I remember when I first cared about modems.  It was back in the days of the late Pentium, when 33.6Kbps was in it’s prime.  It’s when USR came out with X2 technology, which rose modem receive speeds to 56K (The FCC limited speeds to 53.3K), but still held send speeds down to 33.6Kbps.  A competing company came out with 56Flex, another 56K standard that was incompatible with X2.  Then came V.90, which brought both modem standards together.  Now, years later, Everyone has a V.90 modem, whether is be an upgraded X2, or a 56K modem that came with V.90 from the box.  Now, more than ever before, there are people going to such high speed digital internet connections such as DSL and TV Cable.  Because of this, 33.6, and even 56K, is now thought of as slow to most people.  In the future, there will be faster connections to the internet.  As we all know, technology advances faster than most drunken college men at a downtown bar, and DSL will some day become what analog dial-up is to most of us today.

Surge Protection
Summer is upon us.  The signs are clear, with children throwing colorful explosives all over their yards, and in the sky.  The summer, for most of the United States, means thunder storms, in some way or another.  Many people think that they can leave their computers on during a storm, because their surge protector, or even their fuse box, will protect their home from a lightning strike.  This theory, is in fact, totally false.  Up to 5,000 Amperes, (or more) can go though a surge protector or a fuse box before the fuse will trip, or the surge protector kicks in.  Most surge protectors are in place to stop small spikes in electrical power, call surges (hence, surge protector.)  If you hear thunder, or know of a storm approaching, unplug your computer, from electricity, and phone, or else you’ll be sorry.