Polling vs. packet- based applications

Polling vs. packet- based applications
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Do you like polling methods or packet-based applications?
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Actually I didn't pay attention much about this issue until facing an application with all kinds of polling methods, which slow down the entire system. How could we improve the performance if we had to poll for results every couple of hundreds milliseconds at several ends?

I found that packet-based application was a better application as they sent data as needed. The receiving end picked up arrival data and processed as required, i.e. receiver didn't need to send a request periodically to the targets asking for data.

Unfortunately if we had to integrate our products with another product, which requires polling for results, we're stuck. Otherwise we could use TCP/IP as a transportation layer to relay or to send our messages to receiving ends.

Microsoft should provide a TCP/IP stack with instructions on how to use their methods, objects, or library.

Notes: in cellular telephony, we used protocol or packet-based communications. I am used to this kind of communications.

* I prefer protocol based applications, because developers must come up with detailed specification for communications. It is very easy to understand a protocol specification. For example, ANSI-41 rev B for TDMA was very good, and I could pick up details quickly. In other applications using methods, procedures, classes, they only described in high level. Reading their documents took time [not easily figure out what they're doing].