AcceleNet Review
 by
Nella White
For starters, now that I have it, I wouldn't want
to give it up. AcceleNet can increase my effective web browsing
speed 2 to 6 times over what I am used to experiencing. For many people
web browsing is the main need for speed,
and AcceleNet addresses that well. It also greatly accelerates the downloading
of email with attachments. However, this is not a complete broadband solution
like DSL.
There is no free lunch, and only so many
packets per second can pass through your phone line. The increase in speed
is achieved mainly through advanced compression technology. Unlike other
accelerator products, the Accelnet software doesn't do anything weird
to your computer. It just decompresses information that our server compressed
before sending it through your phone line.
AcceleNet software has 4 image settings: Fair, Good, Excellent, and Perfect.
As I write this, with AcceleNet's "Good" setting I am browsing
Internet news articles at 4 times my usual speed
- an effective speed of 192 Kps, though my modem is only connected at
48Kps! What I pay for this speed is a slight reduction in image quality.
I don't mind this, because I am mainly just reading the text of these
articles. For email I use the "Perfect" setting in case someone
sends me pictures I really want to keep.
When I'm surfing mainly for the sake of the pictures, then I want to
see them as clearly as possible. So I right-click on the Accelnet icon
to change the image quality setting to "Perfect" before loading
the pages. When I go back to browsing mainly for information, I change
the setting back down to "Good" in order to increase my speed.
And, in fact, most of the time, this image quality is good enough for
me.
But when I look at the Astronomy Picture of the Day, I want it to be
in perfect shape! Though I can set image quality to "Perfect"
when viewing astronomy pictures, then the speed goes down quite a bit.
That's one of the limitations of AcceleNet.
So this isn't a complete broadband solution like DSL. On the other hand,
it will cost much less than real broadband.
There is no real broadband where I live, which is typical of rural areas.
AcceleNet is the best solution that's come along for me and has really
improved my Internet experience. Until the real thing comes along, I'm
not going to give it up.
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