Nerds love toys, and a bunch of proudly out-of-the-geek-closet tech heads at the UK Business Forums have been discussing the joys of a good USB modem. Carl in particular has been ‘very impressed’ with the easy installation and performance of his 3 dongle: ‘I get higher speeds via it than I do my fixed broadband line’, so join them if you want to wallow in a spot of dongle lovin’.

However, over in the Tropical Fish Forums, Paul explains that his distinctly un-geeky sister has ‘just bought a 3 mobile broadband internet dongle the same as mine’ but has been left high and dry; her Windows 98 OS ‘does not recognise the drivers that are in-built in the dongle’. As other members are quick to point out, she needs to upgrade to XP. Frankly, the drivers on her quaint old OS just can’t handle the might of a big beefy dongle, and she’s missing out on a treat.