On a related note, I discovered that web activity is more dependent on
CPU-speed than I had previously thought.
I was using Windows on a machine running at 1 GHz connected to a cable
modem. The cable modem was supposed to be running at 3 mbps (and online
speed tests proved this to be the case), but soon, a promised upgrade to 6
mbps arrived and I was not able to see the full upgrade speed. Instead of 6
mbps, I was registering something closer to 4 mbps. I could see an increase,
but not what I had expected. Then, a much faster machine was plugged into
the same network. Guess what? It registered the full 6 mbps! I didn't
realize before that a 1 GHz machine was not capable of keeping up with the
broadband. My friend suggested that this could be the result of the
bandwidth testing program running Java script on the web and that it was the
emulation of this Java script that was slowing things down. I don't know.
Who knows? Maybe it was the process of pumping all those bits through that
antiquated TCP/IP stack that was responsible for the slow down. Oh, and to
save some of you the trouble of pointing it out; Yes, I knew enough to shut
down all other web activity while the testing was underway. Could any of you
dual-boot dudes run a speed test on both XP and Vista and report back? Of
course, if your machine is too fast, it may not show any speed derogation in
either case.
Just my 2 ¢ worth,
- Stan
