Turning your computer into a database<\/p>\n
By Amir Sidharta<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): If your work depends on the availability of
\ninformation, the use of the Internet is a must. Today, more and
\nmore people make more and more use of the Internet, and
\ninformation at your fingertips is certainly desirable.<\/p>\n
Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer between 15 hours
\nto 30 hours of monthly dial-up Internet connection for around Rp
\n50,000 to Rp 100,000 per month as a minimum charge. As people
\ntend to access the Internet on a daily basis, that would mean a
\ndaily connection of around 30 minutes to an hour.<\/p>\n
Imagine having access to the Internet 24 hours a day!
\nKabelvision's Kabel Internet offers unlimited Internet access
\nthrough Indosat Net or Link Net through a cable modem and
\nKabelvision's fiber optic networks. This means that subscribers
\ncan access the Internet virtually (no pun intended) 24 hours a
\nday.<\/p>\n
But, why would you want 24-hour access to the Internet? For
\none thing, the connection costs monthly subscription fees of Rp
\n275,000, via Link Net, and Rp 330,000 via Indosat Net. In
\naddition to that, there is a modest set up\/registration fee
\n(around Rp 50,000,), and you will need a cable modem which costs
\nUS$375. not including installation. Oh, just two other things:
\nyour computer will need to have an Ethernet (10\/100 or
\n10BaseTnetwork card), and you need to already be a subscriber to
\nKabelvision.<\/p>\n
If you think that with this considerable cost, Kabel Internet
\nis not for you, think again. The monthly fee is equivalent to
\nabout 100 hours of connection or around 3 1\/3 hours per day. So,
\nif you use the Internet that long per day and are used to getting
\n70 hours of overtime charges, than the cable connection is
\ncertainly worth getting.<\/p>\n
If you don't use the Internet that often, there are still a
\nnumber of reasons you should consider it. For one thing, remember
\nthat with the cable connection, no phone line is needed. This not
\nonly means that there is no phone charge, but more importantly,
\nthere is no dialing up to be done and no phone line to be used.<\/p>\n
Indeed, one of the best things about Kabel Internet is that
\nthe connection is instant. Once you turn on your computer, it is
\nimmediately hooked up to the Internet. Goodbye the \"boing slush
\nboing slush slush bong boing\" sounds that you hear as you get
\nconnected to the remote modem of regular ISPs. No more \"no dial
\ntone\" messages if your modem is not hooked up properly, no
\nmore busy signals as you try to connect with the limited phone
\nlines of your conventional ISP (especially during peak hours),
\nand when you finally get connected, no more frustrating messages
\ntelling you that the connection failed to be established.<\/p>\n
All that also means that your phone line is free for you or
\nother members of your family or household to use. You can still
\nmake phone calls or receive phone calls even if you are hooked up
\nto the Internet.<\/p>\n
Unlimited downloading at relatively high speeds is another
\nreason to consider Kabel Internet. Kabelvision boasts of speeds
\n\"up to 10 Mbps\", while Link Net mentions that their Platinum
\nmembership via cable comes with a shared bandwidth of 1 Mb.<\/p>\n
Certainly that seems way fast! Although the actual speed
\n(according to my far-from-scientific measuring method) does not
\nseem any fast in print, it does actually feel very fast in
\nreality. The rate of the downloads are around 33 to 75 Kbps,
\nwhich is only about the maximum speed of a regular modem
\n(56Kbps). However, at this rate, 2 to 4.5 MB files take about a
\nminute to download, which is very fast compared to downloading
\nvia a telephone dial-up connection.<\/p>\n
If you are the kind of person who loves trying out new
\nprograms, add-ons or upgrades to your existing programs, you
\ncertainly should get a cable connection, because it would allow
\nyou to download practically anything that you fancy from the
\nInternet.<\/p>\n
I admit that I tried out far too many freeware and shareware
\nprograms in the last week. My personal favorites are, of course,
\nthe ones that let me use my cable connection more optimally, such
\nthe ICQ (\"I seek you\") messaging program, which lets you know
\nwhen your friends are online and send instant messages to them.<\/p>\n
Even better, the latest version of the program lets you send
\n(and receive) sms messages to various cellular phone providers
\naround the world directly from your computer!<\/p>\n
If you have enough RAM, you may even download the latest CNN
\nLarry King Live or the BBC's World News and view it in
\nstreaming video, or simply listen to NPR's hourly news audio
\nstreams.<\/p>\n
From Amazon, you do not even need to order any books for
\npurchase. Instead you can download e-books, and read them using
\nMicrosoft Reader, almost just like a real book! Or, you can
\nsimply try out the programs you were thinking of buying, and
\ncheck them out before you actually spend the money! In short,
\nyou can really optimize and enjoy your use of the Internet via
\nKabel Internet.<\/p>\n
Yet, despite all the great stuff, of course there are some
\npitfalls. On occasion, the connection does drop, and you may get
\nsome problems connecting to a website or retrieving your mail.
\nHowever, with a dial-up connection that happens all the time!
\nOther than that, the relatively high price and modem price are
\ncertainly factors that would make some people decide not to
\nsubscribe to the service, no matter how great its benefits may
\nseem.<\/p>\n
Corporate packages<\/p>\n
These, of course, are non-corporate package for the Internet
\nconnection via cable. Indosat Net offers a corporate package
\nwhich is even more pricy: a Rp 2,5 million set up fee, and
\nmonthly access fees of between Rp 7.5, million (for 64 Kbps) to
\nRp 35,450,000, (512 Kbps).<\/p>\n
These figures seem to more accurately represent the actual
\nInternet connection speeds that you are able to get through
\ncable. Of course, with such high prices, subscribers are entitled
\nto a number of DNS (Domain Name Server) IP (Internet Protocol)
\nnumbers, while subscribers to the non-corporate or \"Private\"
\nservice only get a single DNS IP number.<\/p>\n
Yet, the increasing number of home business owners will be
\nhappy to know that using a modem router (such as Umax9s Ugate,
\nwhich costs around US$ 240 in the United States, but is also
\navailable in Indonesia for a slightly higher price), you can
\nsplit the connection into four, meaning four computers in your
\nhome can be connected to the Internet via cable at the
\nsame time for the price of one subscription. Its almost like
\ninstalling a mini PABX for your Internet connection, and you can
\neven use the router as a Ethernet hub which would allow the
\nconnected computer to \"talk\" to each other (this will make your
\nICQ program even more useful). This is another reason to get
\nInternet via cable!<\/p>\n
However, with a single DNS IP number, according to Tim Higgins
\nof Practically Networked, the Internet connection speed via cable
\nmodem does decrease as more computers are added to the system
\nusing a modem router.<\/p>\n
Exactly how much slower the speed becomes according to how
\nmany units are added would involve a complicated calculation,
\nwhich I am sure is not as simple as the rate divided by the
\nnumber of units. So, if what you do is dependent on the
\nreliability of speed, then you should get the corporate account.
\nHowever, if you can bear with a relatively lower speed, then the
\nmodem router is the way to go!<\/p>",
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