This Is Only a Test !!!

WEEEEEEEEEEE DOGGIEEEEEEEE !!!

 

Alrighty then. I got THAT outta my system. But wait....

THIS IS ONLY A TEST... 

If this had been an actual blog post, you would all been informed of where to tell ME to go !!!!!

AIGHT AIGHT AIGHT, seriousness (yeah OK) for a moment. To a great degree this post is only a test. It's Been Awhile... since I've written on my blog... It's been awhile... Actually it has been quite some time... and for those of you that followed me last year, I'm not sure if you'll take this as a good thing or a bad thing... BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT..... I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK !!! HA HA HA.

I'm glad you've all MISSED me... thank god you can't hit the side of a barn !!!! wait, did I just dis MYSELF ??? WTF ?!?!?

Anyway, my original purpose in life... no wait, my original intent of posting today was to test the links and auto-post services that I had set up last year to be sure they still work.... like I'll ever remember how to fix them if they don't !!! Oh well...

But THEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! drum roll ................................ I logged onto Facebook to find THIS posted on my wall by fellow Nation member Brian Osborn.... This is humbling (ok, you all know how humble I am but it's the thought that counts, right?)

I'm not sure what I did to deserve such an honor... um.... oh YEAH.... I HATE THE YANKEES !!!! Wow, "hate" is SUCH a strong word, but oh so APPROPRIATE !!!!!

Ok, I went off on a tangent there. If you followed me last year, note the changes to my page... NO MORE "F"ING ADS that don't pay shit anyway... THAT'S RIGHT !!!! In case you don't realize the implications..... it means that there is NO ONE "looking over my shoulder" ready to censor me !!!! FREESTYLE !!!!!!!!!  ummmmmmmmm... yeah wut eva.

Damn, I hope I remember how to write. And don't say it's like riding a bike cuz I forgot how to do that too !!!! If ya don't use "it", ya lose it right ????? OHHHHHHHHHHHH.. I'm talking about my writing "skills" !!! Get your minds outta the guttah !!!!

WHEW !!!!! slow down, John... and I haven't even had a cup of coffee YET !!!!!!!!!

To all you "NEWBIES" .... you obviously landed on this page by sheer BAD luck, here's the skinny. This is my blog. NUF CED

No seriously, I had no life last year so I was able to post a lot, mostly recaps (with a twist) of Red Sox games... Over there in the right sidebar there are links to last year's posts... over there >>>>>>>

BACK "ISSUES" (oh, don't worry... you'll know what days my back is killing me!)...

Although I continue to have no life... spring has sprung... or is trying to spring anyway !!!! So, I figured maybe I'd dust off the ole blog page and get ready for beginning of the 2010 RED SOX WORLD SERIES season. I haven't yet decided what approach I'll be takin, but if this post is any indication, now's your chance to abandon ship !!!!!!!!! 

Truth be told, I won't be posting everyday like last year.(you can thank me now!!!) but only when I feel the need to "hear" myself rant and rave (which is usually everyday anyway, so.........) Damn I keep losing it... my train of thought that is !!!! Plus it started stressing me out feeling like I HAD to post... it kinda became like ...... like work, and you all know I do NOT do THAT !!!! (damn I needa job).

OKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY !!!! Now for the fine print...............

This is my blog. The matters and opinions expressed on this blog are strictly MY OWN. I take no responsibility for typographical and grammatical errors and/or misuse. (WAIT !!! when did Blogger ditch the spell-checker??? ah CRAP!!!! now I'm really screwed) You understand that you are reading this blog at your own risk. I take no responsibility if you suffer any physical or psychological damage by doing so. Commenting is welcomed and appreciated. Comments are monitored for content - mainly because of all the frigging "spam" that has accrued !!! Personal attacks (been THERE, done THAT) and slander will not tolerated. If you choose to personally attack me, you WILL be featured on this blog (and it won't be pretty !!!).

Ok, I HAD to throw that last line in there due to a douche bag that called me a traitor and disgrace to the Nation last year because MY opinion was that the Sox would have a tough time in the play-offs. Um... wait... They DID, didn't they???? hmmmmm, wuttah frigging moron !!! But, he did receive my buddy's coveted ASSHOLE AWARD !!! If you can't take the heat stay the hell outta my kitchen !!! ooooo, Hell's Kitchen.... reminds me of Daredevil... and you KNOW that reminds me ooooooooooooooooooooooooooof................

 

WOWSER !!!! What a HOTTIE !!! ok, I think I'm having front "issues" now !!!! I gotta go use it so I don't lose it... LMFAO !!!

Smell ya latah... still have some work to do on the blog and other stuff that's connected.. HAH... my blogging buddies that link to my feed are gonna shit when this hits their walls... HA HA HA...

Oh, and to anyone that honored me by saying I could and should write a book... I'd be willing to bet you're having a change of heart right now !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OHHHHHHHH.. I know, I know... don't quit my day job... oh wait.. I don't have one !!!! This is gonna be a looooong season !!!!!

Thanks for stopping in for a visit. It's just my opinion, so please PAHDON it. Y'all come back now, ya heah !! Nuf Ced

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The "Doctor" Is In - The "Net" - continued

While researching independent speed tests on the different different browsers I stumbled upon a couple of sites that I found useful, both for my research and for me as a blogger. In personally testing different browsers I experienced the truth in the fact that different browsers interpret the scripts that my blog page is written in... um DIFFERENTLY !!! But taking a screen shot using each browser honestly didn't occur to me.

Browershots.org
Then I found this free site called browsershots.org. Although most likely an invaluable tool for web designers as there is a section to submit your own personal site designs to share and also a very sophisticated color matching tool, I'm sure that I (and other bloggers?) could definitely find use for this service. I already signed up for a FREE account, and may just try submitting my page for shits and giggles.

But for this post I used it's service that takes screenshots of any website that you supply the URL for, using any or all of the 80 or so different browsers and versions they offer. Unfortunately Google Chrome wasn't in the list.

I was pleased to see that I wasn't going crazy (well...) thinking that my page viewed differently using different browsers. To demonstrate, here are a couple of the shots taken:

What YOU see isn't always what THEY get.... As you can see, even with this very simple page design(I use Firefox, so I see it that way), if you compare the headers which I circled in red, Internet Explorer reads the formatting totally different. Finally I had proof that different browsers read the language differently but this was also a bit upsetting to me, now knowing that my page actually could look like shit depending on which browser views it. But, just one of those things we're stuck with.

Also potentially valuable is that I had browsershots take screenshots on another of my blog pages, The "J" Files, which loads slower due to the embedded playlist. Theses proved at the very least that Internet Explorer is the SLOWEST browser, but again, the shots aren't all taken by the same computer so system resources could effect the results. Assuming that the amount of time this service allows for a page to load before taking the screenshot is consistent, here are the shots from the "Big 3":

As you can see, in the Safari shot, the entire page loaded... the Firefox shot was about halfway loaded.... the Internet Explorer shot didn't even get the playlist loaded, further proving my findings about browser speeds. This may be useful to bloggers as obviously multimedia-rich pages take longer to load.

Pingdom.com
Along those same lines, I also came across this site called pingdom.com when I was researching ping testing. More than just another ping service, pingdom also offers a page load test. Again, input any URL and the service will ping the site and report how fast the page loads. But more than that, it produces a detailed report that shows how long it takes for each ELEMENT of the page to load:
Again, potentially more valuable to bloggers and web designers but it was interesting to see which elements take the longest to load. I will certainly keep it in mind when posting and/or building another blog page.

There's a bit more on my browser testing. This will be the last post that I post on all 3 of my blogs, trying to keep the subject matter of each consistent with each respective theme... PLUS, I've been neglecting the others !!!

Anyway, please bookmark or subscribe to The Doctor Is In to stay up to date.... THANKS !!!

The "doctor" has left the building

Thanks for stopping in for a visit. It's just my opinion, so please PAHDON it. Y'all come back now, ya heah !! Nuf Ced

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The Doctor Is In - Lesson 3 - Browsers

All browsers are created equal.. OH CONTRARE !!!!!!

First, let me preface this post by assuming that everyone is already running some soft of protection suite that includes anti-virus, anti-malware, firewall, and identity protection at the very least. And in the age of email and instant messaging, it is important to be sure these utilities also protect those applications. Knowing what ASSuming means, I already have a topic for my next post.

Now that you all have your computer systems and Internet optimized, you're ready to tackle the Internet. So, today I'll share some of my knowledge and experience that I have gained through necessity and testing.

As a point of reference, I will share my bandwidth (speed) test results while using several different browsers. Then I will share my thoughts on them. Understand that in order to be as accurate as possible all the tests were performed at the same site (speakeasy.net) and under the same conditions... immediately after optimizing my computer AND my browsers as described in previous posts, in "private browsing" and with the test site being the only tab open. This is what I got:

Internet Explorer 8..

Firefox 3.5.4............

Safari 4....................

Avant Browser .........

Netscape Navigator 9

Opera 10....................

Google Chrome...........

Well, well, well... looks like a no-brainer as to which browser is faster right ??? Note that these are strictly POTENTIAL data transfer rates and depend on your ISP, system configuration, optimizations etc. But, they are a good place to start at least - or are they ???

Transfer rates aside, there are many technical factors that are involved in how web sites are built and how a particular browser performs, like how they read and interpret the different versions of the "language" used to build pages (** BE SURE TO KEEP JAVA UPDATED !!!), how they compress the data being transferred and the system resources required to do so (hence, the importance of optimizing your computer), to name a few.

I did a LOT of research on browser comparisons. Although Google Chrome has been advertised as the FASTEST browser going, according to my personal data transfer rate (above), that just isn't so. But all the comparison tests point to this being true..... or is it???

I was going to include some tester's personal results but truth be told, their results don't compare to how these browsers worked in conjunction with my personal system and ISP. So, your experiences may differ too. Here's some personal observations. And just to note, all the statistics aside, two personal "tests" are simply how quickly I can scroll a web-page once I have my browser load it - particularly Facebook - and how smoothly videos buffer on Youtube.... maybe archaic but....

Internet Explorer - Internet Explorer is undoubtedly the grand-daddy of browsers, the only test result I could find that rated it number 1 (most rate it SLOWEST - I agree) was from Microsoft... go figure. True that the data transfer rates are among the best, OBVIOUSLY some of the other factors involved need to be visited by IE developers. NOT to mention there seems to be compatibility issues with Blogger... the host of this blog. IE is definitely not near the top of the list of browsers, according to my testing.

Avant Browser - Definitely a fast browser - pages load fast, videos streams fast and data transfer rates amongst the best, definitely high on the speed list. BUT, I personally experienced incompatibility with some sites, including Blogger.

Safari - Honestly probably the fastest browser out there. I wasn't aware that they made a Windows version until recently, but once I did, Safari was definitely my default browser (due to issues with Firefox). One drawback I found was that my Comcast toolbar wasn't compatible with this browser. AND I also found that certain functions in Blogger weren't able to be used.

Google Chrome - Chrome is also a VERY fast browser, despite it's apparent data transfer rate result. Google makes this happen by making it a stripped down version of an IE based browser, but THAT makes it absent of some of the user-friendly features available to users of the "bigger" browsers. Like others, a major drawback to me was the lack of ability to use some features on Blogger... a bit odd as Google owns Blogger. Another drawback was it lacked in it's ability to stream videos, lagging throughout.

Opera - Again a very fast browser, despite it's apparent data transfer rate... pages load fast, videos stream fast and play smoothly. Personal drawbacks include lack of compatibility with particular web-sites, not limited to Texas Hold 'Em poker and once again, Blogger.

Netscape Navigator - Honestly I didn't even know this browser was still functional - actually, it isn't. Although I was able to perform 1 speed test, once I closed it, it wouldn't open again, so further testing wasn't possible - probably a good thing.

Firefox - That leaves Firefox... Firefox is probably one of the few browsers out there that are totally independent of an IE structure - and THAT's a good thing. Although the precipitous for researching other browser options was the fact that Firefox 3.5 had EXTREME issues with crashing, Mozilla has corrected that and I personally have experienced a great surprise in Firefox's newfound stability in version 3.5.4. (**note, I am currently running the Beta version of version 3.6, which was just released).

No, I am not an authority on web browsers, and can only share my personal experiences. That being said, despite the "apparent" low data transfer rate, Firefox obviously has a good handle on data compression. Firefox still appears to me to be the best (and SAFEST) web browser there is.... videos stream fast, pages load fast, ALL aspects of Blogger are compatible... hell, even Facebook pages reload without lag.

These are just my personal experiences based on the browsers I've tried and my own surfing activity. Obviously everyone's own system and activity could result in a different experience. but for MY "money", I'm sticking with Firefox, as long as they can continue to address the past crashing issues...

This is simply a sharing of personal experience. Everyone's activity and system will play a factor in their personal results. But, even if you're happy with the way your browser responds, just know that there ARE other options out there that just may surprise you.

Online (and system) security will be a future post but my next post will "reveal" some helpful information that I have stumbled across for bloggers.... either way, keep reading... PLEASE ?!?!?!?

The "doctor" has left the building

Thanks for stopping in for a visit. It's just my opinion, so please PAHDON it. Y'all come back now, ya heah !! Nuf Ced

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The "Doctor" Is In - Part 2A - The "Net"

Yesterday I shared some simple tips to help keep your computer running more efficiently.... REMEMBER THE OPTIMIZER !!!

Today, I'll take it another step to share some tips to try to help your internet experience be a more pleasant one. Again, I'm keeping in mind the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) mentality, mainly because that works best for me !!! So, I will keep it simple while still offering some tips that may help to improve your online time.

The reason for describing SYSTEM optimizing tips first IS simple, the more resources your computer uses to run, the less resources that are available to help your internet connection run smooth, right?

There are many factors that determine how "satisfied" you are with your internet experience - and although many are beyond your control, there are definitely some things to consider to help when you are surfing.

The "Bad" - I'll start with some things that we just have to live with. Unfortunately we are all somewhat at the mercy of others. It can get pretty technical but we have no control over site traffic, server capabilities, "flash" applications, "mime", javascript etc. Suffice to say, the more interactive or "fancy" a particular site is, the more resources needed in order to display it properly.

Websites are built using code known as HTML.. and more recently, XHTML (XML). Although the theory of this language is universal, there are many variations derived from the basic concept, much like English in the USA is spoken differently in different parts of the country - and THAT causes problems.

Facebook users know this all too well and a big part of the problems encountered there are because Facebook developers have created their own version of HTML which isn't always compatible with the versions that all the third party applications use - never mind the compatibility issues between HTML and XML in general. So, we're left to "deal with it".

Our hands are also tied (don't shoot me fellow bloggers) by sites that host multiple pages, streaming audio (guilty), video, multiple pictures, advertisements, "pop-up" clouds, multiple hyperlinks, etc as these all put additional strain on our own system resources.

That's not to say that there aren't things that you can to do to help ease the strain. Again, yesterday's tips for optimizing your system will help. Obviously the very beginning depends on how many programs, browser windows and tabs you are trying to run simultaneously... LESS IS BEST !!!!

And now I'll get into the "good", and help explain some other simple "fixes" that will help you enjoy the internet more. First some points of reference....

Bandwidth (Data Transfer Rate, uh....speed) - The key to your internet experience is the POTENTIAL speed that your ISP (internet service provider - ie, Comcast, AT&T, Charter) provides you with. Basically what this is is the amount of data capable of being transmitted per second. Yesterday I gave you a snapshot of my system, today I will tell you that I have Comcast Internet's 3rd tier - download speeds up to 15 megabits (mb)/second normal, up to 30mb/second with "powerboost" (LOVE THAT). Ok, ok, ok so WTF does THAT mean ?!?! Well, if you understand that 15mb = 1.75 MB (30mb - 3.5MB) and a typical mp3 song is 4-5 MB, it means....

....my ISP (Comcast) provides me with the potential to download files as indicated above.

First, if you don't know what your speed is SUPPOSED to be, then find out from your provider. But understand that what they tell you is the MAXIMUM you will experience. There are other factors involved but you should experience at least 80% of the maximum... ie, if you are rated for 6mbps (AT&T's maximum), expect around 5...

If you're interested (and HIGHLY recommended) you can test your own speed at speakeasy.net and speedtest.net... although there are many, these are the 2 main test sites used by technicians. Note that when you run speed tests you should run a minimum of 3 tests (and take the average)... I usually run at least 5...

"Ping" - Now, WHEN you got to speedtest.net you'll notice a link to another site, pingtest.net... GO THERE TOO !!!! This site will allow you to run a "ping" test, which basically will tell you the amount of time it takes to transfer a packet of data and how much data is "lost" in that transfer... basically it tells you the condition of YOUR line to the server... results look like this...

I recommend that you run these tests BEFORE and AFTER making any changes so that you know how the changes affect your own performance...

Ok, testing done, and whether or not you're happy with your surfing speed, there are things that you can do/change to improve internet performance...

Toolbars , Add-ons, Gadgets.... BAD BAD BAD.... Web browsers and websites offer these wonderful "shortcut" utilities to make browsing "faster". Toolbars are just that, provided by services mainly to keep their names in your face... Yahoo has one, AIM has one, Facebook has one, Twitter has one, etc... Add-ons and gadgets are extensions of your toolbar offered by other services... basically "quick" links to THEIR page or service, or even live feeds from a particular site.... GET RID OF THEM !!!! or at the very least HIDE THEM.... Along with offering a bit of convenience, these "services" suck up bandwidth and resources... ESPECIALLY the animated and "ticker" ones. Bye Bye Bye... I will admit that along with the standard Firefox or Internet Explorer toolbar, I also have the Comcast Toolbar running as it provides me a link to their ant-spy utility.

Private Browsing - Some browsers... Internet Explore, Firefox and Safari, at least, offer "Private Browsing"... USE IT !!!! Although there are "drawbacks" to private browsing as.....

"In a Private Browsing session, [the browser] won't keep any browser history, search history, download history, web form history, cookies, or temporary internet files. "

..the saved bandwidth will make a dramatic difference in performance... if you REALLY need to search your history to find a page you visited, my suggestion is to "bookmark" it next time. Not to mention this way of browsing is safer.

History, Cookies, Temporary Internet Files - DUMP, DUMP, DUMP !!! Even when I do on occasion browse in a non-private mode, I have my browser set to delete all of the above when I close it. All these things do is waste bandwidth... and cookies and Temp Files are actually saved on your hard drive.... GRRRRRR.

Suspend the Interactivity of Websites - I've never actually done this and as a blogger... I'll probably get shot !!! (forgive me fellow bloggers) BUT.... some browsers offer the option to disable audio, video, ads etc from loading on websites. Obviously this is a way to greatly reduce the bandwidth so the pages load faster... but it's also a way to miss out on a lot of great content...

TCP (Internet) Optimization - CRITICAL !!!!!!!!!!! Just as optimizing your system has the most profound impact on the performance of your computer, optimizing your web browser(s) has the greatest POSITIVE impact on your internet experience. This is something too few people realize... When you install a browser, it's default settings are optimized for a dial-up connection speed. I don't know about you but I haven't used dial-up in ages - if you ARE still on dial-up, ignore this. There are definite tweaks that can/should be done to OPTIMIZE your browsers for your particular connection.

Although they can be done manually, I take the easy way out. Many of the Windows Optimizer Utilities described yesterday incorporate an Internet Optimizer integrated into their suite... DONE !!!

If you don't have one of those suites YET... then there are also utilities that can be found on the web. Comcast, for example, offers a TCP Optimizer that appears to be free to anyone as I didn't have to sign into my account to access the download. It can be found here at comcast.net... but you MUST be using Internet Explorer in order to download it.

However, the "standard" TCP Optimizers appear to only be compatible with Internet Explorer and IE-based browsers. BUT, have no fear Firefox users !!!!! I found one for you (and me) too called SpeedyFox. You can download it here. It's a very simple download and a 1-click optimization process... and I gained 15% more speed immediately after doing so. And have no worries, I scanned the file before opening it, so it's clean.

I was going to continue but frankly I'm tired... and this may be a lot for some to absorb. So I'll save the rest for tomorrow, where I will discuss specifics about some different browsers that I tested and my personal conclusions. I hope this helps and if I think of anything else I'll be sure to post it.

Before leaving I will share with you my speed tests performed at speakeasy, before and after cleaning my machine and optimizing Internet Explorer..... you be the judge...

Before....
After....
Note, my download speed went from 21.6mbps to 30.8mbps.... hmmmmm... I'll take THAT !!!!

Just for the record, I had a tech come check my lines one day... when he ran the tests, he was getting 30mbps, while I was getting around 18. His answer to why his was so much faster was, "Better processor". THAT'S why I did some research. Who's pulling 30 NOW !?!?!?!?

Thanks for stopping in for a visit. It's just my opinion, so please PAHDON it. Y'all come back now, ya heah !! Nuf Ced

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