[dancingdoc2]

Considering the architecture and how the Internet operates, it is no wonder it works as well as it does all around the whole wide world. Studies are underway to revamp or make a new net that is capable of handling the increased traffic of today and tomorrow's needs.

Dialup connections are typically very slow and can experience slowdowns that are more pronounced.

Broadband DSL connections are vastly superior in speed so slowdowns do not generally have the same impact.

Cable connections share a finite bandwidth and the more the line is used by neighborhood computers the slower it operates.

Messages are broken down into "packets" and each is disassembled and sent by a different route to its destination. As an illustration, think of a message as being divided up into paragraphs and each paragraph sent by a separate route. When each packet reaches its destination, the packets are then reassembled.

The reason for separate routings is for security. Keep in mind that the Internet was created by and for military communications. It was only later that institutions of higher learning got on board in order to exchange information.

It was only recently, like in the past ten years or so, that the "World Wide Web" was created that integrated FTP, E-mail, Browsing, and a graphic interface (WYSIWYG) thus making use of the internet simple and practical for the general public. Now that you have a world of people on the web network, is it no wonder that it is sometimes difficult to keep the speed up given the technology?

Oedi, if your system is virus free, my guess is that you have experienced slowdowns between where you live and where the site's server is do to congestion with different routes and varying traffic patterns both of which are in a constant state of flux.