DSL
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is an interesting technology which allows high speed access to the internet over a standard phone line. The thing that amazed me is a normal voice line works over the same phone cable at the same time you are on the internet with DSL!!!
So what's so great about DSL? Well, it's a permanent connection, which means you are always on the internet. This is cool because busy signals, dropped connections and other nuisances become a thing of the past. However, note that because it is a permanent connection you had better be more concerned about security, especially firewall security.
DSL is also fast, incredibly fast. The actual speed you get depends on how close you are to the DSL office. You must be within 1500 meters of the office with the DSL equipment for it to work at all, and the further you are from the office the slower your connection. Connection speeds of 1.5mb/sec are commonly reported, although 384kb is commonly sold.
The sharing of the voice line with the data line is a great feature. This means you can talk on the phone while being connected to the internet, which effectively eliminates the common issue of not being able to get phone calls while you are dialed in.
So how do you get DSL? First you find out if it is available in your area. This could mean some searching, as DSL is not available everywhere. A good place to start is your local phone company. You can also try the services like FlashComm to see if they are available where you live.
Call the DSL company and schedule an appointment. Beware here as most of the complaints that I've heard about DSL revolve around installation. Most reports that I've heard also indicate that DSL, once installed, is remarkably stable. Dropped connections and other line problems seem to be almost non-existent.
Once you've installed DSL you will most definitely want to tune your operating system. You see, Windows by default is not optimized for DSL speeds. In particular, you will want to change the RWIN parameter in your registry. I did so and found my speed jumped from about 450kb/sec to 1.5mb/sec! I used the TweakDUN utility (click the picture to the left to purchase) to set RWIN to 32767 to get that result. One quick reboot and my speed tripled!
I have written a review of Pacific Bell's DSL service. You can check it out at the following link.