Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Big folders made easy.
Every computer user knows that no matter how big your hard drive is, useful and useless information will step by step occupy all of it. Modern software and multimedia content have become really voracious in terms of gigabytes. Do you analyze disk space analysis? To make matters worse, many applications make temporary and-or system files that may be immense and hard to locate. In many cases they clean up the mess. But as time passes by, more and more non-eliminated trash starts to slow down your computer. And you have to do that again: reinstallation, disks reformatting to have a couple of months of normal work on your computer. Besides such extraordinary methods of used disk space management, you surely have come across some customary tools to organize and manage files and folders. Typical applications are fine while you use ordinary folders and execute standard operations. The problem with people, although, is that we are not that standard when it comes to our hard drive needs. We could get spontaneous when we make a folder with a tongue-twisting name. The inspiration could leave, however the file or folder we made remains. And that is when conventional programs work badly. It is not so easy to view directory size. In the first place, you are to find large files and folders and ordinary applications make this job amazingly hard-to-perform. They take years to view folder size. You may have to manually search around to find files that take the most space on your PC. Sometimes these files are so well hidden, that they are literary impossible to be located. One more problem is navigation. These days an ordinary PC has hundreds of different directories, which makes it difficult to find useful and useless information. Using conventional programs, you might have to go through a lot of screens before you get somewhere. Is there a better way? There is a small but efficient application called Directory Size that can help you manage your files much easier. Directory Size features a user-friendly interface to lead you through all these to find large files and folders. Essential benefit is that it turns useful and useless information into pictures and graphs allowing you to visualize used disk space analysis. Our mind can organize and manage visuals much faster than pure numbers and bits of text. Yet another vital issue is speed. Directory Size operates in the background. It creates a map of files and folders location. That is the reason why whenever you have to get somewhere near all that data, Directory Size presents you a navigation guide that significantly simplifies files and folders location. The program helps you save money. When you can efficiently organize your useful and useless information, you do not need to get into the hype for more gigabytes. It is much more comfortable to live in a neat apartment than in a huge but messy house where you stumble every time you want to find the remote control or even the way to the bathroom. And you know what, size does matter when we speak of files and folders on your hard disk drives. Directory Size helps you locate and keep an eye on the biggest space eaters on your computer used disk space. You can even arrange folders according to their size. Thus you can always see what programs and files occupy your precious disk space used and take appropriate action when necessary. disk space analysis
Plasma Television In The Living Room
Do you want your living room to be something special in your home? If so, consider having a 50-inch plasma television set in it.
With the numerous selections of great looking 50-inch televisions available in the market, you'll definitely find one that will give the look that you want for your living room. With a 50-inch plasma television, you'll be able to see bigger and clearer pictures when watching television.
When you want to have a great looking television, you should look into all the great name brands that are on the market today. There are so many of them. Think about different options and what is going to be better for your money.
Find something that is worth the money you're going to pay. Decide on your budget and what features you want for your television. Once you know what you want, you'll be able to decide on what to buy. Choosing the most suitable television would be much easier.
Imagine yourself looking forward to coming home each day at the end of your workday. You can hardly wait to unwind by enjoying all your favorite programs on your new television set. Your new 50-inch plasma television will enable you to watch all your movies and capture the entire essence of each movie on the big and clear screen. Don't be surprised that you'll soon be the envy of all your friends and neighbors.
Getting something that is going to be more for your money is important. There are plenty of different brands of 50-inch plasma televisions. However, the most important thing that you can do is finding the one that is going to work for your needs. When you are sure that you are getting something that you can rely on and have for many years, you will be able to appreciate the investment that you have made. It is going to be something that you will be able to use repeatedly throughout the upcoming years.
Do not forget to invite all of your friends over for that big game or the movie that you have all been waiting for. You will be able to entertain all of your guests with the beauty of your own 50-inch plasma television. You and your guests will appreciate the fact that you have the larger television that is going to give off the best quality picture that you can possibly get. You will definitely be proud of your television and you may never want to leave your home again.
With the numerous selections of great looking 50-inch televisions available in the market, you'll definitely find one that will give the look that you want for your living room. With a 50-inch plasma television, you'll be able to see bigger and clearer pictures when watching television.
When you want to have a great looking television, you should look into all the great name brands that are on the market today. There are so many of them. Think about different options and what is going to be better for your money.
Find something that is worth the money you're going to pay. Decide on your budget and what features you want for your television. Once you know what you want, you'll be able to decide on what to buy. Choosing the most suitable television would be much easier.
Imagine yourself looking forward to coming home each day at the end of your workday. You can hardly wait to unwind by enjoying all your favorite programs on your new television set. Your new 50-inch plasma television will enable you to watch all your movies and capture the entire essence of each movie on the big and clear screen. Don't be surprised that you'll soon be the envy of all your friends and neighbors.
Getting something that is going to be more for your money is important. There are plenty of different brands of 50-inch plasma televisions. However, the most important thing that you can do is finding the one that is going to work for your needs. When you are sure that you are getting something that you can rely on and have for many years, you will be able to appreciate the investment that you have made. It is going to be something that you will be able to use repeatedly throughout the upcoming years.
Do not forget to invite all of your friends over for that big game or the movie that you have all been waiting for. You will be able to entertain all of your guests with the beauty of your own 50-inch plasma television. You and your guests will appreciate the fact that you have the larger television that is going to give off the best quality picture that you can possibly get. You will definitely be proud of your television and you may never want to leave your home again.
High Definition Television Flat Screen TV
Getting a HDTV flat screen TV that fits your budget and gives you value for your money can be a tricky task, but it can also be extremely worth it as you watch your favorite movie with crisp sound and clear picture. So, how do you buy a HDTV flat screen TV that is worth the cost and will last for a long time? The truth is that there is no way to know for sure how valuable your flat screen TV will end up being or how long it will last, but you can shop smart and make good decisions with your purchasing power.
The first thing you need to know is that there is a difference between plasma TV sets and LCD screens. Both are featured with HDTV flat screen TV technology and both are rather thin and flat, making them easy to place anywhere in your home, but they feature two different technologies. Your HDTV flat screen TV comes in two different types: plasma and LCD. There is no such thing as a plasma LCD TV.
Plasma televisions are only available in the widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio. This is the standard ratio for a HDTV flat screen TV. As a rule, plasma televisions are high definition ready. Most plasma flat screen televisions range in screen size from 42 inches to 63 inches, although both larger and smaller versions are available.
LCD televisions tend to be smaller, anywhere from 15 inches to 65 inches. The smaller LCD screens are often utilized as computer monitors. The LCD HDTV flat screen TV is actually lower in price than plasma when you're dealing with the average size of display for the screen, but the larger LCD screens can be significantly more expensive.
There are some product differences between HDTV flat screen televisions that are plasma and LCD. Some of these differences include:
* LCD televisions have lower contrast levels than plasma televisions, meaning that they have a harder time reproducing dark colors and grays
* LCD televisions have slower response times, sometimes creating blurs during fast-paced action sequences in movies or in sports
* LCD televisions have a narrower viewing angle, but can be easier to view in well-lit rooms
* LCD televisions run cooler than plasma televisions
* Plasma televisions are of lower quality when paying lower prices
There are other differences between LCD and plasma HDTV flat screen TV sets. The easiest way to learn the major differences is to watch both types of television in a department or home electronics store. Sit in front of both televisions first, then change angles and view each television from the sides. This will help you to understand how each television works, and can help you decide which HDTV flat screen television best meets your needs.
The first thing you need to know is that there is a difference between plasma TV sets and LCD screens. Both are featured with HDTV flat screen TV technology and both are rather thin and flat, making them easy to place anywhere in your home, but they feature two different technologies. Your HDTV flat screen TV comes in two different types: plasma and LCD. There is no such thing as a plasma LCD TV.
Plasma televisions are only available in the widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio. This is the standard ratio for a HDTV flat screen TV. As a rule, plasma televisions are high definition ready. Most plasma flat screen televisions range in screen size from 42 inches to 63 inches, although both larger and smaller versions are available.
LCD televisions tend to be smaller, anywhere from 15 inches to 65 inches. The smaller LCD screens are often utilized as computer monitors. The LCD HDTV flat screen TV is actually lower in price than plasma when you're dealing with the average size of display for the screen, but the larger LCD screens can be significantly more expensive.
There are some product differences between HDTV flat screen televisions that are plasma and LCD. Some of these differences include:
* LCD televisions have lower contrast levels than plasma televisions, meaning that they have a harder time reproducing dark colors and grays
* LCD televisions have slower response times, sometimes creating blurs during fast-paced action sequences in movies or in sports
* LCD televisions have a narrower viewing angle, but can be easier to view in well-lit rooms
* LCD televisions run cooler than plasma televisions
* Plasma televisions are of lower quality when paying lower prices
There are other differences between LCD and plasma HDTV flat screen TV sets. The easiest way to learn the major differences is to watch both types of television in a department or home electronics store. Sit in front of both televisions first, then change angles and view each television from the sides. This will help you to understand how each television works, and can help you decide which HDTV flat screen television best meets your needs.
Building Networks
MIS, remote desktop setup, wireless encryption & intruder detection. For the techie-depraved individual, these words would probably sound complicated, nonsense even. But for a player in the industry that offers business IT services, these words bring profit. (Yes, profit.) If one is running a computer café providing Internet services, then you should know the topic at hand. For simple networking---wireless or otherwise, you need not have to hire professional computer services to link your PCs to other PCs or to the Internet.
Going wireless isn’t solely for aesthetics, it is for convenience. All you have to know are the basics. With that said, let’s start building our own computer networks---without wires. First stop, home connection defined. Said connection is produced when two or more PCs and a telephone line are properly linked together. This setup will allow you to share files, peripherals and a single Internet connection between and among your PCs.
These are the things that you’ll need: an Internet connection (preferably DSL or Cable), wireless router and wireless network cards. If your laptop already has built-in wireless capabilities, you need not purchase the third one. Now to elaborate each item. Internet Connection. This may be either DSL or cable. However, one may use dial-up modem but this is very slow (believe me, it’s s-l-o-w). The first two provide high-speed Internet access. With these in the market, the dial-up modem will prove to be ancient, anciently sluggish. Second would be the wireless router. Purchase a router that fits your preferred wireless signal. This device works in the same manner as that of the (hardwired) router, which determines the next network point to which a packet or data should be forwarded toward its destination. The cards are needed for the computer to pick up the signal. Though, as I’ve mentioned earlier, buying would depend on the requirement of the PC itself. If your laptop or PC has a wireless card built-in, you need not do the purchase.
With your wireless components, what you need to do is connect the router to the Ethernet cable and configure it together with the PCs and peripherals. The router should automatically transmit the signal from the wireless. If the modem is working, the Internet should too. When properly installed, one can create a network where all PCs and laptops can access a single broadband connection.
Now, let’s go to the serious part, securing your wireless network. I don’t like intruders, and I think that majority of the techie people feel the same way. First advice, don’t use the word password as your password. Immediately change your default passwords, to secure your wireless router. Another is to turn on the WEP encryption, or better yet, WPA. The former stands for Wired Equivalency Privacy while the latter Wi-Fi Protected Access. Between the two, I would opt for the WPA. WEP can be easily cracked. Though I’m not saying that WPA offers perfect encryption (there is always the possibility that an intruder will break your security)---it has some flaws but it sure beats WEP. Don’t forget to read the documents included in your hardware purchase regarding the configurations and settings.
These pieces of advice are ideal for a residential setting. For a business, I think that professional help is required. One cannot leave important files and documents in the open. A respected establishment will not be settling for mediocre security among the dozens of network management services. There are a lot of companies offering computer management services, you just need to know what you’re looking for.
Going wireless isn’t solely for aesthetics, it is for convenience. All you have to know are the basics. With that said, let’s start building our own computer networks---without wires. First stop, home connection defined. Said connection is produced when two or more PCs and a telephone line are properly linked together. This setup will allow you to share files, peripherals and a single Internet connection between and among your PCs.
These are the things that you’ll need: an Internet connection (preferably DSL or Cable), wireless router and wireless network cards. If your laptop already has built-in wireless capabilities, you need not purchase the third one. Now to elaborate each item. Internet Connection. This may be either DSL or cable. However, one may use dial-up modem but this is very slow (believe me, it’s s-l-o-w). The first two provide high-speed Internet access. With these in the market, the dial-up modem will prove to be ancient, anciently sluggish. Second would be the wireless router. Purchase a router that fits your preferred wireless signal. This device works in the same manner as that of the (hardwired) router, which determines the next network point to which a packet or data should be forwarded toward its destination. The cards are needed for the computer to pick up the signal. Though, as I’ve mentioned earlier, buying would depend on the requirement of the PC itself. If your laptop or PC has a wireless card built-in, you need not do the purchase.
With your wireless components, what you need to do is connect the router to the Ethernet cable and configure it together with the PCs and peripherals. The router should automatically transmit the signal from the wireless. If the modem is working, the Internet should too. When properly installed, one can create a network where all PCs and laptops can access a single broadband connection.
Now, let’s go to the serious part, securing your wireless network. I don’t like intruders, and I think that majority of the techie people feel the same way. First advice, don’t use the word password as your password. Immediately change your default passwords, to secure your wireless router. Another is to turn on the WEP encryption, or better yet, WPA. The former stands for Wired Equivalency Privacy while the latter Wi-Fi Protected Access. Between the two, I would opt for the WPA. WEP can be easily cracked. Though I’m not saying that WPA offers perfect encryption (there is always the possibility that an intruder will break your security)---it has some flaws but it sure beats WEP. Don’t forget to read the documents included in your hardware purchase regarding the configurations and settings.
These pieces of advice are ideal for a residential setting. For a business, I think that professional help is required. One cannot leave important files and documents in the open. A respected establishment will not be settling for mediocre security among the dozens of network management services. There are a lot of companies offering computer management services, you just need to know what you’re looking for.
IP Phone Features That Will Make Your Life Better
Certainly price is one factor keeping businesses at bay. IP phones, after all, are often the highest cost component in migrating from a traditional phone system to VoIP. Promising to help companies get more bang for their buck, however, are a whole host of special features included in most IP phones. The challenge is identifying these key attractions and ensuring that employees make proper use of them. While key features can vary from phone to phone, here are the ones that can make your employees’ lives better: CMC (Client Matter Code): Having trouble keeping track of your billable hours?
An IP phone can help. Professional services companies, from law offices to accounting firms, can now associate inbound and outbound VoIP calls with specific billing or tracking codes. Specified by a system administrator, CMC can track factors including the length of calls for each client – information that can later be packaged into detailed reports for accounting and billing purposes.Corporate Directory: Why keep a Rolodex when you can use your phone to search for coworkers’ and clients’ numbers? Simply press a soft key or a button to place a call to the phone number in the directory listing. These listings may range from corporatecontacts stored in Microsoft Active Directory to your personal contacts in Microsoft Outlook. Either way, searchable directories appear right on the phone’s display for convenient access. Some IP phones even go so far as to provide users with at-a-glance presence information for an entire corporate directory list so that they can instantly see which co-workers are available or on the phone.
Touch-screen Display: Whether your goal is to watch streaming video or simply monitor incoming calls, an IP phone’s backlit, pixel-based, touch-screen display can bring images to life. And by simply pressing a phone screen, you can access a full range of applications in seconds instead of pressing cryptic key codes on the number pad.
E911 (Enhanced 911): E911 is an enhanced version of the 911 emergency service that automatically delivers a caller’s personal information, such as name and address, to a local dispatch center or Public Safety Answering Point, as required by the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999. Although increasingly incorporated into VoIP packages, E911 has long been plagued with implementation problems, so it’s worth asking your service provider what steps – and obstacles – are involved. The Federal Communications Commission has even jumped on board, issuing an order to providers to notify their customers of the limitations of E911 service.
Enhanced Voice Mail: For a modern-day road warrior, picking up voice mail messages can be a painstaking process. Pagers, cell phones, BlackBerrys, laptops – there’s simply no shortage of devices you need to check. With an IP phone’s enhanced voice mail, however, you can listen to your voice mail over the Internet using the Web interface of your VoIP service provider or receive your messages as email attachments. that’s more, the media files can be saved for future access or archiving. Enhanced voice mail also allows you to be notified of new messages wherever you are, through your mobile phone or pager. additionally, travelers can listen to their messages from any phone available.
IP Video: It may not earn you frequent-flyer miles, but video-over-IP is the next best thing to being there in the flesh. As a result, some IP phones include features such as advanced VGA resolution camera sensors, color and rotatable LCDs, video call Hold/ Transfer/Forward, video phone books, and video-capture capabilities. At least in a basic sense, you can engage in videoconferencing with geographically cattered
colleagues and co-workers.
Communications Control: So your entire California-based executive team is attending a conference in Utah? Rather than have them waste time calling in for voice mail messages, redirect all business-related calls to their cell phones using an IP phone’s communications control features. In fact, nowadays, companies can manage an entire VoIP system across multiple sites with nothing more than a browser-based interface.
An IP phone can help. Professional services companies, from law offices to accounting firms, can now associate inbound and outbound VoIP calls with specific billing or tracking codes. Specified by a system administrator, CMC can track factors including the length of calls for each client – information that can later be packaged into detailed reports for accounting and billing purposes.Corporate Directory: Why keep a Rolodex when you can use your phone to search for coworkers’ and clients’ numbers? Simply press a soft key or a button to place a call to the phone number in the directory listing. These listings may range from corporatecontacts stored in Microsoft Active Directory to your personal contacts in Microsoft Outlook. Either way, searchable directories appear right on the phone’s display for convenient access. Some IP phones even go so far as to provide users with at-a-glance presence information for an entire corporate directory list so that they can instantly see which co-workers are available or on the phone.
Touch-screen Display: Whether your goal is to watch streaming video or simply monitor incoming calls, an IP phone’s backlit, pixel-based, touch-screen display can bring images to life. And by simply pressing a phone screen, you can access a full range of applications in seconds instead of pressing cryptic key codes on the number pad.
E911 (Enhanced 911): E911 is an enhanced version of the 911 emergency service that automatically delivers a caller’s personal information, such as name and address, to a local dispatch center or Public Safety Answering Point, as required by the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999. Although increasingly incorporated into VoIP packages, E911 has long been plagued with implementation problems, so it’s worth asking your service provider what steps – and obstacles – are involved. The Federal Communications Commission has even jumped on board, issuing an order to providers to notify their customers of the limitations of E911 service.
Enhanced Voice Mail: For a modern-day road warrior, picking up voice mail messages can be a painstaking process. Pagers, cell phones, BlackBerrys, laptops – there’s simply no shortage of devices you need to check. With an IP phone’s enhanced voice mail, however, you can listen to your voice mail over the Internet using the Web interface of your VoIP service provider or receive your messages as email attachments. that’s more, the media files can be saved for future access or archiving. Enhanced voice mail also allows you to be notified of new messages wherever you are, through your mobile phone or pager. additionally, travelers can listen to their messages from any phone available.
IP Video: It may not earn you frequent-flyer miles, but video-over-IP is the next best thing to being there in the flesh. As a result, some IP phones include features such as advanced VGA resolution camera sensors, color and rotatable LCDs, video call Hold/ Transfer/Forward, video phone books, and video-capture capabilities. At least in a basic sense, you can engage in videoconferencing with geographically cattered
colleagues and co-workers.
Communications Control: So your entire California-based executive team is attending a conference in Utah? Rather than have them waste time calling in for voice mail messages, redirect all business-related calls to their cell phones using an IP phone’s communications control features. In fact, nowadays, companies can manage an entire VoIP system across multiple sites with nothing more than a browser-based interface.
What can you do to Speed up the Internet?
The Internet’s never going to be fast enough, but follow our tips and it’ll be faster than what is was.
Anyone who has ever used their own home computer to demonstrate the Internet to a friend who’s never seen it before knows there’s one question that occurs more than any other: Why is it so slow?
As the kind person showing your friend the delights of the online experience, it’s hard not to feel a little offended. How dare they criticize your setup and the majesty of the Internet? But, of course, there’s a lot of truth in the question. The Internet is slow. Actually, it’s good to be reminded of this, because the chances are there’s a lot that can be done to speed it up. There are three main areas to consider. Hardware, software, and the phone line.
Hardware
Lets begin with your computer. Modern web browsers require lots of system resources. Any recent computer fits the bill, but what if you have to make do with something older? Adding more ram is good, especially if you have less than 256mb. Consider adding a faster hard disk. It won’t speed up downloads from the Internet, but avoids windows slowing things down by swapping files from RAM to disk, and your browser should be able to work more quickly.
Don’t forget your modem. If you’re still using a 56k modem, then perhaps it’s time to upgrade to ISDN or ADSL. It needn’t cost the earth either. Broadband Internet is becoming so popular that many home users have already upgraded to this option. Most ISP’s will throw in a free router as part of the package. If you don’t have a network card in your computer to support the router, then perhaps it is time to upgrade that old PC.
You may be thinking that it’s OK because you’ve had a 56k modem for years. But the money you’re wasting on dial-up and slow downloads could be considerably higher than if you resorted to broadband internet. Check with your local ISP about broadband packages on special. If you are going to purchase your own router, make sure your operating system and computer will support the new router. Your local computer store will most probably offer you free advice on the best way to setup your router.
Software
If you are going to stick with 56k modems, hardly anyone is happy with their speed, a dissatisfaction which has bred a brand new genre – utilities designed to speed things up. One major subcategory is the accelerator, a program which speeds up your browser in two different ways. First, they replace the browser’s cache with their own faster, smarter version. Second, they help make the most of your available bandwidth.
Normally, when you’ve downloaded a web page, your modem is idle while you read it. Accelerator programs take advantage of this, working through the links on the page, and downloading them while you read. This is known as pre-fetching. When you click on a link, if it’s already been fetched, then you see it speedily displayed from your own hard disk instead of having to wait for it to come from the Internet.
This sounds ideal, but there are a few problems. Accelerators can be intrusive, and it’s possible for all this background activity to slow you down. It’s also hit-and-miss whether the next link you click will be to one of the pages pre-fetched by the accelerator. If it’s not, you won’t see any benefit at all.
Also, Internet purists argue that accelerators can slow down the Internet for everyone because they increase Internet traffic by fetching pages that might never be viewed. Despite big claims for them of speed increases of 10 times or more, most people are unlikely to see more than 50% improvement at best and tasks such as downloading files will be no faster at all.
Another software category tries to optimize Windows Dial-Up Networking. This is normally done through the MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit). The theory behind this is complex, but basically all Internet data sent to and from your computer travels in little chunks called packets. MTU defines the maximum size of each packet and the default MTU setting isn’t suitable for modem connections – by changing it, so the theory goes, you can get a big speed increase. Is it true? Some people report improved performance, others report no change at all.
It’s important to use the right tools for the job. If you’re downloading, use a download manager to speed things up. A good download manager checks for mirror sites to see which is faster, and even switches between sites during the download to get the best performance. You can even schedule downloads for off peak hours.
Phone Line
A major bottleneck in your Internet connection is your telephone line. Standard phone technology just isn’t good enough for speedy downloads. Therefore, you should seriously consider the other possibilities, ISDN and ADSL. Logging on is very quick compared to the tedious wait during dial-up. Rental could be high, but check with a few ISP’s and you may find it’s much cheaper than you imagined. If you need improved speed, the costs may be worth it. Plus, you will have a 24 hours always-on connection.
Anyone who has ever used their own home computer to demonstrate the Internet to a friend who’s never seen it before knows there’s one question that occurs more than any other: Why is it so slow?
As the kind person showing your friend the delights of the online experience, it’s hard not to feel a little offended. How dare they criticize your setup and the majesty of the Internet? But, of course, there’s a lot of truth in the question. The Internet is slow. Actually, it’s good to be reminded of this, because the chances are there’s a lot that can be done to speed it up. There are three main areas to consider. Hardware, software, and the phone line.
Hardware
Lets begin with your computer. Modern web browsers require lots of system resources. Any recent computer fits the bill, but what if you have to make do with something older? Adding more ram is good, especially if you have less than 256mb. Consider adding a faster hard disk. It won’t speed up downloads from the Internet, but avoids windows slowing things down by swapping files from RAM to disk, and your browser should be able to work more quickly.
Don’t forget your modem. If you’re still using a 56k modem, then perhaps it’s time to upgrade to ISDN or ADSL. It needn’t cost the earth either. Broadband Internet is becoming so popular that many home users have already upgraded to this option. Most ISP’s will throw in a free router as part of the package. If you don’t have a network card in your computer to support the router, then perhaps it is time to upgrade that old PC.
You may be thinking that it’s OK because you’ve had a 56k modem for years. But the money you’re wasting on dial-up and slow downloads could be considerably higher than if you resorted to broadband internet. Check with your local ISP about broadband packages on special. If you are going to purchase your own router, make sure your operating system and computer will support the new router. Your local computer store will most probably offer you free advice on the best way to setup your router.
Software
If you are going to stick with 56k modems, hardly anyone is happy with their speed, a dissatisfaction which has bred a brand new genre – utilities designed to speed things up. One major subcategory is the accelerator, a program which speeds up your browser in two different ways. First, they replace the browser’s cache with their own faster, smarter version. Second, they help make the most of your available bandwidth.
Normally, when you’ve downloaded a web page, your modem is idle while you read it. Accelerator programs take advantage of this, working through the links on the page, and downloading them while you read. This is known as pre-fetching. When you click on a link, if it’s already been fetched, then you see it speedily displayed from your own hard disk instead of having to wait for it to come from the Internet.
This sounds ideal, but there are a few problems. Accelerators can be intrusive, and it’s possible for all this background activity to slow you down. It’s also hit-and-miss whether the next link you click will be to one of the pages pre-fetched by the accelerator. If it’s not, you won’t see any benefit at all.
Also, Internet purists argue that accelerators can slow down the Internet for everyone because they increase Internet traffic by fetching pages that might never be viewed. Despite big claims for them of speed increases of 10 times or more, most people are unlikely to see more than 50% improvement at best and tasks such as downloading files will be no faster at all.
Another software category tries to optimize Windows Dial-Up Networking. This is normally done through the MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit). The theory behind this is complex, but basically all Internet data sent to and from your computer travels in little chunks called packets. MTU defines the maximum size of each packet and the default MTU setting isn’t suitable for modem connections – by changing it, so the theory goes, you can get a big speed increase. Is it true? Some people report improved performance, others report no change at all.
It’s important to use the right tools for the job. If you’re downloading, use a download manager to speed things up. A good download manager checks for mirror sites to see which is faster, and even switches between sites during the download to get the best performance. You can even schedule downloads for off peak hours.
Phone Line
A major bottleneck in your Internet connection is your telephone line. Standard phone technology just isn’t good enough for speedy downloads. Therefore, you should seriously consider the other possibilities, ISDN and ADSL. Logging on is very quick compared to the tedious wait during dial-up. Rental could be high, but check with a few ISP’s and you may find it’s much cheaper than you imagined. If you need improved speed, the costs may be worth it. Plus, you will have a 24 hours always-on connection.
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