We all want more speed. We want the processor that runs our computers to be faster, the graphics acceleration to be faster and disk access to be faster. Above all, we want Internet access to be faster - much faster.
The easiest way to get speedy Net access is to work for a company that has a few T1 lines and do lots of overtime, or you could ask the right people to give you a good price on an ISDN line.
Although prices keep coming down, it will be some time before ISDN lines are as cheap here as they are in Germany (which charges the same for an ordinary line as for an ISDN).
Failing all that, you could go out and buy the fastest possible modem. But that is not quite as easy as it seems.
Buying a modem can be a deeply frustrating experience. Usually, you cannot test it in the shop and even if you could, it would not help much as it is not going to be the same as your home environment.
On February 6 in Geneva, a compromise was reached between the makers of the K56Flex and the X2 standards. Theoretically, the ITU V.90 standard generated from this agreement should erase all problems.
Most modem-makers have flash Rom upgrades to help you move to the new standard, but some experts say users are better off getting a new modem. I wonder if these experts hold any stock in 3Com.