These days, any website worth its salt will be able to support video streaming. The only thing standing in the way of most amateur web developers is a little bit of knowledge on how to apply the technology. Here’s a basic understanding…

When video is streamed online, moving images are compressed via the internet and displayed to the viewer as they arrive, rather than requiring the viewer to wait for an entire file to download. The user will require media software to decompress and then play the audiovisual data. Many browsers will have integrated media software. Equally, it is possible to download software from the web.

Among the major video streaming software available is RealSystem G2 from RealNetwork and Microsoft Windows Media Player. Where Microsoft employs the MPEG compression algorithm, most other services use a variety of algorithms, each requiring compression and decompression by a program called a ‘codec’. Let’s take a closer look at codecs.

Codecs

Codec is a portmanteau of ‘compression/decompression’, the concept of which is a cornerstone of computer technology. Using algorithms, codecs can minimize the storage space required for complicated files (such as videos). The algorithms reduce (or ‘compress’) the number of bytes required by large files, by eliminating redundant data. Once a 15MB video has been slimmed down to 150KB, it requires a decompression algorithm to ‘undo’ the compression.

There are numerous codec schemes on the internet. While their use can certainly be applied to maximizing data storage, for streaming purposes, we are interested in minimizing file transfer time.

Applying streaming to your own website does not require an in-depth knowledge of codec technology. It is simply a matter of copying and pasting a text file into your site. However, it always pays to have a grasp on technology beyond what you need on a day to day basis – that way you’re not completely in the dark when something goes wrong.

Of course, it’s essential that you have speedy internet if you wish to upload content with any alacrity. Take a peek at the Sky website for some competitive home broadband deals.

Four ways to Boost Your High Speed Internet Performance

It’s Christmas time, and everyone’s in a mad fury of a hurry to get their Christmas shopping done. However, gone are the days where you have to face a cold shopping mall to find what you’re looking for. Quickly start up your faithful old computer, jump into your favorite browser, and shop from the comfort of your home. That is, if your connection allows you to do so. If your internet speed is slow, you may find it more comforting out in the cold, standing in lines, waiting for checkout to inch closer.

But what if you could speed up your high speed internet connection, so that it is indeed high speed? Hmm, perhaps this article is for you. Let’s look at a few ways to up your internet performance.

Get to know your router

Your router may not be the most beautiful little thing on the planet, but getting to know it may reveal things about it that could help you increase your internet speed. Take some time to read the router manual, and take note of any special instructions pertaining to your specific router model. “A router is a router is a router” is not necessarily true.

What can be said of most routers is that the ideal position for it is normally as close to the computer as possible, and as high up as possible. Also be sure to not place any obstructions between the router and computer. The more things are in the way, the weaker your internet signal will be.

Don’t kill your bandwidth with too much load

You may not realize it, but in the background, somewhere in a corner of your computer you’re not even aware of, some programs may be gathering every time you switch your machine on, to take pleasure out of secretly eating your bandwidth while you’re surfing the net. They’re hunched over, rubbing their grubby hands together, snickering to one another, while you cannot for the life of you figure out why your computer is running so slow when the advertisement said you’d enjoy internet speeds so fast you’d have to chain your machine down. The more programs are running—those that rely on using the internet—the slower your connection will be. Some programs that rely upon an internet connection include Skype and some media players, and it’s debatable whether they need to run constantly.

To see which programs are running, open the task manager (by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL). This should give you a list of programs running on your machine.

Don’t share your bandwidth

If you’re making use of a wireless connection, don’t share it with other computers. The more computers on an internet line, the slower the connection to each single computer will be. It’s like riding a horse. One person on a horse is quick. Add another person, and the poor horse starts to suffer. Add another person, and someone ought to call the SPCA. A horse was not created to carry too many people. Your internet connection is not meant to carry too many computers.

Have a chat with your broadband provider

No, don’t have a conversation about the awful weather, or how busy it is this time of year. Ask your service provider to diagnose your internet connection, if it’s not performing at the standard advertised. This should give you some insight into the problem.

Your internet service provider could offer valuable advice as to how to speed up your internet connection. Perhaps you need to upgrade your router.

That’s it for speeding up router speed on a fixed line, but we’ll throw in some gratis advice about speeding up your mobile internet connection (since it’s Christmas and all).

Speeding up mobile internet

The first thing you need to do before signing up for a mobile broadband deal is to make sure that you have coverage in your area. There is absolutely no point in signing up for mobile broadband, only to find out your area is too remote to be covered. Thus, make sure of this first.

Speeding up mobile broadband may mean that you’d have to fork out a pound or two for enhancements. For instance, you could purchase an antenna for your mobile dongle. This is attached to the mobile dongle, and should give you a slight boost in reception.

Another way to try and up your mobile broadband signal is to buy a USB extension, which allows you to place the mobile internet dongle near or in an open window. This should also give you a boost in reception, since open skies work better than a roof or brick and mortar, when it comes to internet reception.

Four ways to Boost Your High Speed Internet Performance

It’s Christmas time, and everyone’s in a mad fury of a hurry to get their Christmas shopping done. However, gone are the days where you have to face a cold shopping mall to find what you’re looking for. Quickly start up your faithful old computer, jump into your favourite browser, and shop from the comfort of your home. That is, if your connection allows you to do so. If your internet speed is slow, you may find it more comforting out in the cold, standing in lines, waiting for checkout to inch closer.

But what if you could speed up your high speed internet connection, so that it is indeed high speed? Hmm, perhaps this article is for you. Let’s look at a few ways to up your internet performance.

Get to know your router

Your router may not be the most beautiful little thing on the planet, but getting to know it may reveal things about it that could help you increase your internet speed. Take some time to read the router manual, and take note of any special instructions pertaining to your specific router model. “A router is a router is a router” is not necessarily true.

What can be said of most routers is that the ideal position for it is normally as close to the computer as possible, and as high up as possible. Also be sure to not place any obstructions between the router and computer. The more things are in the way, the weaker your internet signal will be.

Don’t kill your bandwidth with too much load

You may not realise it, but in the background, somewhere in a corner of your computer you’re not even aware of, some programs may be gathering every time you switch your machine on, to take pleasure out of secretly eating your bandwidth while you’re surfing the net. They’re hunched over, rubbing their grubby hands together, snickering to one another, while you cannot for the life of you figure out why your computer is running so slow when the advertisement said you’d enjoy internet speeds so fast you’d have to chain your machine down. The more programs are running—those that rely on using the internet—the slower your connection will be. Some programs that rely upon an internet connection include Skype and some media players, and it’s debatable whether they need to run constantly.

To see which programs are running, open the task manager (by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL). This should give you a list of programs running on your machine.

Don’t share your bandwidth

If you’re making use of a wireless connection, don’t share it with other computers. The more computers on an internet line, the slower the connection to each single computer will be. It’s like riding a horse. One person on a horse is quick. Add another person, and the poor horse starts to suffer. Add another person, and someone ought to call the SPCA. A horse was not created to carry too many people. Your internet connection is not meant to carry too many computers.

Have a chat with your broadband provider

No, don’t have a conversation about the awful weather, or how busy it is this time of year. Ask your service provider to diagnose your internet connection, if it’s not performing at the standard advertised. This should give you some insight into the problem.

Your internet service provider could offer valuable advice as to how to speed up your internet connection. Perhaps you need to upgrade your router.

That’s it for speeding up router speed on a fixed line, but we’ll throw in some gratis advice about speeding up your mobile internet connection (since it’s Christmas and all).

Speeding up mobile internet

The first thing you need to do before signing up for a mobile broadband deal is to make sure that you have coverage in your area. There is absolutely no point in signing up for mobile broadband, only to find out your area is too remote to be covered. Thus, make sure of this first.

Speeding up mobile broadband may mean that you’d have to fork out a pound or two for enhancements. For instance, you could purchase an antenna for your mobile dongle. This is attached to the mobile dongle, and should give you a slight boost in reception.

Another way to try and up your mobile broadband signal is to buy a USB extension, which allows you to place the mobile internet dongle near or in an open window. This should also give you a boost in reception, since open skies work better than a roof or brick and mortar, when it comes to internet reception.

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One problem that plagues all tech devices today is the learning curve that one is required to learn in order to use any piece of hardware. Because, honestly, who wants to learn? As humans in the technological revolution, we’ve been bred to skip right on past the manual and teach ourselves how to use any given technology. What is an instruction manual but a complimentary coaster with every purchase?

Enter Pranav Mistry, who plans to do away with instruction manuals and the usual method of “guess-and-check” learning as we know it. His vision, called SixthSense which actually exists but still appears to be in its design phases, fully integrates a wearable computer with your natural hand motions. For example, say you want to take a picture, but you are either to lazy to take out a camera, or you simply don’t have the time to. Simply hold up both of your thumbs and pointer fingers like a director making a frame, and that shot is saved to the hard drive. Want to view, edit and/or email the pictures you took? Find a wall, draw a circle in the air with your fingers and the interface is projected onto the wall, just like that. All of these manipulations are made possible by a small camera that is part of the wearable ensemble. This camera tracks your fingers and interprets their motion as actions. Magic? That’s what it appears to be. But this is the future. Actually, no, wait. This is the present.

SixthSense has nearly limitless applications, including a computer on a piece of paper. Ya, I know, that seems a little beyond ones own imagination. Don’t believe me? See this and other examples of SixthSense in action in the video below.