The Internet is still roughly in its infancy. We have just about scratched the surface of what we can do with it and on it. Broadband is one of the relatively newer technologies that the Internet has to offer. To truly understand how incredible this technology is, one has to look back at how things used to be for many types of Internet activities. Unfortunately, we are so spoiled; we take many of these things for granted. Well, maybe a reminder of how things were and how they are today will make you realize how lucky you truly are.
Back in the old days of the Internet, with dial up modems, you were lucky to get on at 300 baud. Now granted, we've come a long way since then with most dial up connections able to connect at speeds of 56,000 baud. Certainly a lot quicker, but for certain things it is still painfully slow. Here are some examples of then and now.
Computer applications are getting more and more complex. With that complexity, they are also getting much larger in size. Now normally this isn't such a big problem as most computers certainly have enough disk space to handle just about anything. But it isn't space that's a problem today. May applications can actually be purchased and downloaded right online. No going to the store. Just pay your fee and download. Well, the problem with this, especially with the larger applications, is that the size of them makes downloading using dial up VERY slow. Actually, painfully slow. Some applications can take up to 90 minutes or longer to download. That same application when downloaded over a broadband connection can download in maybe 10 minutes. Broadband makes downloading software a very easy and enjoyable activity. This especially saves time when having to do operating system upgrades.
Another area where broadband is a real joy is in the land of graphics. While web design schools try to teach good web design practices, which includes not loading up your web pages with too many large graphic files, web designers still can't resist the temptation to have some monster size graphic files popping up all over the place. On a dial up connection, this makes loading the page a virtual nightmare, especially on those sites that have 300 thumbnails that haven't been scaled down. These pages could take a good 10 minutes or more to load. With a broadband connection, that same page can load in about 30 seconds or less. The word fast doesn't even begin to describe it.
But one of the most popular things that broadband is used for is streaming video. Years ago, watching a four of five minute clip off of a TV show wasn't only impossible, but even if it could have been done, the size of those clips would have made viewing using a dial up connection so painfully slow that it just wouldn't have been worth the effort. Today, with a broadband connection, those same clips view as if they are right off your TV, with no clipping, hesitation, jumping, stalling or any negative effects.
Broadband is truly a new world of Internet. And the scary part is, it can only get better.
Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Broadband |
