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In the beginning, the Internet was fast enough for most. Checking e-mail and reading a Web site didn't require scads of bandwidth. Any broadband connection was more than enough for anyone other than power users.
But a funny thing happened in the past few years: Many people became power users. People started buying albums from iTunes, they started downloading episodes of "Mad Men," they watched endless videos on YouTube. All this added activity calls for a faster Internet.
Until that day comes, there are things that a user can do to make sure their connection is as fast as possible.
The starting point for any broadband connection is an Internet service provider, or ISP. Consumer broadband is split between two competing technologies: digital subscriber line, or DSL, and cable.
Depending on how many providers service your area, you may have a choice. Generally speaking, cable is faster. But cable speeds can be affected by how many people are online and even by how close your connection is to your local broadband source, or "hub."
Even within cable and DSL, there are options. Most service providers offer more than one tier of Internet access. Pay a higher monthly fee and you'll get faster maximum download and upload speeds. But there is a catch: What is advertised as a maximum may rarely be reached.
Many ISPs do not configure their services to the maximum speed because they're configuring them for shared networks. Yet raising your maximum download threshold from 768 kilobits per second to 10 megabits per second should have an overall positive effect on your browsing and downloading.
The second link in an Internet connection is your computer itself. Today's Web sites demand more from your PC than they did even two years ago, so some upgrades may be in order. The single most effective thing you can...

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