In order to have a great online connection, be it through DSL or Cable there are a few things you’ll need to equip yourself with; a few pieces of what I like to call “connection hardware” to make your trip into the visceral void known as the internet successful.

Once you’ve got your computer and your connection source, be it cable wire or phone wire; you’re going to need a couple other pieces which will make your journey a whole lot more bearable

Modem
A modem is the hardware that lets your computer receive and transmit information to your ISP. Once your ISP receives your modems data, access will be granted to the myriad of options available on the internet. Whether they are internal or external modems, they convert the digital data signals from the PC into waves sent to the ISP. Also when they receive info from the ISP it’s converted into information that the PC can understand. External modems are, by and large, a thing of the past as now most CPU’s come equipped with built in modems.

Cable Modem
Cable modems are a little different but basically with the same principle. Cable modems offer data to the ISP in much the same way as an internal or external modem just that the signal is sent through the cable wires to the television set. The signal is split from the cable transmission and to the modem using a coaxial cable. An Ethernet cable then runs from the modem to a NIC (network interface card) which is installed in the PC.

PC Card Modems
A fun relic of the pre-installed laptop era is the PC Card modems that laptops used to have to be installed with before they could use online services. PC Card Modems used to be very slow, very expensive, and very draining on the battery life so it’s a good thing that laptop PC’s are now pre equipped.

PC Card Cellular Modems
Pretty cool and another relic of a time before cell phones began coming equipped with online capabilities. These cards would plug into the phone and work like a, well, small modem.

Many of the technologies of today are flashy and not terribly useful for everyone. However these older model connection hardware really took the fat out of the business and got things down to essential elements; getting people online and feeding from the tube which controls us all today.