austtr - 1:03 am on Mar 29, 2001 (gmt 0)

Regarding accumulated size of graphic images on the page so that load time is acceptable. I've recently seen 25-30k as a suggested maximum yet if my memory is correct they are the same figures I saw 3-4 years ago. If I take a line through top sites such as national airlines, banks and other major corporate outfits, then the rule of thumb on graphic file sizes has gone way out the window.

The load times I see in my office with upmarket ISDN connections and state-of-the-art communications are obviously better than I see at home with a 56k modem on a domestic telephone line. Yet those home office results are a lot better than a couple of years ago because the technology has improved.

So what is the "typical user" profile you design for and what benchmarks do you use? For example I'd suggest a typical web user profile is:

Uses Windows98 on a Pentium II box

Has a 56k modem on a dial-up domestic telephone line

Considers 8-10 secs an acceptable page load time ... will accept longer for a major corporation or top quality site.

Is that about right... are there any other considerations?