Turning your computer into a database

Turning your computer into a database

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): If your work depends on the availability of information, the use of the Internet is a must. Today, more and more people make more and more use of the Internet, and information at your fingertips is certainly desirable.

Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer between 15 hours to 30 hours of monthly dial-up Internet connection for around Rp 50,000 to Rp 100,000 per month as a minimum charge. As people tend to access the Internet on a daily basis, that would mean a daily connection of around 30 minutes to an hour.

Imagine having access to the Internet 24 hours a day! Kabelvision's Kabel Internet offers unlimited Internet access through Indosat Net or Link Net through a cable modem and Kabelvision's fiber optic networks. This means that subscribers can access the Internet virtually (no pun intended) 24 hours a day.

But, why would you want 24-hour access to the Internet? For one thing, the connection costs monthly subscription fees of Rp 275,000, via Link Net, and Rp 330,000 via Indosat Net. In addition to that, there is a modest set up/registration fee (around Rp 50,000,), and you will need a cable modem which costs US$375. not including installation. Oh, just two other things: your computer will need to have an Ethernet (10/100 or 10BaseTnetwork card), and you need to already be a subscriber to Kabelvision.

If you think that with this considerable cost, Kabel Internet is not for you, think again. The monthly fee is equivalent to about 100 hours of connection or around 3 1/3 hours per day. So, if you use the Internet that long per day and are used to getting 70 hours of overtime charges, than the cable connection is certainly worth getting.

If you don't use the Internet that often, there are still a number of reasons you should consider it. For one thing, remember that with the cable connection, no phone line is needed. This not only means that there is no phone charge, but more importantly, there is no dialing up to be done and no phone line to be used.

Indeed, one of the best things about Kabel Internet is that the connection is instant. Once you turn on your computer, it is immediately hooked up to the Internet. Goodbye the "boing slush boing slush slush bong boing" sounds that you hear as you get connected to the remote modem of regular ISPs. No more "no dial tone" messages if your modem is not hooked up properly, no more busy signals as you try to connect with the limited phone lines of your conventional ISP (especially during peak hours), and when you finally get connected, no more frustrating messages telling you that the connection failed to be established.

All that also means that your phone line is free for you or other members of your family or household to use. You can still make phone calls or receive phone calls even if you are hooked up to the Internet.

Unlimited downloading at relatively high speeds is another reason to consider Kabel Internet. Kabelvision boasts of speeds "up to 10 Mbps", while Link Net mentions that their Platinum membership via cable comes with a shared bandwidth of 1 Mb.

Certainly that seems way fast! Although the actual speed (according to my far-from-scientific measuring method) does not seem any fast in print, it does actually feel very fast in reality. The rate of the downloads are around 33 to 75 Kbps, which is only about the maximum speed of a regular modem (56Kbps). However, at this rate, 2 to 4.5 MB files take about a minute to download, which is very fast compared to downloading via a telephone dial-up connection.

If you are the kind of person who loves trying out new programs, add-ons or upgrades to your existing programs, you certainly should get a cable connection, because it would allow you to download practically anything that you fancy from the Internet.

I admit that I tried out far too many freeware and shareware programs in the last week. My personal favorites are, of course, the ones that let me use my cable connection more optimally, such the ICQ ("I seek you") messaging program, which lets you know when your friends are online and send instant messages to them.

Even better, the latest version of the program lets you send (and receive) sms messages to various cellular phone providers around the world directly from your computer!

If you have enough RAM, you may even download the latest CNN Larry King Live or the BBC's World News and view it in streaming video, or simply listen to NPR's hourly news audio streams.

From Amazon, you do not even need to order any books for purchase. Instead you can download e-books, and read them using Microsoft Reader, almost just like a real book! Or, you can simply try out the programs you were thinking of buying, and check them out before you actually spend the money! In short, you can really optimize and enjoy your use of the Internet via Kabel Internet.

Yet, despite all the great stuff, of course there are some pitfalls. On occasion, the connection does drop, and you may get some problems connecting to a website or retrieving your mail. However, with a dial-up connection that happens all the time! Other than that, the relatively high price and modem price are certainly factors that would make some people decide not to subscribe to the service, no matter how great its benefits may seem.

Corporate packages

These, of course, are non-corporate package for the Internet connection via cable. Indosat Net offers a corporate package which is even more pricy: a Rp 2,5 million set up fee, and monthly access fees of between Rp 7.5, million (for 64 Kbps) to Rp 35,450,000, (512 Kbps).

These figures seem to more accurately represent the actual Internet connection speeds that you are able to get through cable. Of course, with such high prices, subscribers are entitled to a number of DNS (Domain Name Server) IP (Internet Protocol) numbers, while subscribers to the non-corporate or "Private" service only get a single DNS IP number.

Yet, the increasing number of home business owners will be happy to know that using a modem router (such as Umax9s Ugate, which costs around US$ 240 in the United States, but is also available in Indonesia for a slightly higher price), you can split the connection into four, meaning four computers in your home can be connected to the Internet via cable at the same time for the price of one subscription. Its almost like installing a mini PABX for your Internet connection, and you can even use the router as a Ethernet hub which would allow the connected computer to "talk" to each other (this will make your ICQ program even more useful). This is another reason to get Internet via cable!

However, with a single DNS IP number, according to Tim Higgins of Practically Networked, the Internet connection speed via cable modem does decrease as more computers are added to the system using a modem router.

Exactly how much slower the speed becomes according to how many units are added would involve a complicated calculation, which I am sure is not as simple as the rate divided by the number of units. So, if what you do is dependent on the reliability of speed, then you should get the corporate account. However, if you can bear with a relatively lower speed, then the modem router is the way to go!