Gif is another, different way in which images are compressed. Images are sent over the wires compressed, and the browsers uncompress them. Some load fast, but others load slowly. Image heavy web pages take typically a longer download time. If you have a page containing text and an image of 18K to download, you would be looking at a download time of from about a half minute to a minute.
Text typically loads very quickly.
Frames are fixed divisions of the browser window. You might use frames if you want your viewers to see a photo album, for instance, with an index to the pictures on the left and separate pages with pictures on them, on the right. In looking over other people's code, I have noticed that some frames have been given names while others haven't. This page names the frames that will need names. Another frame, maybe across the top or bottom of the browser window, might not need a name because it won't be linking to or from anything.