Feature: Dial-Up Follow-Up

Dial-up Internet access is like VHS tape, LPs, and cell phones without cameras. They're all outdated technology that many people still use daily--and willingly.

I offer this deeply profound pearl of wisdom based on the flood of e-mail I received in response to "The Lowdown on Dial-Up." Dozens of readers described their frequent reliance on dial-up Internet access. Even better, they offered helpful tips on getting the best performance from a dial-up connection.

Tweak Microsoft Internet Explorer Settings

By making you download Flash animations and other multimedia files, Web pages can slow down your browsing. If it's speed you crave above all else, block Internet Explorer's ability to download multimedia content, advises Joe Zapert of Los Angeles.

Choose Tools, Internet Options, and select the Advanced tab. Scroll down to Multimedia. De-select "Play animations in web pages," "Play sounds in web pages," and "Play videos in web pages." You could even de-select "Show pictures," but given the graphical nature of the Web, that may be self-defeating.

Joe also suggests increasing the space that IE sets aside for temporary Internet files, which reduces the number of pages you need to re-download if you visit them again. Go to Tools, Internet Options. On the General tab, under Temporary Internet Files, click Settings. Drag the slider bar under "Amount of disk space to use" to increase the cache size. Click OK. Don't go crazy, however--it's possible to devote too much disk space to your cache. I suggest giving it a couple of megabytes.

Use Web Mail

Most Internet service providers offer a way to check e-mail via the ISP's Web site. Using this option is a good alternative to downloading e-mail to your notebook, writes Bob Osgood of Covina, California. When you check messages using the ISP's Web site, you can delete spam or unnecessary e-mail and check for messages with large attachments without having to download them first.

Use Your Cell Phone

You may be able to avoid using a dial-up modem altogether. Cell phones can often be used as wireless modems, connecting notebooks or PDAs to the Internet via a cable or Bluetooth connection between a mobile phone and a laptop or handheld.

Kevin McCluskey of Melfa, Virginia, connects his notebook to the Internet using an LG VX6100 cell phone, the Verizon Mobile Office Kit (which includes a connection cable and software), and his Verizon NationalAccess 1000-minute calling plan. Kevin says the connection is "easy and faster than dial-up but slower than DSL." Best of all, this access doesn't add to his cell-phone bill--Kevin connects to the Internet using the minutes included in his plan. There's no requirement or charge for a data plan on top of the calling plan, and Kevin doesn't have to pay a monthly fee to an ISP.

The LG VX6100 phone currently costs $80 with a two-year Verizon contract. For more information about the $40 Mobile Office Kit, go to Verizon's Web site.

Watch That Plug

And now for a dial-up "don't," courtesy of Brian Patterson of Pittsburgh.

Many hotels today still don't offer in-room broadband Internet access. In those situations, you need to plug your notebook into a phone jack for dial-up access. But don't unplug the hotel phone from the RJ-11 jack on the wall and insert your modem cable in its place, Brian advises. Why? Because many hotel phone systems are digital; dial-up modems are analog, and you can end up frying your modem. Instead, plug into the data port on the hotel phone.

Speed Up Your Connection

Rich Widman of Brookings, South Dakota, recommends NCT's Artera Turbo, a software/service that can accelerate the speed of Web site browsing, file transfers, and e-mail downloads. Artera Turbo also provides ad blocking, a security firewall, parental controls, and other features. It costs $6 per month for residential and single-user business customers; other business plans are available. I've not tested Artera Turbo. But you can try it free for two weeks, so I'd suggest giving it a try.

Get Free Access

Only have an occasional need for dial-up and your ISP doesn't include dial-up access in your broadband service? No problem--just get a free dial-up account from Juno, advises Floyd Pittman of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. You get 10 hours of free e-mail and dial-up access per month, with up to 2GB of storage. "And it remains active even if you go for months without using it," Floyd writes. (NetZero offers a similar service.)