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At ACU - the first university in the nation to provide these cutting-edge media devices to its incoming class - freshmen will use the iPhones or iPod Touches to receive homework alerts, answer in-class surveys and quizzes, get directions to their professors' offices, and check their meal and account balances - among more than 15 other useful web applications already developed, said ACU Chief Information Officer Kevin Roberts.
Apple's COO, Timothy Cook, delivered a question and answer session at the Goldman Sachs Investment Symposium yesterday, and touched on a number of interesting topics. Differing notes available at MacNN, Appleinsider and iPhoneAtlas.
Of interest, Cook answers why Apple hasn't offered an unlocked version of the iPhone. He states that multi-carrier offerings were impractical at launch. For the U.S. market, this would require a CDMA and GSM version of the iPhone. In the end, they felt it was impractical to try to satisfy every carrier and every user. Still, he states that Apple is "not married to any business model" and instead, they're "married to ... shipping the best phones in the world."
When asked about the possibility of Apple expanding into even more areas with new product lines, Cook feels anything is possible, but that each product choice is made carefully since "for everything we do, we know me make a choice not to do something else. We may or may not add some over time, we'll see."
Regarding iPod reaching a saturation point, Cook points out that 40% of iPods are still being sold to those who don't already own an iPod and suggests that slower iPod sales are a reflection of the economy than necessarily sales saturation.
He again describes the iPod Touch as the "first mainstream WiFi portable platform" and also describes the iPhone as a "platform not a product", and states that the upcoming SDK will "broaden the platform more, to the point where the only limit will be people's imagination." Cook stopped short when asked about when the first 3rd party apps would appear, not wanting to take away any element of surprise from next week's event.
Finally on iPhone Unlocking, Cook acknowledges the problem but states he "look[s] at this 'problem' with a little bit of a smile. Having people stepping over each other for the phone isn't a bad thing." He goes on to state that the best way for Apple to fight back is to offer the iPhone in more countries.
A Quicktime stream of the talk is available from Apple.
In a clever marketing move Apple has started a new weekly special movie rental for just 99 cents to help jump start the iTunes rental business. Apple will bring a new movie rental each week at the special price. Thursday will be "movie rental" day. Like all the movie rentals on iTunes you have 30 days to watch it and once you start viewing the rental you have 24 hours to watch it as many times as you like.
1Password (see video) keeps track of all web passwords, automates sign-in, guards from identity theft, all for $29.95! All your confidential information, including passwords, identities, and credit cards, is kept in one secure place provided by Apple's OS X Keychain. Once you install this app you may wonder how you ever lived without it.
1Password requires a master password to log in that will timeout after a specified time. In the 1Password manager you can edit accounts, add notes, or track history.
Autofill and Auto-submit
Safari like most web modern browsers feature an autofill and password-saving functionality. 1Password is the steroid Autofill and form fill. It also auto-submits after the form gets filled saving time. Signing into a website is simple with one simple command, and 1Password fills in the login information and automagically signs you in.
Safari is a great browser, but what if you also use Firefox, Camino or another supported browser. If you rely on Safari's autofill, none of your data is available in the other browsers. Firefox's Password Manager only works in Firefox of course and it does not sync across multiple machines.
1Password solves these problems and integrates directly with all your web browsers (Safari, OmniWeb, Firefox, Camino and Flock).
Multiple Identities
Use 1Password to define multiple identities, each with its own unique set of information. Next time you fill out a form, you choose the the identity you want to use on the partiular site.
Digital Wallet
Use 1Password to store all your credit card information. During checkout, just hit the 1Password button in your browser and choose the credit card you want. The utility instantly fills in your payment information automatically.
Secure Notes
Store bits of important information in a secure note and retrieve it when you need it.
Maximum Security
1Password uses "military-grade" encryption and requires a master password before you can unlock any information. By default, 1Password also locks you out after 60 minutes of inactivity.
Since you don't need to type in a passwords or personal information when you are using 1Password you are protected from any hidden keyloggers installed on your computer.
You are also protected from phishing where criminals try to get your personal information by pushing a "fake" website that appears to be the correct one and waits for you to login.
1Password includes a strong password generator that will add a super strong password in a single click. This password is a long random sequence of numbers, lower-case letters, and upper-case letters that would be a bit ridiculous if you had to type it in, but 1Password solves this as you will never have to actually type it in.
.Mac Syncing
Just install 1Password on all your Macs and use .Mac to keep all your machines in sync with all your information. A single user license is all you need.
To enable .Mac syncing you need to go to Applications -> Utilities -> Keychain app and highlight the 1Password keychain. Then control + click and choose to "change keychain settings," now check the box to enable .Mac sync.
Next time you sync your keychains you will be also syncing your 1Password data.
Import and Export
1Password allows for importing your data from other password managers. You can import you passwords from Safari, Camino, Firefox, or Flock. Their is also support for RoboForm and Web Confidential.
Palm and Treo support
1Password can be synced to your Palm or Treo so you always have all your important information available to you.
iPhone and iPod touch sync and autofill
One disappointing feature for the iPhone and iPod touch mobile version of Safari is it had my way of remembering your login and form fill information making you type them each and every time. 1Password has now added a feature to securely sync this information making filling in forms on your iPhone or iPod touch much easier.
1Password data is saved in the bookmarklet using "448-bit blowfish encryption" that requires your custom password each time you want to auto-fill a form.
Tip: Use on Firefox for Windows
1Password's iPhone export is accomplished by creating an encrypted bookmarklet in Safari, which is synchronized to your iPhone or iPod touch. Firefox can recognize this bookmarklet. The Windows version of Firefox can also use this. Get your data into Firefox:
In 1Password, click on the Sync to iPhone icon in the toolbar and choose an access code for encryption. This creates the bookmarklet in Safari.
In Safari bookmarks go to the bookmark section and find the new item called 1Password. Right-click on it and select Edit Address from the contextual menu. Copy it into an email or text file and bring it to your Windows machine.
Now create the bookmarklet in Firefox. Name it whatever you want and paste it into the Location field. Select 'Load this bookmark in the sidebar. Firefox on your Windows machine now has a secure, functional bookmarklet with your passwords and other data available. I have not tried it but this would probably work on a Linux machine also.
Requirements:
Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) or higher
Safari 2.0+, Firefox 1.5+, Flock 0.7+, Camino 1.0, OmniWeb 5.5, DEVONagent 2.0, NetNewsWire 2.1, Netscape Navigator 9.0+.
Pricing:
Single License is $29.95 and allows you to install 1Password on all your Macs for a single user. You can use .Mac to keep all the information on all your machines in sync.
Family License is $39.95 for up to 3 family members.
Small business license is $49.95 for up to 5 users.
Educational users can purchase 1Password for $23.95.
1Password for Palm is $12.95.
There is a free trial available.
AllBookmarks
AllBookmarks, free - adds a new item to your Mac OS X menu bar giving you quick access to all your bookmarks. All your Safari, Firefox and Flock bookmarks are shown and can be selected. AllBookmarks also gives you accesses to your 1Password 1Click bookmarks so you can navigate to a page, fill the form, and submit it, all with a single click!
my1Password web service
my1Password web service - provides Universal Access to your 1Password data by allowing you to access your 1Password information from any modern web browser in a secure and confidential fashion. With my1Password you can now access your information from anywhere there is an Internet Connection. Currently the my1Password website is available by invitation only.
The my1Password website makes your 1Password data accessible from any modern web browser. So far my1Password has been tested in Safari (versions 2 and 3), Firefox, DEVONagent, Camino, Flock, Opera, Netscape Navigator 9, and Internet Explorer 7 on Windows. my1Password even works on Windows Mobile 5 using Opera Mini!
No one but you, not even my1Password website administrators. Your confidential information is encrypted by 1Password using Strong Cryptography (448bit Blowfish) before it is sent to the my1Password web site.
NOTE: Starting March 1st, 2008 the price of 1Password Single User License will change to $39.95. The price of Family and Small Business licenses will change as well. I just bought a family license.
1Password is awarded 4.5 out of 5 Paws
Do you want to play WMV file on your new iPod video? Well here is a way to convert WMV files to QuickTime and get it play on the iPod with video. This tip is for Mac OS X users.
Here's how:
Download and install WMV Player Pro $49 (free trial). WMV Player Pro lets you convert WMV files to QuickTime.
After you install WMV Player, open up the WMV file in QuickTime Pro 7.03 ($29.95), and then use Quicktime Pro to convert the video into an iPod-compatible format. The iPod video plays back m4v (MPEG-4) video.
Just use QuickTime Pro File menu -> Export
Pick Movie to iPod (320×240) from the list. This will give your video a .m4v file extension. Just rename it to whatever you like and "Save the exported file as." This will leave your original video untouched.
Well Verizon FiOS Internet became available in my town in New Jersey and I had it installed last week. I ordered the 15MB/2MB (15MB downstream, 2MB upstream) package in our home. Since the Internet is probably more important to us than TV, air, and maybe even food sometimes this was a big decision. Well not that big really, since our cable modem service provided by Cablevision's Optimum Online has not exactly been great. No matter what the cable company claims about speed our experience was never all that good. More about this later as I will compare Cablevision's Optimum Online and Verizon FiOS Internet.
Interested in FiOS TV? See Verizon FiOS TV Installed, Cablevision Out
I ordered Verizon FiOS online on Monday January 23, and the install was done on Thursday January 26. The install started at 9:15 AM and was complete by 12:45 PM. This was fast by FiOS install times as all the copper cables are removed from your house and replaced by fiber-to-the premises (FTTP). The small box or "NID" (Network Interface Device) is replaced with a larger "ONT" (Optical Network Terminal). This box is powered, not by the telco backup generators like on your copper service, but by your house power. So a small power supply and a battery backup is installed inside the house. The battery backup is in case of a power failure, allowing continued telephone service providing you have a telephone connected that does not require power. I keep one older plain telephone attached inside my house just in case.
The ONT (Optical Network Terminal) installed on the side of your house connects to the fiber back to the CO (telco's central office). It has connections for up to 4 POTS (plain old telephone service, using cat 3) lines, and Ethernet (cat 5) connection for very high speed Internet, and a RF connector (RG6) for TV (not available in my area yet). In many cases the existing cabling inside your house can be used, but Verizon technicians will route new cabling if it is needed. Unlike DSL, this is a "high-touch" installation with Verizon technician's there from beginning to end making sure your phones and Internet service works before they leave. In my case the installation was smooth and "flawless" and the technician was knowledgeable and pleasant. Not even my house full of many Macs, several Windows PCs, two VoIP Linksys PAP2-NA boxes, Tandberg T150 H.323 codec, Polycom H.323 codec, wireless network, 5 Airport Express units, a Giga-Bit Linksys 8-port switch, and two Elgato EyeHome boxes did not intimidate him. Our house is pretty well wired!
The Verizon FiOS Internet service is available in three speeds right now, 5MB/2MB. 15MB/2MB, and 30MB/5MB. These packages offer a dynamic IP address, email accounts, 24/7 live technical support, choice of online services; Verizon Yahoo! or MSN® Premium (these are not compatible for Macs), and a D-Link Wireless router included for new FiOS installations. I picked the 15MB/2MB package due to pricing, which was exactly the same price we were paying Cablevision for the cable modem. Verizon offers a small business package with static IP addresses, but the price is a bit prohibitive for us.
The included D-Link router is a DI-624 and is pretty decent router. I have decided to use it, even though I have a Linksys wireless router and a Apple Airport Extreme. No problems using the D-Link included router.
Verizon uses Dynamic PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet) running on the D-Link router. This is a lot like DSL (it also uses PPPoE). The D-Link router is running DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) for the LAN (local area network, inside the house), therefore all you need to do is connect your computer, make sure it is set for DHCP, and the computer will be given an IP address from the router and you will be connected. Many computers come defaulted to DHCP, so in many cases there are no configuration needed on the computers.
Verizon FiOS is Mac compatible, all you need to do is connect your Mac to the router via Ethernet or wireless after the Verizon technician activates your account and sets up your router. The activation process must be done on a Windows machine, but the Verizon technicians carry their own Windows laptops and can do the activation on their own laptop if no Windows machine is at your home. All you need to do is make sure your Mac is setup up for DHCP. This is found in System Preferences -> Network -> TCP/IP for Ethernet or Airport. It is that easy, really. No restart required. No software to load.
System Preferences -> Network Settings -> TCP/IP -> DHCP
Use Spotlight if you can not remember where DHCP is located. Just go to Apple menu -> System Preferences and start typing DHCP.
Unfortunately, some of the Verizon technicians do not realize how easy this is and are taken back by a Mac. As I have always said "it is very easy to use a Mac, but sometimes tough to be a Mac user!" I received a call from a Mac user the other day during her Verizon FiOS install. The Verizon technicians were confused with her Mac and could not get it connected. Apparently, they were trying to run PPPoE on the Mac, while connecting it to the D-Link router running… PPPoE! Confused, I would say. My first question would be "would you be running PPPoE on a Windows PC when connecting it to the same router?" Of course not. You would be setup for DHCP on a Windows PC, so what is the difference? None! Amazing sometimes what some people do to Macs and claim incompatibility. Sounds like more of a networking problem, not a Mac problem. Anyway, it is working fine for her now. As the Macintosh market-share grows, as I am sure it will, this will be less of a problem.
What makes the Mac compatibility issue with Verizon FiOS a bit murky, is the software Verizon wants to install on the customer’s computer. The software includes MSN which is not compatible with Macintosh OS X. MSN is the Microsoft Network is it not? Although MSN IM is Macintosh compatible, the full software is not. This may be a plus, in my opinion, as the software that Verizon FiOS wants to install is mostly marketing. It installs itself all over the Windows machine and adds Verizon logo, MSN software, changes IE settings, adds toolbars, etc. All you need to do is bookmark the Verizon Central page with your browser and lo-gin with the user-name and password Verizon gives you. Safari works fine. I would suggest experienced Windows users may not want to install this either.
There have been some stories I have read about Macs running slower on Verizon FiOS. I have tested Macs on FiOS at a colleagues house last year and did not see any difference in speed tests with Windows PCs on his network. In some Verizon FiOS installations, people have reported, a high latency on the Internet connection prompting Apple to offer Broadband Tuner back in November 2005. The Broadband Tuner allows you to take full advantage of very high speed FiOS based Internet connections that have a high latency. Basically the Apple Broadband Tuner is a "packetshaper" that fine tunes OS X's Ethernet packets to a high latency connection. See my December 2005 post Apple Releases Broadband Tuner for FiOS Users. The latency on my FiOS connection is less than my cable modem from Cablevision! I have seen no difference in speeds between my Windows PCs and my Macs.
The Verizon FiOS upload speed has already made a big impression on my co-workers. Since I work with technology and video conferencing, tele-commuting is not new to me. I use video conferencing, web conferencing, and VoIP regularly at home. I work on some projects with developers in California, Seattle, Sweden, and Denmark and time zones are in full play. The day that Verizon FiOS was installed, I worked from home. I joined two conferences with my Tandberg codec via the cable modem in the AM while the Verizon technician was busy working outside on the FiOS install. My co-workers have seen my video many times from my home and the conferences went fine. But in the afternoon I joined another important multi-point conference with by Tandberg, but this time over Verizon FiOS. My co-workers gasped when the saw the quality of my video this time. With Verizon FiOS much faster upload speeds, my video quality was said to be three times better! They new immediately I was not on the Optimum Online cable modem anymore.
Ok, now on to the "ping tests", "speed tests", comparisons, between my new Verizon FiOS connection and my Cablevision provided cable modem. I have yet to cancel the cable modem as I wanted some time to run some tests and really compare speeds. First of all the price for both services is $44.95 per month. So there was no change in our household budget.
Ping Test
First "ping" tests for latency, a common complaint about Verizon FiOS. Simple to test on Mac OS X by simply opening Terminal (found in Applications -> Utilities), and entering ping a.root-servers.net at the Terminal prompt. Control + Z will stop ping test. Basically lower numbers are better.
Ping test from a Mac OS 10.4 computer - Cablevision cable modem service (approx. 21.6 - 24.9 ms)
Ping test from a Mac OS 10.4 computer - Verizon FiOS Internet service (approx. 11.8 - 16.4)
Seems my installation at least shows better "ping" test numbers on Verizon FiOS as opposed to my Cablevision cable modem. This test was done using a stock iMac G5 2.1GHz with 1.5GB RAM and the Apple Broadband Tuner was NOT installed.
If the "ping" test shows high latency (higher than 80ms) and you are using Mac OS X, I suggest you try Apple's Broadband Tuner.
Ping test from a Windows XP computer - Cablevision cable modem service (approx. 22 - 72 ms)
Ping test from a Windows XP computer - Verizon FiOS Internet service (approx. 12 - 13 ms)
Same result as OS X, as expected, latency from Cablevision's cable modem is higher than Verizon FiOS at my house. I ran these test many times at different times of day over a week and they always came out in this range with Verizon FiOS always having less latency.
Speed Tests
Speed tests were done using Speakeasy's Speed Test using Mac OS 10.4.4 (Safari and Firefox) and Windows XP Internet Explorer and Firefox). I used these different browsers for speed tests because I have seen some speed tests available around the Internet that are Java-based and show different speeds with different browsers. I saw no significant differences between speeds reported using Speakeasy's speed test among browsers, But I have included the test results by browser anyway. Firefox being the common browser between Mac OS X and Windows XP, I felt it would be a good idea to include test from multiple browsers.
Times, Platforms, Browsers, and Server Locations Speed Tests
These tests below were performed between 5:55 PM EST and 6:20 PM EST on a Monday evening from the east coast. Basically, this is prime Internet use time when all my neighbors are probably online "sharing" our common cable modem pipe. I provide a chart below of tests I did at different times of the day.
Cable Modem vs FiOS - Windows XP - Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer - Cable Modem
Internet Explorer - FiOS
| | Cable Modem | FiOS |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 3152 / 901 | 4884 / 1748 |
| San Francisco, CA | 3085 / 905 | 5833 / 1752 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 3107 / 906 | 5979 / 1746 |
| Dallas, TX | 3470 / 905 | 9813 / 1759 |
| Chicago, IL | 3473 / 906 | 14422 / 1781 |
| Atlanta, GA | 3403 / 908 | 14255 / 1777 |
| New York City | 3424 / 910 | 14544 / 1781 |
| Washington, DC | 3328 / 908 | 14655 / 1777 |
Cable Modem vs FiOS - Windows XP - Firefox
Firefox - Cable Modem
Firefox - FiOS
| | Cable Modem | FiOS |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 2951 / 553 | 4847 / 1747 |
| San Francisco, CA | 2899 / 503 | 5821 / 1745 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 3179 / 563 | 5952 / 1755 |
| Dallas, TX | 3358 / 680 | 9848 / 1757 |
| Chicago, IL | 3373 / 868 | 14330 / 1775 |
| Atlanta, GA | 3421 / 851 | 14462 / 1773 |
| New York City | 3112 / 902 | 14529 / 1780 |
| Washington, DC | 3413 / 917 | 14470 / 1774 |
Cable Modem vs FiOS - Mac OS X - Safari
Safari Browser - Cable Modem
Safari Browser - FiOS
| | Cable Modem | FiOS |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 3059 / 739 | 4834 / 1593 |
| San Francisco, CA | 3267 / 710 | 5661 / 1726 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 3402 / 881 | 5764 / 1723 |
| Dallas, TX | 3439 / 743 | 9541 / 1678 |
| Chicago, IL | 3580 / 759 | 14536 / 1741 |
| Atlanta, GA | 3560 / 746 | 14336 / 1701 |
| New York City | 3392 / 892 | 14237 / 1757 |
| Washington, DC | 3244 / 706 | 14638 / 1745 |
Cable Modem vs FiOS - Mac OS X - Firefox
Firefox Browser - Cable Modem
Firefox Browser - FiOS
| | Cable Modem | FiOS |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 2325 / 885 | 4803 / 1199 |
| San Francisco, CA | 3017 / 887 | 5746 / 1609 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 3531 / 888 | 5790 / 1609 |
| Dallas, TX | 2822 / 894 | 9706 / 1685 |
| Chicago, IL | 3163 / 877 | 14688 / 1755 |
| Atlanta, GA | 3517 / 848 | 12731 / 1715 |
| New York City | 3502 / 905 | 14743 / 1752 |
| Washington, DC | 3345 / 898 | 14638 / 1745 |
Time of tests between 9:15 PM EST and 9:55 PM EST - Monday Evening
Cable Modem vs FiOS - Windows XP - Internet Explorer
| | Cable Modem | FiOS |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 3411 / 904 | 4885 / 1750 |
| San Francisco, CA | 3434 / 908 | 5784 / 1757 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 3442 / 909 | 5974 / 1754 |
| Dallas, TX | 3440 / 909 | 9691 / 1755 |
| Chicago, IL | 3451 / 912 | 14414 / 1773 |
| Atlanta, GA | 3399 / 913 | 13366 / 1777 |
| New York City | 3541 / 914 | 14623 / 1784 |
| Washington, DC | 3449 / 913 | 14662 / 1783 |
Cable Modem vs FiOS - Windows XP - Firefox
| | Cable Modem | FiOS |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 3384 / 558 | 4858 / 1748 |
| San Francisco, CA | 3316 / 519 | 5799 / 1747 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 3304 / 565 | 5949 / 1743 |
| Dallas, TX | 3468 / 690 | 9860 / 1762 |
| Chicago, IL | 3467 / 829 | 14334 / 1779 |
| Atlanta, GA | 3479 / 849 | 14394 / 1766 |
| New York City | 3517 / 924 | 14501 / 1770 |
| Washington, DC | 3430 / 918 | 14517 / 1768 |
Cable Modem vs FiOS - Mac OS X - Safari
| | Cable Modem | FiOS |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 3150 / 888 | 4810 / 1595 |
| San Francisco, CA | 3441 / 884 | 5724 / 1715 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 3296 / 880 | 5892 / 1722 |
| Dallas, TX | 3344 / 894 | 9552 / 1680 |
| Chicago, IL | 3358 / 894 | 14558 / 1730 |
| Atlanta, GA | 3285 / 899 | 14536 / 1693 |
| New York City | 3378 / 749 | 14648 / 1735 |
| Washington, DC | 3469 / 748 | 14581 / 1725 |
Cable Modem vs FiOS - Mac OS X - Firefox
| | Cable Modem | FiOS |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 3286 / 891 | 4820 / 1571 |
| San Francisco, CA | 3412 / 891 | 5721 / 1594 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 3268 / 865 | 5850 / 1607 |
| Dallas, TX | 3296 / 897 | 9846 / 1659 |
| Chicago, IL | 3256 / 895 | 14665 / 1758 |
| Atlanta, GA | 3519 / 899 | 14748 / 1758 |
| New York City | 3587 / 902 | 14328 / 1759 |
| Washington, DC | 3604 / 907 | 14484 / 1751 |
Time of these tests between 6:55 AM EST and 7:35 AM EST - Thursday Morning
Cable Modem vs FiOS - Windows XP - Internet Explorer
| | Cable Modem | FiOS |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 3875 / 910 | 4898 / 1752 |
| San Francisco, CA | 4398 / 908 | 5210 / 1014 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 4648 / 912 | 5914 / 1753 |
| Dallas, TX | 4548 / 915 | 9816 / 1766 |
| Chicago, IL | 5486 / 914 | 14370 / 1774 |
| Atlanta, GA | 4772 / 913 | 14268 / 1777 |
| New York City | 5293 / 915 | 14661 / 1782 |
| Washington, DC | 5113 / 914 | 14610 / 1779 |
Cable Modem vs FiOS - Windows XP - Firefox
| | Cable Modem | FiOS |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 4483 / 601 | 4856 / 1745 |
| San Francisco, CA | 4114 / 568 | 5828 / 1755 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 3765 / 554 | 5895 / 1749 |
| Dallas, TX | 4012 / 746 | 9884 / 1771 |
| Chicago, IL | 4668 / 919 | 14426 / 1763 |
| Atlanta, GA | 4339 / 921 | 14386 / 1775 |
| New York City | 5270 / 925 | 14434 / 1784 |
| Washington, DC | 4946 / 925 | 14427 / 1775 |
Cable Modem vs FiOS - Mac OS X - Safari
| | Cable Modem | FiOS |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 4589 / 884 | 4807 / 1741 |
| San Francisco, CA | 5201 / 895 | 5701 / 1723 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 4755 / 892 | 5803 / 1714 |
| Dallas, TX | 5088 / 884 | 9737 / 1740 |
| Chicago, IL | 5359 / 805 | 14639 / 1720 |
| Atlanta, GA | 4161 / 767 | 14658 / 1749 |
| New York City | 5595 / 908 | 14634 / 1755 |
| Washington, DC | 5394 / 906 | 12595 / 1722 |
Cable Modem vs FiOS - Mac OS X - Firefox
| | Cable Modem | FiOS |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 4384 / 868 | 4583 / 1562 |
| San Francisco, CA | 5156 / 892 | 5744 / 1593 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 5107 / 892 | 5841 / 1709 |
| Dallas, TX | 4095 / 900 | 9662 / 1664 |
| Chicago, IL | 4836 / 903 | 14598 / 1722 |
| Atlanta, GA | 4942 / 906 | 14474 / 1722 |
| New York City | 5644 / 899 | 14401 / 1755 |
| Washington, DC | 5396 / 897 | 14705 / 1746 |
High to Low
Here is a comparison between FiOS and my cable modem service showing the highest and lowest speed test numbers from all of the tests I ran.
The Highs
FiOS: The highest download speed was 14784 MB
Cable: The highest download speed was 5654 MB
FiOS: The highest upload speed was 1784 MB
Cable: The highest download speed was 925 MB
The Lows
FiOS: The lowest download speed was 4803 MB
Cable: The lowest download speed was 2325 MB
FiOS: The lowest upload speed was 1199 MB
Cable: The lowest download speed was 503 MB
Test Computers and Routers Used
The Cablevision cable modem was connected to a Linksys BEFW11S4 wireless router (I have had in the past an Apple Airport Extreme connected here with no different results). The Verizon FiOS was connected with their provided D-Link DI-624 wireless router. Both routers had the latest firmware. All computers were wired using new Cat 5E Belkin cables to the routers for tests. Wireless tests (not-published here) had relatively the same speeds as the computers were located close to the wireless routers.
The computers used for tests were:
HP Laptop. AMD Turion 64 Mobile 784 MHz, 384 RAM with Windows XP Professional using IE and latest Firefox 1.5.0.1.
Sony Viao Desktop P4 1.8 GHz, 512 RAM with Windows XP Professional using IE and latest Firefox 1.5.0.1.
Apple Powerbook G4 1.67GHz with 1.5GB RAM, OS 10.4.4 using Safari 2.03 and latest Firefox 1.5.0.1. The Apple Broadband Tuner was NOT installed.
Apple iMac G5 (with built-in iSight) 2.1GHz with 1.5GB RAM, OS 10.4.4 using Safari 2.03 and latest Firefox 1.5.01. The Apple Broadband Tuner was NOT installed.
Speed tests were done using the same site http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/. Testing speed at other sites like on http://www.dslreports.com/stest using MegaPath, linkLINE, and net@ccess came with simalar results. I did not use these site in my published results because they mostly use Java to perform the tests. There have been reports that some of these Java-based tests yieled in accurate tests with browsers other than Internet Explorer on a Windows machine. This is way I used Speakeasy and did the tests with multiple browsers.
* Note: This is the tests I have done myself. I am not a lab, scientist, or testing engineer. I do have many years of engineering, developer experience, IT experience, and video engineering experience. I consider myself an advanced user of technology and the Internet, with expertise in a few areas. This is an example of a real world example at my house. Your experiences may vary. This is not meant to be a definative conculsion.
My Conclusion
Verizon FiOS is absolutely faster than Cablevision cable modem as tested in my house. Especially, upstream being 3 to 4 times faster consistantly. Download speeds vary depending on where you test with. Closer sites will usually give you faster speeds as I expected. But even to the slower sites, the cable modem was slower in every single test. The cable modem did not beat FiOS in any test including the "ping" tests.
Also note that the cable modem was slower during primetime Internet use than the tests I did in the early morning, as cable modems are on shared networks with your neighbors. The FiOS speeds were more consistant no matter when I tested. For my house, Verizon FiOS was the clear winner, and at the same price per month an better value. So for me a good decision to switch. Since the need for Internet connectivity is like "air" in our home, I do not take this lightly.
I will let the math experts among you average all the numbers out and come to your own conculsions.
I experienced no Mac compatibility issues with my FiOS installation as did my co-worker, last summer. I have not seen any speed differences between platforms and have not installed Apple Broadband Tuner download. This is probably due to the better "ping" times I have on my Verizon FiOS installation compared to the Cablevision cable modem. Again, your "mileage" may vary.
Pictures FiOS Installation
Optical Network Terminal (ONT) on side of our house
Backup Battery and Power Supply inside our house (basement)
D-Link Router in office
Verizon includes email with Verizon FiOS including webmail. They offer up to 9 additional sub-email accounts. As always I suggest using GMail, Yahoo!. or some other email account other than your ISP's mail so you do not feel "locked in" to your ISP for email. How many people do you still know paying AOL for email way after they moved to broadband and no longer need AOL?
Verizon also offers 1GB of online storage and personal web space included with your account. They do block port 80 for outgoing, so running a web server is not available to you. They also block port 25 for any email except Verizon. This is the common among ISPs including Cablevision. You may need to use the outgoing mail server for all your mail go out using the settings Verizon will give you if you use mail other than Verizon in Apple Mail, Entourage, or Outlook. Or consider webmail like GMail, .Mac, Yahoo!, or another service. Verizon email is fully compatible with Macintosh. This is the same deal as with Cablevision.
I am happy to be finally connected to Verizon FiOS Internet service and able to get better download and upload speeds than the Cablevision cable modem service. Cablevision has way "over-hyped" the speed of thier cable modem's for years, advertising 10MB and now 15MB downstream. I have never at any time, gotten much over 5MB downstream, no matter what platform or time of day I have tried. During primetime, our download speed is even lower. The upload speeds on the Cablevision Optimum Online cable modem service are slow compared to Verizon FiOS. The upload speed is important to me as I use video conferencing, VoIP, web conferencing, FTP, and webDAV daily. But even sending email, especially with large attachments can be painful on a slow upstream connection. If you do a lot of online gaming, upload speed and "ping" times are also very important.
Cablevision has been out to the house several times when I complained of my slow download speeds. Their technicians saw my speeds, tried to adjust things with NO improvements. They told me they would return after adjusting stuff somewhere else in the neighborhood, never returning. After a few of these service calls, it is obvious their speed claims, and their constant commercials here in New Jersey claiming all great things about their fiber optic network is very over-hyped! Cablevision, like most cable companies only run "fiber" to a neighborhood or a territory, not your home. This is one reason their upload speeds are so slow. The cable companies usually do not "home-run" the connection from your home, it is shared on the same cable back to the aggregation point. The cable modem service by its nature is a shared cable or pipe. At primetime, the time of day when many people are using the Internet the most, in my area, my speed was pitiful most times.
Nothing like having fiber right to the side of your house. As the cable company's TV commercials like to say sarcastically, "are you STILL using a tel-e-phone line?" I can now say " are you STILL using copper?" Remember, when the cable company talk about fiber, it is NOT to your house.
I am sure the speed differences and price will be an even wider gap as time goes by and the marketplace decides. With Verizon's merger with MCI, I think you will see even better Internet services from Verizon soon. With fiber right to the side of your house, uping the speeds is much easier as the limitation of copper does not exist with fiber. Cablevision is spending tons on advertising the speed of their cable modem comparing it to Verizon DSL in my area, never mentioning Verizon FiOS or the fact that DSL is cheaper. Comparing my cable modem speeds, I can not see how Cablevision can claim they are 3-to-5, 10 or even 15 times faster than DSL and keep a straight face! DSL speeds from Verizon and others are 3M/768K $29.95 or the cheaper $14.95 DSL is about 768k/128K. But DSL from Speakeasy can be as fast as 6M/768K. Few offer the upload speed of Verizon FiOS.
Interestingly, upon canceling the cable modem service from Cablevision we were informed by the Cablevision employee, that Verizon FiOS is NOT faster than Cablevision's Optimum Online! Well my tests and long time user of Cablevision's Optimum Online tell a much different story. How can Cablevision claim to be faster than FTTP (Fiber-to-the-Premises), with fiber connected directly to our house? Are they not the people that tell us how fiber is better in all their ads?
It would be hard for a shopping consumer know what speed Optimum Online even offers. I defy you to find the published speed of residential Optimum Online, even on the Optimum Online website! They seem to hide it well. Go ahead give it a whirl, all it says all over is that it 150 times faster than dial up, triple the speed of DSL (which DSL?), and even the TV ads claim 5 times faster, 10 times faster, 15 times faster, than DSL (again which DSL?). A bit vague, I would say. This should not surprise you too much when you realize it is hard to even get the "real" price of Optimum Online, as the website only gives you the discounted price for the first 12 months! At least Verizon publishes thier speeds on the FiOS website.
When Cablevision visited our house and saw less than 5MB download, the technicians were not only not surprised, but could do little to correct it. So apparently, if you are lucky to be located next to a node, your speed may be faster. The pitful upload speed of Optimum Online could not compare to Verizon FiOS. Of course, Cablevision is offering Optimum Online Boost that claims to offer 30MB/2MB in only select areas (not my area) at higher prices. This speed they seem to have no problem publishing. But alas the price is not so easy to see on the website, I guess you have to call!
We still have Cablevision for our TV service. We are anxious to see the Verizon FiOS TV offering when it becomes available. Verizon and the cable companies are in a battle here in New Jersey on cable franchising. The cable companies are doing their best to slow the competition from the telco, and the telco is trying to obtain TV franchising as fast as possible. The cable companies are trying to sign people to a contract offering slightly better pricing as the competition from the telcos heat up. My advice is sign no long term contracts if you care about quality and speed.
Anyway with the cable modem gone and "bested" by Verizon FiOS Internet, we will now be free to look at satellite TV also. I had Direct TV and Verizon DSL for years at my old house. The satellite companies seem to have a better HD TV service and better prices than cable TV, at least for now. Competition is a good thing for consumers, I think. Having a choice of TV providers will be great. No more cable TV monopoly. Eventually, this should lead to better TV service for consumers and hopefully better prices.
If you interested in FiOS TV see Verizon FiOS TV Installed, Cablevision Out
