As I've written before, I'm using file-sharing every now and than, to download a new version of my Linux distro (and other distros for testing), or to download a TV show which doesn't show in Israel, or I cannot watch by other means. Also, as you may all know, the best way to do so, is using a torrent client, such as Transmission, uTorrent, Vuze, etc.
It seems ISPs in Israel (and probably world wide) are playing a double-game. Their first interest is to sell us as much bandwidth as possible. Only recently a new commercial went on-air telling us how much more music and movies can be downloaded if one would double their bandwidth. On the other hand - it seems some ISPs are doing traffic shaping.
Me and a friend of mine are both subscribers of a large ISP, which has the word "gold" in its name, and we are quite sick and tired of this. After doing some thorough tests, we came to a conclusion that torrent traffic is being limited during most of the day. In those hours, the torrent would download at full throttle only from clients subscribed to the same (our) ISP. As for the rest - download rate was roughly 1KBPS. At about 2AM, the limitation is removed, and all of a sudden those same clients started sending data at blazingly fast rates, which lasted until morning.
What bothers me more is the fact there's no transparency regarding traffic shaping. If I'm being limited - I want to know about it. Some uses are legitimate, and consumers must be aware for those limitations. Moreover, what if other services are "shaped" as well, such as the bandwidth-consuming youtube? I like watching youtube videos at HD, and don't want those to be choppy (and I noticed they sometimes do).
So what do you think? Is your ISP shaping your traffic? Also - what can be done about it?
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
IE8 optional in Windows 7
Is this true? If so, it doesn't mention how could one install a different browser (so you have to use IE8 to download another browser). Interesting.
Either way - this is a good step toward making Windows a safer OS.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
What matters in a web browser
I've been installing variety of browsers ever since there were browsers to choose from. I like playing with them, comparing them, and just have them lying around.
Today I've installed Safari 4 beta. What can I say, the Apple dudes delivered what they had promised - a blazingly fast browser, slick UI, and it has the coolness atmosphere that surrounds Apple products. Actually, it feels like the fastest browser I've ever used. Moreover, Hebrew support is great, and many problematic Israeli websites are loaded as perfect as they load on MS's browser - only way faster.
So I played with the cover-flow interface, browsed some heavy websites - and closed it. I don't think I'll get back to it anytime soon (unless for finding some vulnerabilities within). Why?
It seems that since its 0.9 version, I always got back to Firefox after trying different browsers. Chrome was the only browser that stole me for an entire week. Why?
I know the answer. Although it is not the prettiest, not the fastest, nor the best supported browser - it has a HUGE community. And what does this community bring? Free (as in freedom and as in beer) add-ons. Without my ad-block, foxmarks, Firebug, proxy-switcher, screengrab, themes, etc. I'm totally lost. Those add-ons really make the difference! The Internet looks and behaves differently (in a bad manner) without them. So no matter what the other company will bring out the the factory - that browser doesn't stand a chance until it starts supporting FF's add-ons. This reminds a little the hold MS has on the desktop applications - one is so familiar and comfortable with them, that making a switch could be a hard decision.
So what add-ons do you have on your fox?
Today I've installed Safari 4 beta. What can I say, the Apple dudes delivered what they had promised - a blazingly fast browser, slick UI, and it has the coolness atmosphere that surrounds Apple products. Actually, it feels like the fastest browser I've ever used. Moreover, Hebrew support is great, and many problematic Israeli websites are loaded as perfect as they load on MS's browser - only way faster.
So I played with the cover-flow interface, browsed some heavy websites - and closed it. I don't think I'll get back to it anytime soon (unless for finding some vulnerabilities within). Why?
It seems that since its 0.9 version, I always got back to Firefox after trying different browsers. Chrome was the only browser that stole me for an entire week. Why?
I know the answer. Although it is not the prettiest, not the fastest, nor the best supported browser - it has a HUGE community. And what does this community bring? Free (as in freedom and as in beer) add-ons. Without my ad-block, foxmarks, Firebug, proxy-switcher, screengrab, themes, etc. I'm totally lost. Those add-ons really make the difference! The Internet looks and behaves differently (in a bad manner) without them. So no matter what the other company will bring out the the factory - that browser doesn't stand a chance until it starts supporting FF's add-ons. This reminds a little the hold MS has on the desktop applications - one is so familiar and comfortable with them, that making a switch could be a hard decision.
So what add-ons do you have on your fox?
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Lunix is Soviet
This one is simply hilarious. As much as it's old, it's still funny. Not sure whether the writer was joking or is a complete idiot.
And what king of a parent will you be?
And what king of a parent will you be?
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Giving a hint
Every major DB I know supports some sort of "hinting" mechanism. What is it and why is it needed?
When a DB compiles a SQL query in order to execute it, it also decides about the best way to execute that query: which data to fetch first, which indexes are to be used, how to perform joins, how many rows to retrieve, etc. The quality of these decisions has major impact over the performance of the query.
As part of this process, a component usually known as the optimizer is running. This component is required for the construction of the execution plan, and sometimes it takes "drastic" measures, such as rewriting the query so that WHERE conditions would be executed in a different order.
Over the years RDBMS providers had put a lot of effort in order to achieve the best possible optimizer. In the course of time it started using statistics (based on ranking mechanisms and previous queries). But before that happened, each RDBMS provided an extension to the query syntax (SQL) so the developer could provide some hint to the optimizer about how he thinks the query should be executed. As the years went by, providers started recommending to avoid those hints, as the optimizer usually did a better job.
I hadn't seen a good optimizer hint for some years now, until this week. I was trying to improve some query in MS SQL Server which lasted forever, and involved an external data source. After I was about to give up and rewrite the code, I decided to give it one last chance. Digging in the execution plans I realized MS's optimizer did awful job in executing the query, so I check their hint syntax. My addition to the code was "OPTION (hash join)", and viola, the query completed within few seconds. Impressive improvement.
Improving the query (by better building it) will always be better than adding a hint, but when all else fails, this might be the only solution.
When a DB compiles a SQL query in order to execute it, it also decides about the best way to execute that query: which data to fetch first, which indexes are to be used, how to perform joins, how many rows to retrieve, etc. The quality of these decisions has major impact over the performance of the query.
As part of this process, a component usually known as the optimizer is running. This component is required for the construction of the execution plan, and sometimes it takes "drastic" measures, such as rewriting the query so that WHERE conditions would be executed in a different order.
Over the years RDBMS providers had put a lot of effort in order to achieve the best possible optimizer. In the course of time it started using statistics (based on ranking mechanisms and previous queries). But before that happened, each RDBMS provided an extension to the query syntax (SQL) so the developer could provide some hint to the optimizer about how he thinks the query should be executed. As the years went by, providers started recommending to avoid those hints, as the optimizer usually did a better job.
I hadn't seen a good optimizer hint for some years now, until this week. I was trying to improve some query in MS SQL Server which lasted forever, and involved an external data source. After I was about to give up and rewrite the code, I decided to give it one last chance. Digging in the execution plans I realized MS's optimizer did awful job in executing the query, so I check their hint syntax. My addition to the code was "OPTION (hash join)", and viola, the query completed within few seconds. Impressive improvement.
Improving the query (by better building it) will always be better than adding a hint, but when all else fails, this might be the only solution.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Personal [Different] Taste
Recently I noticed I tend to disagree with many reviews I read or opinions I hear. Here are some examples:
Good thing that in all of those fields we are not bound to some monopoly corporation, so we can choose what we like according to our personal taste.
- I like playing "Need for speed: Undercover". I think it's a good game, which reminds me "Most Wanted" very much. Every single review I read about this game, and EA's strategy of the entire series, is very negative. I do agree the previous game (ProStreet) was a complete waste of money (yeah, I have an original DVD), but the new one is pure fun.
- Since I'm talking about games - I hate "Dead Space" and "Fallout 3". These were considered some of the top games of 2008 by most gaming-review sites. What can I say? I think they're horrible.
- I like KDE 4.2. I noticed that every time Linus' is switching his desktop, I switch the other way around. And not by purpose.
Good thing that in all of those fields we are not bound to some monopoly corporation, so we can choose what we like according to our personal taste.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Telco. in Israel and dirty tricks
I've been thinking about this post for quite some time, and it just keeps expanding in my mind, so it's time to write it down. Warning: this one is off-topic, and has nothing to do with technology, so some readers might want to stop reading now.
In the last year I was tricked by at least three media and telco. providers in Israel. In our little market, no one wants to be the "fra'yer", and it's a matter of principle. This is why I'm disposing my experience here, so some of you might avoid it. I know that using this blog would bring me more audience then I could reach otherwise.
Bezeq
This is still the largest phone company in Israel, and it used to be considered a monopoly until not many years ago. Seems like they have a habit of forcing users to upgrade their Internet connection speed, unwillingly, or the user would have to face a huge bureaucracy blockade. I know this trick was pulled on some friends as well, so it has to be systematic. Here's how it goes:
If you get such upgrade call from Bezeq, beware. It's gonna cost you alot more then you think.
Also, this proves another lesson: always record support phone calls. This might prove useful.
Orange
Last year I moved to Orange as part of a consolidation of my cell phones providers (had too many). With my private bill I am very satisfied, and all is OK. But with my parents' bill (which moved to Orange along with me), I'm very upset.
When signing with Orange, we asked them to block all paid content (3G Internet, international calls, etc.), since my parents don't want those, and never intend to use those. Just for the record, my parents barely know how to dial a number, and doesn't even know how to send SMS.
On the first bill they got, we had our first surprise - 2 SMS were sent to Denmark. The support guy (or girl...) insisted these SMS were indeed sent, and only after quite a while they convinced there's no way my parents would send such messages, and gave the money back.
One month later, a new bill came, this time we found out my parents were watching 20 minutes of streaming TV in their cell phones (these costs more than a few NIS). Again a call to support, which insisted the media was indeed watched. It took me over 30 minutes of arguing and insisting some technician who has access to antenna logs, would check those - just to prove my point: the antenna which allegedly sent the streaming media, never hosted my parent's phones.
Few months ago, another extra charge - this time, some ringtones were downloaded.
If you read carefully, you would know that such services were completely blocked in the service agreement. Again, 20 minutes phone call, and the charge is cancelled.
Hot
The most annoying thing in Israel is the fact that "the competition is no better". The Hot incident is not as complicated as those above, but yet very annoying.
I admit it, I download TV serieses which doesn't show in Israel, or shows in a long delay (what's the point in the delay, when all of the Internet is filled with spoilers, right?). When I heard Hot will broadcast the new Lost season in a 3 day delay I said to myself (and to some of my friends) I will pay for the cable company, and watch it on TV, instead of downloading it.
The Hot web site mentioned that if I missed the chapter, I will be able to watch it on VOD. Since I'm paying 10 NIS for the VOD service, I was happy with the thought I'll be able to watch it whenever I want, right on my TV.
Wrong. I started watching the first chapter 30 minutes late, so I used the cool Start-Over trick they provide. Half-way through the chapter, I got a message saying "Too many people are trying to watch the chapter, please try again later.". Later? I cannot Start-Over a chapter which already ended? What kind of service is that?
So I opted for the VOD option later that night, and to my surprise I found out that I will have to pay 5 NIS for each chapter. WTF? Why didn't you say that in the first place? Did you drop my Start-Over session just so you could extra-charge me for the VOD? Grrr...
Good thing they provide fast Internet (if you know what I mean)...
In the last year I was tricked by at least three media and telco. providers in Israel. In our little market, no one wants to be the "fra'yer", and it's a matter of principle. This is why I'm disposing my experience here, so some of you might avoid it. I know that using this blog would bring me more audience then I could reach otherwise.
Bezeq
This is still the largest phone company in Israel, and it used to be considered a monopoly until not many years ago. Seems like they have a habit of forcing users to upgrade their Internet connection speed, unwillingly, or the user would have to face a huge bureaucracy blockade. I know this trick was pulled on some friends as well, so it has to be systematic. Here's how it goes:
- Happy user gets a phone call from a Bezeq's sales representative, offering him to upgrade his Internet connection speed at price of 10 NIS. Cheap, right?
- User agrees, and as directed, calls to the ISP in order to upgrade the speed it provides. Such upgrades usually require 12-18 months commitments, otherwise, higher (unreasonable) price will be charged.
- User is doing a speed test and discovers the speed remains as it was before - no upgrade was done. 2 phone calls are required (first to ISP, second to Bezeq) just to discover that Bezeq hadn't upgrade the speed. Support guy (or girl) says (quote): "It's impossible we offered you such price, as we don't have such offering at the moment. I can upgrade your speed at X NIS, though" (X >> 10).
- Case a: user agrees, and now he has upgraded Internet connection at a price higher then he was willing to pay in the first place. -> Bezeq wins.
Case b: user disagrees. The support guy interprets the "disagree" to "agree" and starts charging the user with the higher price, without any user conformation (such as 4 last digits of credit card, or ID number). This the user will discover only at the next month's bill. Canceling that will cost the user a lot of time and phone calls. -> Bezeq wins.
Case c: user argues with support guy, and gets a new price, Y NIS(Y < X, Y >> 10). -> Bezeq wins.
If you get such upgrade call from Bezeq, beware. It's gonna cost you alot more then you think.
Also, this proves another lesson: always record support phone calls. This might prove useful.
Orange
Last year I moved to Orange as part of a consolidation of my cell phones providers (had too many). With my private bill I am very satisfied, and all is OK. But with my parents' bill (which moved to Orange along with me), I'm very upset.
When signing with Orange, we asked them to block all paid content (3G Internet, international calls, etc.), since my parents don't want those, and never intend to use those. Just for the record, my parents barely know how to dial a number, and doesn't even know how to send SMS.
On the first bill they got, we had our first surprise - 2 SMS were sent to Denmark. The support guy (or girl...) insisted these SMS were indeed sent, and only after quite a while they convinced there's no way my parents would send such messages, and gave the money back.
One month later, a new bill came, this time we found out my parents were watching 20 minutes of streaming TV in their cell phones (these costs more than a few NIS). Again a call to support, which insisted the media was indeed watched. It took me over 30 minutes of arguing and insisting some technician who has access to antenna logs, would check those - just to prove my point: the antenna which allegedly sent the streaming media, never hosted my parent's phones.
Few months ago, another extra charge - this time, some ringtones were downloaded.
If you read carefully, you would know that such services were completely blocked in the service agreement. Again, 20 minutes phone call, and the charge is cancelled.
Hot
The most annoying thing in Israel is the fact that "the competition is no better". The Hot incident is not as complicated as those above, but yet very annoying.
I admit it, I download TV serieses which doesn't show in Israel, or shows in a long delay (what's the point in the delay, when all of the Internet is filled with spoilers, right?). When I heard Hot will broadcast the new Lost season in a 3 day delay I said to myself (and to some of my friends) I will pay for the cable company, and watch it on TV, instead of downloading it.
The Hot web site mentioned that if I missed the chapter, I will be able to watch it on VOD. Since I'm paying 10 NIS for the VOD service, I was happy with the thought I'll be able to watch it whenever I want, right on my TV.
Wrong. I started watching the first chapter 30 minutes late, so I used the cool Start-Over trick they provide. Half-way through the chapter, I got a message saying "Too many people are trying to watch the chapter, please try again later.". Later? I cannot Start-Over a chapter which already ended? What kind of service is that?
So I opted for the VOD option later that night, and to my surprise I found out that I will have to pay 5 NIS for each chapter. WTF? Why didn't you say that in the first place? Did you drop my Start-Over session just so you could extra-charge me for the VOD? Grrr...
Good thing they provide fast Internet (if you know what I mean)...
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