Posted by Administrator on Jan 16, 2010 in Tech Tactics | Comments Off
Another question from one of the online forums:
My broadband speed is 1024 and the ram is 540. Should the pages download instantly or is there a 2-5 sec delay. Going from site to site appears to be a little longer.
I’m new to computer world. I went to the computer store I feel like they are trying to sell me something I don’t need. Any help is appreciated.
Additional details: I want the download to be instant. Is this possible or am I asking to much out of what I have? Thanks again for your assistance.
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You may be asking for to much. There are a number of factors that come into play here. And there are a number of things that you can do and there are some things that you just don’t have any control over.
When you say you want your pages to download instantly, there are two pieces to consider. 1: how fast can your system find the right page, and 2. how fast can that data get from where it is to where you are.
First, how fast your system finds the right page depends on how big your Internet cache is (does your system have to go over the net or is the page already loaded on your system) and on something called DNS (Domain Name Service).
Machines use addresses like 192.168.1.1. So when you type in something like www.google.com, your machine has to actually determine the address associated with that name before it can go out and access the required page. So when you type in www.google.com, your system has to determine if it knows the address for the site, and if not, then it has to request the address from a Domain Name Server (somewhere out in the cloud). Once it has the address of www.google.com (74.125.95.147), it can then go to the IP address of the machine (or system) and start requesting data.
Now for the second part, how fast can the data get from over there to over here. If you have the capability of looking at low level requests, you’ll see that bringing in a single page is composed of numerous requests, each one taking a certain amount of time. What is included in that time is not just how fast your data can travel from point A to point B, but also how fast your system can put the information together into a coherent web page, AND how fast the machine serving the data can actually send the data to you. If that server is stressed out (meaning that it’s a popular site and it is not capable of handling everybody’s request), you’ll have to wait in line to get your requests serviced.
So if you are using something like dial up with low end machine, you’ll be trying to drain a swimming pool using a straw (your dial up connection) and your cheeks (your machine). They just don’t have the power for some of the applications that are currently on the ‘net.
Now, if you have a faster, broadband connection (a big pipe) and a higher end machine (a big suction pump), you’ll do a lot better at getting information into your home. However, sometimes you won’t get anything because the pool will be dry (the server on the other end is busy filling up other pools).
Compared to dial up, broadband will do a lot better, but on occasion you will end up waiting for some pages to appear on your system and it won’t be due to anything on your side.
Hope this helps.
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Posted by Administrator on Jan 16, 2010 in Tech Tactics | 0 comments
Question: Which one is better–a 500GB external hard drive or a 500GB internal hard drive?
Well I heard bad reviews about external hard drives but there might be a brand that’s better than others? Can anybody tell me if an internal drive will last longer than an external one? I want to back up all my iTune stuff but I’d get worried it would die out. I was thinking of something that could last for more then a year, so I could buy one every year and back it up every year.
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Answer:
Most of the drives these days will last for about 5 years, the average lifespan of a drive. So as long as you don’t bang them up or subject them to cruel and unusual punishment, everything should be OK regardless of external or internal. Some pros and cons:
external:
Portable–you can take it where ever you want and can connect it to any machine (laptop or desktop).
Slower–you are using an external USB bus (unless you are using eSATA)
Not secure–With external devices you are stuck using FAT. You can’t use the NTFS (there are ways around this, but you may be subjecting yourself to severe data loss)
May require extra power input–the smaller devices (the 2.5 format drives) can get their power from the USB connection. Larger drives will suck back more power than the USB connection can deliver and will need an external source.
Internal:
Stationary–yeah, it’s inside your desktop or laptop. It’s not going anywhere.
No additional plugs are needed–power is coming from your system. If you are short on outlet, this could be a big plus.
Faster access–you’ll be using either a PATA connection or a SATA connection. SATA is capable of 3Gb/s. USB2.0 tops out at 480Mb/s.
Security–you have the option of setting up NTFS on your system in addition to FAT. Naturally, NTFS gives you a lot more security if that is a concern.
One more consideration. Putting your backup drive inside your desktop protects you against one of your drives dying, but if your desktop gets damaged or stolen, then both drives go with it. If one of your drives is external, then it’s not subject to the same conditions as your desktop.
Considering the overall rate of capacity growth, the falling cost per gigabyte (I just paid $150 for a terabyte WD green drive or 15 cents per gigabyte) and the mean-time-to-failure of today’s drives, chances are good that you’ll replace the drive long before it dies on you regardless of it being internal or external.
Check out Western Digital. They make a pretty decent product and as long as you don’t roll it down the stairs, you should be OK.
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Posted by Administrator on Jan 16, 2010 in Tech Tactics | Comments Off
I just asked a question about this but I got stuck. I enter the IP address of my router in my tool bar, then the box pops up for me to enter my username and password. If I never set one up, what is it supposed to be? The person who commented said it should be on the back of my router, but it’s not.
I have a Motorola wr850g v2 in case you have the same.
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if you never changed your username and the password from the factory default, then use the username/password combination:
admin/motorola
the default factory combination is made very simple, easy to access, and they put it in both the user manual and the setup manual. You can access a copy at the following link:
http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/…
This is why when you first unwrap and login to your router, you want to change the admin password immediately, especially if you are talking about a wireless router. Also, you want to make sure that no one can access your administrator console wirelessly.
The last thing you want is someone on the street logging into your rig and changing your settings.
Source(s):
http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/…
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