Although dialup internet access is often derided as being too slow (especially by high-speed internet providers), there are some ways to speed it up so that it is acceptable for visiting most web sites, reading e-mail, and conducting small downloads. Here are some tips to speed up dialup access…
1. Pay an extra four to six dollars per month for a dialup speed “booster” service, which is offered by some internet service providers. You can read more about these by clicking here and scrolling down to the 2nd paragraph.
2. Use a POP3 (or equivalent) e-mail system and an e-mail client (a program designed specifically for retrieving e-mail messages, such as Microsoft Outlook Express), rather than web-based accounts on services like Yahoo! or MSN. Most dialup internet access providers include accounts of this type with their service at no additional cost; this will speed up your dialup access to e-mail because the client program doesn’t have to download or process advertisements and HTML code involved in free e-mail service websites.
3. Upgrade to a faster processor: Although the speed of dialup internet access is limiting, the speed is also affected by the computer’s processor (CPU) because it has to decode the HTML or other web site codes before they can be displayed. If you are using a 486 or an early Pentium processor, upgrading to a Pentium II or III will help somewhat; however, relatively little difference will be noticed by upgrading from a Pentium II or III to a Pentium IV. The processor generally won’t make much difference in the speed of file downloads, POP3 e-mail access, or viewing text files on the internet. If the computer still has a 14.4, 28.8, or 33.6 kbps modem, upgrading it will also speed up dialup access, but only if a faster connection speed is available in your area (more likely in towns, cities).
4. Use faster web sites: On many web sites it is possible to check the page size (how much code has to be downloaded before they can be viewed by the user) by right-clicking, selecting “Properties” from the menu, and looking at the number after “Size”. The higher the number, the longer the web site will take to load. If you make Google.com your home page, the computer has to load about 5800 bytes (takes about 1.75 seconds at 26kbps), whereas Ask.com is approximately 15900 bytes (about 5 seconds) and Dogpile.com about 22400 (almost 7 seconds). This does not include the size of images, but these can be turned off in Internet Options on Internet Explorer. Other factors, like the speed of the server hosting the web site, can affect loading speed as well. Installing a pop up blocker or avoiding websites with pop up advertisements will also make it quicker to access them on dialup.
In addition to these methods to make your dialup connection faster, you can also turn off cookies (however, some web sites – especially those which require registration – will not function without cookies), add more memory to the computer (especially if you like to multi-task), and wait until you are done using the internet to run anti-virus scans.
