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SoVerNet’s Dialup Accelerator
Speed up browsing • Stop ad popups • $2/month
What it does | What it doesn't | How it works
Installing | Troubleshooting | Complete Accelerator Guide
SoVerNet's Dialup Accelerator is a combination service/software product that can offer those who live beyond DSL range a viable alternative to regular dialup. The Accelerator service costs $2 per month, the software is free. Currently, the software is available for Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, and Mac OS X 10.2 and up.
The exact amount of acceleration can vary but you should notice a substantially faster experience when you visit Web sites. The Accelerator's compression improves the performance of DSL connections too, but dialup is where it really shines.
Included in the Windows package are a popup blocking feature and an email accelerator, both of which are installed but not turned "on" until you decide you want them. The Mac version does not have the popup blocker as it relies on the Safari browser to provide this function. The Mac version also currently lacks the email accelerator, though POP/SMTP acceleration may be added in the future. More info on these can be found in the Complete Guide.
Caveat: SoVerNet's Accelerator software may not be compatible with certain software or services such as content filters, firewalls, or adware/spyware protection software. The Accelerator is not a "broadband" service. The actual data transmission is not at a faster speed than regular dialup service, and file transfers may not see an increase in the transmission rate either downloaded or uploaded.
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What gets accelerated?
The Accelerator compresses the following elements of web pages in order to speed the display of the information on your monitor:
- Web pages—HTML markup and JavaScript
- Web-graphics including JPEG and GIF images
- Web-text
- Web-Email (only if not accessed via a secure site)
- POP/SMTP email (Windows version only)
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What will not be accelerated?
The Accelerator will not speed the transmission of:
- streaming media, audio, or video files*
- secure or encrypted pages, such as those used for online banking and credit card forms
- files and attachments such as music, video, digital photos, or executable files
- file downloads (over FTP or file sharing programs)
*Note: In some cases, downloads of MP3 or other files may actually be blocked rather than merely unaccelerated. If you experience this, see the Complete Guide, "Bypassing the Accelerator," for tips on adding a site to the proxy exclusion list.
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How does it work?
With traditional dialup methods, the text and graphics that make up web pages get sent from the server to you over your phone line. Because of the large amount of data required to be sent, this process can be painfully slow. SoVerNet's Dialup Accelerator compresses this data using a proprietary technology, and sends it over the dial-up phone line. This compression process is similar to that used to zip or stuff large files to save space or send them faster via email. It allows a smaller amount of data to be sent—up to five times less—making the download time of web pages, and your online experience, that much faster.
The trade-off is reduced graphic image quality, with the "fastest" (highest compression) producing the most degraded graphics. However, If you want to see the graphic in all its glory, just tweak the image quality-slider and refresh the browser. Internet Explorer even has a "Load original graphic" option accessed by right-clicking an image, so you can view just the image you want, in its orignal form. More info is in the Complete Guide.
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Installing
To install the Accelerator software,
- go to the download page (see link, above right) and select the version for your operating system.
- Double-click to download, and follow the step-by-step prompts to configure the Accelerator. (note: username = username@sover.net—you must append the @sover.net).
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