Cable or DSL?

[I am Spartacus]

Since you're in Olathe, I am going to assume that your cable option is 
provided by Comcast, not Time Warner.  That said, I would seriously 
consider using SBC DSL as your solution rather than Comcast.  I was a 
Time Warner cable modem user before I moved to Olathe, but when I asked 
around about the same thing, I was told by many people that Comcast 
cable modem access was not up to par with the service I had come to 
expect with Time Warner.  For instance, I had been running a web site 
from home via Time Warner, and when I looked at going with Comcast, they 
specifically prohibit you from such traffic.  I don't know whether it is 
merely policy, or if they actually have port 80 blocked off. 
 Nonetheless, I went with SBC DSL.  While it was a pain to get it 
initially set up, I am very happy with the service I have now.  Their 
customer support kind of sucks, but aside from the initial setup, I have 
not needed to call upon them for anything.

Word of advice: if you go with SBC, order the basic service first and 
ask for the self-install kit.  That will save you a $200.00 on-site 
installation fee which consists of a technician plugging your DSL modem 
into the wall and attaching an ethernet cable between the modem and your 
computer.  Then if you want to upgrade to the enhanced service later (5 
static IP addresses) you just make a phone call and they can handle the 
upgrade over the phone.  If you go for the enhanced service when you 
first set up your account with them, they require the on-site install.

Shannon Merritt

KRFinch at dstsystems.com wrote:

>Hello all!
>
>At the risk of opening up a can of worms discussion on how "... [insert ISP
>name here] is just a bunch of greedy, overbilling bastards ...", I would
>like to get some objective (and mildly subjective) information on the best
>way to compare my broadband options.  I have both cable and DSL available
>to me in downtown Olathe, and I would like to know what I should look (out)
>for, since many of you out there already have broadband.  I've been a
>little too cheap to get it so far, but I finally found a tenant for my
>rental, so I will have a little more cash coming in and can afford to make
>the leap.
>
>If it matters, I'm wanting to put up my own firewall and share the
>connection with computers all over the house.  I've been planning something
>like this for awhile, and I have inexpensively amassed all of the hardware
>I think I could need.  I've got five otherwise useless laptops that could
>make great email/surf stations, and a whole bunch of other desktops,
>servers, hubs, cables, and even a 16 port switch with a fiber uplink port.
>
>Any insights would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance for the info!
>
>Kevin Finch
>Network Administrator
>DST Systems, Inc.
>816/435-6039
>krfinch at dstsystems.com
>
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