Special Edition Using® Mac® OS X v10.2

Choosing Your Internet Connection Technology

There are six general technologies you can use to connect your Mac to the Internet. These technologies are summarized in Table 10.1 and explained in more detail in the following subsections.

Table 10.1. Internet Connection Technologies

Technology	Connection Method	Advantages	Disadvantages
Dial-up	Dial-up modem via standard phone line	Available anywhere Inexpensive Simple configuration Accessible from any location Dial-up modem included in all modern Macs	Very slow Connection must be established each time services are needed Not as reliable as other connection methods Can be difficult to achieve maximum performance Makes phone line unavailable
DSL	DSL modem via standard phone line	Broadband connection ...