HELP: DOWNLOAD OVER-USAGE

Well, a definition of bandwidth is: "bandwidth is often used as a synonym for data transfer rate - the amount of data that can be carried from one point to another in a given time period (usually a second)."

So bandwidth use is "just a data-stream." Meaning, listening to music is transfering data. Downloading something is transferring data. That's all bandwidth use.

At least that's how I understand it. Maybe a real expert will contradict me.

Videos will kill you. Even an overload of YouTube adds up; whole movies are around half a gigabyte and up. Streaming music or video is the same as downloading. Games played online -- big bandwidth usage. Everything that you see or hear is being downloaded, whether or not you have a file somewhere to show for it.

TG I don't have such limits, or haven't hit a ceiling yet. I DL stuff for less fortunate friends. Measure bandwidth usage - http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/have-you-ever-wondered-how-much-bandwidth-you-use-windows/

Every time you use a Web browser, you are downloading.

Video that plays in a Web browser from YouTube, or Vimeo, or Netflix, is the largest amount of using bandwidth.

Music that you download and that lives on your hardrive, like software that you download, is large but it only counts once; after the first time, it no longer "counts"

Music or audio that you "stream" like "streaming video" counts every time; so LastFM, Internet Radio, Pandora, all add to your bandwidth.

Software applications the first time you download them count; after they are installed they do not.

Images that are displayed in a browser contribute.

Web sites with images and text like AW do contribute, but they're on the low-end.

Verizon somewhere has a Web page you can check to find out what your current amount of usage is.

triceretops said:

So, I assume that when my agent sends my manuscript back (via attachment) to to for corrections, that is a one-meg download. And when I send it back to her, that is a one-meg upload? Because that is also a transfer of information, even if it is text. Correct.

So, actually, the trick to listening to favorite songs is to download them all once to your computer into a file, then you can bring them up without using bandwidth, over and over again.

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Exactly.

triceretops said:

Forgive me, I'm totally internet impaired, and I should have known these basics. Yet I had no idea what my relatives were doing on this computer when I was away, or alseep.

Tri

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I wouldn't let them use your computer, frankly.

If I did, I'd make them use a separate account. Accidents happen; things get deleted, etc. It's just not a good idea.

AW is not a problem You might turn off pictures. At the end of the month I have to do that sometimes.

Mostly it's video or music or enormous pictures. Or large email downloads. Certainly, programs are going to be huge (trying new software, MS updates, etc).

Just reading a website that is mostly text is a drop in the bucket. Turn off Flash and video on webpages in your settings, and reading should be fine.

Oh, thank God that has never happened to me. I don't download much, just updates for programs I already have installed on the computer. Don't download music either. I just listen to it on Play.it and I rarely watch YouTube videos, but then again I have DSL so I don't know how different my situation is from yours.

triceretops said:

I have the Verizon broadband wireless service.

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Oh. WIRELESS. Translation: you're gonna get screwed.

triceretops said:

Just got a whopping bill for the first month. We have the basic package, which allows a certain amount of download bandwidth. My brother-in-law has been on the computer downloading music videos, internet gaming sites, satalite geo sites, and other such stuff. My niece uses singles.net and myspace.

For instance, does just listening to music on the computer contribute, or is it the fact that the music site was downloaded in the first place add the problem? My nephew says that music is just a data-stream. But what about the site it's on? Isn't that a download to bring the site up in the first place?

Your help would be greatly appreciated in explaining this. Otherwise, we'll have to purchase a higher package that allows more bandwidth usuage, and that might not even help. We were $120.000 over the prescribed monthly amount.

What makes a site dangerous to download, as it pertains to bandwidth?

Tri

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Yeah, as already said, Youtube and any video site is "dangerous."

triceretops said:

Yeah, tech support at Verizon confirms that Music and video movies are a killer. I imagine that music with videos (the band playing on the screen) is just as bad.

We've downloaded a version of Bejeweled into the computer. Other than the original dowload, does that use up bandwidth every time we bring up that game? I thought something like that was incorporated into the computer program only once. I mean, does the computer games that come with windows cost bandwidth?

Let's say I visit my Booksie Display site. Is that a huge bandwidth download?

Thanks, guys. I'm trying to figure this out and keep my threshold down.

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I glanced, Booksie looks fairly low-overhead, kinda like AW. Small pics and lotsa text is good.

Sites such as Facebook and ESPECIALLY Myspace can be bad, because each page usually has SO MANY PICTURES put up by the person and then all the visitors - if it takes 30 seconds to load a webpage, it's taking a lot of bandwidth. You could probably watch Youtube for a minute or two for the same bandwidth.

Watch out for sites such as http://cnn.com (I presume other news sites do this but I haven't noticed) that reload themselves every few minutes with new content. You don't want to go there and then forget about it for hours, as the bandwidth counters whether it's displayed on your screen or not. Just go there, read for a few minutes for however long, and close the tab.

triceretops said:

So, I assume that when my agent sends my manuscript back (via attachment) to to for corrections, that is a one-meg download. And when I send it back to her, that is a one-meg upload? Because that is also a transfer of information, even if it is text. Correct.

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For refereince, listening to music (or any streaming audio such as npr.org) online is about a megabyte per minute. Video is a something more, a little or a lot depending on quality, but I don't know offhand (it doesn't really matter if the video is music or not).

triceretops said:

So, actually, the trick to listening to favorite songs is to download them all once to your computer into a file, then you can bring them up without using bandwidth, over and over again.

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Yes, but you probably have to pay for them at iTunes. The bandwidth is about a megabyte (or did I hear they upped the quality recenly?) per minute of playing/listening time of the song, not download time (which is usually a lot less).

triceretops said:

Forgive me, I'm totally internet impaired, and I should have known these basics. Yet I had no idea what my relatives were doing on this computer when I was away, or alseep.

Tri

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Yeah, most people are totally ignorant of how much bandwidth is used by downloading what, and The Big Wireless Providers such as Verizon love it that way.

MagaliFuentes said:

Oh, thank God that has never happened to me. I don't download much, just updates for programs I already have installed on the computer. Don't download music either. I just listen to it on Play.it and I rarely watch YouTube videos, but then again I have DSL so I don't know how different my situation is from yours.

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DSL is land-line stuff, I have it, and I'm happy with it. It's for practical purposes unlimited and you pay a fixed amount per month, regardless of how much or how little bandwidth you use. Go to http://youtube.com and/or http://hulu.com and knock yourself out.

triceretops said:

DSL is not usually a prob when it comes to limited bandwidth usage. It's only with some Sat services and of course broadband, where the "stick it to you" gets costly. Rural areas like mine have no cable for DSL, so were apt to take what is available--the real money grubbers.

Tri

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I'm in a rather rural area of Georgia, and I get DSL. Vice President Biden came to North Georgia touting a plan to expand Internet access in rural areas (maybe you can write your congresscritter about this):

http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/archive/27305/

That Dawsonville company with the bandwidth problems should really look into a colocation site in Atlanta where there's plenty of bandwidth, but whatever...

This guy at Windstream says this Government plan isn't needed in North Georgia:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/arti...band_project_to_compete_with_existing_service

Wow. I never knew there were still servers that charged like this. (Counts blessings.) That would drive me nuts. How do you keep track of the amount you still have left at the end of the month? Do they just charge you more? Or cut you off?

Good luck.

DSL runs over regular phonelines; it doesn't require cable.

Whether or not DSL will work for you depends on the quality/age of the telephone wiring in your house, and the distance between your house and the phone company's junction box.

Have you looked into DSL?

Mine shows the actual gigs in my online account info. Unfortunately, it is off by 6-12 hours. Mine's wireless, too.

And the first month I had my 'limitless' account, I ran up a $35,000 bill in over charges Turns out limitless has a limit that most people don't actually hit. I didn't have to pay it, lol!

I would now that we've cleared up their marketing dishonesty, so I definitely check my usage!

ETA: I believe there was a programming glitch in that figure, too. But it was definitely a bill for $35k!

Most web-browsing and email downloads (even ones with the occasional Mg MS attached) is absolutely nothing compared to streaming music, or downloading videos or games.

In your position I would:

- Password lock my computer.
- Investigate a different internet package, particularly one which doesn't charge for extra usage, but instead 'shapes' after you hit your limit.

"Shaping" means that your connection slows to near-dial-up levels after you hit your limit, but doesn't charge extra, and doesn't cut out.

DSL works fine for me. I have a wireless modem/network box attached to it, so we can use wireless throughout the house, on several machines at once (but only machines which know the code - you definitely don't want to be providing an internet connection to people parked in front of your house).

I'd recommend 'shaping' as well. (That's just a polite way of saying they slow down your connection if you go over/approach your 'limit'.)

It's the best solution. If you go over, there isn't a drama - your connection just slows down. No extra cost. No drama.

You can go online and just hit the 'Give me more bandwidth this month and just put it on my bill' button if the slow speed is annoying, so it's kinda the best of both worlds.

They also gave me a little app that sits next to my clock telling me if I'm at risk of being 'shaped' this month. (eg: It starts off green, but if I've used 20% of my total in 10% of the month, it starts going red)

Of course, they may not want you to have that kind of control, so they may not offer it.

Good luck !

Mac

Every once in a while I think about moving away to some quiet tiny town out in nowhere (not that you live out in nowhere, but that's where my imagination takes me when I think of getting out of the rat race). But I don't think I would live without FIOS or at least some form of unlimited broadband. Before FIOS I had DSL going back to '97, and it's always been unlimited personal usage.

I do the wireless where I can get online anywhere I am (even on buses between cities in England! So cool!). So you don't have to be away from the rat race to have usage limits

benbradley said:

DSL is land-line stuff, I have it, and I'm happy with it. It's for practical purposes unlimited and you pay a fixed amount per month, regardless of how much or how little bandwidth you use. Go to http://youtube.com and/or http://hulu.com and knock yourself out.

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Ok, thank you so much for telling me! That really helped! You're awesome.

I may be way behind the times, but I'm a bit shocked that you can use too much internet with that service! I used to live at a summer camp way out in a county park (good times!) and our internet came from a satellite, HughesNet I believe. Not even 50 homesick overworked camp counselors slurping down wireless could slow it down. And no limits.

This thread reminds me a little of how AOL used to charge their subscribers by the amount of time they spent online. What a racket that company was, and still is in some respects to this day.

I don't have anything really new to add to what cause you to go over (downloading music/videos/games are your prime murder suspect if you cut those out you don't have to worry about just your basic web sufing). But I did want to say that you can listen to music you already had on iTunes without the Internet. I do it fairly often. I don't quite know where you are at but if there's a local mcD's or Starbucks around go make yourslf cofmty there as they have free wifi and you can download to your hearts content. It worked for me when I was on limited Internet. It is somewhat slow so be prepared to be there awhile but at least you won't bE using your Internet. Also (and this may be tedious) disconnect any time you are not actively using the Internet. If you are walking away for more than five mintues, disconnect. If you have an email you want to send or something you want to post, if it's longer than few lines, disconnect from the Internet and type it up in Word -you don't have to close the page to do this b/c you are no longer on the internet so it's not taking up your Internet. Turn off pics on sites like this, you don't need them. Do make sure you have it password protected. These are a few tricks that helped me to keep my Internet all month and I did not have as much as you to use.