Out of interest, have you tried a trace route from your two locations? (open a DOS box, and type "tracert www.renderosity.com" - without the quotations) It could be that different connection routes are being used, and one is slower or has more packet loss than the other. It's probably your University proxy, though. Having said that, connection speeds to Renderosity have been very intermittent the last couple of days for me here in Nottingham, with plenty of time-outs. Maybe it's rcook's 'massaging' of the new server that's doing it. ;-) BTW Anthony, have you checked to see if you can use a cable modem from your home? If you're in an urban or suburban area around Manchester, there's a good chance you can get connected. The internet is a whole different experience at high speed/bandwidth (as you probably know from the university connection), and you can stay online for as long as you like for a fixed fee of around 30-40 per month (includes cheaper than BT phone line and cable TV). Nowadays I can spend all day in the C&D forum, eh JeffH. ;-)