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The World Wide Web is sometimes called the World Wide WAIT because at times it seems to take forever to connect to a website. You can think of the Internet as a very, very busy highway with traffic jams occurring every once in a while. There could be one of several things happening if you cannot log onto you favorite website.
Slow Dial Up Connection: |
| You may have a 14.4, 28.8, 33.6, or 56.6 Kbps modem, but there could be line noise or your telephone line may not support the speed of your modem. With regard to 56.6 Kbps modems, there are currently two standards: The X2 standard from U.S. Robotics and the K56Flex standard from Rockwell. The International 56.6 Kbps standard should make the standard the same for every 56.6 Kbps modem soon, but till then you can't call up a X2 ISP in-dial modem with a K56Flex modem and vice-versa; if you try, you may only get 28.8 or 33.6 Kbps. Also with 56 Kbps modems, there are line limitations where if you are more than several hundred yards from a telephone central office (which is the case for most everyone) you may only get up to 48 Kbps or more typically only 35, 38, or 40 Kbps. If you have a cable modem, everyone shares the same "line" in your cable neighborhood and everyone may be on at the same time. |
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| Slow Browser: |
| For computer users, Netscape Communicator 4.x and Netscape Navigator 4.x are notoriously slow in rendering pages that have tables in them. Graphics can also drag out the load time for regular modem connections but which should not be a problem for cable or DSL modem connections. This is where the webmaster may have to reduce the "weight" of the graphics by either removing graphics or making the graphics "lighter" by reducing the colors of the graphics while maintaining the image. |
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| Busy Server: |
| The server with the website you are trying to access may simply have a lot of people accessing the website at the same time. You should try again later. |
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| Hub & Router 'Traffic Jam': |
| A hub or router hardware connection that links sites on the Internet may be very, very busy or overloaded with traffic. If you get a message that says the website you are trying to connect to cannot be found, this is probably the problem. Think of this as one big traffic jam on the Information Super Highway and you cannot see what is ahead of the traffic. |
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| Something Is Down: |
| Part of your ISP or Online Service may be down. (This can be frustrating particularly when you are trying get your email.) Or the server you are trying to access may be down for one reason or another, such as when the server has to be brought down to do a hardware or software upgrade. Or the Internet at various points, such as at a hub, router, or backbone could be getting an upgrade which could cause your trip to be detoured along a longer path. |
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| Server Back Up or Maintenence: |
| It may be also be difficult to log into a site because the site may be undergoing some sort of maintenance. For instance, the site may be undergoing a backup or an administrative statistical processing. Other maintenance could be occurring also to slow down or shut down visitor access. |
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