We tend to think of the Internet as something that comes available in two speeds: slow and fast. The slow dial-up service is going the way of the rotary phone. As for the faster service, while the prudent comparative shopper in all of us may try to compare the merits of high-speed DSL versus cable Internet service, deep down we know they're really not all that different. Both provide reasonably quick connections most of the time, interrupted by occasional painfully slow periods that tend to happen smack in the middle of a work or a holiday shopping deadline.
But Internet speed may be more relative than we think. Comcast's recently announced plans to increase the speed of its broadband connections some ten-fold was not all that widely reported last week, perhaps because many critics are skeptical it will deliver. But if the cable provider makes good on its promise, it could be one of those watershed moments that dramatically changes the way we use computers in every day work and play.

The company says its superfast service will transport 160 megabits of data per second, compared with its current speed of 16 megabits per second. It says the higher speed will be sufficient to download a two-hour movie in just four minutes. But clearly, it's not just home entertainment that will benefit from such an ultra-fast connection speed.

Years ago when people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were prophesying about a PC on every desktop, most people had no idea what they would do with their own personal mini-mainframe. And not that long ago, many of us were content with dial-up Internet, which was more than sufficient for the occasional email we sent.
I'm not sure what the world will look like when Internet connections are ten, or even just five times faster than they are today, but I'm pretty sure it will lead to another wave of innovation that will make us look back nostalgically on today's status quo.