Recently I asked how many of you still use a telephone line to connect to the Internet. The result? Plenty of you still use the good old standby, the dial-up modem. That wasn't really a surprise, although from what you read in magazines and on Web sites you'd think everyone already had a broadband connection.
This is a topic I first raised back in March, but it's as current today as it was then. So today I'm repeating--with some minor changes--my original advice. Now, I couldn't live without my fast Internet connections--and in the interest of science I have both DSL and cable coming into my home office--but that doesn't mean either is right for you.
So here are my nine warning signs that broadband isn't for you.
1. You can live without the Internet. The most obvious case of not needing a broadband connection is that the Internet isn't a big part of your life. If you are on the Net less than, say, 10 hours a week, you can probably stay on dial-up.
2. Email or chat is your primary use of the Internet. Unless you get a whole lot of mail or frequently receive big attachments--digital music, large files, or big photographs--you can probably do just fine on dial-up. Chat--unless it's video--has not, at least in my experience, gotten terribly faster as my connection speed has grown.
3. Multimedia doesn't interest you. If you are not listening to Internet radio or looking at video or other interactive applications, you probably have all the bandwidth you need.
4. The price isn't right. A typical broadband connection costs AU$70-a-month or so, plus some additional hardware costs (Telstra 12 month plan, AU$259 connection and AU$67 per month). That is generally on top of your cable television bill, if you choose a cable modem.
5. AOL is your life. I haven't seen a lot on AOL that would make me want to order a broadband connection, despite the company's entrance into the broadband business. AOL is changing this, albeit slowly, so for now I think a dial-up modem meets the needs of the average user.
6. You move around a lot. There can be installation costs and/or 12-month commitments with some of the broadband deals. Likewise, people who live on the road are best served with dial-up connections. I use AOL as my national dial-up ISP because it's a local call from almost everywhere and its easy to make the necessary phone number changes when I go from place to place.
7. There is only one computer in your life. Fast connections are integral to many home networks, but a home network requires more than one computer. The corollary is to this is that your life is already complex enough without adding more hardware and software.
8. You are paranoid about security. The less you are online, the less vulnerable you are to people cracking into your system. Personal firewalls are a must for people with full-time connections, but not for the occasionally connected. Remember, though: Everyone needs anti-virus protection at all times.
9. You are afraid of the vendors. I have friends who won't order broadband because of the horror stories about installation and service they have heard from friends.
So there you have my nine warning signs that broadband isn't for you. None of them should be considered absolute, but I wanted to make the point that many people will get along just fine without having to buy the next big thing. It's up to the vendors to do more to make it irresistible.
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