19
Cable's better if you're in a low saturation area(like me). DSL is capped most of the time at 1.5 megabits per second. Cable has a maximum bandwidth of something like 8 megabit, some ISPs cap you're speed, especially if you're in a high-saturation area(IE a lot of you're neighbors have Cable also)
The main problem with cable is that it's set up as a gigantic LAN until it get's to the network switch or router that connects it to the larger network or the internet. So the more people get on it, the slower it becomes for everyone involved. I(and most of Alabama) live in a low-saturation area because most people either don't know the joys of broadband or don't care enough to upgrade. If you can get cable tv(charter, comcast, ect), odds are you can get cable broadband. It's more expensive than AOL but it's much faster and doesn't have the mondo overhead.
While it sounds like a good idea to legislate national deployment of broadband technologies using the government, the companies involved would still have to foot the bill. Not only for installation, but for maintenence and support. Also, you can't guarentee that people would sign up for broadband if narrowband is available for less money. You would have to make narrowband ISPs disappear somehow so that the only option is the new broadband service. Also, while the existing technology is good, it's not ready for prime time. How much do you think the internet would slow down if you suddenly added 100 million people joined who suddenly discovered that they can send and receive massive files in the same time it took them to check their email before?
The main problem with cable is that it's set up as a gigantic LAN until it get's to the network switch or router that connects it to the larger network or the internet. So the more people get on it, the slower it becomes for everyone involved. I(and most of Alabama) live in a low-saturation area because most people either don't know the joys of broadband or don't care enough to upgrade. If you can get cable tv(charter, comcast, ect), odds are you can get cable broadband. It's more expensive than AOL but it's much faster and doesn't have the mondo overhead.
While it sounds like a good idea to legislate national deployment of broadband technologies using the government, the companies involved would still have to foot the bill. Not only for installation, but for maintenence and support. Also, you can't guarentee that people would sign up for broadband if narrowband is available for less money. You would have to make narrowband ISPs disappear somehow so that the only option is the new broadband service. Also, while the existing technology is good, it's not ready for prime time. How much do you think the internet would slow down if you suddenly added 100 million people joined who suddenly discovered that they can send and receive massive files in the same time it took them to check their email before?
My first Armageddon has died.
2005.11.25 06:22:57 combat Your Tachyon Beam Laser I perfectly strikes Ruined Stargate, wrecking for
733.8 damage.
2005.11.25 06:22:57 combat Your Tachyon Beam Laser I perfectly strikes Ruined Stargate, wrecking for
733.8 damage.
28
You're not in the middle of nowhere, you're in the sticks just this side of the middle of nowhere. 
Go down to Greene county. Down there, the nearest Wal-Mart is something like 45-50 miles away and the population density is something like 1-2 people per sq. mile once you get clear of the county seat. Now that's the middle of nowhere.
Go down to Greene county. Down there, the nearest Wal-Mart is something like 45-50 miles away and the population density is something like 1-2 people per sq. mile once you get clear of the county seat. Now that's the middle of nowhere.
My first Armageddon has died.
2005.11.25 06:22:57 combat Your Tachyon Beam Laser I perfectly strikes Ruined Stargate, wrecking for
733.8 damage.
2005.11.25 06:22:57 combat Your Tachyon Beam Laser I perfectly strikes Ruined Stargate, wrecking for
733.8 damage.