The vast majority of people access the Internet through a telephone modem. Plug it in, turn on your machine and ... wait. And wait. And wait a little more. First, there is the search for the modem, then the connection, then the handshaking. Once you're online, you wait for the software to load, the right Web page to be found (when surfing), the page to download.

I appreciate a 56-kbps modem as much as the next person -- my first modem chugged dutifully along at 2,400 kbps -- but it just seems so slow. And it will get even slower as more and more stuff -- video, music, data streams -- gets shoved on the Net. The faucet on the pipe -- and even the pipe itself -- just ain't big enough.

So let's look at the alternatives. A popular Japanese option is the ISDN line. These serve up data at over twice the speed of a conventional modem (128 kbps), but cost a chunk of change to install and require special hardware. (Actually most of the options do.) Alternatively, you can use one of the gray pay phones that offer it up. Amazing how a country that has lagged in the race to get wired could plant an ISDN pay phone in every corner.