>>BTW, it only took me 2 hours on a 33.6 modem to download MSIE 4.0. I am not a techie and don't understand why it won't download anything at the stated rate. Very frustrating.<<
Gary -
Do you mean you don't understand why your modem doesn't download at the stated rate?
I can explain.
The speed rating of your modem is 33.6 KBPS. The KBPS does NOT stand for "kilobytes per second" as many people assume. It stands for "kilobits per second". A byte is eight bits. A kilobit is 1,024 bits. So a kilobyte is 8,192 bits, or 1,024 bytes. (I'm doing this off the top of my head, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong.)
File sizes are always given in either kilobytes or megabytes, which makes figuring out how long a download will take confusing. (Those extra 24s and multiples thereof hanging around on all the numbers don't help, either.)
It's also important to remember that there is a certain amount of "overhead" involved in any download process, so download speed never equals system throughput speed.
Basically, at 33.6 kbps, you should see a download speed, under the very best of conditions, somewhere around 3.5 kilobytes per second.
Since IE 4.0 is 12 megabytes, it would take around ... hmmm
12 megabytes X 1024 = 12,228 kilobytes
12,228 kilobytes / 3.5 kilobytes per second = 3,511 seconds
3,511 seconds / 60 = 58 minutes, roughly.
So in fact, you should have been able to download that file in around an hour. But remember, everything in between you and the server you're downloading from can affect download throughput. That includes the server itself, which might have other things to do than just shipping packets off to you. It might be simultaneously shipping them to hundreds of people. Then there are the routers on the Internet between you and the server, which also have other people's packets to deal with. Finally, there's the telephone link between you and your ISP. Not to mention your ISP's link to the Internet, which is being shared by a bunch of other people.
Was that too detailed and techie?
BTW, who's your ISP?
- Allen |
