Dial-up
A connection that is established using a modem. To make the dial-up connection the modem must be connected to an active phone line that is not in use. When connecting the modem will pickup the phone and dial a number that is attached to another computer. Once a connection has been made the two computers will be able to talk to each other and transmit data allowing the user to check his or her e-mail, browse the Internet, or share files. The first dial-up connection was made in 1965 by Lawrence G. Roberts with MIT with a TX-2 computer in Massachusetts and Tom Marill with a Q-32 at SDC in California.
Today, with multimedia on the Internet and larger web pages most users will have an un-enjoyable time browsing the Internet using a dial-up connection. Most users who have the available option are starting to upgrade to some broadband connection, which allows a much faster download and upload.
Also see: Broadband, Dial-Up Network, Internet definitions, Modem, Modem definitions