Ok then, let's have some real world experimentation for this first competition sponsored by Geo .....
This blog post can be read at 5tth.blogspot.com
The increasingly boring arguments about why on earth you would need more bandwidth than is available (to some) right now got me thinking. If I could download/upload the large files I need to for work (let alone the ones my kids would like to be able to for entertainment) far faster than today, what would I do with the time that could free up? After all, driving 60 miles to deliver a CD with a few fat files on is getting rather tedious, as well as expensive in fuel at £1.45 a litre.
So, I thought I'd try downloading a gig of data and see how long it actually took. The process is still ongoing as I write this.... Then, I wondered how long it took other people to do, which is where you all come in!
The link below is to a 1 GB file for you to download, and I'm asking that you time that download and post how long it took you. Bear in mind that 1GB of data is not actually a great deal when you consider that most memory cards and dongles are far bigger than that nowadays. I have never bothered trying to download a movie as it is too tedious a process currently (and don't tell me to do it overnight as that's when I work, as you all know), but at a guess this is approximately what a film is.
http://windows.mouselike.org/windows.mouselike.org/share/dump/1gbfile.zip
Here's a stopwatch for you to time it so post your results......how long did it take you?
Obviously, the purists would say that you shouldn't do anything else whilst trying to download it to give a proper indication of how long it takes to download a gig, but that's not how the real world or most people's computer use functions, is it? Oh, and if you go over your download limit for the month, don't blame me!
Now, I have some prizes here for the best answer in the first of two competitions we are running, very kindly sponsored by Geo.
The quiz question is this: if you had a faster connection eg 1Gbps so this file would take a remarkably short time to download, what would you do with the time freed up by having a mega connection?
The best answer will win some ace Geo goodies, including the Geo Rubik Cube which I am now very fond of and don't even vaguely want to part with! Get downloading and thinking up your answer.
GO!
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