Ok...here goes:
For the past two weeks, I've had a poll running on my sidebar...it ended today. Thank you to the 547 people who voted. The poll was inquiring how quickly this blog loads on your computer when you visit BNOTP.
From time to time...maybe once every 3-6 months...I'll get an email from a reader saying BNOTP takes a long time to load on their computer. In the past, I had experimented around with removing my music from the very bottom of the blog. The music NEVER played automatically, you had to scroll to the bottom and click on the arrow to make it play. But, I was concerned that it was slowing things down.
Do you miss the playlist...miss it no more!
I usually get a few e-mails when I remove the playlist from folks who are not pleased with that change. I am happy to say, if you are one of the folks who misses the playlist, you can still listen anytime you wish. Just go HERE . :) Please feel free to listen anytime you like...it's open to anyone and I'm happy to share it with you.
Back to the Poll:
I started the poll two weeks ago and posted it on the sidebar for voting a few days prior to removing the music. The stats/voting continued to run almost the same, even after I removed the playlist...in fact, they improved...which told me that the music is probably not the culprit for those who are experiencing a slow download of BNOTP.
Poll results:
0-5 seconds 182 (33%)
5-15 seconds 142 (25%)
15-30 seconds 75 (13%)
30-45 seconds 48 (8%)
45-60 seconds 45 (8%)
60-90 seconds 19 (3%)
90-120 seconds 18 (3%)
Over 2 minutes 18 (3%)
Looking at these results above, I think it's pretty safe to say, if BNOTP takes a long time to load on your system, it most likely isn't the playlist that is/was the problem.
Out of 547 votes:
BNOTP loads in less than 15 seconds for 324 folks, or 58%. It loads in less than 30 seconds for 399 folks or 71%. If the playlist was the issue, I would think the load time would be slow for everyone.
About the visitors of BNOTP:
Google analytics shows:
50.13% have a high-speed internet cable connection
And...
25.50% have DSL.
Add those together and approximately 76% of the folks who visit BNOTP are cooking with gas! Notice, that matches up pretty closely with the poll results.
13.17% have an unknown connection
8.44 % have T1 connections (pretty slow)
2.28% are using dial-up (very, very, very slow)
My personal experience:
On my 2-3 year old HP laptop, BNOTP loaded in under 4-5 seconds. On my new desktop, it loads instantaneously...or in just a few seconds.
Modems and Routers can be the culprit:
Recently, I was told by a computer guy at Vision Computers...if your modem is old, that can cause your computer to work slowly even if the computer is newer and you have a high speed connection. Same goes for the router. When I first bought my HP laptop a few years ago, I had terrible issues e-mailing photos to friends and family...the computer would lock up. When I complained to Comcast Cable, they told me my connection was fine and the problem was most likely my 4 year old router. Apparently, when you buy a new faster computer...an older router just can't keep up. I went out that day and bought a new Linksys router and it ended my picture e-mailing woes. It was the best advice Comcast ever gave me.
So, you can buy a brand new computer but if you have an outdated or older modem or router, you may experience a slow experience when visiting certain blogs/sites. A while back I had Comcast out for something...don't remember what now, and they replaced my modem because they told me the one I had was old and outdated. Wouldn't it be nice if they just automatically did that every so often instead of waiting until you had problems and had to call them out.
DSL vs Broadband/High-speed Internet:
Most folks these day are using DSL or Highspeed Internet. It is my understanding from what I have read and been told, that Highspeed Internet/Broadband is faster than the fastest DSL. I'm no expert, check this info for yourself. This is just what I've read and was told by the computer experts.
Since I am not a patient person when it comes to waiting on a computer (remember I went out and bought a new router the day the Comcast guy suggested it) I have chosen to go with the fastest high-speed internet Comcast Cable offers. It is lightning fast...no waiting. To me, it is worth the extra expense. But get this, I do not have cable tv!!! Shock! I'll wait while you pick yourself up off the floor! :)
I actually do receive the lower channels automatically...the cable guy told me since I have high-speed internet, those can't be blocked out. I think I get up to around channel 14 or 16 or something like that. It doesn't matter to me because I haven't turned on a tv in months. In fact, I just donated a tv I had in my kitchen to a local tv repair place because it died from lack of use. Apparently, tvs don't like it when you don't turn them on for months and months.
Soooo, where some folks spend their money on cable tv...I choose to spend mine on fast internet. We all have to decide what our priorities are and what our budget will allow. Another factor is what's available in your area. Since I live near a metropolitan area, high-speed internet and DSL both are available.
Other things that can cause computers to be slow:
1. Viruses
If you have a virus on your computer, that will big time slow it down. And some viruses are sneaky...getting past security programs. Make sure you have a good Virus protector on your computer and make sure you keep it updated. You can take your computer to a computer repair store and they can run a check on it to see if it has a virus or spyware on it. Usually, it isn't very expensive to have that done. BTW, the computer guys told me to download Microsoft Securities Essentials from the Microsoft site...and it's free!
2. Evil Spyware
These are applications that get installed on your computer without your knowledge when you are visiting various sites online. If not removed as soon as possible they can cause some serious issues with your computer. There are free programs you can download, like Spybot and Malwarebytes, that are supposed to prevent spyware and malware from embedding itself into your Windows Registry and core file system. They also find and remove it if it's already on your computer.
3. Lots of applications startup/launch each time you turn on your computer
Over the years we add more and more programs to our computers. These applications will attach to your start up menu and automatically launch each time you turn on your computer. That will slow your system down. It's possible to turn those off. Just google and you'll find sites that will tell you how to do it. Personally, I'd prefer to take my computer to a computer repair place and go over the startup list with them...so you don't turn off something you would want starting up each time you turn off your computer.
4. Your Security Software
I didn't know this until recently but some security software programs will zap a huge amount of your systems resources and memory. As you might imagine, this will cause your computer to run slowly. Check online...google and read up on your security software and see if it's one of the ones that can cause this. I think the AVG I was using in the past may be one of the ones that can cause your system to drag...but I'm not sure about that..
You can also press and hold CTRL+ALT+DELETE and then pick "task manager" from the choices that pop up...to see just how much your system's resources are being used by your security/virus protection program.
5. Fragmented Hard Drive
One of the most common reasons for computers running slowly is that the hardrive and file system can become fragmented over time. That happens when you add and/or remove programs and your files end up kind of scattered around your hardrive instead of being neatly grouped. Well, at least that's the way I understand it. :)
If you go to Administrative Tools, you can run defragmentation and it will fix all that. You'll gain back additional space on your hard drive, too. If you haven't done that in ages, it may take hours, even overnight to get it done. It's a good idea to run it from time to time to keep your computer running smoothly.
6. Your Cache:
Another important thing to do regularly is to clear your cache every few days. How do you do that? Go to Tools, Internet Options and you should find it there. It should be under the General tab. Clear out those temporary internet files and history. You can delete "cookies" too...although you want to make sure you have your passwords written down for sites you visit since that will frequently clear those out, too.
7. Space on your harddrive:
Be sure to check your harddrive to make sure it isn't almost full. That will definitely slow down your system. If you find it is almost full, you may want to buy an external hardrive (Seagate is a good one) and download some of your pictures/video to the external harddrive. Then you can erase them off your pc and free up some space. Also, you may want to remove any programs you are no longer using. Be careful that you don't remove anything important to running your computer. Always use the "uninstall" feature to remove programs...don't just delete them. Again, best to get assistance from a computer shop before you delete programs...just to be safe.
8. Distance your computer is from your wireless router:
I recently moved my laptop down to my kitchen on the lower level since I bought a new desktop computer for my office. The laptop sits on a desk behind a huge refrigerator. The guys at Vision Computers where I had my desktop system built, told me if your computer is near a big appliance (like a refrigerator) that can interfere with the signal from the wireless router. I've noticed when I'm out on the porch with my laptop, and away from the refrigerator, it's a lot faster. So, if your system is slow and your wireless router is far away from your computer and/or with a large appliance in between...that could be slowing you down.
Hope this info helps a little. :)
Mikasa Give-a-Way: There's a fantastic Give-a-Way going on all this week from Mikasa...and it's just for BNOTP fans! Click HERE to visit the Give-a-Way post where you can leave a comment to be entered.
Attic Mag is having a Give-a-Way Friday party. I'm late in linking but please visit if you'd like to know about additional Give-a-Ways that are going on.
See you tonight for Metamorphosis Monday!
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