Quote Originally Posted by W1GUH View Post
"...they all need software..."

Nope. I don't "log into" the connection. It's just there. OTOH, a friend's DSL was a PITA to put a router on...needed to program the router to log onto the DSL connection, something the software that was installed on her computer did automatically. In that situation a router is a really good thing, whether or not it's needed for multiple devices. Anything you plug into it is alrady logged on.
It's still software there. Cable requires a cable modem to connect, there's software there to translate one medium into another. It handles the authentication (Which is based on your modem's MAC and device ID), and your device is provisioned for access.

DSL uses a different authentication (PPoE), and that can be handled right in the DSL modem, or in the router (Most do it in the routers). All it is a user name and a password.

Either way, software is still there. Just as much software for both solutions.

"As to why the need for updates? Security. Bug fixes. Etc. "

In other words, the rush SW into the world without doing a complete and good job of development and testing. Cheap bastards.
No, not necessarily. Not all things can be tested in a lab. That's why we have: Linux 2.6.31 (Major Version 2, Minor Version 6, and Bugfix 31); Windows 7, which is WinNT 7.2 (Major release 7, minor version 2); and OS X (MacOS 10.x).

The wider the audience, the more test cases, and the more bugs to be found. I'd rather lots of updates (ie: software staying current) than not.