Net Monitor v.0.1 beta - has been released

You are probably using a 100baseT ethernet card to connect to a broadband modem, correct? This version of net monitor sets the top end of the graph as 100 Mbps (the max of your card), but your actual speeds are likely closer to 1 or 2 Mbps max. This equates to 1 or 2 percent of total throughput for the card. The graph net monitor draws is not 100 pixels tall, so it takes several percent to equal one pixel on the graph. Since you are likely to rarely, if ever, get above 2%, the graph probably never shows up. Future versions of this plugin will allow you to manually set the top end of your connection speeds.

It is possible to create your own skins for net monitor in the meantime. The graphs are an optional component to include in a new skin, so you could create one that is a little more space efficient by leaving them out. I have a number of other projects I am working on right now, but that style of skin for net monitor is one I plan on making eventually.