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Do Web Accelerators Work?
Hardware and software solutions let you break the 56-kbps barrier without installing ISDN, DSL, or a cable modem. Just don't expect miracles.
We examined two alternatives that claim to boost your Web access speed without costing you an arm and a leg. Browser accelerators attempt to turbocharge your Web browser by adding a smarter cache and by trying to anticipate where you'll go next on the Web. Modem bonders, as their name suggests, harness a pair of modems to give you a double-barrel pipe to your Internet service provider.
Broadband technologies such as Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, Integrated Services Digital Network, cable modem, and satellite promise superquick Internet access, lightning-fast downloads, and TV-like multimedia, as well as sunshine, flowers, and world peace. But if these aren't available where you live--or they're just too expensive for you--what are your options?
Browser accelerators cost considerably less than modem bonders, because they require no financial investment beyond their modest sticker price; and they work with your existing modem setup. Unfortunately, reports of their efficiency have been greatly exaggerated. We saw far less improvement than we had hoped.
Of the two approaches, modem bonders yielded better results. At best, they may double your Internet access speed. They didn't do that in our tests, but they did improve the loading speed of a typical Web page markedly--in one case, by 67 percent. These gains come at a cost, however: The modem bonders we looked at require two separate modems and phone lines, and you'll also have to pay for two ISP accounts. Those demands generate cumulative costs that fall in the same range as DSL or even ISDN.