Category: internet

TV – Archie Bunker is dead

On By Rick McIn internet, TVLeave a comment

Rockin’ forwarded me a Micro Persuasion article written by the brilliant Steve Rubel.

This time Steve gets it wrong. I was not persuaded.

So to sum up, TV is going to be fine, thank you. But it will look nothing like it does today and it will be open to all of us.

Micro Persuasion: How TV Will Become the Ultimate Open Content Platform

What we call TV now — the one where you sit on a couch like Archie Bunker — is dying FAST.

The future is interactive. It will be more like a gaming console than a computer experience. But it will be nothing like the click grazing through boring “commercial” channels we still do in 2006.

Steve misses the main point. He believes ABC, NBC, CBS and the like can evolve quickly enough to keep market share. I highly doubt it. They would have bought YouTube when they had the chance if they were that smart.

internet speed – Shaw cable vs Telus

On By Rick McIn internet, product complaints, product endorsementsLeave a comment

George Novak works in cabling and computing at University of Alberta.

Turns out these speed tests are highly inaccurate. The better way to check is with a stopwatch. Upload or download a large file and see how many minutes it takes.


I am attaching my internet speed test for my University connection. Internally we’re all on 1 gig switches and have a 100+ Mb pipe to the outside world, no firewall. As you can see it shows that we’re only about 3x faster than your Shaw connection, in reality it’s so much faster that you would hardly believe it.

Capture

I think the problem is that it does not indicate the route that is being taken when the test is done, the number of hops, the physical routing etc. Unless you can always test from the front end of your ISP you will always be at the mercy of the physical path taken to whatever destination you’re testing to and from. I would say that these kinds of test tend to be rather inconclusive as to your real speed capability.

In my own personal experience, I have never experienced better throughput on a Telus connection as I have on Shaw, even though they always claim it’s faster.

Stephen Neal who works for Telus would disagree. According to him, “Telus Rules, Shaw Drools!”

It’s time for a speed test with a stopwatch.

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Shaw Cable internet SUCKS … I think

On By Rick McIn internet, product complaints5 Comments

Am I wrong?

Still trying to figure out how slow “sucks” is on this chart.

Tonight my QOS is only 20%. (whatever that is)

Kristian out in Okotoks on Telus (DSL) Highspeed wireless came through at 98% !

Warren in Saskatoon reports 87% though it drops dramatically depending on what he is doing.

shaw-cable.jpg

Download: 1,185,032 bps
Upload: 119,800 bps
QOS: 20%
RTT: 77 ms
MaxPause: 527 ms

Leave a comment below if you want to record your own connection using Internet Frog.

how fast is YOUR internet connection?

On By Rick McIn internet, product complaintsLeave a comment

Using Internet Frog, I tested the speed of my internet connection with Shaw Cable in Calgary, Canada.

hmmm … 39% does not sound good. Do you get better?

What can I do to get faster internet?

InternetFrog.com: Network Tools, Internet Speed Test and Website Tools

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don’t wait on an internet phone

On By Rick McIn internet, product complaintsLeave a comment

There is a lot of buzz about free internet phones

… and how people can make calls piggy backing on open wireless connections. The WiFi phones sound cool, but many forget that what is cool, is not always that functional.

The consumer experience on these devices remains horrible, … We have tried most of the new WiFi phones, and despite being ten feet away from the access point, have run into serious problems. …

WiFi, is a bit of black magic really, and even on laptops, one is challenged constantly to stay connected.

GigaOM » The Hype Around WiFi Phones

Bahrainis use Google Earth to spy on royals’ palaces

On By Rick McIn good news, government, internet, IslamLeave a comment

It was in China in 1998 when it first dawned on me that the internet would bring down that totalitarian regime.

I expect China to suddenly (and surprisingly to some) move to democracy by 2010.

Why?

Because totalitarianism is inherently unfair. It’s a system where those in control stuff as much RMB into their pockets at the expense of those not in control. This kind of injustice is not sustainable once those being robbed find out what’s going on. Every day it gets harder to keep the masses ignorant.

After China, the rest of the non-democratic nations of the world will go the same way. Even the Kingdom of Bahrain.

How happy are the Bahrainis with their Royals once this kind of information get circulated widely?

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Boing Boing: Bahrainis use Google Earth to spy on royals’ palaces

I want photo synchronization: computer and the net

On By Rick McIn internet, photosLeave a comment

… Most people keep their photo libraries on their computers. And that’s the way it should be. While Web applications are great, there’s really nothing like desktop software for speed, especially when you are dealing with large files such as photos.

But to share images, we generally upload them to Web sites because it’s easier for our friends to get to those sites than to the images on our computers …

I believe you should be able to make changes to photos on your PC and have those changes automatically reflected in your online albums. You should also be able to make changes on the Web and see them on your PC. Anything else is a recipe for disaster or at least confusion. As users’ photo libraries grow and we all share more libraries online, it’s won’t be practical for us to keep track of the different versions of our media that we’re now storing in different places.

There are (at least) two tools that enable computer-to-Web photo synchronization now: Phanfare and Sharpcast. …

Works for Me: Photo synchronization: the right solution – CNET reviews

I checked out these two “killer apps“. Neither are good enough for me on a Mac.

I’m using flickr now. It does not have synchronization but will probably add it at some time in the future.

Even people who hate computers want to be able to see photos conveniently.

Leave a comment if you have a synchronization solution that works for you.

my latest website

On By Rick McIn blogs, gymnastics, health & fitness, internetLeave a comment

For years I’ve been a volunteer Board member on the Altadore Weightlifting and Fitness Club. I put together a website / blog for the club to improve our visibility and communication.

More importantly, I want to store our documentation in password protected folders on the site for ease of access and revision.

Using gymnastics as a base, our club offers strength, power and flexibility improvement training in an adult social environment. Our members are age-16 and older.

Under the supervision of certified gymnastics coaches, you decide your own training regime. Our facility has gymnastics equipment not available in the weight room. You use your own body weight as resistance.

Altadore weightlifting & fitness club

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