Even in this day and age, many people are forced to live with phone modem connections. Perhaps you live in a rural community without cable modem. Satellite is too expensive to consider. You are stuck with a 56K connection because there is no highspeed in your area. If you are stuck with a slow phone modem, then perhaps consider an "accelerated modem" connection. While an accelerated modem isstill a compromise, it is a low-cost way to get six times your regular modem speed. No new hardware is necessary, either. Also known as "Compression Acceleration by Proxy", this technique is working for millions of rural internet users...