56k and High Speed Connectivity
News- Net
victory could cut DSL prices, c|net, 11/8. "...Baby
Bell companies must allow competitors to share the main
telephone line into homes to offer high-speed digital
subscriber line service."
- 56k
modems to improve, PC World, 11/18. "V.90 Plus modems
could speed uploads and connect more quickly."
- Online with a
PowerBook Duo, Julie Fugett, Mac Daniel, 11/17. "To
do everything you want to accomplish, you're going to
need a DuoDock."
- Free web access,
even for older Macs, Rob Myers, Mac Musings, 11/17.
Free web access with a standard PPP connection and no
extra ad banners in your brower.
- The
hell that is DSL, Interactive Week, 11/8
[56k.com].
Getting DSL installed can be a nightmare.
- A
new age of consumer cable modems, ZDTV [56k.com].
"One big surprise . . . was just how simple the
installation process is for the end user."
- VDSL
offers ten times ADSL speed, TechWeb, 11/2
[56k.com].
"VDSL technology has an aggregate capacity of up to 60
Mbist/second over short distances...."
- IPNetRouter
1.4.4 released, 11/4. It's how I connect my network
to the internet.
- Six
months with a cable modem, 56k.com. "The lesson in
this is that a modem is only as good as the network
behind it...."
- 3Com
scores with modem geared toward serious gamers,
Excite News, 10/26. PCI modem designed for faster pings,
more stable connections, and reduced lag times. (No info
on Mac support.)
- The
social cost of connectivity, Wired, 10/20. Does
"being connected" mean being disconnected from those
around us?
- At
last, DSL gets real, ZDNet, 10/18. "Somewhere in the
spectrum of DSL choices is a cost-effective offer that
will work for you, whether you need to feed Net access to
a family, a small office, or a home office."
- FCC to
re-examine "modem tax," MSNBC. "The 'modem tax' is
now officially classified as an urban myth; however, the
idea is not completely dead inside the FCC; it's just on
long-term hold."
- DSL:
One man's life in the fast lane, Gary Krakow, MSNBC.
"If you know what T-1 lines cost per month, or how ISDN
"per minute/per channel" charges add up, DSL starts to
look like a bargain (even in the Big Apple)."
- Why
DSL will win the fast-access fight, Jesse Berst,
ZDNet, 10/6. In a word, competition.
- click here for previous
news and articles
According to the hype, v.90 (aka 56k) modems are the
greatest thing since Zip drives. In some respects, they are.
They're ideal for surfing the world wide web, but perhaps
less than ideal for other uses. The problem begins with competing standards. There were
two independent and mutually exclusive 56k protocols: one
(X2) from US Robotics, the other (K56flex) from Lucent,
Rockwell and others. X2 modems and K56flex modems can't talk
to each other faster than 33.6Kbps -- yet. With the new v.90
standard finalized and most 56k modems upgradable, a better
day is coming. Don't even think about buying either type of 56k modem
until you know which protocol your ISP will support. If
possible, hold out until your ISP supports the v.90
standard. If you can't wait, make sure you buy a modem that
can be readily upgraded to V.90 (you want a software
upgradable modem, one that uses flash ROM). 56k.com
maintains a list of companies offering free upgrades to the
final standard. And be sure to consider the new alternatives: cable
modems, various types of DSL (digital subscriber line), even
satellite dish and radio wave. Although not available in all
areas, these may be a viable option for you.
Contents
- Not all phone lines will
support 56k modems.
- FCC restrictions may limit you to 53Kbps.
- Real world connection
speeds are under 56k (but often better than
33.6).
- 56k speed is for downloads
only; uploads limited to 33.6Kbps.
- Upload speed is inversely
proportional to download speed.
- 56k modems don't
talk to each other at 56k.
- 56k may be impractical
for remote access.
- Latency -- why some
aspects of 56k are no faster than with your current
modem.
- Data buffering and
compression -- two more factors to slow things
down.
- Serial port speed
makes a difference.
- What about faster
internet connections?
- Good things about 56k
modems.
- Conclusions.
Other 56k Modem Information
- Click
here for more resources.
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