[squid-users] Q: Can Squid act as a protocol forwarder as well as proxy?

My need:

I have a Starband satellite two-way Internet connection (www.starband.com).

The plus is that it works out in the hills, where my cabin is, where
phone and cable don't exist. The minus is that because of the round
trip to the satellite (multiple times I suppose) the latency
according to traceroute tends to be nearly a second. Not only, but
since it transmits in bursts, the delays add up rather quickly.

So, the Starband company (my ISP) does have an software agent
(AS_AGENT) which accelerates both web and other access to the net to
nearly DSL response (they claim 512K download, 128K upload!). The
bummer is that it only exists for Windows - I run on a Macintosh
(running Mac OS X - which is basically UNIX inside). The connection
works, but it is slow.

Starband recommends that if there is a need to use a Mac (or any
other non-Windows) machine, that a Windows machine be set up as a
"router/proxy" for the other machine(s). I suppose I could do that,
but it would require running TWO machines on an, already, loaded
power system (oh,did I mention, I am off the power grid too).

My question is:

Can Squid be configured to send out, on a continuously open
connection (ideally), the URL being requested to ANOTHER Squid (on
the other side) which then packages together ALL the bits and pieces
that make up the page (to it's best ability) and sends them back as
one large streaming packet which is used to satisfy the request.

If Squid can't do this, is there another UNIX based product
(preferably free :-) that can?!

Thanks - Yossie

-- 
Yossie Silverman - ENTP                   "Leave the bearded one for me"
Mail: yossie@blacksteel.com                 - Flesh Gordon
Web: http://www.blacksteel.com/           B2 f- t dc g++ k++ s+ p m+ e+