Jaguar and Broadband Connection

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callieX

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It looks to me like if you only have a dial up connection to the internet most of the new features of Jaguar and .Mac are pretty useless. I still think the majority of users use a dialup connection for the web. Even auto software updates are painfully slow. Where I live cable and dsl are still pricey at $60/month. If you get cable modem you have to have cable TV already to get it. Just wondered what thoughts others have on this.

Calliex
 
I agree that the internet keeps slowly getting more and more biased towards those with fast connections. Of course, this has been going on for years. Who else remembers using AOL version 2.5 with a 2400 baud modem? And who remembers when "baud" and "bitrate" were implicitly synonymous? Hopefully the speed requirements of the internet will top out eventually, but then again, 640 KB should be enough for anyone.

And I've got a feeling I've just subscribed to another "hot button" topic. :)
 
I don't have a problem with switching to broad band. But I think the price is way to high. I would only use probably a couple of hours a day with many days of no use at all. It is hard to justify $50+ per month for something I do not use on a regular basis, plus the cost of cable TV which is $50 per month also. You have to have cable TV to have broadband.

The dialup connection is fine for 80% of what I do, surfing the net. The problem comes in when I need to download a software update, backup my system to .Mac, upload pictures to the web, etc. Most of these operation I would only do a couple times a month.

I think the price for broadband should be around $30 per month or lower. DSL is not avail for me and they can't tell when or if it will ever be available. This limits competion since ATT know that they are the only solution for me.

Calliex
 
I think the cost of ADSL will drop in before long. We don't have cable TV but we did sign up for ADSL for $50/month. We just moved back from Japan where ADSL is faster and cheaper. You can get 8Mb ADSL for about $20 and 12Mb ADSL for about $25/month. You can even get optical fiber to your desk at 100Mb for $100/month. If you can still live with plain old 1.5Mb ADSL it can be had for about $12/month.

I've already seen adds here near San Francisco for about $30/month.

Yahoo Japan is really pushing cheap ADSL there. Now they announced they will start broadcasting some sort of TV programs over ADSL. Maybe we need something like that here to drive the use of ADSL.
On the other hand, cable TV is much rarer in Japan compared to the US.
 
Just wanted to note that in many areas, especially those served by AT&T Broadband, cable TV service is not required to subscribe to cable modem service. They don't go out of the way to tell you that you can get modem service only, but you can. This many not be true for other providers so it's best to check with your local cable company.
 
I have a cable modem connection, love it, and couldn't live without it!
Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it really is marvelous. :D
Had cable TV service before I got the internet hookup, so it costs "only" $40 a month. If I had the cable modem without the cable TV service, they would charge me $60 a month.
 
Here in Minneapolis, I signed up with Earthlink Cable (via Time Warner) and it has been exactly what I expected. Always on connection, don't have to have cable TV, as fast as I'd ever need 95% of the time, $43 / month.

.Mac? What's that? ;)
 
God! Do I miss broadband connection!

I recently moved to Australia, and broadband prices are INSANE here!!!
 
I had dialup for years, and tried broadband. cable. Love it! super fast downloads and web surfing! The way the net should be.

I didnt like the expense. $40/month. since we already have cable tv.

So, I cancelled it, went back to dialup. BIG mistake!

I had to get the cable back! dialup should be outlawed! :(

it is so slow..... unreal.

I agree, the internet and most web pages seem to be forcing people to get faster connections to enjoy it more. And the prices are a bit high.

as more and more people hope on board, the cost should come down.

remember when cell phones first came out? the prices were too high for most people. dialup was the same.

I remember when I first used aol using a 2400 baud modem! I was paying for aol by the hour!

first months bill? $125!!!!

ouch!
 
I'm now wondering what will happne when broadband becomes commonplace. Webpages are slowly growing in size to suck the life out of every bit of bandwidth we have to offer.

It's a vicious cycle. We need bigger pipes because everything is getting larger, yet everything is getting larger because we have bigger pipes ;)
 
Calliex,

I was shocked to find out that only 13% of online users have broadband when my company recently did some research on the subject. In the next year that number is expected to double, but that is still less then 1/3 of the internet users in the US... I would suspect that number is much lower in other countries.

When developing websites it's important to consider load time, as most everyone knows. As a developer, when I code a page, part of my job is to look at the little guys... because they are the majority.

You can't , however, ignore the technology, such as Java, Flash, etc because those enhancements do make your website stand out. So everyone has to balance between boring and heavy loading pages. Sometimes the most simple design can be interesting and fast loading. But Rhino_G3, you're right, it is a vicious cycle. ;)
 
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