The software, called the Java virtual machine, is about five megabytes in size and takes 15 to 20 minutes to download over a standard 56-kilobyte modem.

The company has more than 25 million subscribers worldwide, almost all of whom now use standard modems.

But it can monitor only a standard modem.

Making an initial connection, however, took about half the time it took with my standard modem, and once logged in, you need not log off.

Another $5 a month lets you retrieve mail from your in box by dialing in with a standard modem when you are on the road.

While today's standard modems can cost less than $100, the new high-speed versions can cost $1,500 or more.

With a standard modem and regular telephone lines, it takes forever - or at least several minutes - to download the simple "meow" from Socks.

Built in modem support to communicate with most standard modems, including support for a few file transfer methods such as Zmodem.

Long transmission times make it unwieldy to download an entire album using a standard modem.

How Modems Work Much of the world still uses a standard modem to connect to the Internet.