[robputt]

My first interaction with the internet was an old Windows 3.1 machine with 14.4kbps modem, then we upgraded to a Windows 95 machine with 28.8kbps and later we swapped out the ISA modem for a PCI 56kbps modem. Then ADSL came along and the rest is history. Presumably the modem in this example is a 33.6kbps V.34 modem which had a slightly lower sync negotiated due to a poor line.

[mmaunder]

Yeah I don't think we ever got that fast in South Africa. I started out on a 1200 baud modem on something called Beltel which is like Prestel which was the UK equivalent. At the time our entire country's international internet connection was via a 9600 modem based at Grahamstown university and the other universities shared that link AFAIK. Then I got a borrowed VMS account at university of cape town which I could use to telnet to a sun unix box and run IRC and my life changed. Was also phone phreaking from Cape Town at a little later on using BlueBeep to connect to a BBS in Orange County called Digital Decay. Was suuuper lucky when I'd get a 14.4 connection on the international trunk. Mostly it was slower. But the AT&T home country directs had the best lines when they were seizable.