I'm riding the Motorola SURFboard!

Some parts of your gear should be as close to invisible as possible not matter what your task is. A carpenter doesn't want to think about a hammer, it just has to work every time without conscious thought. Same with a modem...I want to hit the internet as fast as possible every time without having to think about it. When my cable company provided me with the SURFboard I hoped it would be that type of tool and it hasn't disappointed me yet.

A note about perspective
Those of you who were computer science majors or other such techno types won't need this review. There is no carefully measured data on upload speeds, download speeds, or other such things that a typical user wouldn't really be looking at on their own system. This is written from the perspective of an "average Joe" sharing an experience with another "average Joe".

Dependability
That's the name of the game, right? I've had this modem for two years now and have yet to miss a connection. Resetting it often isn't required either as I've only reset the modem maybe three times in the couple of years I've had it. There were other issues at that time with my PC so it may not have even been the fault of the modem to be hones.

I can say that I've never been deprived of my internet connection because this device failed to live up to expectations.

Installation
Easy as it can be. Simply connect the cable from the wall into the back of the modem and run a cord with connectors like a large telephone hook up to the tower. Plug in the units AC power adapter and you are ready to go.

I've ran this modem with both Windows ME and Windows Vista and had no problem getting underway in either system. As a matter of fact, this is one of only two or three things Vista didn't give me a really hard time installing.

Size
I have to say that by my standards this is a big device. It's only around three inches wide but it's nearly eight inches deep and six inches tall. This means you'll find it about the size of a typical PC sound system speaker. With the new smaller desks and flat panel screens space is at a premium so I'd like to have a smaller device. Then again it's not like it's a treasure chest or something!

Speed
Updating my website requires a bit of uploading with files. Sometimes I sell things on eBay and have to upload large photos and of course I deal with all those email attachments and I don't have any trouble. I can download an MP3 sized file in around a minute across my cable connection and have no trouble watching streaming video from assorted websites. Changing pages is a matter of seconds even with pages with lots of content.

Speed is greatly affective by your provider and the plan you sign up on. It does seem that I don't lose any speed due to the modem though.

Overall
If you can install it quickly and depend on it every time is there anything more you could ask for? I'm happy with the modem and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who asked.