Well they were saying that there was no point since he had a modem and it would take a heck of a long time. Since you are on a cable modem it shouldnt be a problem.
There is still things to do, such as collect crystals, try out the 2 quests (when the npcs are online that is

), explore and meet a bunch of people.
CB= Crystal Blue, or the next version of this game. It will have significantly more features, some of which being combat, skills, possibly crafting, etc.
However there is no set date for this release. It will be released \"as soon as it is finished\", which may be several months from now.
So if you want to get a feel for the game and get to know who plays it you can try out the current version, and if not, you can always wait until CB is released.