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steve1341 · Jun 9, 2004, 08:25 AM

I cant believe what i heard today . Someone please tell me i am wrong.

Buying a base station does not rid you of having a broadband modem. Well if thats true then thats crap. Why not go for a LinkSYS all in one box for half the price. Anybody?

winwintoo · Jun 9, 2004, 08:49 AM

I have a Linksys and I still have a broadband modem - it's supplied by my ISP. What's wrong with that. Is there a Linksys that has the modem built into it? Didn't see one when I bought mine.

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itai195 · Jun 9, 2004, 04:24 PM

Why would you want to own a modem? Most broadband ISPs provide them for free.

tooki · Jun 11, 2004, 02:33 AM

This is why you don't want a combined modem and router. (Never mind that Apple would need to make one model for DOCSIS cable systems, and one model each for the many different DSL standards.)

It's better to have separate devices.

As for owning a modem versus renting: Comcast charges you a rental fee ($3/mo), so if you can get a modem cheap (or if, like me, you get one of Comcast's occasional offers where they actually gift you the modem, for keeps, for free), you can save $ in the long run by owning. The advantage of renting, of course, is that if anything ever goes wrong with it, or if there are compatibility problems (which are admittedly rare), they can swap it out. Comcast uses something like 2 dozen different models of modem, so if one doesn't work well, they just try a different one.

DSL providers typically either rent you the modem for free, or sell it to you and then give you a mail-in rebate for the full purchase cost.

tooki

ghporter · Jun 11, 2004, 09:48 AM

Don't get confused by terminology. A broadband modem connects to a telephone line or cable TV line, and converts the distributed signal to (usually) ethernet. A router, like the AirPort Base Station/AirPort Extreme Base Station, or those products by a bunch of other manufacturers, allows the user to connect more than one computer to the broadband modem. Wireless routers, like AirPort Base Stations, also provide a wireless access point so you can connect without physically plugging into the device.

Landos Mustache · Jun 11, 2004, 11:15 AM

Who cares? Do you have a really really small house or something?

itai195 · Jun 11, 2004, 11:59 AM

Originally posted by tooki:
As for owning a modem versus renting: Comcast charges you a rental fee ($3/mo), so if you can get a modem cheap (or if, like me, you get one of Comcast's occasional offers where they actually gift you the modem, for keeps, for free), you can save $ in the long run by owning. The advantage of renting, of course, is that if anything ever goes wrong with it, or if there are compatibility problems (which are admittedly rare), they can swap it out. Comcast uses something like 2 dozen different models of modem, so if one doesn't work well, they just try a different one.

Oh yeah, I forgot that Comcast started charging rent for modems. That's one of the reasons I went with DSL (the other is price). Personally I wouldn't want to own a cable modem as, in my experience, they can be pretty flaky. I had to have mine replaced when I had cable service in college, and my parents have had theirs replaced several times.

I don't see why the original poster thinks that it's "crap" to have both a modem and a router, though. Not enough power outlets?

steve1341 · Jun 13, 2004, 09:41 AM

Who cares? Do you have a really really small house or something?

Answer: Which is why notebook sales have gone through the roof - People want small crammed gadgets full of features. Having a modem and a wireless router is not that. Maybe i need to patent this idea......