Alice Springs Internet Cafe

An Internet cafe or cybercafe is a location where computers with Internet access are available for use by the public for a fee, typically per hour or minute. An internet cafe may also operate as a regular cafe as well, with food and refreshments being served. Internet cafes are found world-wide, with many people use them when travelling to access webmail and instant messenging to stay in touch with family and friends. There are several internet cafes in Alice Springs.

Like all internet cafes, the typical Alice Springs internet cafe is a natural evolution of the traditional cafe. Cafes started as places for information exchange, and have always been used as places to read the paper, send postcards home, play games, chat to friends, find out local information. Internet cafes come in a wide range of styles, reflecting their location, main clientele, and sometimes, the business and social agendas of the proprietors.

In the early days of the internet, internet cafes were important in projecting the image of the Internet as a 'cool' phenomena. As internet access and usage grows, many pubs, bars and cafes have internet access terminals, so the distinction between the internet cafe and normal café is slowly being eroded.

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) is a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission across copper telephone lines than a conventional modem can provide. With ADSL, the volume of data flow is greater in one direction than the other (asymmetric). ADSL is most commonly marketed as a means to connect to the Internet in a relatively passive mode, with the higher speed direction being used for download from the Internet and the slower speed direction being used for uploads.

ADSL is currently the most common type of broadband internet connection offered to home users for both technical and marketing reasons. Because home users typically do prefer a higher download speed, service providers have made a virtue out of necessity, hence ADSL. With conventional ADSL, download rates start at 128 kbit/s although a minimum of 512 kbit/s is more commonly offered. Download rates can reach 8 Mbit/s within 1.5 km of the DSLAM equipped central office or remote terminal. Upload rates start at 64 kbit/s and typically reach 128 kbit/s or 256 kbit/s but can go as high as 1024 kbit/s.

Distance limitations quoted by ADSL providers are only approximations aimed at consumers of ADSL services. Signal problems can vary completely independently of distance. Real world performance is dependent on cable type and line impedance, which is determined by the number and quality of joins in a particular length of cable, and which can change dynamically dependent on weather conditions.

A newer ADSL variant called ADSL2 offers higher download speeds of up to 12 Mbit/s for distances of less than 2.5 km. ADSL2+ boosts these speeds to up to 24 Mbit/s for spans of less than 1.5 km.

ADSL service providers may offer either public or static IP addressing. Public addressing is preferred for those wishing to connect to their office via a VPN (virtual private network), for Internet gaming, and for those wishing to use ADSL to host a web server.

Computer not working? Need computer repairs? Computer repair primarily involves computer hardware which has ceased to function correctly. Computer hardware is the physical components of a computer, including the digital circuitry, as distinct from the computer software (operating system and applications) that executes within the hardware. Normally, computer hardware is changed infrequently in comparison with software and data.

A typical PC (personal computer) consists of a case or chassis in desktop or tower form and the following components:

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