I'm using the registered (paid-for) version of GetRight & it works like a charm.
Binos, even if your dialup connection COULD connect at 56K (I get 49K on a good day) the data isn't coming from the download server (which has to look after lots of requests simultaneously) at anything like that rate. What GetRight does is find mirror servers that also have copies of the file(s) you want and downloads separate bits of the file(s) from each.
From the help file: "If there are several servers where a file can be downloaded, GetRight can segment the file and download different pieces from different servers at the same time. For some Internet connections, this can dramatically improve the speed of the file download. For example: if your modem can transfer at 6.0k per second, and there are 6 servers for downloading the file, but they each will only send data at 1.0k per second, GetRight can download from all 6 at the same time. So, instead of getting just 1.0k per second, it could get the full 6.0k per second your modem will allow--six times the speed without Segmented downloading. Segmented downloading is most useful if there is one file you really want to get as fast as possible.
To help spread around the server usage, and keep from "annoying" some server administrators, GetRight will not use the same server for downloading more than three segments of the same file. If you do not have alternates for a file, you may do three segments to the same server. If you have alternate addresses (mirrors) for a file for GetRight will allow up to eight segments total (so at least 3 mirrors to do all eight). The file must also be at least 100k in size for Segmented downloading to be available.
NOTE: This is not guaranteed to help improve the speed for all downloads. Your experience will vary depending on many factors, including your modem, your Internet Service Provider, the servers you are downloading from, and Internet traffic in general. But if your download is reaching only a fraction of the speed at which your modem is connected, this can really help."