Just a curiousity I've always been unsure about. I used to have a 56k modem. (Years ago) I never understood how a serial port-connected modem can communicate at 56k (theoretical) with another modem and transfer this data to my OS and applications at around 56k. But, if I were to connect two computers via serial cable, the maximum connect speed was 9600 baud. Obviously the mechanism for sending 56k data thru the serial port is there.