Addicted to Speed
A few years ago I got hooked on, of all things…speed. Yes, I have to
admit that once I tried it I was hooked. Soon I noticed that I was
looking around for more or better speed. I was hooked. The speed that
got me hooked was not a drug but rather High Speed Internet. Which
brings up a common question - What is High Speed Internet?
Many of us are using the internet frequently for email, research,
entertainment, etc. while others are just discovering the vast amount of
information just a few clicks away.
When we wanted to access the internet from home many of us started out
with dial-up. This satisfied us for quite some time until we noticed
that we were waiting on the “hourglass” more and more.
We soon started to hear people talk about High Speed access and how it
changed their life. And we may have asked ourselves - What is High
Speed?
High Speed (H.S.) is basically a “buzz-word” meaning faster than dialup
which has max speed of 56k. Most H.S. starts off at minimum of 256k,
thus compared to dialup this is H.S.
When at home connections were first starting off most people used
dialup. Thus web pages were designed to accommodate slow transfer of
data. Today, however, with more people having H.S. connections, web
pages are fancier. Some talk, sing, move etc., which means more data
needs to be received before the whole page is viewed. This is where H.S
outdoes dialup by allowing more traffic to come and go in similar way
to how a six lane highway can move more traffic than a single lane.
Is High Speed worth it? For many, Yes! For those who spend hours online
H.S. may decrease their time because they have a lot less “waiting”
time. Those who enjoy surfing the web you will find it more enjoyable.
But, for those who only get online for a few minutes now and then to
check email – dialup may be sufficient.
What are advantages of H.S.? Did I mention SPEED? Speed, also referred
to as bandwidth, is the biggest advantage. The more you have the less
waiting you need to do. This allows online video to play more with out
stop, load, play, etc. Another advantage is H.S. is normally an always
on connection which allows you surf the net whenever your computer is on
without tying up your phone line. This allows you to still make &
receive phone calls while online.
Disadvantages? Just like six lane highways cost more to maintain than a
two lane, so does H.S. cost more. The other disadvantage? Addiction –
once you start you may find your self hooked.
There are many types of H.S. (DSL, Satellite, Cable, etc.) and each has
its’ own advantages and disadvantages which is too much to cover in this
article.
Please let me know if you find this type of article useful.
Enjoy your surfing.
Lawrence Mead