USB (*gasp*) modem?

[Ken D'Ambrosio]

Hey, all.  I find myself likely entering the land of dialup for roughly 
1.5 weeks.  DSL could be acquired, but for astronomical prices.  So!  
I'm going with my laptop, so USB is the way to fly.  Suggestions on a 
modem?  Or do I just bring *two* laptops: an older one with built-in 
modem, to act as de-facto router, and my current one?  I'd prefer the 
former -- less to go wrong -- but if getting a USB modem to work under 
Linux is a problem akin to the old WinModem issues, I'm willing to go 
with the latter.

Thanks for any/all suggestions,

-Ken