If you’ve grown tired of dealing with the daily dilemmas of a dial-up connection, you no longer have to deal with a slow version of the Internet. Now, you can get on board with satellite, which is available to consumers and is considerably more affordable and functional. Ever since satellite was first deployed as a way for large businesses and government organizations to stabilize communications in volatile or remote regions, it has become something that can be used by regular consumers in the United States. And that means those who live out of the way of broadband and cable company service can finally experience Internet at the speed the rest of the world has, which is a huge step forward.

But if you’re just connecting to satellite Internet for the first time, you may not know where to start in terms of sites you haven’t visited before. Here are seven picks ranging from entertainment to news. All of them incorporate some heavy graphics or optional video footage, making them much better experienced over a satellite connection.

Funnyordie: For the best in edgier comedy videos, check out this site, founded by the production company of Will Ferrell and Adam McCay and quickly signed on by HBO. Whether it’s Lindsay Lohan making fun of herself in a video or Will Ferrell’s opening part, which featured a dressed-up homemade baby, fans can vote for the videos. If it’s not more than 20% funny after the first thousand views, the video is discarded.

Cake Wrecks – One of the funniest photo blogs out there, Cake Wrecks is an amazing collection of some of the most unfortunate mistakes in professional cake decorating. Organically grown, the site gets a ton of hits a day, and all those photos mean it looks that much better with a satellite internet connection.

The Podcast Network – If you’ve been looking for one place online to find all the different podcasts in one place, then there’s no better way to sort through the shows you’d like to listen to than The Podcast Network.

Newsgrounds – If you’re looking for a place to explore exciting user-created Flash videos along with other content that looks like it should go viral at any moment, visiting Newsgrounds is a great idea. Although it is not as famous as other sites that host games and animations, it is highly appreciated by the online world.

Salon: Whether you’re downloading MP3s, watching video interviews, or reading the latest news, Salon was one of the first major ezines and has managed to hold its own over the years. It’s definitely worth checking out.

ThePirateBay – Whether or not you’re okay with downloading, this is certainly one of the more exciting developments towards all-in-one places to find everything from full length records to feature films. Constantly in trouble and yet always active, The Pirate Bay is worth checking out at least once, to give you a better understanding of the brave new world of online downloading. And of course, if you choose to participate, just a satellite Internet connection or higher makes things worthwhile.

Metacafe: If you don’t know where to find the latest viral videos, Metacafe is right up there with YouTube in terms of breaking future internet stars, intentionally or not (and usually not). Of course, with satellite Internet, getting all this video streamed is much more possible than trying to accomplish the same feat using dial-up.