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Computers & Technology
Traffic
on the Information Superhighway One Example: According to an AP wire report, visitors had viewed more than 24 million Web pages at ABCNEWS.com by Tuesday night, more than doubling the old record of 10 million set Sept. 11, 1998, when the site first posted Independent Prosecutor Kenneth Starr’s report to Congress on President Clinton’s relationship with former intern Monica Lewinsky. CNN estimated 75 million for the day, breaking the previous record of 40 million set on Oct. 12, the day after the second presidential debate and the day of a terrorist attack on the USS Cole. Fox News also reported records, but had no specific numbers. Yahoo, too, one of the most popular sites, had reported more than six times the normal traffic on the evening of the election. Keep in mind, though, that we're talking about just one corner of the globe here. And Election Day notwithstanding, these numbers don't even begin to approach the amount of traffic world-wide each and every day. Visual Aids: For those interested in such things, there are a couple of sites out there that can provide you with graphic examples of internet traffic. For more info, check out this month's Links to Computers & Technology On-Line. Most Wired? A couple of years back, ZDNet, an on-line off-shoot of Ziff-Davis publishing which brings you just about every major consumer PC publication you might be familiar with, conducted a survey to determine America's 'Most Wired Cities'. In addition, in something of a bow to those of us who live outside Metropolis, they all ranked at least one "Small Town" per state that ranked as most wired. Now, in the past couple of years, things may have changed considerably. But as of the survey, guess what? The town in Vermont was not Burlington or Montpelier or Rutland. It was right here in our own backyard -- Middlebury. As the ZDNet survey noted: "Middlebury may not be very large, but it contains one prominent liberal arts college (Middlebury College), a ski resort, and the Bread Loaf Writer's conference." In that context, ZDNet named Middlebury "the most densely wired town in Vermont, with almost one networked computer per person." Aside from being interesting info, the traffic going out of Middlebury might significantly increase your time waiting on the on ramp. Don't get us wrong. It's not the College's fault. It's simply that bandwidth here in the hinterlands ain't what it could be in the Big City. But it might also explain why Middlebury already has cable modem service. {See last month's article for more info.} More Info? For those of you {us} who tend to get at least a little bit obsessed about these things, there are also a couple of measures built right in to your PC -- ping and tracert.
Both ping and tracert can help you solve some of your mysterious connection problems. And tracert, especially, can give you a pretty accurate picture of any bottlenecks between you and where you're trying to get to. It can also help to understand that it isn't always a problem with either your ISP or the specific site you're trying to reach. Sometimes, just like with regular traffic, there can be some pretty intense bottlenecks at the major arteries. ******* ******* If you would like to submit a feature for our Computers & Tech section, don't hesitate to let us know. Simply e-mail us at comptech@downstreetmagazine.com. The e-mail should contain your name, address, and a phone number where we can reach you. You may also send a copy of your proposed article. The text can either be included in the body of the e-mail, or you can send it as an attachment in just about any word processing format. If your piece is accepted, we will pay a small honorarium for your interest & your time. [See Freelancers Wanted for more details.] ******* ******* If you would like to advertise in this section, or throughout the magazine, please visit our Advertising Info Pages ... or call, write, or e-mail ads@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* *******. |
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