If you use Windows 95's Dial Up Networking, you're probably very familiar with the screeching noise generated by two modems synchronizing with one another. You hear it every time you dial into your ISP or corporate server. External modems usually have a speaker volume control that allows you to quickly turn down or turn off this noise. Internal modem noise can be controlled by software. In Windows 95's Start menu, choose Settings, Control Panel. Click the System icon. In the System Properties box, select the Device Manager tab. Then click the modem icon and click on your modem's name. In the Internal Properties box, choose the Modem tab and then slide the Speaker Volume control to Off. This tip should work for most modem models. If it doesn't, read your modem's documentation for instructions on turning off the modem's speaker.

We've gotten this question often in recent months. The problem is there's not an easy answer. It appears that V.90 will be the new modem standard. If you're about to purchase a high-speed modem, make sure that it meets the V.90 specifications. Before you make a purchase, ask your Internet Service Provider (ISP) whether it supports the high-speed modems and if it supports V.90. If it doesn't currently support V.90, find out when it expects to begin support. Even if your ISP supports the high-speed modems, you still may not be able to connect at the maximum speed because of the quality of your phone lines. If you live very close to your exchange hardware, you should have no problems. But if you live miles away from the exchange, you may not be able to consistently connect at a high speed. We have some personal experience with the phone line problem. At one location, we can consistently connect to our ISP at 57.6 kilobits per second (Kbps). Using the same modem at a different location results in a connection speed of 22 Kbps to 48 Kbps-with 48 Kbps being a much less common connection speed than 22 Kbps. We're not trying to persuade you to avoid higher speed modems; we're only suggesting that you may encounter some problems. If you can do so, test a high-speed modem at your site before you buy.