I really don’t mind dial-up - with tabbed browsing I can let something load over there while I continue reading over here - but with more and more websites doing all this Flash and other slow-loading bullshit my internet experience is deteriorating. And now Qwest is offering DSL for less money that dialup, so I think maybe it’s time to make the jump.
I just don’t understand anything about the mechanics of it.
I’ll need to swap my dialup modem for a DSL modem? Which I can buy at a computer place or can buy from Qwest? Will I have to be home while they install something, either into my computer or into my wall? I’ve done phone wiring and swapped my dialup modem before - is that something I can do myself?
I have about 90 million other questions, but let’s start there. Educate me, please?
You’ll have to buy a DSL modem, it sits separate from your computer. You connect your computer to it through an ethernet cable, which means you’ll have to buy a network card, if you don’t have one already.
The infrastructure should already be in place at your house. As long as you have a phone line (which you do), they’ll just send a tech over to the central office, and you SHOULD be up an running in a couple days, if not earlier.
The ISP might send you their own modem, but chances are, you’d have to pay through the nose for it. See if you can get out of that, and buy yourself a nice cheap Speedtouch 516v6.
I recently switched from TWC to AT&T DSL; they sent me an installation kit which included a modem and filters for my phone line, and I was able to install it myself. They did charge me $75 for the modem (a Motorola 2210) but they also sent me a $75 VISA debit card so essentially the modem was free.
They’ve also been trying to get me to sign up for a service protection plan which will replace the modem if anything happens to it, but I think I’m better off buying a replacement myself.
You might have one. Depends how old your computer is. They’ve been pretty standard for a while now. Alternately, many DSL modems have a USB connection in addition to the regular network connection. I hope you have USB. If not, yes you should be able to just replace your modem card with an ethernet card.
That’s correct.
Since the DSL signal runs over your existing phone wiring, the filters stop you from “hearing” it when you pick up your phone. They plug in between your existing phones and the wall.
You can use DSL and talk on the phone at the same time, with the filters installed. Without the filters… you will not be having a conversation.
Virtually all DSL modems are external devices, rather than internal to the computer. They’ll have a phone connection, an external power supply (a wall wart) and either a USB or Ethernet connection or both.
If you have an older computer and have only a USB 1.1 connection, use the Ethernet connection instead. It’s generally a better idea because it will allow you to put a wireless router between the modem and the computer.
I’m not a big fan of hooking up DSL modems directly to any computer because it limits you to a software firewall. You can find wireless routers on sale for as little as $29. That usually includes a router, wireless interface and a hardware firewall.
What’s a wireless router going to do for me that a wired router won’t? I only have one computer, live by myself, and the box sits about 2 feet from my left knee.
Oh, and also - I used to actually solder transistors into circuit boards but that was a job and as I haven’t had that job for …er… (Christ. How’d I get so old?) I find myself turning into a Luddite.
So, before I forget, thanks to everyone who has so far been patient with me and answered my inane questions.
Because they sell so many of them, a router with a WiFi access point built into it is cheaper than one without. Go figure. It’s cheaper to buy one and turn the WiFi off than to buy one without it. Then, when you inevitably add a WiFi enabled device to your home, you are ready to roll.
