Q: I live in Lethbridge, AB. I am using a Pentium 120, with 32Mb EDO Ram and 2Mb of VRam (Diamond Stealth). Shaw cable and BC-Telus are both coming to town at the same time. Shaw claims 100X faster than a 28.8kbs (is that =2.88Mbs???) modem and Telus says 1.5Mbs. What about when someone is one the phone/fax, what does the speed decrease to with ADSL? The price for each service is the same. Is one better than the other, i.e.. faster, safer etc. I do on-line trading etc. with the computer, so security is also prime. Would I benefit from a faster processor and/or more ram? I plan on purchasing a new computer next spring and linking the 2 together.
A: Shaw does not claim that you will experience 100x modem speeds. The @Home FAQ (http://www.home.com/qa.html) clearly lists the crucial words, "up to." Telus' service, meanwhile, is subject to caveats that apply to the way its bandwidth potential diminishes with distance, and thus its "150x modem speeds" claim must be considered incomplete without those magic words, as well.
However, the FAQs don't really give you the *whole* story. Although not mentioned in the @Home FAQ, cable modem bandwidth is shared by all users in a neighbourhood.
ADSL, as the FAQ at http://www.bctel.ca/multimediagateway/faq/ notes, is not shared, but is dependent on the proximity to the phone company's switching station/office. In my area, the "Home" flavour promises 1.5Mbps of bandwidth downstream, and 512Kbps upstream, hence the term "asymmetric" digital subscriber line. (A more expensive "business" service increases both upstream and downstream speeds. Your provider may or may not offer this option.)
More details are available in my introductory article on the subject of ADSL and a follow-up on the subject.
Of course, both systems are subject to bandwidth constraints at any bottleneck point in the system, such as a heavily trafficked site's web server.
Additionally, cable users may be subject to a few additional security issues, namely the ability for you to access other "Network Neighbourhood" users' shared hard drives or networked printers (or vice versa) unless those drives or printers are password protected. Actually, most, if not all modern cable systems do not have any trouble with file sharing security (read the spec) — unless you’ve got NetBIOS open to the world, in which case you’re a security hazard no matter what Internet connection method you use.
To be fair, you may also be able to access ADSL-connected resources on someone else's computer with the knowledge of their IP address and a basic understanding of the Windows 9x "Find Computer" feature (as detailed in the article on Logging in), and it is relatively simple to reduce the risk in either case (i.e., disable NetBIOS; don't share drives or printers without password protecting them!).
Overall, I'd rate ADSL as a more scalable technology, but in actual use, at least in my area (0.7 km from the nearest ADSL switch), both provide roughly comparable performance in "real world" use.
If I were you, I'd also consider whether either system has a "heavy use" surcharge, for example a per-gigabyte download surcharge. Five or 10 gigabytes may seem like an insane amount to download, but once you're downloading videos, MP3s and other binaries, it goes by pretty quickly. You should also consider overall reliability of service in your decision. Ask your associates if they are happy. Although ADSL in the west seems to be quite reliable, we've seen many complaints from Toronto-based users -- and more than a few complaints about cable as well. More than anything, it seems that reliability is a localized service issue. (We have additional commentary on Shaw Lite-Speed and this topic in The Techno Zone Forums.)
For the record, I chose ADSL, but I'll drop it like a hot potato the day my service provider (Telus) institutes a per-gigabyte surcharge.
The FAQ at http://www.bctel.ca/multimediagateway/faq/ also answers your other Internet questions. Check whether your local provider has its own FAQ, which may differ.
As for the upgrade question, yes, a CPU upgrade or faster computer should speed performance noticeably. You will, however, get a moderate boost in speed by upgrading RAM to 64 MB or more. For a bigger boost, consider replacing the CPU (and motherboard, if necessary) with a 400MHz or faster processor. These days, you can get a processor, motherboard and new RAM (and sometimes even a new ATX case and power supply thrown in!) installed for less than C$300. That gives you the best bang for the buck and the most upgrade options.
High-Speed Internet for Home Users (From Telus)
For the active family that uses the Internet regularly to seek information, enjoy online entertainment, download software or just to communicate with friends and relatives …
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