On Sun, 30 Sep 2001, Nate Straz wrote:

> So what are the good cable modems out there?  Are there any performance
> differences between them?  It doesn't seem like the kind of thing you'd
> see reviewed in computer rags.  

Circuit City sells the Surfboard modems for ~$200.  After going through 3
RCAs, @Home gave me a Surfboard and my problems disappeared.  Couldn't
convince them to give me a Cisco. :-(  I don't know if all cable modems
are compatible with AT&T though.

AFAIK, you won't see any performance hits from the modem.  Your line will
max out likely around 300K/sec, the port is 10 Mbit so even if there was a
hit I doubt you'd ever see it.  If I were buying, I'd go by (not 
kidding) the thickness of the plastic.  The RCAs use a flimsy cheap
plastic, the Surfboard and Cisco use a tougher plastic.  To me, it shows
less corner-cutting in manufacturing so you're more likely to get a good
modem.  It also looks to me like cable modems are a cheap loss leader type
product (kinda like getting a free phone when you sign up for a year of
cell service) so I'd have to be pretty convinced before I dropped $200 on
one.  I highly doubt they cost anywhere near that to make.

-Brian