> That might actually be my uplink, which is nearly saturated
> right now. 
> Most of the images are only ~150Kb in size; maybe going to
> a higher
> compression level would help.

I still very much remember my dial-up days and will never forget them. Hence my observation and concern. :)

My broadband connection is with a WISP (wireless ISP). Wireless sucks but no other choice in the boonies. Every RF signal in the area seems to interfere in some way or manner. Thus I tend to notice any sluggishness with image downloads. Especially after the brats and mom and pops around the county return home from the day and start sucking bandwidth all evening!