Controlled connection
This program covers a lot of territory with regard to dial-up connections. But do not be overwhelmed, as day-to-day use is much easier than it may seem. What I am about to show you explains how DialupMaster really is integrated into the OS.

I like to dial my ISP using the pop-up menu of DialupMaster and choosing the appropriate connection. By doing this, I can take advantage of the Skip Connect Window option in DialupMaster. As far as I know, you must use DialupMaster to dial for this feature to work. As for the rest of DialupMaster, all other options work no matter what method you use to dial into your ISP.

After I choose 28.8, Remote Networking immediately begins dialing and soon I am online. Once I am connected, the online timer appears to the right of DialupMaster in the tray in Figure F. For the time being, I use an unlimited account so I really don't have to concern myself with the length of online activity, other than running my batteries down.

FIGURE F


This counter measures your connection times in hours and minutes. Roll over picture for a larger image.

When I've browsed long enough, I have two options for disconnecting. I could use the most common method of bringing up my connection window and clicking the Disconnect button. Or, I could use the quicker method of bringing up the DialupMaster pop-up menu and selecting Hang Up from the top of the menu, as you can see in Figure G.

FIGURE G


Disconnecting is now even easier than it used to be. Roll over picture for a larger image.

On my system, I've found that using Hang Up frequently does not completely disconnect my Velo 500 from my ISP. I have not experimented to see whether it hangs up the modem and leaves it initialized or otherwise -- but in any case, it doesn't finish off the task for some reason, and it does seem as though the modem is still active. I have to bring up the connection window as I described earlier and select Disconnect, even though it does say Disconnected in the status area as evident in Figure H, which is unusual.

FIGURE H


I am not sure if this problem is specific to my Velo. Roll over picture for a larger image.

When I disconnect using the standard method, usually the connection window and tray icon vanish completely. This could be a system-specific bug, or a flaw with my Velo 500's design and modem implementation as I've heard of similar problems when using Remote Networking alone where the connection icon and window remain visible, indicating that the system is disconnected. To get rid of this, I've found you must soft reset your Velo 500. I'd be interested in hearing if this happens with other systems or if the Velo 500 alone is plagued with this bug (it's nothing major, just an inconvenience).

Quit bugging me
Throughout, this small utility is quite polished in its design and functionality. Fellow CE user Jon Whiten mentioned in his review of DialupMaster at WinCELair that Peter Koch's site doesn't quite live up to the level of quality of his software. I agree the page could use a design facelift, but it's certainly functional. There's no reason you should let that discourage you from considering this software.