

[GhostHunter]

Yeah, my friend has his at around 1.8MB.