Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : AUTOHOME, Inc -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: rll who wrote (13701)	8/7/1999 12:39:00 AM
From: Ainsworth	Respond to of 29970

Shaw@Home experience. As I write this just after midnight, I have finally been able to get an IP connection for my Mac for the first time since last Sunday. In the past I have had minor irritations with the email server during upgrades and the occasional cable outage, but this week was excruciatingly painful. Had me desperate for any kind of back up connection. Overall the help line people were good but when the system doesn't get fixed for a week that doesn't help very much. Why do I have @home? Speed of downloads. I am a power user who needs to download 100 meg files all the time. I don't care about 'content'. Would I switch? In a minute if I could get the same download speeds for less money or a more reliable system for around the same money. Pricing? Here in Toronto I pay $39 Cdn which is only about US$26 per month. No charge for installation. No extra charge for the cable modem. Higher price would have delayed my decision to buy. Who is demanding @home? Power users like myself and kids who pester their parents for it. The family that rents one of my properties called last month to ask if they could have a hole drilled to bring in the new cable line for @home service. What will drive demand? Killer apps. Not many right now: mp3 downloads, QuickTime movies, Flash or LiveStage enabled web sites, and of course porn. But soon enough there will be millions of TV-like web stations with content up the ying-yang. Is there a network that can really deliver all that streaming contentto the user at acceptable speeds? probably not, but people will gradually migrate to faster connections whether they need it or not. I remember when cell phones first came out and within the first two years they had already exceeded their projected customer base for the ten year mark. Most people don't need a cell phone and use it frivolously. Most people don't need a cable modem, but they will get one (or a DSL line). Cell phones used to cost thousands of dollars, but it was a luxury, a premium service. @Home should be more expensive than an ordinary dial-up account. It is competing against the DSL products and should be priced accordingly. However, installation should be free and perhaps even the first 2 or 3 months service free if they feel a quick ramp-up in users is necessary. No computer user can go backwards in speed.