August 30th, 2007 by Jake
I’m sorry to report this, but I’ve broken down and gotten ads for the blog. I know, I know… I hate them as much as you do. But a college studen’t got to live, too, you know. :P
Within the next few days, you’ll see an AdSense box appear in the right navigation. If you have a web content filter, don’t sweat it: it’ll get filtered out.
On another, semi-related note: I’m thinking about re-skinning the blog to give it a bit more modern-esque format. Stay tuened over the coming week(s).
August 24th, 2007 by Jake
A little contradictory considering my last entry, I know. But I just recently found out that Comcast, using a special network application, is blocking BitTorrent seeding. Using specific software known as Sandvine, it allows Comcast to allow upload traffic, but only when a download is in progress. As soon as you start seeding, this application tags all BitTorrent traffic with the “RST” flag (read more about the RST flag at Wikipedia).
I’ve recieved mixed reports about this. Some of my fellow Comcast subscribers say they have been affected by this new software, others closer in proximity to my location have reported that this is not the case (yet).
Either way, this is the beginning of the end for the internet, as far as I can tell. First one protocol, then another, then it’s $5/mo extra to access YouTube, then it’s $1/mo/service you want to use on their lines (HTTP, FTP, SSH, etc). Okay, maybe it won’t be that bad, at least not for awhile. But it could be the future of the internet for your kids… and guess who’s gonna pay that bill? :)
August 7th, 2007 by Jake
Comcast, my ISP, is great. They sign you up for (in my case) an 8MB/1MB connection, but after the first few months of service, I noticed my bandwith increasing. I did a speed test, and the download was for the most part unmetered. The upload had a small increase. I don’t know why Comcast does what they do, but my internet is about 3x faster than it was (I get burst speeds of up to 2.5MB/sec, and solid downloads at about 1.2MB/sec). Here’s a speed test I ran just a few mintues ago:
For the most part, I can tell what kind of internet or bandwith limits a server has when I’m downloading from it (i.e. one site may cap its downloads at 200k/s whereas another may give me as much as 800k/s, others are as fast as my cable line). I really like their policy on home networks, too, they guarantee an internet connection to your house, but after that it’s up to you to configure your home network the way you want it to run (no router support unlike AT&T DSL, for example).
August 2nd, 2007 by Jake
Maxthon2 has just moved out of release candidate stage and is now ready for public consumption. Give it a try, download it here.
Maxthon2 sports a new look, free accounts that hold your favorites and other settings online so you’ll never lose them, and other neat little features like a built-in screen capture utility, built-in ad hunter/popup blocker, and content control (disable images, javascript, flash, ActiveX, etc). I’ve only just named a few, so go give Maxthon a try.
August 2nd, 2007 by Jake
Since I switched to Vista, one of the most annoying things for me was trying to figure out how to get to the Network Connections window. From the desktop, it takes 4 clicks to get there, plus you get another window open you didn’t want. If you want to restore the original link and have the “Network Connections” icon back in your Control Panel, just do this:
Open the registry editor.
Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Control Panel\don’t load\
Delete ncpa.cpl
Open your Control Panel to find your beloved Network Connections link back again.
If you’re even more lazy, and you don’t want to open the control panel, make a new shortcut that points to either ncpa.cpl or control.exe netconnections.
