The 9 megabit problem (please read)
Monday, November 25, 2002 by Frogboy | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
Since we moved to the subscription system we've been able to directly see how much bandwidth is used by subscribers/customers versus non-customers/non-subscribers.
Specifically:
Anyone who has purchased Object Desktop or any Stardock product or a WinCustomize subscription or is an apprentice or higher goes to a different high speed server than those who have not.
The problem is, the people who have not bought anything at all are now consuming about 9 megabits per second.
That's 6 T1's being used by people who are essentially non-contributing bandwidth consumers.
That's why the "Server is busy" message is coming up more and more often for these guys.
As you can imagine, 6 T1's of bandwidth is expensive. Especially when, not to use too fine a point, being used largely by free-loaders.
I'm not sure what the solution is. If we cap it, the site becomes unbearably slow and we don't want to punish people who are just trying out this stuff (i.e. legitimately seeing what this is all about versus people who just want to leech off the bandwidth).
Any suggestions?
Specifically:
Anyone who has purchased Object Desktop or any Stardock product or a WinCustomize subscription or is an apprentice or higher goes to a different high speed server than those who have not.
The problem is, the people who have not bought anything at all are now consuming about 9 megabits per second.
That's 6 T1's being used by people who are essentially non-contributing bandwidth consumers.
That's why the "Server is busy" message is coming up more and more often for these guys.
As you can imagine, 6 T1's of bandwidth is expensive. Especially when, not to use too fine a point, being used largely by free-loaders.
I'm not sure what the solution is. If we cap it, the site becomes unbearably slow and we don't want to punish people who are just trying out this stuff (i.e. legitimately seeing what this is all about versus people who just want to leech off the bandwidth).
Any suggestions?
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Angel_Wings
Reply #42 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 1:48 AM
Reply #42 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 1:48 AM
X-actly... sometimes artists subcribe here for a shot at showing what they have...and doing their best and PAY to be a part of the whole sh-bang.
citats
Reply #43 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 1:49 AM
Reply #43 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 1:49 AM
Hey Bakerstreet maybe its not tortilla's causing the drain it maybe the napkins... lets prevent the use of napkins and hey how about forks who needs those at rush hour...
change the limit on downloads for non subscribers. its fair and doesn't effect the quality of the content on the site... I like my customized desktop to include walls.
change the limit on downloads for non subscribers. its fair and doesn't effect the quality of the content on the site... I like my customized desktop to include walls.
bakerstreet
Reply #44 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 1:54 AM
Reply #44 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 1:54 AM
okay, the peanut gallery didn't read the last line of my post, I guess. You didn't get it. The story wasn't about the tortilla chips, it was about the DRAMA.
Frogboy said:"I think maybe tomorrow we'll see just how much impact the wallpapers are having and disable that section except for customers/registered users."
I'm not seeing the confusion. What is there to form a sewing circle over?
Frogboy said:"I think maybe tomorrow we'll see just how much impact the wallpapers are having and disable that section except for customers/registered users."
I'm not seeing the confusion. What is there to form a sewing circle over?
JamMeister33
Reply #45 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 1:55 AM
Reply #45 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 1:55 AM
I came in late and didn't have time to read the whole thread.... 
citats
Reply #46 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 1:57 AM
Reply #46 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 1:57 AM
Like Boxxi says... it will effect the downloads... top authors etc.
its not going to work and whats even more obvious is the fact the suggestion is already dividing the community.
its not going to work and whats even more obvious is the fact the suggestion is already dividing the community.
bakerstreet
Reply #47 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:04 AM
Reply #47 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:04 AM
§tatic : What's not gonna work? What is gonna change? You are acting like this is a big deal. You have to be logged in. So? People can't register? What do you have to have, one whole email address?
pfft. forget it. The point here is the drama, not actual circumstance.
pfft. forget it. The point here is the drama, not actual circumstance.
joetheblow
Reply #48 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:06 AM
Reply #48 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:06 AM
Wallpapers are esential to the design of the desktop itself. Doing away with the section well hurt all of us.
Have the wallpaper section viewable by everyone but downloadable for people who sign in, subscribe to the site or buy a product. Those who just want to look around get 4 downloads and thats it.
DesktopX has some big files so I think files over 3mb can not be downloaded unless you sign in. Then implement the 100mb cap for those who really don't do anything for the community except download stuff.
WindowBlinds needs to be the way it is. Just keep the cap on it at 100mb (I still think it should be 150). And stop bugging poeple after 5mb of downloads.... wait until 15mb. All that does is annoy people. But if it was 15 then it would be easier to say,"hey, since your downloading so much why don't you become a member?" And show them why it would be good to do so.
I don't agree with removing Winamp and WMP but I have to admit that it is not as important as giving other community apps a chance. (like SysMetrix, Beatnik, QuickNotes, etc..) I also don't think Winamp and WMP is that popular on this site. You can find way more styles elsewhere. I still feel though that to have the whole desktop expierince you need some apps from other places. There are other media player apps but those are most known and have become part of the desktop scene. Maybe at another point in time they should be removed, but not now.
6 T1's? Off of one server? I was wondering about that; How does a connection work? One server has how many processors? How many connections? Just wondering... Also it might be an idea to tell people other places to get themes or wallpapers from.
Go to DeviantArt!
Go to DeskMod for more!!
Join the Wincutomize community for more!!!!!!
Feel free to use that, by the way. Just trying to help.
One stop shopping... that is another reason to have apps like Winamp or WMP and wallpapers. Good on sig101.
Have the wallpaper section viewable by everyone but downloadable for people who sign in, subscribe to the site or buy a product. Those who just want to look around get 4 downloads and thats it.
DesktopX has some big files so I think files over 3mb can not be downloaded unless you sign in. Then implement the 100mb cap for those who really don't do anything for the community except download stuff.
WindowBlinds needs to be the way it is. Just keep the cap on it at 100mb (I still think it should be 150). And stop bugging poeple after 5mb of downloads.... wait until 15mb. All that does is annoy people. But if it was 15 then it would be easier to say,"hey, since your downloading so much why don't you become a member?" And show them why it would be good to do so.
I don't agree with removing Winamp and WMP but I have to admit that it is not as important as giving other community apps a chance. (like SysMetrix, Beatnik, QuickNotes, etc..) I also don't think Winamp and WMP is that popular on this site. You can find way more styles elsewhere. I still feel though that to have the whole desktop expierince you need some apps from other places. There are other media player apps but those are most known and have become part of the desktop scene. Maybe at another point in time they should be removed, but not now.
6 T1's? Off of one server? I was wondering about that; How does a connection work? One server has how many processors? How many connections? Just wondering... Also it might be an idea to tell people other places to get themes or wallpapers from.
Go to DeviantArt!
Go to DeskMod for more!!
Join the Wincutomize community for more!!!!!!
Feel free to use that, by the way. Just trying to help.
One stop shopping... that is another reason to have apps like Winamp or WMP and wallpapers. Good on sig101.
citats
Reply #50 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:09 AM
Reply #50 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:09 AM
I think the point is that all content on the site should be treated the same. So if you only have to be logged in to permit the download well fine thats cool... but its not cool if that restriction in only on wall. >
citats
Reply #52 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:15 AM
Reply #52 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:15 AM
A windowblinds skin is not an app however it is used on an app... as is a wall paper used on an app... your os.
Fuzzy Logic
Reply #53 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:52 AM
Reply #53 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:52 AM
You can't get rid of any section. Most people only use a couple of apps at any one time (for me it's WB and IP), but the site as a whole is a community. It is the community which has to be placed first. If that upsets a few freeloaders so what? I think a download limit of 5 is more than reasonable for free.
If you want to encourage new users why not introduce an additional skin download pack available to new users. Increasing the size of the initial download is not a good idea, but the extra pack would give people a good idea of what can be acheived.
If you want to encourage new users why not introduce an additional skin download pack available to new users. Increasing the size of the initial download is not a good idea, but the extra pack would give people a good idea of what can be acheived.
JamMeister33
Reply #54 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 3:01 AM
Reply #54 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 3:01 AM
None of those skins look like doodly without a good wallpaper to back them up!
JamMeister33
Reply #55 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 3:05 AM
Reply #55 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 3:05 AM
I make WALLPAPERS.. if that makes me not a 'true' skinner then I couldn't care less!
pjpowell
Reply #56 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 3:05 AM
Reply #56 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 3:05 AM
After having browsed the wallpaper section for a few minutes I have noticed that many wallpaper zip's contain multiple sizes of wallpaper. I am wondering what the impact would be if those walls were uploaded as seperate zips. I personally only use 1024x768 or 1152x864 screens and so downloading a zip containing 800x600 and 1280x1024 is just a waste of resources. I don't want or need those size of images. I wonder how many other people download extra content they will never use either. If they were split then people could just download the sizes they need. It would also be a kind of gauge for what screen sizes are most popular.
Just a thought.
Just a thought.
JamMeister33
Reply #57 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 3:09 AM
Reply #57 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 3:09 AM
It was my impression from the start that multiple sizes were almost mandatory.
JamMeister33
Reply #58 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 4:54 AM
Reply #58 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 4:54 AM
Personally, I would like to upload just one size of a wallpaper, say 1280 by 960, they can be stretched and/or sized by Windows to fit the screen. Especially WindowsXP which is what this site is mainly about anyway. It is a pain in the you know what and takes a lot more time to create various sized versions of the same picture. Just make and upload the one size and it will dramatically reduce the size of the wallpaper section. For the life of me I can't understand why certain people here are so dead set on eliminating wallpapers altogether. Hello? Your skins look pretty stupid on a blank screen. The wallpapers enhance and set off the whole package of windowblinds, icons and so forth. Wake up and smell the coffee already.
Just my two cents worth and I'm standing by it! I've spent plenty of money on Stardock products and I have tried very hard to be a contributing member of this community and all I get is certain people looking down on me and treating me like an unwanted red headed stepchild.
Just my two cents worth and I'm standing by it! I've spent plenty of money on Stardock products and I have tried very hard to be a contributing member of this community and all I get is certain people looking down on me and treating me like an unwanted red headed stepchild.
Mercury
Reply #59 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 5:28 AM
Reply #59 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 5:28 AM
My thought would be to limit the number of skins available to the non-subscribers/non-customers. Show them the latest 20 skins from from each section. This would prevent the mulitple registrations to come back and get more and would also eliminate the bandwidth problem. But it would also give the trial software users enough skins to be able to see if they like the program enough to actually buy it.
Just my 2 cents!
Just my 2 cents!
craeonics
Reply #60 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 5:52 AM
Reply #60 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 5:52 AM
Drama, drama.
Freeloaders seed the bandwidth --> cap 'em.
Easy. No need to remove things.
Freeloaders seed the bandwidth --> cap 'em.
Easy. No need to remove things.
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Reply #41 Tuesday, November 26, 2002 1:47 AM