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Ive just made the jump from dial-up to broadband internet access. Why? Because dial-up is just toooo slow. On dial-up i had to patiently wait for the connection to be made. Sometimes, it used to be a problem actually connecting if the service was busy. I was lucky in that i had a pretty good dial-up service compared to others i know who had a poor one. Redialling several times without being connected is not uncommon. Peak times when everyone used the service in the evenings or on public holidays were a regular bottleneck.
Even once the connection is made there are more delays and frustrations. Each webpage is slow to appear in the browser especially at peak times when everything slows to a snail's pace. It wasnt always a very long delay neccessarily, but it was long enough to notice that you are sitting around waiting. Multiply that for every single webpage viewed during a day or a week. I always felt that i was wasting valuable time here when i could be using the time for something far more productive. Overall the speed of the connection wasnt very flexible either. If i wanted to download some software for example, i'd invariably have to go off and leave the computer downloading it for about 40 minutes or so. I definitely felt that was a huge amount of time to wait/waste. I needed a connection that worked with me not against me.
Its taken me a while, but now the benefits of broadband outweigh the higher cost (call me cynical but i think thats a deliberate sales ploy). Now Ive got a brand new broadband connection (512k) installed. Its 10 times, yes 10 times, faster than dial-up (56k) at viewing webpages, downloading emails or file downloads. Instead of taking 13 minutes to download a 5MB file on dial-up it now takes only 1 minute on broadband. I can download 100 emails in seconds not minutes. Webpages open instantly, i dont have to wait for them like i used to.
The other key benefit of broadband is that its always on. Theres no actual slow dial-up process like before, its always on and connected. As soon as i get an email its downloaded onto my computer and i can read it. No more waiting long enough to make it worthwhile to go through the whole dial-up process anymore thankfully. That in itself makes it a whole lot easier and more convenient to communicate with clients over email than it used to be. Typically, i respond to emails much quicker now and that has a dramatic impact on the speed that my business is done.
This new faster connection requires a new mindset and it takes a while to adjust to this new way of working. Your computer can now just be left on and connected all the time or at least as long as you want it to or your needs dictate. Theres no process to go through before using email or the internet, its always ready to go. Viewing webpages and sending emails is now as convenient in the home or small business as it already is in large corporations. Its immediate, its convenient and has none of the frustrations of dial-up.
I feel like a new efficiency has overtaken my work and its impact has affected all of my work. Running a business, this improved time efficiency and convenience is invaluable. My connection is now working to my needs rather than me working to its restrictions and that gives me far more productive time than ever before to work, browse the net, or work offline.
To give this way of working a title, I'll call it e-time. Are you working on e-time or are you still working the old way? How can you introduce a new efficiency to you work or home time?
What does all this mean for you if you run a website? A LOT! We'll look at that in my next article. See you then and good luck, as always.
Peter Simmons is editor of the DYNAMIQ EZINE. GET MAXIMUM RESULTS FROM YOUR WEBSITE! Increase your traffic, sales, profits, referrals and more... START GETTING RESULTS RIGHT NOW with our FREE WEBSITE EVALUATION at http://www.dynamiq.co.uk/ezine or email me anytime for immediate assistance peter@dynamiq.co.uk
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