Question: What is Ethernet?

Answer: Ethernet is a type of wiring that connects computers in a local area network together.

Ethernet connections keep the information in the digital format (unlike modems which convert the data to an analog signal) . Ethernet is much faster than a regular modem. To connect to an Ethernet network - you need to have an Ethernet card in your computer and an Ethernet cable (and of course an Ethernet connection to plug in the other end of the cable).

Question: What are the different kind of Ethernet cards that I can get?

    Answer: Currently the most widely used cards are either 10Base-T or 100Base-T. You need to make sure what speed the network is that you are connecting to. Most 100 Base-T cards also connect to 10 Base-T networks. 100 Base-T networks are 10 times faster than 10 Base-T networks.

Question: Can I have an Ethernet connection at home?

    Answer: Yes, If you want to set up a network in your house. But you still need a wire running to the internet. Most home users find the cost prohibitive to run this wire from their house to a server. The main connections to the internet are still a modem or in larger cities cable modem (see cable modem.)
Question: I thought I heard someone talk about an Ethernet modem?

    Answer:Yes, back a few years an Ethernet modem allowed anyone on a network (one at a time) to use the modem. This is not used a lot these days because the modem is a bottleneck (lowest common denominator) in your transmission time.

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