DSL vs. CABLE modem, enlighten me

[fiveohpatrol]

we're getting a new computer soon and want to have an internet connection that doesnt disgrace the rest of the specs of the machine.
We went the easy route with ordering a Dell. 512Mb ram, 1.8Ghz P4, 80Gig harddrive, CDRW, blah blah blah...

anyway, we're used to an extrememly slow dial up connection so both DSL and cable will be amazing to us (at first anyway)

what are the pro's and con's of both of them?

cable is faster isn't it?

are either of them normally service providers or will we have to pay for that too?

we have AOL (the devil) and they offer DSL for an additional $31 a month on top of the normal $20. This sounds kinda like a ripoff but my family loves AOL because its so easy to use.

our cable internet would be from Comcast, does anyone have this? how is it? i think its about $50 a month which would be the same as AOL if it is a service provider (or is it just the connection?)

thanks for any help guys, later