WSJ(8/17): Mossberg's Mailbox
Dow Jones News Service ~ August 16, 2000 ~ 7:36 pm EST
From The Wall Street Journal
Technology columnist Walter S. Mossberg answers readers' questions.
Q: Can you explain the main pros and cons of DSL?
A: Sure. DSL, or digital subscriber line, is the high-speed Internet-access technology being offered by the phone companies, and some independent companies, as a competitor to high-speed cable-modem service. There are all sorts of different speeds and price points being offered, but in general, it costs about $40 or $50 a month.
The biggest advantage of DSL is that you get service that is dramatically faster than a dial-up modem and about as fast as a cable modem. Not only that, but DSL is always on -- you don't need to dial any numbers to connect to the Net. Also, with a DSL connection, you don't need a second regular phone line for the Internet, which offsets some of DSL's costs. Finally, a DSL line, like other phone lines, establishes a connection to the Net that is yours alone and isn't affected by other people's Internet use. By contrast, a cable-modem connection is likelier to slow down, sometimes drastically, when many neighbors go online at once.
The biggest disadvantage of DSL is that many phone companies are pretty clueless about how to install and maintain the lines, which require special procedures. Horror stories about DSL hookups far exceed those concerning cable- modem installations. Also, it can be expensive and tricky to set up DSL service for multiple PCs in a home.
Q: I am in the market for a personal digital assistant. I am curious as to how you would compare the Palm Vx to Research In Motion's Blackberry. My use for the PDA will primarily be instant database access and e-mail.
A: Both are very nice devices, but neither may fit your needs, exactly. The Palm Vx can run database software, and can display e-mail, but it has no built- in Internet connection. To instantly tap into e-mail, or a remote database, you would have to buy either a costly add-on wireless modem, from OmniSky or Novatel, or a Palm VII, which is a different model.
The Blackberry, from RIM, does have a built-in wireless Net connection, and it can access e-mail on the fly. In some versions, it may also include a Web browser. But it doesn't come with any database software that I know of. So, unless your database is in the form of a Web page, it might not help with your database problem. Also, Blackberry is designed primarily to work with corporate servers running Microsoft Exchange. If you are in a small business, or on your own, you will need to buy a specially modified version from a company such as GoAmerica or Motient.
Q: I am attempting to physically attach three peripheral devices, each of which requires a com, or serial, port. Since the Gateway PC only has two physical ports, I installed a third via a PCI Card. Windows configured this new one as com port 5. I am able to connect only one of the devices since that is the only one that has the option to connect to a com port higher than 4. The modem is on com port 1 and com port 2 is not configured. How can I configure the com ports to accommodate three peripheral devices on three serial ports, in addition to the modem?
A: You may not be able to do so. No matter how many physical serial ports a Windows PC has, its capacity to add devices will be limited by the number of free "com port" addresses, or "IRQs," that Windows can assign to the physical ports. If a physical port lacks a free address, it might as well not be there at all. Just adding a physical port, as you did, doesn't expand the number of free addresses. Many PCs come from the factory with most of their com port addresses already assigned to built-in components. It sounds like yours may have only one extra address, if that. And reconfiguring these things is a hit-or-miss techie process that is beyond the ken, or patience, of normal mainstream users.
That is why the industry is getting rid of serial ports and com port addresses, gradually phasing them out in favor of USB ports, which can handle many more devices and are more nearly plug-and-play. That is also why more and more peripheral devices -- such as scanners, handheld PCs and digital cameras -- are coming with USB ports instead of the older, and more limited, serial or parallel ports.
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You can now find Mossberg's Mailbox, and my other columns, online at the new free Personal Technology Web site, ptech.wsj.com.
Questions may have been edited for length or clarity.
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 08-16-00
07:36 PM |
