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February 11, 2005
Apple Followup
I got some followup notes from folks concerning my post yesterday about the future of Apple Computer that I thought were important to share with you. First, here's Chuqui on one of the sources I linked to in yesterday's post about Apple Computer's plans in consumer electronics: no, he CLAIMS to have checked with buddies at apple. Just like Eklund has inside sources. While this is a monor quibble, Chuqui has a point, and I should have made the distinction. Though, I should say this: Unlike Eklund, Charlie Demerjian has a paper trail that we can check out to give us some read on his level of credibility. Dave Smith also wrote in with some comments concerning the CNet bandwidth test I linked to, and hype versus reality when it comes to actual bandwidth you can get with a COMCAST cable modem: I was surprised to read on Off Wing that you were only getting about 1.5 Mb/sec from Comcast... so i tried your CNet bandwidth test link and got the same thing! I have come to trust CNet, but i'm suspicious because they're also trying to sell higher bandwidth via that test. Actually, I should have been more specific on my bandwidth performance. In fact, according to the CNet test, I was only getting about 735 kbps through my cable modem. The 1.5 mbps I cited was the figure that CNet published on the bandwidth test as what I should have expected to be pulling. One side note: Ever since I performed the test on Wednesday night, my cable modem has been down. Grrrr. Like Dave, I've learned to trust CNet, mostly through my experience in dealing with them while I worked in Corporate Communications with MCI back in the mid-late 1990s. They were straight shooters then, but it looks like Dave has uncovered something that deserves a little more scrutiny.
Eric
06:21 AM
Trackback PingsTrackBack URL for this entry: CommentsEric, I'd recommend shopping for a DSL line. I don't know how far you are from a central office, but hopefully not too far. The thing is that unless you tell them specifically you want a higher rate than usual, they will just give you the standard consumer-grade 1.0/128 line. I called them up and found I could get a 3.0/700 connection (which became active within just a few hours, no extra equipment, etc) for just an additional $10/month. Not sure if speed is critical for you, but the added upload speed is awfully nice when you have lots of large photos to upload or if you have a VOIP line. Also, check out broadbandreports.com for lots of independent consumer reviews and speed tests and such. Posted by:
The CNET speed test seems inadequate to me. It just doesn't take long enough to do a real test. Try the one at DSLReports.com, I get 2.5 meg from that one (excluding TCP overhead) where CNET tells me 1.2 meg. Posted by:
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