Cable modems?

shootist16

shootist16

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I am making the switch to cable internet tomorrow. I am tired of frequent disconnects and slow download time of dial up.

The cable company provides a cable modem free for the rest of the year, but then I have to rent it or buy one. I think I would rather buy. Can anyone recommend a good cable modem?

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Dennis Bible

....Almost here, The Leading Edge....
http://www.theleadingedgeonline.com
 
Hi Denis... I think all cable companies sell their own boxes. I know it's that way where I live in New York.

I don't know if there are bad modems, because they aren't like the dial-up modems. I think they just transfer data, with no working parts, but I'm not totally sure about that.

I don't know how much this helped you, but I'm sure you will get some more opinions, so good luck to you!

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Click Here, and Check Out Florida Custom Knives

BC... For those who fought for it, Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know... Semper Fi!
 
You'll need to get a certain model. Ask your friendly cable people.

By the way, once you go cable, you will never, ever go back.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Shmackey:
By the way, once you go cable, you will never, ever go back.</font>
Click to expand...


Thats what I hear. I cant wait. Supposed to be 50 times faster than dial up.


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Dennis Bible

....Almost here, The Leading Edge....
http://www.theleadingedgeonline.com
 
Stay away from RCA models. High Speed Surfing Machines are pretty good. Also when getting a modem from a cable company always check the bottom for stickers with initials on it. This generally means that it has been refurbished. I know from experience.
 
you'll love it.

the only problem we have had with ours is that it went bonk (the modem itself,not the connection) last week in a thunderstorm. a bolt of lightning struck pretty fargin close to the house and killed it...thats what we think did it anyway.

there are,however, occasional disconnects (here in my town,anyway). its usually something that is remedied in a few seconds.

overall it beats the hell out of dial up (which im on now cuz our modem killed itself) and you'll love it.

have fun,and try to not stay up all night surfing like i do
smile.gif
 
...I've had a Motorola cable modem for 2 years now. Never a problem...

If you worry about surges, get a TrippLite 10BaseT surge protector for the out side to your box, and a coax inline protector for the cable modem...
 
Hi Dennis,

You'll love it! I've had ADSL for almost three years. I'm at 768 Kbps (compared to dialup at 56K at best). You'll likely be higher (my brother's is). But up in this neighborhood, everything flies! I've downloaded a 16 meg file in something like 6 minutes. I was amazed! I'm still amazed!

I do 56K at work. I hate it. It's aweful. But I have no choice. I do as much as possible here at home.

Enjoy it, Dennis!

Ron
 
Hi,

I'm using RoadRunner cable modem service from Time Warner, running at 2mbps/300kbps. It's really awesome. Web surfing is even faster than at work.
smile.gif


I'm renting my modem (Toshiba PCX1100U) from RR for $5/month. It's a very good modem, with both 10baseT ethernet and USB connectors for your PC. I can get consistent 2mbps downloads. If you decide to get a modem, be sure it is DOCSIS certified (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification).

However, I'd recommend renting rather than buying. Technology constantly changes, and if you rent, you will get upgrades as the technology improves. If you buy...you don't get upgrades. Plus, cable modems are a couple of hundred bucks. Depending on your rental rate, it could be three years or more before renting costs more than buying, IF you haven't had to buy upgraded modems.

Instead, use the money to buy yourself a good router/switch to firewall your PC and network. I'm using a Netgear RT314 router/switch myself. I've also heard good things about Linksys' router/switch.

hth,
/mel
biggrin.gif
 
Just got cable. Wow! This is incredible. I am pushing 1 meg for speed. My email isn't working right now though. Hopefuly I will have it working soon.

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Dennis Bible

....Almost here, The Leading Edge....
http://www.theleadingedgeonline.com
 
I live far enough out in the sticks that cable isn't reliable. It's down on average, about 10 days per month. (I have NO idea why!)

So instead, I went with two way Sat link and the only time I lose connections is when it's storming so bad I shouldn't be on the puter anyway.

I know from using Napster and then Aimster, that you can forget about ISDN and DSL, cable is the only thing that comes close to matching my speed. (and yeah, it DOES come close!)

Either way, Fat pipe connection is the ONLY way to go.

Best download speed so far?
I got a 25meg movie trailer in 3 minutes and change.


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Desenfundeme no sin la razón, envaineme no sin honor
Usual Suspect
MOLON LABE!
 
Followup on my cable modem comments earlier:

I just got my Time Warner bill, and it says on the back that starting on July 1, they will no longer offer the $5/month discount for using your own cable modem. Even more incentive to not buy your own, at least if you use RoadRunner.
smile.gif


<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Best download speed so far?
I got a 25meg movie trailer in 3 minutes and change.</font>
Click to expand...

Sorry, I couldn't resist.
wink.gif
I just downloaded a 27meg portion of DragonballZ episode 92 in 1 minute 52 seconds. If you can get reliable cable modem service, it really kicks butt.
biggrin.gif


/mel
 
AWESOME!
biggrin.gif

Like I said, forget DSL and ISDN, cable or 2 way sat is the way to go.

The best thing about either of them is that you can eliminate the 2nd phone line. I actually ended up saving money by switching to sat.




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Desenfundeme no sin la razón, envaineme no sin honor
Usual Suspect
MOLON LABE!
 
The cable company uses RCA. So far so good, but I haven't used it much. It is free rental for 6 months. I may buy another brand after that. The cable guy said I could use different brands.

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Dennis Bible
 
Ken & Mel,

You've made me feel like a parasite on the Internet...or at least a little bit emasculated.
wink.gif
Thanks a lot!

Pouting, with inferior equipment...

Ron
 
I've got the Toshiba pcx1100, and I love it. It beats the heck outta a dial up connection, any day.

Kris
 
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