But you are supposed to leave the DSL modem plugged and powered 24/7 ,otherwise it must renegotiate or something.The DSL modem here came with a sticker stating be sure to leave it on for at least 10 dyas continuously to reach maximum speed.I have notice a "learning curve " in that connection speed was first reported as just over 1Mb but after a few days was 1.5,and seems to be leveling off just under 1.8Mb (which is a far cry from the 48kb of dial-up)An short jumper to the wireless router and access is available house (and yard)-wide.Except now there are TWO wal-warts and devices on 24/7.Then there is the wal-wart for the answering machine,the HDTV,and all the other things that can not be turned off without needing reprogramming.It makes conserving electricity difficult.
While I never leave my computers on 24/7, I will admit I do usually keep the cable modem going. It takes such little power, BUT... I have not noticed any problems in turning it off (fully off, unplugged even) overnight, which I probably do once or twice a week. In fact, cable here sucks so bad, that I sometimes have to reset my modem (yes, it re-negotiates) in order to get it back going again. A minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things, just go into System Preferences and renew your DHCP lease and the internet pops back up within seconds.
Since I don't have a router, I have to reset my modem every time I hook a different computer to it. That's going to be the case with this Mac-Mini and was the case when I had my A2500 in the same room. Now that's a major pain. I see out in stores now, you can't even purchase a wired router any more. And the last time I went to our local Rat Shack, the knob salesman told me that a router and the switcher were the same thing(they apparently didn't stock routers). I tried to tell him the difference, especially when using OUR cable provider (which he was fully aware of to), but I took it home anyway since I asked about their return policy. Sure as shit, it didn't work - surprise.
Guess I should just buy a router online and be done with it. :lol: