Three and data compression

Just got a free "3" datacard, and had a feeling that 1 MB would allow
surfing for some time. But to find out how much exactly 1MB surfing is,
I downloaded the BMExtreme monitor program from www.LP23.com.....and got
a shock! Just opening firefox and then logmein.com to connect to my home
server ate 1.5MB, and I guess that a short work session would use around
10-20 MB.

If I used it as I would like - not considering bandwith - I guess that a
normal day would end up in 1-200 MB.

My 3 SIM card is not activated yet, so I haven't tried "3" live, but
unless some serious compression is build in, this seems to be raving
madness. No wonder they give away data cards for free!

On the client I have the Globetrotter Mobility Manager installed. Does
anyone know whether this program compresses the data?

---

› See More: Three and data compression

mogens wrote:
> Just got a free "3" datacard, and had a feeling that 1 MB would allow
> surfing for some time. But to find out how much exactly 1MB surfing
> is, I downloaded the BMExtreme monitor program from
> www.LP23.com.....and got a shock! Just opening firefox and then
> logmein.com to connect to my home server ate 1.5MB, and I guess that
> a short work session would use around 10-20 MB.

something wrong with your server if it's barfing up 1.5Mb on /connection/ imo.

> If I used it as I would like - not considering bandwith - I guess
> that a normal day would end up in 1-200 MB.
>
> My 3 SIM card is not activated yet, so I haven't tried "3" live, but
> unless some serious compression is build in, this seems to be raving
> madness. No wonder they give away data cards for free!

the problem is local (to you) and, in this instance, wholly down to your server
configuration. for web browsing the overheads are minimal and email less so.

some web pges are 1 - 2 meg but most are substantially less. it pays to pre
check websites for txt only or gfx lite versions before you hit the road but mobile
*broadband* is still a premium product, especially when you consider that a
huge chunk of the 4th largest economy on the planet is still stuck with dialup.

"mogens" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Just got a free "3" datacard, and had a feeling that 1 MB would allow
> surfing for some time. But to find out how much exactly 1MB surfing is, I
> downloaded the BMExtreme monitor program from www.LP23.com.....and got a
> shock! Just opening firefox and then logmein.com to connect to my home
> server ate 1.5MB, and I guess that a short work session would use around
> 10-20 MB.
>
> If I used it as I would like - not considering bandwith - I guess that a
> normal day would end up in 1-200 MB.
>
> My 3 SIM card is not activated yet, so I haven't tried "3" live, but
> unless some serious compression is build in, this seems to be raving
> madness. No wonder they give away data cards for free!
>
> On the client I have the Globetrotter Mobility Manager installed. Does
> anyone know whether this program compresses the data?

You might want to take a look at an alternative remote access program.

TightVNC from:
http://www.tightvnc.com/index.html

Allows you to optimise your remote session for optimal bandwidth usage.
You can adjust the JPEG image compression down to a very low level - and
subsequent low image quality - and this will save much bandwidth.

But even with low image quality i think that remote desktop access is by
it's nature a very bandwidth hungry situation.

Have you looked through LogMeIn's settings for any way to reduce data
traffic - turning off desktop backgrounds and all the XP 'special effects'
would be a start.
Is it using high colour depth? Can it be reduced to 16 colour mode even!!
(That's 16 colours and not 16 bits per pixel).
If you leave your desktop PC's screen set to a low resolution, does LogMeIn
use the lower resolution when it remotely logs you in and therefore reduce
bandwidth used?

Martin.

On Fri, 09 Dec 2005 20:49:34 +0100, mogens <[email protected]>
wrote:

>If I used it as I would like - not considering bandwith - I guess that a
>normal day would end up in 1-200 MB.

Well, generally a good web page is under 32k. But good web pages are
vanishingly rare, so expect each page to be five to ten times that
size.

--

Iain
the out-of-date hairydog guide to mobile phones
http://www.hairydog.co.uk/cell1.html
Browse now while stocks last!

Martin wrote:
>
> You might want to take a look at an alternative remote access program.
>
> TightVNC from:
> http://www.tightvnc.com/index.html
>
> Allows you to optimise your remote session for optimal bandwidth usage.
> You can adjust the JPEG image compression down to a very low level - and
> subsequent low image quality - and this will save much bandwidth.
>
> But even with low image quality i think that remote desktop access is by
> it's nature a very bandwidth hungry situation.
>
> Have you looked through LogMeIn's settings for any way to reduce data
> traffic - turning off desktop backgrounds and all the XP 'special effects'
> would be a start.
> Is it using high colour depth? Can it be reduced to 16 colour mode even!!
> (That's 16 colours and not 16 bits per pixel).
> If you leave your desktop PC's screen set to a low resolution, does LogMeIn
> use the lower resolution when it remotely logs you in and therefore reduce
> bandwidth used?
>
> Martin.
>

Thank's Martin. A very a helpful reply!

Cheers,
Mogens

Can I ask how did you get the 3 data card?

Cheers
Fraser



<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Fri, 09 Dec 2005 20:49:34 +0100, mogens <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>If I used it as I would like - not considering bandwith - I guess that a
>>normal day would end up in 1-200 MB.
>
> Well, generally a good web page is under 32k. But good web pages are
> vanishingly rare, so expect each page to be five to ten times that
> size.
>
> --
>
> Iain
> the out-of-date hairydog guide to mobile phones
> http://www.hairydog.co.uk/cell1.html
> Browse now while stocks last!

On Sat, 10 Dec 2005 17:15:48 -0000, "Fraser Robertson"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Can I ask how did you get the 3 data card?

I didn't mean to suggest that I have one. In theory I do have an
Orange 3G data card, but I can't remember where I put it.

3G data is such a rip-off that you'd need a very special reason to use
it.

--

Iain
the out-of-date hairydog guide to mobile phones
http://www.hairydog.co.uk/cell1.html
Browse now while stocks last!

[email protected] wrote:
> On Sat, 10 Dec 2005 17:15:48 -0000, "Fraser Robertson"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Can I ask how did you get the 3 data card?
>
> I didn't mean to suggest that I have one. In theory I do have an
> Orange 3G data card, but I can't remember where I put it.

( he hasn't got one )

> 3G data is such a rip-off that you'd need a very special reason to use
> it.

rubbish ! couple of quid per meg for mobile broadband like speeds ?

to Fraser:

you get free 3G datacards by buying an Intel based laptop. do a google
for "free 3G datacard Intel" and you'll find a few links with more details.

Oh ok its just you used the 3 which came across as in ur stating 3 was the
network u were using and a 3 sim card.

Hence why i asked.


"." <.@.> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] wrote:
>> On Sat, 10 Dec 2005 17:15:48 -0000, "Fraser Robertson"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> Can I ask how did you get the 3 data card?
>>
>> I didn't mean to suggest that I have one. In theory I do have an
>> Orange 3G data card, but I can't remember where I put it.
>
> ( he hasn't got one )
>
>> 3G data is such a rip-off that you'd need a very special reason to use
>> it.
>
> rubbish ! couple of quid per meg for mobile broadband like speeds ?
>
> to Fraser:
>
> you get free 3G datacards by buying an Intel based laptop. do a google
> for "free 3G datacard Intel" and you'll find a few links with more
> details.
>
>

On Sat, 10 Dec 2005 19:31:15 GMT, "." <.@.> wrote:

>rubbish ! couple of quid per meg for mobile broadband like speeds ?

Typically, we transfer between 7GB and 8GB of data each month. I don't
think that's an unusual household data transfer figure (of course we
don't do p3p file sharing, or it'd be a lot higher).

It costs £20 over ADSL. Over 3G at your "couple of quid per meg" that
would cost around fifteen thousand pounds per month. OK, 3G does cost
a bit more to provide than ADSL, but no more than an order of
magnitude more.

Orange charge £2.35 per meg for their PAYG 3G. AT 64k up and 380k
down, you can transfer a meg in around two seconds. So to use the
connection at full tilt, it costs £5 per minute, or £300 per hour. If
you think that's reasonable, fine. A range of opinions is sometimes of
benefit.

>to Fraser:
>
>you get free 3G datacards by buying an Intel based laptop. do a google
>for "free 3G datacard Intel" and you'll find a few links with more details.

Ah yes, that's good advice. Buy a laptop to get a data card. Pay £1000
to get something worth £100 thrown in for free.

--

Iain
the out-of-date hairydog guide to mobile phones
http://www.hairydog.co.uk/cell1.html
Browse now while stocks last!

On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 01:25:54 +0000, [email protected] wrote:

>Ah yes, that's good advice. Buy a laptop to get a data card. Pay £1000
>to get something worth £100 thrown in for free.

Better than paying £1000 and then an extra £100 though!!
--

Regards

John [Essex, UK]
Remove the obvious spamtrap to reply

[email protected] wrote:
> On Sat, 10 Dec 2005 19:31:15 GMT, "." <.@.> wrote:
>
>> rubbish ! couple of quid per meg for mobile broadband like speeds ?
>
> Typically, we transfer between 7GB and 8GB of data each month. I don't
> think that's an unusual household data transfer figure (of course we
> don't do p3p file sharing, or it'd be a lot higher).
>
> It costs £20 over ADSL. Over 3G at your "couple of quid per meg" that
> would cost around fifteen thousand pounds per month. OK, 3G does cost
> a bit more to provide than ADSL, but no more than an order of
> magnitude more.
>
> Orange charge £2.35 per meg for their PAYG 3G. AT 64k up and 380k
> down, you can transfer a meg in around two seconds. So to use the
> connection at full tilt, it costs £5 per minute, or £300 per hour. If
> you think that's reasonable, fine.

are you mental ? £300 per hour ? I can see your workings out and you still
don't make any sense. Vodafone charge £2/meg and an email is 2 -5 kb.
how is that £300 per hour ? it's not, is it, it's a few pence, if that, for fast,
reliable data on the move.

>> you get free 3G datacards by buying an Intel based laptop. do a
>> google
>> for "free 3G datacard Intel" and you'll find a few links with more
>> details.
>
> Ah yes, that's good advice. Buy a laptop to get a data card. Pay £1000
> to get something worth £100 thrown in for free.

again, you are making it up. I paid £400 for a new pentium M laptop with
all the bells and whistles and got a free 3G datacard with £20 credit pre
loaded onto it. so far, after a month of actually using it (as opposed to
not having any of the kit involved and quacking on about it on the net)
I've used just over 1.5 meg.

perhaps you ought to have some actual experience of things before giving
advice or commentary on them, otherwise you're wasting everyones time
and making yourself look a bit stupid in the process.

£300/ hour ! HA!

On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 09:29:24 GMT, "." <.@.> wrote:

>are you mental ? £300 per hour ? I can see your workings out and you still
>don't make any sense. Vodafone charge £2/meg and an email is 2 -5 kb.
>how is that £300 per hour ? it's not, is it, it's a few pence, if that, for fast,
>reliable data on the move.

Get a grown-up to explain it to you. Preferably one who can use a
calculator.


>> Ah yes, that's good advice. Buy a laptop to get a data card. Pay £1000
>> to get something worth £100 thrown in for free.
>
>again, you are making it up. I paid £400 for a new pentium M laptop with
>all the bells and whistles

No, you got a cheap and cheerful one at that price. Good ones cost a
lot more than that.

>and got a free 3G datacard with £20 credit pre
>loaded onto it. so far, after a month of actually using it (as opposed to
>not having any of the kit involved and quacking on about it on the net)
>I've used just over 1.5 meg.

So you haven't used it, have you?

>perhaps you ought to have some actual experience of things before giving
>advice or commentary on them, otherwise you're wasting everyones time
>and making yourself look a bit stupid in the process.

Well, the thing is that I have done. I used 3G quite extensively about
18 months ago. By quite "extensively", I mean 4GB in a month. When I
had to start paying for it, I significantly reduced my use!

Basically, the difference between you and I is that I /do/ know what
I'm talking about.

There are lots of subjects I don't know about so I don't comment on
them. It would be nice if you could adopt that approach.

>£300/ hour ! HA!

You are quite right. It isn't an accurate figure. It can be
significantly higher cost than that. For example, Orange charge £2.35
per MB for PAYC 3G data. If you managed to keep that going at full
speed for a whole hour, it would cost £463.

--

Iain
the out-of-date hairydog guide to mobile phones
http://www.hairydog.co.uk/cell1.html
Browse now while stocks last!

On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 09:31:59 +0000, [email protected] wrote:

>How would you know what it costs to provide?

I can't tell you that, unfortunately. I don't have exact figures, but
I do have a good estimate.

--

Iain
the out-of-date hairydog guide to mobile phones
http://www.hairydog.co.uk/cell1.html
Browse now while stocks last!

[email protected] wrote:
> On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 09:31:59 +0000, [email protected] wrote:
>
>> How would you know what it costs to provide?
>
> I can't tell you that, unfortunately.

( or he'd have to kill all of us )

> I don't have exact figures, but I do have a good estimate.

quack ! quack ! quack !