So then, you’ve got the “Fastest Package” for the Verizon FiOS ultra high-speed fiber optic. A whooping 50 Mbps download speed and a 20 Mbps upload speed! That means 802.11b WiFi routers won’t even be able to handle those speeds! Nevertheless, that possible 11 Mbps bottleneck should not be your only concern. If you’re going to be utilizing a number of network intensive applications (*coughGnuettllaEmuleBittorrent*) you’ll need to make some other adjustments to your hardware and software network setup. This is one of many things you can do to optimize the network. However, it is the first thing I try to remember when setting up any node or router on my home network.
Possible Names
This setting has many names. You can look for “Maximum Ports,” “Maximum Number of Connections,” “Max Active Links,” “Max Half-open/Duplex Concurrent Connections,” etc. Like the names imply, this setting controls how many connections can be established between nodes. Why is this important? It allows the client computer to contact many more server hosts at the same time. Off the top of my head, this would be beneficial to multi-segment download managers programs like DownThemAll!, Internet browsers (especially with multiple tabs), and (lower voice) P2P file sharing programs.
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I don’t know if it’s just me but I think motherboard manufactures changed the way that they handle integrated video memory. I like to buy a new computer every year. Every year around Black Friday, I buy a system on sale and sell my old one on eBay. I think it’s a pretty good setup. You buy the cutting edge equipment and sell what you have before its features phase out of popularity.
Speed Fetish
I do this because I have an obsession with performance. I like to make sure my computers work efficiently. Unfortunately, most computers out of the box are not optimized for performance. They are manufactured with the dumb does-not-know-any-better home user in mind.
Typical performance-boosting tasks I carry out with every new computer I own include doubling the memory, terminating the system restore “feature,” disabling the swap file, and uninstalling the superfluous, “complimentary,” memory-hogging, thread-wasting programs set up by the computer OEM manufacturer. For those who can empathize with me, I absolutely hate WildTangent.
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“I don’t have Internet access at home.” What a terrible thing to hear! It is so sad when people tell me that the only way they check their email is by visiting public, community-sponsored, unprotected venues like the library. Internet access is almost as essential as utilities. When my sister informed me that she didn’t subscribe to Internet in her apartment complex because it was too expensive, I compared that to having no running water at home. Its like she hasn’t bathed since she moved in!
Taking pity, I set out to solve her dilemma. Luckily, the great thing about living in an apartment complex is that you are usually surrounded by a neighborhood of trusting technology dummies. At least 5 open wireless signals will abound everywhere … except where you need them the most, in your room. The only place that I could detect a signal was next to the kitchen window. Sadly, it would be too cluttered (and too trashy) to move the computer in the kitchen. However, we could bring the Internet connection to us in the computer room.
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