Uploading, Downloading …

Everyone making use of the internet will download something. Even if you’re not going after songs, videos, or some other sort of media to burn to disc, each time you visit a website technically counts as a download. With the advent of broadband the speed of downloading has grown quite fast. That increase, however, has been slightly less significant when it comes to uploading.

What’s an upload, you ask? Well, it’s the exact opposite of a download. Anything you send to the web for display such as pictures or video has to be uploaded to a web server somewhere in the world. If you’ve done this before then you know that sometimes the process takes quite a bit longer than downloading.

Internet service providers (ISP) have a preset speed for uploads and downloads. There are typically several tiers of service they offer in which that speed varies. ATT, for example, offers a small business package with an “up to” 6.0mbps (megabits per second) downstream and an “up to” 412kbps (1 megabit = 1024 kb) upstream. The level of difference between the two is quite drastic and I believe many get so excited at the thought of quick downloads that they fail to notice the upload speed is written in kilobits. One assumes the speed difference is due to uploading being much more taxing on them than downloading.

If you’re thinking of upgrading your internet connection I suggest paying a visit to BroadBandReports.com which has reviews from real users of assorted internet services. Lots of good information may be gleaned from the site.

Filed under: Advice, Useful Sites

MacAfee’s Site Advisor

The internet, as you all know, can be fairly dangerous. Spyware, viruses, and nefarious souls desiring to con you out of your money seem to be waiting around every corner. Those who fear to trust new sites should check out MacAfee’s Site Advisor.

Most know MacAfee from the anti-virus software, which, in my opinion, is far inferior to AVG’s Anti-Virus. But, even if you dislike the anti-virus, you can’t help but love the site advisor. To use the tool simply go to http://www.siteadvisor.com, and, after the page loads, enter in the website address of some new site you’re interested in using. In a matter of moments you’ll be given a rating on the site’s reliability which is compiled from MacAfee’s experts and everyday user reviews.

Those using the Mozilla Firefox web browser can download an add-on which will put the Site Advisor right in the browser window. This allows you to get a rating on the site while viewing it.

MacAfee’s Site Advisor
Grisoft – Home of AVG Anti-Virus (I’ve used the free version for years and highly recommend it)

Filed under: Useful Sites

Speeding Up Windows Vista

Extremetech.com has posted an excellent article on why Windows Vista tends to take a while to boot up. They also give a few tips on how to speed it up. Some of their tips are advanced, but, a handful are easy enough for users with minimal experience to try. Click here to read the article and see what you think.

Extremetech.com is a very well known, reputable site that is respected by the tech community. You can trust the things they published without fear.

Filed under: Useful Sites

Learn About PC Hardware

I stumbled across an interesting interactive website while searching for tools to teach technology to children. Although it’s billed as something for youngsters, adults unfamiliar with the inner workings of a computer might find the site useful as well. Click here to view the site in action and feel free to leave comments if you have any questions.

Filed under: Useful Sites