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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 25 of 30. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Toph on December 19, 2004, at 5:56:10
I have this so-called high speed cable which tells me its fast with all the blinking lights and stuff but it doesn't seem too fast a lot of the time. Downloading Babble pages takes a long time sometimes. Is this a problem with your server, or has some vile insect or unscrupulous capitalist ad man infected my brand new computer already? I always thought the net should be fast when there aren't that many people on it (no offense to the billions of people in the Eastern hemisphere), what's the point in having insomnia anyway?
-Toph
Posted by NikkiT2 on December 19, 2004, at 7:27:36
In reply to Dr Bob, posted by Toph on December 19, 2004, at 5:56:10
Hey Toph..
Theres alot fo things that can affect how fast your DSL is.. For example, the "contention rate", which is bascially how many people share your DSL. The contention rate for my service is 20:1 (ie, 20 people to one DSL service), but the normal here is around 40:1.. If yours is higher than that, it will slow your service.
The speed of the server of the site you are looking at also plays a part.. so, for example, if Dr Bobs server is running slow, then Babble will run slow for you.
Then, spyware can affect your speed too.. Do you have any spy ware protection / cleaners? If not, I can give you a few links.. Two that clean your system of spyware, and one that prevents alot of it loading. Also, a pop up stopper is a must as alot fo spyware comes from pop ups.
And, virii (still to agree on plural of virus, but thats my favourite, and what latin speaking husband says is correct!!) can cause problems, so you must must have virus protection.. I can give you a link for a very good free virus protection if you like.
So, to sum up *giggles* theres alot fo reasons your system could be running slow..
A good start is to find a DSL speed test (this one is a UK one, but might still work for you.. http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedtest.asp if not, type "DSL Speed Test" into Google to find one) and see whether that says your connection speed is good or not (the lights on your router / modem aren't a good indication of this)Nikki
Posted by verne on December 19, 2004, at 10:00:37
In reply to Re: Dr Bob » Toph, posted by NikkiT2 on December 19, 2004, at 7:27:36
Nikki,
Good advice about the spyware blocker. My computer's speed improved dramatically after I installed spyware blaster and spybot. But I've yet to find any sort of virus protection that doesn't slow my computer down to unacceptable levels. I have a firewall but not sure how much good it's doing.
I've resisted getting DSL because it would require upgrading my computer and possibly my phone lines. I thought I would wait until after I buy a new computer. I'm hoping to get a few more years out of what I have, bought in 1999 with a very buggy WinME os. Over the years I've learned to live with the WinME quirks and may dodge security threats that target XP.
Have you heard of a dialup accelarator? It compresses data so that it can be transferred as much as 5x faster. My internet provider is offering this for an extra $2.00 a month.
verne
Posted by Toph on December 19, 2004, at 11:21:18
In reply to Re: Dr Bob » Toph, posted by NikkiT2 on December 19, 2004, at 7:27:36
Nikki, your website is simply the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. I dragged it to my desktop. You know it's a guy thing to compare the relative attributes of their equipment. I have no idea what the numbers mean: Downstream 2179 Kbps (272.4 KB/sec) 2353 Kbps (inc. overheads)
Upstream 26 Kbps (3.3 KB/sec) 28 Kbps (inc. overheads); but the official Graph for Idiots shows that my DSL (whatever the hell that means) is relatively fast, I think. One last thing, you're in Great Britain (I bought a gorgeous Triumph Trophy 500 at Commofords in Surrey on Themes in 1972, yeah , I'm ancient) so you don't have to worry about me showing up at you flat, but I find billiant women like yourself attractive, unless, of course, we happen to be playing scrabble. Thanks, Toph
Posted by Toph on December 19, 2004, at 11:35:03
In reply to Still on Dial-Up, posted by verne on December 19, 2004, at 10:00:37
verne, Windows ME, is probably the worst operating system ever devised given the technology at the time, speaking form experience, not expertise. I am a conspiracy theorist at heart and I think Mr. Gates released it just to beat the Millenium deadline with all it's quirks including no protection against Y2K. MS couldn't wait until they finished XP, so we saps bought ME thinking it was state of the art. Now watch you or Nikki will shoot down my theory with silly things like facts or rat me out to Bill who will fatally infect my computer which will become my next conspiracy. Anyway, my ME system became so unstable that it would crash in about 30 seconds before I could burn all my files for my new computer. That's all my past lame Chrismas letters lost, so maybe it's a good thing.
-Toph
Posted by NikkiT2 on December 19, 2004, at 12:42:04
In reply to Still on Dial-Up, posted by verne on December 19, 2004, at 10:00:37
Have you tried AVG anti virus?? I find their free version excellent - obviously a pay for version will be better, but you only get 24 hour delay on their free version normally which I find fine to save me some cash!
Their link is http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php
And the dial up accelorators are mean't to be good.. I've never used one personally, but for $2 I'd say give it a shot!!
Nikki
Posted by NikkiT2 on December 19, 2004, at 12:49:28
In reply to Re: Dr Bob, posted by Toph on December 19, 2004, at 11:21:18
They're pretty good figures..
I have had problems with Babble running terribly slow in the past.. It turned out to be an ISP problem with how they were communicating to Dr Bobs server, and they fixed it in minutes! Might be worth giving them a call.
Also, if you're finding it running slow at times, but not others, it can be worth calling your telephone provider and asking them to check your line for internet usage.. sometimes your line can get a little "dirty" and your telecoms company need to clean it up for you.
Oh, and I agree with you *totally* about WinME! Its awful and so terribly terribly unstable.. And quite obviously rushed onto the market incomplete (but then, so was XP in my opinion *l*) I'm not a Bill Gates hater as I can really appreciated all he has done for the PC market.. but the quality of products these days *does* annoy me!!!
Nikki geeking out!
Posted by verne on December 19, 2004, at 14:03:54
In reply to Re: Dr Bob » Toph, posted by NikkiT2 on December 19, 2004, at 12:49:28
Nikki and Toph,
I agree with you about WinME. The first couple years were difficult. Now, after countless patches, fixes, and updates, it runs great.
Still quirky at times. If I delete or add someone to my address book a file appears on the desktop designated by the symbol "~". When I'm looking through "my computer" properties, my computer tries to connect to the internet when the pointer comes anywhere near the modem icon. The update driver function doesn't work either. Possible fixes will require uninstalling and reinstalling which I'm unwilling to do.
I can't believe this computer is still kicking. It got zapped by lightning during a storm in 2002 that sent sparks flying out the floppy disc slot and shocked my mouse hand. It worked fine after I put in a new modem and my hand quit tingling after a couple days.
I learned my lesson. I unplug everything - especially the phone line - during electrical storms. I also try not to talk on the phone while in the shower. That's the fun of living in tornado alley.
Verne
Posted by verne on December 19, 2004, at 14:05:34
In reply to Re: Still on Dial-Up » verne, posted by NikkiT2 on December 19, 2004, at 12:42:04
Posted by Toph on December 19, 2004, at 15:21:41
In reply to Re: Dr Bob » Toph, posted by NikkiT2 on December 19, 2004, at 12:49:28
Posted by Dr. Bob on December 19, 2004, at 21:39:27
In reply to Dr Bob, posted by Toph on December 19, 2004, at 5:56:10
> Downloading Babble pages takes a long time sometimes. Is this a problem with your server
There sometimes are issues on this end, too. But in that case everyone (or at least not just you) should be affected. I don't think there's been anything like that lately.
But I did just revise how the main pages for each board are handled. Is it just those pages taking a long time for you? As opposed to the posts? The server seems to be doing OK...
Bob
Posted by Toph on December 19, 2004, at 21:56:57
In reply to Re: pages taking a long time, posted by Dr. Bob on December 19, 2004, at 21:39:27
Must be my end of things because individual posts take longer than I'm accustomed to. Also, Google is taking longer to bring up. I have anti-virus software and I downloaded free SpyBot software. I'll have to look into adware and other protection to purchase. Thanks.
-Toph
Posted by Larry Hoover on December 19, 2004, at 22:33:15
In reply to Re: pages taking a long time » Dr. Bob, posted by Toph on December 19, 2004, at 21:56:57
> Must be my end of things because individual posts take longer than I'm accustomed to. Also, Google is taking longer to bring up. I have anti-virus software and I downloaded free SpyBot software. I'll have to look into adware and other protection to purchase. Thanks.
> -TophIf you haven't cleared your temporary internet files cache lately, your computer can bog right down on those.
Select Tools/Internet Options/General tab. Half way down is Temporary Internet Files....select Delete Files, and a little box opens. Tick the 'Delete all offline content' box, and select OK. If you haven't done this in a while, be prepared. It can take a while. Then defrag.
Lar
Posted by AdaGrace on December 20, 2004, at 6:13:38
In reply to WinME » NikkiT2, posted by verne on December 19, 2004, at 14:03:54
Verne, I thought I lived in tornado alley.........I am seriously not a stalker, but where generally in the Midwest are you? you can Babblemail me if you don't want to say here.
Posted by AdaGrace on December 20, 2004, at 6:18:42
In reply to Dr Bob, posted by Toph on December 19, 2004, at 5:56:10
Toph,
I find that what you are describing is happening to me as well. Somedays the individual post page takes forever to load. However, once I reboot my computer, it seems to do it lickety split. I think I have many bugs on my PC. I have things running in the background that I have no clue as to what they are. Things like "webrebates0" what the hell is that? If I go in and end task on them, that seems to speed things up some. Here's a lovely......something just scrolled across my screen that said "behavior is being tracked".....time to discuss with hubby again, how to f-ing leave me alone on the computer and thank God I am still living in this house.Ada
Posted by Dinah on December 20, 2004, at 6:46:51
In reply to Re: Dr Bob » Toph, posted by AdaGrace on December 20, 2004, at 6:18:42
Some sites that one would be likely to buy presents on are mighty slow. I'll bet the airlines are too.
Sometimes when I'm on one of them, I can just imagine my neighbors up and down the block feverishly hitting second day mail.
Posted by Toph on December 20, 2004, at 7:29:01
In reply to Re: pages taking a long time » Toph, posted by Larry Hoover on December 19, 2004, at 22:33:15
Thanks Lar, if you search your hard drive there's a MS program called Disk Cleanup or Clean. It cleans up alot of stuff including the Temporary Internet files that you mentioned. I dragged it to my desktop and use it regularly.
-Toph
Posted by alexandra_k on December 20, 2004, at 14:13:54
In reply to Re: pages taking a long time » Dr. Bob, posted by Toph on December 19, 2004, at 21:56:57
> I'll have to look into adware and other protection to purchase. Thanks.
> -Tophokay, I know next to nothing about computers but do you mean 'adaware' because if you do then you can download that for free.
My officemate got that one for me when I got my laptop. Nasty spyware, now thats just nasty... I think it is from when I go to MSN to check my hotmail...
Sometimes posts take a while for me to bring up too. Sometimes I can get around that by opening an earlier post to the thread and following the link from there to the one I want.
Too many ITS peoples networking doom??? Perhaps...
Posted by vwoolf on December 20, 2004, at 14:33:46
In reply to Re: pages taking a long time » Toph, posted by alexandra_k on December 20, 2004, at 14:13:54
I'm also battling with the pb thread pages at the moment. They seem to take forever to download on my miserable dialup connection. I had attributed it to termites gnawing at the phone line, this being Africa and all, but seeing that people with high speed connections are complaining, maybe there is a more high tech explanation. It improved today after Dr Bob fiddled with something (purely internet based, I'm sure), but the speed is impossible again now.
Posted by Gabbix2 on December 20, 2004, at 20:42:44
In reply to Re: pages taking a long time, posted by vwoolf on December 20, 2004, at 14:33:46
They have been very slow for me too in the past week, and I've done all the geek stuff. It's specific to this site.
Posted by verne on December 20, 2004, at 21:08:07
In reply to Re: Tornado Alley » verne, posted by AdaGrace on December 20, 2004, at 6:13:38
I'm seriously in Fairfield Iowa and want to escape.
Posted by Dr. Bob on December 21, 2004, at 2:14:22
In reply to Re: pages taking a long time, posted by Gabbix2 on December 20, 2004, at 20:42:44
> I'm also battling with the pb thread pages at the moment.
>
> vwoolf> They have been very slow for me too in the past week, and I've done all the geek stuff. It's specific to this site.
>
> Gabbix2You're both referring to the pages with all the current threads? Not individual posts? If so, is an archive from before any faster?
Bob
Posted by vwoolf on December 21, 2004, at 10:12:30
In reply to Re: pages taking a long time, posted by Dr. Bob on December 21, 2004, at 2:14:22
No, the individual posts and archives are fine. But try refreshing a current thread page.......I've started playing solitaire to pass the time.
Posted by Dr. Bob on December 21, 2004, at 11:18:40
In reply to Re: pages taking a long time » Dr. Bob, posted by vwoolf on December 21, 2004, at 10:12:30
> No, the individual posts and archives are fine. But try refreshing a current thread page.......I've started playing solitaire to pass the time.
Hmm, it seems fine to me, but I'm right here... Does the specific board matter?
Bob
Posted by vwoolf on December 21, 2004, at 13:33:58
In reply to Re: pages taking a long time » vwoolf, posted by Dr. Bob on December 21, 2004, at 11:18:40
Well, it seems to be the longer pages like Babble, Psychology, Admin, but then it would take longer to download them. Admin has just taken me about 5 minutes - are they perhaps not archiving as often as usual? However for some strange reason, Psychology seems to be going faster this evening. Boh! Maybe Dinah is right, it could just be the Christmas rush, or the heat of midsummer is melting the lines, or whales are getting in the way (do these cables still go under the ocean?) or baboons are sleeping on the telephone wires - I actually saw a troop of them doing that a few weeks ago, so don't laugh!
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