Mainly, DSL uses your regular telephone lines, while cable uses, well, the TV cable. If you’ll repost your OP, I’ll provide more details, since I don’t know exactly what you wanted to know.
The biggest difference is security. With DSL you have a dedicated wire to the phone box, with cable you share the wire with other users. It’s generally much easier to tap into the cable line than the phone line.
Also, I believe that Cable is faster too.
That’s a big “it depends”. With DSL, you’re sharing your internet speed with everybody who shares a box that sits at the phone company. The distance between you and that box determines your maximum theoretical speed.
With cable, you’re sharing your internet speed with everybody who shares a box that sits somewhere in your neighborhood. If your ISP becomes very successful, it’s easier to add more boxes at the phone company than it is to add more boxes in more neighborhoods, so cable networks sometimes get more congested than DSL networks do.
Also, DSL tends to have slightly lower latency than cable. Probably not noticably so to the average user.
-lv
To all: What are your personal average for downloading for both cable or DSL?
You have to be a little careful in how you assess this because not all cable setups are the same and not all DSL is the same. Many providers have two products - an unlimited speed version and a “speed limited” version which is cheaper. The limited version is fine for those not doing massive downloads.
You also have to know whether it’s metered in kb or kB (bits and bytes).
With cable “light”, I download at 60 to 80 kB which is about 10 times what I can do with a 56kbs modem.
When I had DSL “light” I maxed out at 40 to 50 kB.
You should check out www.broadbandreports.com for reviews of the cable and DSL companies you’re considering; there you can find out what to expect.
For what it’s worth, with my ISP, Optimum Online, I can get 1.1 MB/s from a local (i.e. within OOL’s network) host. I’ve regularly seen 600 KB/s from fast sites like Microsoft’s, on a good day.
There is also the issue of location. IIRC, DSL is not available if your location is more than 3-5 miles from the telco local office exchange.
Cable is much faster, at a price.
Folk like me in the woods with no cable on the street, too far for DSL, work the hamsters on dial up at a blistering 31.2!
In reality, even though cable shares a single connection with many users, most users will never see any congestion because of this. The only limit a user will see is the cap placed on the line, which varies depending on locale. Right now in my area (Olympia, WA) Comcast’s cap is 1500kbps download, 256kbps upload, soon to be raised to 3000kbps download. This is for $42.95 a month. The highest DSL speed available is 640kbps download, 256kbps upload at $39.99 per month. This makes cable a MUCH better deal in my area. It may be different in your area, and if you just want enough speed for web surfing, then a lower speed DSL plan may be a better option.
This may be true in your area, but when I had Verizon DSL back in NJ, they also offered a 1500 kbps package, which at the time, was $59.99 a month.
DSL, at least in my area, cannot/doesnot work with Windows 95.
Can cable work with Windows 95?
Probably not, unless your cable ISP provides compatible software. I’m not aware of any that do. Why not upgrade to Windsows 98 or 98 se? In fact, I’ve got a Win98 se disk that’s yours for the asking. Or anyone else who wants it. First email takes it.
Assuming you have a normal cable modem that has USB and Ethernet connections, it should work fine with Windows 95 when you use the Ethernet connection. Only the USB connection won’t work with Windows 95, as Windows 95 didn’t support USB.
I’ve used cable just fine with Win95.
To the OS, it’s just a TCP/IP connection over ethernet.
oops.
Sorry to echo you chorpler. I shoulda previewed.
I have verizon DSL, DL speeds are 90 kb/s, uploads are slower but I don’t have the number.
The advantages and disadvantages of each as I see them:
My DSL has dialup backup/travel numbers - check with your cable/telco to see whats available.
DSL usually requires some software to use the internet (allow PPPoE), this can be solved by using a internet gateway wich will allow you to spilt the signal to several computers also. Cable usually requires no software.
One or the other may not be avilable in yoru area.
Also consider where your computur is, is cable near it or will you have to run a cable (or eithernet cable, but could due wireliess), there is usually a telephone line nearby which will help you set up DSL.
DSL speeds are pretty consistant, cable varries a lot, cable sppeds are TYPICALLY BUT NOT ALWAYS higher then ‘residential’ DSL during all times but the peak usage times.
DSL has caused NO problem with my phone at all, I can still talk, fax, even dialup modem on the DSL line while ‘DSL’ing’.
DSL has typicaly lower latency (as pointed out above) - useful really for online gaming only.
Cable usually has a wider pipe, useful for downloading large files, filesharing, etc.
Security is reported as more risky w/ cable but it is questionable.
also look for cost, Verizon is offering a price of about $30/month IIRC while cable goes for $45 or $50 after 3 months of $20 promotional.
WIth DSL for the most part you MUST maintain a landline so if you are considering just gong cellular or voice over IP telephone you can’t drop your main dialtone (the one with DSL). With cable you can ‘cut the cord’ if you wish.
For regular web surfing, inculding SDMB there is no real difference you will notice.
As of the time I had the service, the upload cap was at 128 kilobits per second or 16 kilobytes.
From troublshooting a connectivity issue, I now know that the dialtone equipment is entirely separate fromt he DSL equipment, and a DSL signal can be received through a phone line with no dialtone. Whether any providers will allow you to that or not, I don’t know.
THat is exactly correct Q.E.D. it is technically possible but not a reality for residential DSL service.
Also in interesting aside that broadband really means multiple services, not high speed. A DSL only line would not be a broadband connection though it would act the same in terms of internet usage.
Actually, broadband really means capable of high bandwidth. In data transmision (whether analog, as in TV and radio, or digital), the rate of data transmission is directly proportional to the available bandwidth of the carrier signal, and is meant to be measured in Hertz, not bits, as is the tendency of computer to do. For comparison, and FM radio signal has a maximum bandwidth of 150 kHz, a TV channel (which carries much more information) has a bandwidth of 6 MHz.