Post by: sokukodo on February 02, 2009, 07:01:11 PM
Post by: sandbox on February 02, 2009, 07:19:54 PM
Post by: sokukodo on February 02, 2009, 07:30:51 PM
Post by: jcarter on February 02, 2009, 08:01:31 PM
Jane
Post by: sokukodo on February 02, 2009, 08:48:18 PM
Post by: tacit on February 02, 2009, 10:28:09 PM
Latency is the amount of time that goes by between the instant your computer sends out a signal to the ISP or to a server computer, and the instant that signal is received by the ISP or the server computer. Signals do not go over the network instantaneously; they take a while to arrive at their destination. Latency tends to be especially bad with satellite broadband, because the signal has to go to a transmitter facility, get beamed up to a satellite 26,000 miles away, get beamed back down, and then get converted from a radio signal back into an electrical signal again.
What does latency actually mean? The longer the latency, the longer it will take between the time when you type a Web address in your address bar and the time the site starts to load. In games, it means that when you push the button to shoot your gun, your character will shoot a short time (or, if the latency is high, a long time) after you push the button. If you are using a Webcam, there will be a delay between when you do something and when the person on the other end sees it; there's a time lag in the picture.
Post by: Mayo on February 03, 2009, 02:01:23 AM
As far as latency goes... friends who live in a nearby rural area where satellite service is the only broadband option cannot avail themselves to use iChat. The latency period is so long that iChat loses the connection. It has been awhile since I dealt with the problem, but that is my recollection of what was going on at the time.
Post by: sandbox on February 03, 2009, 02:38:53 AM
Post by: sokukodo on February 03, 2009, 07:23:28 AM
Post by: Xairbusdriver on February 03, 2009, 09:51:41 AM
"Keep the masses ignorant of what they could have and they'll be happy enough not to revolt." And, if any of them find out, offer to 'sell' them and make a little extra profit along the way. Sounds like a business plan to me! 
Post by: Sasha on February 06, 2009, 09:39:00 AM
QUOTE(Xairbusdriver @ Feb 3 2009, 10:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
All they have to 'sell' is speed and reliability.
Does this have anything to do with all the bandwidth that will become available when TV stations convert to digital ... in June ... ? Or is this apples and oranges?
Post by: Xairbusdriver on February 06, 2009, 03:11:15 PM
QUOTE
Or is this apples and oranges
Pretty much different 'fruit.' The digital change-over will simply allow more transmitters (of any kind) in the same amount of 'bandwidth' now used for a single TV station. This is being done not to increase signal speed but to get the extra channels and provide better protection and continuity for emergency operations. They are still radio signals, which are usually though of as waves. The big difference is that these waves can be much narrower because they will be carrying only two bits of information; ON or OFF, 1 or 0. Their speed is still approximately the speed of light. :-) So there is no gain it 'bandwidth' in that sense. But the signal is much simpler and therefore faster to decode, so the screen can be kept filled even with more lines on it than now and this, in part, creates a much better picture."Bandwidth" to an ISP (or a customer) is a little more like how many bytes/bits are used (uploading or downloading) in a specific amount of time. Usually the time is 30 days and the amount can be used in one day or spread over the entire period. Of course, if too many people tried to use all their "bandwidth" allotment in one day, many bad things would probably happen! One of which would be the user being denied further access for a specific period of time, like forever!
ISPs provide different 'packages' for different needs. An Internet business would probably need more bandwidth than a casual user. A site that supports downloading large files (movies, graphics, etc.) would need more outgoing bandwidth than incoming, just the revers of the business or casual user I mentioned. And, like most things, when a business discovers a need, they will charge as much as possible for it. :-)
Post by: krissel on February 06, 2009, 10:58:07 PM
So it is a fruit salad.
Post by: Sasha on February 07, 2009, 10:06:59 PM
As a not-so-proud consumer of satellite internet service, I can FYI you that HughesNet breaks its customers' fingers for exceeding daily limits; WildBlue allows 30 days ... much saner, IMO.