PaytonPlace » Internet

Wikipedia Begs Gracefully

~SP — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:20:34 +0000

It’s one thing to encounter prominent banners at Wikipedia soliciting donations during a fund drive. Such things are understandable and I can easily dismiss them with a single click. But it’s another thing to receive direct e-mail solicitation messages asking me to pester my friends to donate too! Today I received my first such e-mail …

The Need for Speed (tests)

~SP — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 01:03:12 +0000

From time to time I run speed tests to see how my current connection fares in comparison to others with similar services. OK, full disclosure – I run a test for every new connection! I use internet-based tools in addition to Windows Ping and TraceRoute utilities when it seems like things are moving slower than …

It Finally Happened!

~SP — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:19:02 +0000

For the very first time in dozens of prior transactions, the BestBuy In-Store Pickup promise finally came true. It was a painless and relatively fast experience after walking into the store and waiting in line for approximately five minutes. Hooray!!! Ordering merchandise online at BestBuy.Com is always a piece of cake. I verified my desired …

Stupid Marketing Images

~SP — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:46:11 +0000

Who in their right mind lays prone, in business casual wear, with their laptop computer on an airport waiting bench? This is so ludicrous that I just cannot fathom an advertising agency that would ever consider this as a realistic scenario. But unrealistic scenarios are everywhere on the internet.

Is Your Connection is Being Throttled?

~SP — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Google and a host of net-savvy partners have opened up a free set of web tools to help anyone determine if their net connection is blocking or throttling BitTorrent or otherwise limits their bandwidth.

At the moment, three tools are available—when their servers aren't jammed up, and they seem to be pretty popular at the moment. The Glasnost tool determines how your ISP is handling BitTorrent traffic and gives a readout on whether it's being denied, throttled, or otherwise impaired. Network Diagnostic Tool covers other problems that might affect your upload or download speeds. And the Network Path and Application Diagnosis tries to reveal the routing, network tools, and other "last mile" issues that affect net performance.

The tests are fairly simple, and each seems to require a working Java plugin to run. The Glasnost test, for instance, creates a fake BitTorrent stream between your connection point and the test's servers, then monitors what happens to the packets.

That's one reassuring block of HTML.

It doesn't take a senior analyst to see that Google is looking to shine some light on internet providers' moves against net neutrality, such as Cox Communications' "time sensitivity" throttling. In fact, the next two products due out of the "Measurement Lab" are DiffProbe and NANO, which will tell a user whether certain types of traffic, for specific applications or users, are getting priority over others. The side effect of the net giants' tussle, though, are some handy tools that (should) tell the user exactly why they are or aren't getting the speeds they paid for.

Start Google Chrome in Incognito Mode

~SP — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:30:00 +0000

Programmer Michael T. Bee offers up a small, desktop-friendly JavaScript file that starts Google's Chrome browser in Incognito Mode for those privacy-please browsing sessions. Actually, the script, which you can paste into Notepad or another editor and save as a .js file, starts Chrome, opens a no-cookie, no-tracks-left Incognito window, then kills the first window. If your system can't launch Chrome by running chrome.exe in Windows' "Run" dialog, you might have to tweak the sixth line of the script a bit. Otherwise, it's a handy trick for, as the Hacks Blog puts it, "birthday shopping."

Turn Gmail into a Tagged Knowledge Base

~SP — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:00:00 +0000

Blogger and information junkie Steve Rubel details how he uses Gmail as a taggable, searchable knowledge base using previously mentioned tricks and tools like Gmail plus addresses, the Ubiquity Firefox extension, and Gmail Labs Quick Links. It's a fantastic system, not only because it works perfectly with apps you already live in (namely Gmail), but also because you can save and tag an entire web page in a few keystrokes. Likewise, you can access the information quickly and easily with Gmail's excellent search. I recently detailed how you can expand your brain with Evernote, a free, cross-platform note-taking application, but if you live and breath Gmail, Rubel's methods (which improve on similar Gmail solutions we've seen before) are worth a try.

Monitor Your Monthly Bandwidth with Your Router

~SP — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:00:00 +0000

In the face of internet service providers like Comcast instituting bandwidth-capping, the Simple Help weblog details how to use a router running the open-source DD-WRT firmware to monitor your bandwidth. It's actually very simple to do, requiring no work on your part aside from installing DD-WRT on your router. DD-WRT automatically tracks bandwidth, so from there it's a matter of knowing where to look. If you're running the user-friendly Tomato firmware (we also showed you how to install Tomato), you can easily access your daily, weekly, or monthly bandwidth as well.

Like DD-WRT, Tomato automatically tracks bandwidth usage for you, so all you need to know is where to look. Just log into the Tomato interface, and then click on the Monthly link under Bandwidth in the sidebar (or, if you're using a default configuration, just follow this link). You'll get a simple table displaying your bandwidth stats for the month. Tomato also displays bandwidth use by week, day, and even in real-time if you're interested.

I've used DD-WRT and Tomato exclusively over the past few years, so I'm not really sure what the status is for bandwidth monitoring on most default router firmware. If your router supports bandwidth monitoring, let's hear about it in the comments.

Most Amazing (OS) Crash Ever!

~SP — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 16:51:24 +0000

Following hot on the heels of?my recent posting,?”Most Successful Release Ever!” I have another fun?clip to show you. Although unlikely to impress Mac Fan Boys, you must admit that it’s quite humorous. Featured in the clip is Chris Prillo, the founder and maintainer of Lockergnome. Chris hosts videos on several internet sites, including CNN.com, YouTube …

URL versus URI

~SP — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:30:14 +0000

Most folks who explore the World Wide Web with a browser application like Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox are familiar with the URL acronym. URL stands for “Uniform Resource Locator” according to the World Wide Web (W3) consortium. Pronunciation of URL should always be with each letter emphasized (y?-?r-el) instead the fairly common alternative, …

Apple iPhone Announced!

~SP — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 14:29:00 +0000

After months of speculation about Apple‘s rumored mobile phone, Steve Jobs announced the new device this week at CES. Slated to go on sale next month, it will be most interesting to read reviews about its performance and usability. It looks so incredibly cool . . . Click the image to visit Apple’s official site …

Battling Spam?

~SP — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 16:02:14 +0000

I recently scripted a rather long-winded message to one of my sisters about methods to combat spam and thought it would be helpful reading. Her initial question was: I’ve been getting 3-5 messages daily from first name only senders trying to get me to download some new program. The following is cut and pasted from …

You CAN take it with you?

~SP — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 17:11:15 +0000

For much of my life I’ve listened to many discussions about the various merits or fallacies of acquiring material goods. Depending on your perspective, such acquisition is either a good thing or a bad thing. But regardless of your judgment call on such matters, there’s no tellin’ how many times I’ve heard the phrase, “You …

Opening Pandora’s Box

~SP — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 18:06:11 +0000

As a component of the Music Genome Project, Pandora.Com is an excellent site to use in the search for new music to add to your collection. By entering an artist or song name, Pandora will construct a streaming playlist of songs with similar genres and tempos. Coupled with a high-speed internet connection and a running …

Visual Simulations @ Digg Labs

~SP — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 17:58:40 +0000

Digg.Com is an amazing repository of information and commentary. It is by far my favorite social networking and news site on the internet today. I listen to the Diggnation Podcast regularly because I get a real kick out of hearing to the interaction between Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht. They provide a summary of the …