[Dave C]

Just a very quick question. My phone line just been upgraded and what used to be a 2.2Mbps connection is now a 7.4Mbps connection. My question is, why has the speed at which I can download stuff from alltunes / GoMusic.ru not also increased? Before it would download at ~120kbps and now......, it downloads at ~120kbps. Is there a simple explaination for this??
Cheers,
Dave C

[solaris]

Originally Posted by Dave C

Just a very quick question. My phone line just been upgraded and what used to be a 2.2Mbps connection is now a 7.4Mbps connection. My question is, why has the speed at which I can download stuff from alltunes / GoMusic.ru not also increased? Before it would download at ~120kbps and now......, it downloads at ~120kbps. Is there a simple explaination for this??
Cheers,
Dave C

Because the upload speed of both allTunes and GoMusic haven't changed and they're both less than the 2.2 Mbit connection you had before

You will probably only notice your increased download speed the next time you download service pack 2 - or if you use Usenet

I have PM'ed you some specifics

[Frunze]

Originally Posted by solaris

Because the upload speed of both allTunes and GoMusic haven't changed and they're both less than the 2.2 Mbit connection you had before

You will probably only notice your increased download speed the next time you download service pack 2 - or if you use Usenet

I have PM'ed you some specifics

That's like way too complex for me. Good thing someone (Solaris!) knows his stuff!

[koenfucius]

Originally Posted by Frunze

That's like way too complex for me. Good thing someone (Solaris!) knows his stuff!

Look at it this way: the overall download speed is a function of the capacity of all the steps between the server (where the information comes from) and the client (your computer). The 7.4Mb/s Dave mentions refers to the speed between his computer and his service provider (e.g. British Telecom). That is the absolute limit - it will not be possible to reach a higher speed, simply because the provider will not allow it.

There are two important further limits here:
(a) the capacity of the server itself - MP3Sparks will have a limit to the rate at which they can pump music onto the Internet. Just imagine how many people may be simultaneously downloading and/or previewing music.
(b) the sharing of capacity between users (this is known as 'contention'). The 7.4MB/s Dave mentions is not exclusive to him, and has to be shared with other users in his vicinity. For typical home users, the contention ratio is 1:20 or even 1:50, which means that capacity is shared by 20-50 people. In practice this means you can get very high download speeds as long as nobody else is trying to download large amounts of data. In other words, if everyone is just surfing the web, things will be pretty damn quick, but if every user on that segment is downloading music, movies or Windows Vista service packs, then things will become much slower.

HTH!

[vikulenka]

Originally Posted by koenfucius

Look at it this way: the overall download speed is a function of the capacity of all the steps between the server (where the information comes from) and the client (your computer). The 7.4Mb/s Dave mentions refers to the speed between his computer and his service provider (e.g. British Telecom). That is the absolute limit - it will not be possible to reach a higher speed, simply because the provider will not allow it.

There are two important further limits here:
(a) the capacity of the server itself - MP3Sparks will have a limit to the rate at which they can pump music onto the Internet. Just imagine how many people may be simultaneously downloading and/or previewing music.
(b) the sharing of capacity between users (this is known as 'contention'). The 7.4MB/s Dave mentions is not exclusive to him, and has to be shared with other users in his vicinity. For typical home users, the contention ratio is 1:20 or even 1:50, which means that capacity is shared by 20-50 people. In practice this means you can get very high download speeds as long as nobody else is trying to download large amounts of data. In other words, if everyone is just surfing the web, things will be pretty damn quick, but if every user on that segment is downloading music, movies or Windows Vista service packs, then things will become much slower.

HTH!

Spoken like a wise teacher - true to name

[Frunze]

Originally Posted by koenfucius

Look at it this way: the overall download speed is a function of the capacity of all the steps between the server (where the information comes from) and the client (your computer). The 7.4Mb/s Dave mentions refers to the speed between his computer and his service provider (e.g. British Telecom). That is the absolute limit - it will not be possible to reach a higher speed, simply because the provider will not allow it.

There are two important further limits here:
(a) the capacity of the server itself - MP3Sparks will have a limit to the rate at which they can pump music onto the Internet. Just imagine how many people may be simultaneously downloading and/or previewing music.
(b) the sharing of capacity between users (this is known as 'contention'). The 7.4MB/s Dave mentions is not exclusive to him, and has to be shared with other users in his vicinity. For typical home users, the contention ratio is 1:20 or even 1:50, which means that capacity is shared by 20-50 people. In practice this means you can get very high download speeds as long as nobody else is trying to download large amounts of data. In other words, if everyone is just surfing the web, things will be pretty damn quick, but if every user on that segment is downloading music, movies or Windows Vista service packs, then things will become much slower.

HTH!

Wow! I get it now. Thank you! I am impressed

[koenfucius]

Originally Posted by vikulenka

Spoken like a wise teacher - true to name

Sometimes I wonder if the name shouldn't be koenfusius...

[koenfucius]

Originally Posted by Frunze

Wow! I get it now. Thank you! I am impressed

Great. Despite all those caveats, 7.4Mb/s raw download speed is still pretty good!

[Dave C]

Thanks for all the replies, looks like I was expecting a bit too much with my new connection and alltunes. On the plus side, soundsbox just rocketed along at ~800kbps when I downloaded an album from them. The whole thing was on my computer in <1 minute.
Cheers,
Dave C

[solaris]

Originally Posted by Dave C

Thanks for all the replies, looks like I was expecting a bit too much with my new connection and alltunes. On the plus side, soundsbox just rocketed along at ~800kbps when I downloaded an album from them. The whole thing was on my computer in <1 minute.
Cheers,
Dave C

This is the download speed I get from Soundsbox too - and I sit on a more than 3 times as fast a connection, as you do (which yet again goes to show that your connection is depending a lot on the upload speed of the site you're downloading from )

I sometimes get +1000 KB per second on Legalsounds but rarely more than 250 KB per second on MP3Sparks/allTunes.