I have always wondered why bits are used as the unit in these measurements. What possible info could it give that bytes couldn't? The only thing bits do is cause confusion. People don't measure file sizes in bits. They measure them in bytes. I have no idea what "103 megabits/s" means. I have to divide it by 8 to get a notion of how fast it really is. Telling it in bits is completely useless.
I think it has something to do with the network architecture. When you send data over a cable or other medium, you send it in bits. So when performing calculations, it's easier to do it without dividing by 8. When it comes to marketing... well it does a great job in confusing customers. The only rule to follow is "the higher number (and more expensive), the better".
If you want to know your internet speed in kb/s or similar, go to isohunt.com, search for the most popular term, find one with both a lot of seeders and leechers, then let it run for some time. Once it's done searching for peers, it will download and upload at your maximum speed, and most BitTorrent clients display the speed in kb/s.
Few people know the different between bits and bytes. Higher numbers are better. Even if all companies displayed it in bytes, some company would eventually start displaying it in bits (again). More people would buy their product. They'd think they bought a superior product for a cheaper price. So other companies would have to display it in that awkward way too. And that's exactly what they do.
Joined: 6/5/2006
Posts: 188
Location: Malmö, Sweden
[URL=http://www.speedtest.net][/URL]
I'm fairly sure I have 100/100, only shared throughout my entire building. It's fast enough end relatively cheap so I don't really keep track :P.
Even the best player is limited by the speed of his fingers, or his mind's ability to control them. But what happens when speed is not a factor, when theory becomes reality?
[URL=http://www.speedtest.net][/URL]
For the record, the tariff is 6 Mbps up/down for ~$17. Go figure. (Though it might be that the server is a part of my ISP's local network, thus giving me a higher-speed access.)
Btw, to convert kbit to kbyte, divide by 8.192, not by 8. So 6 Mbit/s is 732 kbyte/s. Suddenly got even more confusing, didn't it?
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa
<dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects.
<Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits
<adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
Joined: 11/4/2007
Posts: 1772
Location: Australia, Victoria
Note to self: Revert joke topic titles BEFORE you sleep.
[URL=http://www.speedtest.net][/URL]
If a mod could move my Mothers internet connection speed to the first post, it'd be grand.
So uh... what's with the people (moozooh, DarkKobold) who have faster upload speeds than download speeds? It just doesn't make any sense.
I noted that both my upload and download speeds were above the limits determined by my tariff, so it must be due to connection to a local server that, uh, serves more than it takes. Interestingly, selecting a Swedish server gave me the same results, but here is me trying about the farthest point I could find:
[URL=http://www.speedtest.net][/URL]
Makes more sense now.
[EDIT]
Tested against Stockholm server while at work:
[URL=http://www.speedtest.net][/URL]
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
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I have a better upload speed than most people here. Maybe I should find a way to put it to use.
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I'm fairly sure I have 100/100, only shared throughout my entire building. It's fast enough end relatively cheap so I don't really keep track :P.
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Truly crappy, I know.
Not bad for a 3G connection.
And at home
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At least it's unlimited :/
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For the record, the tariff is 6 Mbps up/down for ~$17. Go figure. (Though it might be that the server is a part of my ISP's local network, thus giving me a higher-speed access.)
Btw, to convert kbit to kbyte, divide by 8.192, not by 8. So 6 Mbit/s is 732 kbyte/s. Suddenly got even more confusing, didn't it?
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Nothing special, really.
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If a mod could move my Mothers internet connection speed to the first post, it'd be grand.
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Over here that is considered VERY good. The average is 1/4 of it.
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Makes more sense now.
[EDIT]
Tested against Stockholm server while at work:
[URL=http://www.speedtest.net]
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