We're in dial-up hell. Since the DSL was shut off the only Internet access we've had from home is via dial-up. She already had a modem in her computer. My newer desktop was purchased without one. So, after a trip to Best Buy, I came home with a nice optical mouse for my new notebook (which has a modem) and a Zoom USB dongle-style fax modem for the desktop (a very cool little device). Now I can cruise the Information Superhighway at a blazing 44 kilobits per second! (Download speed on our DSL was 3 megabits per second.) Ugh, aaaaarrrrrrrrgggggg, and other sounds of frustration and that grinding noise typical of the gnashing of teeth. Those who were used to sending me email with attachments of from 800 K to (ulp!) 7 MB are now on my enemies list! Web sites (Vox included) that are rich in graphics, formatting –those darned CSSes–, and media are now painful to visit. Internet radio and downloading of netcasts ("podcasts") are right out. Fortunately Gmail is smart, detects a slow connection, and presents a simplified page! Thank you, Google! It's nice to have, at least, some access but this is torture! And so we writhe in hell, burning karma, awaiting salvation in the form of a 6 megabit-per-second fiber connection. I check every day to see if AT&T is ready to fish us out from our pit of suffering. Signing off (to free the phone line)….
I feel like such a primative!
PhotonStopper 
I love my wireless laptop and wireless optical mouse as well. They are very nice. Google mail is right nice also. That's why we went with them. Google is my friend. It helps me find stuff quickly and spell words I couldn't ordinarily. You, my primitive relative will soon be in the modern age. Just keep those flints handy though…. just in case! ~S
I've just started experimenting with Gmail's IMAP service. Works great on my notebook with Thunderbird as the mail client; at least it will when we get back on broadband. — JG