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mactropolis · Dec 5, 2004, 02:22 PM

Hi,
I was curious if/when box makers (Dell, HP, Apple, etc) will begin to include a DSL and/or Cable modem as a standard component of home PC's? Eventually at some point in the future the vast majority of people are going to access the internet via broadband, so their would be no need to include a useless analog dial-up modem. How long do you think it will take us to reach this point? I think maybe, in a good few years (4+), box makers will stop including analog modems by default since most people will sign-up with a broadband ISP which would then provide them with the neccessary equipment. However, will we ever get to the point where the broadband modem is part of the standard PC package (as analog modems are today) so someone can simply take home a computer and immediately pick from a variety of [broadband] ISP's provided that the residence is set up appropriately for Cable/DSL?

CreepingDeth · Dec 5, 2004, 02:28 PM

Comcast makes you buy or rent. Not happening any time in the near future.

chabig · Dec 5, 2004, 02:33 PM

I would go out on a limb and say that broadband modems will never be built-in to a computer. Furthermore I will predict that the analog modem will stay around as long as the telephone system remains analog. The modem is so cheap that it probably cost nothing to include it.

For faster speeds, your computer already has built-in ethernet. That's all you need. What kind of broadband connectivity would you build in? Cable? DSL? Both? Those options cost big bucks and would only be useful if you plug one computer into one cable or phone line. In the networked world in which we live I'd say that very very few people have a single computer connected to the net. More likely it's two or three machines connected to an ethernet switch which provides routing services as well. So the computers themselves don't need anything beyond ethernet, nor would they benefit from having the ability to plug directly into the cable of phone line.

Chris

Kilbey · Dec 5, 2004, 02:41 PM

Originally posted by CreepingDeth:

Been there. It'd only about 40 miles south of me. Believe me, it's nothing special.

CreepingDeth · Dec 5, 2004, 02:46 PM

Originally posted by Kilbey:
Been there. It'd only about 40 miles south of me. Believe me, it's nothing special.

That's what you want us to think.

Kilbey · Dec 5, 2004, 02:50 PM

Originally posted by CreepingDeth:
That's what you want us to think.

No, seriosuly.

wdlove · Dec 5, 2004, 04:42 PM

I don't look for it anytime soon either. There would need to be unified standards first.

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Dec 5, 2004, 05:18 PM

Why would they? Either you have DSL, Cable, or Satellite and your provider gives you one for free or a very low cost anyway? Why fuss over including one of three?

Mithras · Dec 5, 2004, 05:22 PM

I believe that this thread is an elaborate prank being perpetrated against the innocent people of MacNN.

Link · Dec 5, 2004, 05:26 PM

Oh this is simple.

Broadband technologies change, by the time DSL or cable modems came standard on PC motherboards (or as standard equipment as a card), the technology would be far obsolete.

It's far easier for both chipset and motherboard manufacturers to just include the most popular networking tech at the time.. today pretty much every computer you'd buy has a 10/100 jack on it, and about 25% have 10/100/1000 jacks.

Give it a year or two and fiber will be standard on higher end machines, which is way better than having an onboard DSL modem. If you live in a verizon service area, chances are you can already get fiber service (albeit, that requires a modem, fiber jack or not!)

BRussell · Dec 5, 2004, 05:30 PM

You're probably right mactropolis.

But as chabig mentioned, routers (rather than just modems) are where it's at with broadband, and so what's necessary is a connection to the router rather than a modem itself. What I wanted to add to what chabig said is that not only do Macs come standard with the ethernet port, but many Macs come with an Airport card (or as an easy option), which is just a wireless connection to the router. That's probably where it's at in the foreseeable future.

I do think dial-up modems are leaving soon, or will at least be optional in most machines, as they are today in PowerMacs.

CreepingDeth · Dec 5, 2004, 05:30 PM

Originally posted by Mithras:
I believe that this thread is an elaborate prank being perpetrated against the innocent people of MacNN.

storer · Dec 5, 2004, 06:01 PM

Oh, its about time they started doing this. This huge lanky thing on my desk needs to go out of my sight... i do not want to have the blinking lights in my face.

bradoesch · Dec 5, 2004, 06:16 PM

I'm pretty sure a few years back I saw a computer with an internal DSL (amybe cable?) modem at Staples of Futureshop.

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Dec 5, 2004, 06:19 PM

Originally posted by bradoesch:
I'm pretty sure a few years back I saw a computer with an internal DSL (amybe cable?) modem at Staples of Futureshop.

Ya my friends actually came with a cable modem built in, his ISP made him use theirs.

waffffffle · Dec 5, 2004, 06:28 PM

The problem with this is that cable modems are network devices, not computer peripherals. So there isn't much of an advantage to putting them in the machine. However I do think we will see more integrated modem/router/wireless devices in the future.

qnxde · Dec 5, 2004, 06:40 PM

I don't think in the computers is a good idea, especially not in powerbooks, ibooks - but I think the Airport Extreme would be far more useful with an integrated ADSL modem instead, or in combination with the 56k that's built in.

DeathToWindows · Dec 5, 2004, 08:53 PM

Might be a cool idea to have a universal broadband box (fiber or cable) but there isn;t really a need to built it in...

bradoesch · Dec 5, 2004, 09:07 PM

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Ya my friends actually came with a cable modem built in, his ISP made him use theirs.

Not surprising. Nothing is as standardised as Ethernet or dial-up modems. I've got a propietary kind of DSL and I must use my ISPs modems.

Spheric Harlot · Dec 6, 2004, 02:40 AM

Originally posted by bradoesch:
Not surprising. Nothing is as standardised as Ethernet or dial-up modems. I've got a propietary kind of DSL and I must use my ISPs modems.

Yep.

I switched DSL providers, and I had to change modems due to incompatible ADSL protocols (I have no idea). Then I moved to a new apartment about a mile away, but kept the same provider, and I still had to switch DSL modems, since the old one wouldn't work (I have no idea).

With all those different "standards" and cable (with all its likely variants), PPP over power-line (110/240V, 60/50Hz), satellite, yadda yadda, I certainly wouldn't expect any computer manufacturer to include one (if not all) of those devices in their machines - supporting all existing protocols/technologies would probably double the price of an iMac!

-s*