Internet Tips's blog

Windows XP, wildcard DNS and localhost subdomains

Fri, 03 Mar 2006 01:08:20 -0800

Well, I killed a whole day yesterday, trying to find a way to setup a wildcard DNS entry for my localhost.
So, I'm running on my Windows XP all the stuff needed for web developing - simple web server (Abyss web server by Aprelium - really cool little server that is a breeze to manage), php and mysql. Everything is working ok. When you enter http://localhost or http://127.0.0.1, or http://192.168.7.2/ (which is my comp IP in the local network) in the browser, it takes you to the web server htdocs where your html, php scripts and whatever else web files are stored. But, you know, I wanted that each possible subdomain like http://anything.localhost goes to the http://localhost htdocs folder too...

Torrent downloads too slow?

Sat, 05 Nov 2005 07:37:33 -0800

Some reasons for slow torrent downloads:
Well, first I need to say that BitTorrent downloads depend on many variables. The main thing to mention is the fact that usually you are not downloading from a single powerful server with a high bandwidth connection to the net, but from a dude’s or a couple of dudes’ personal computers. Some of them might be seeding torrents via a dial up connection, although this is a pure torture for man and machine
When a download starts, you connect directly to the peer’s computer. If he’s seeding with 25 K/s, that’s the best speed you can get from him. The good part is that you can download from many pc-s at once. So, if your connection is able to download with 250 K/s and connect to 10 peers who seed with 25 K/s, you’ll be using the full force of your Internet connection.
The problem with the torrents is that sometimes no one is seeding the particular file or directory. This usually happens when the torrent ages in time and gets down on the Torrent tracker list. If there is no one seeding, torrent leechers are going to sit and wait in pain and frustration…

Torrents and Copyright Problems…

Thu, 03 Nov 2005 03:49:54 -0800

The BitTorrent protocol that stays behind all this torrent stuff was created as a way for distribution of large files like Linux disk images which are files 700 Mb each. You realize that using a standard distribution from a single server means a very, very big monthly bandwidth bill. Torrents make things much better because once downloaded a couple of times, the big file starts to spread virally from peer to peers and at the end it might turn that some 100 or more people are doing the job for you. This exponentially reduces the burden of the computer that is serving the original file.

The problem is, that the BitTorrent protocol is very suitable for another content that is not so legal – huge video files, music, games. Lot’s of people use it to spread content they don’t have the rights for…

In the same time, the torrent trackers reject responsibility because they actually don’t host these files. The whole situation creates a bad name for one cool concept.

Probably, things are going to change in the future, but for now with the help of the torrents and the BitTorrent protocol, lots of files with copyrighted content make their way to the public…

What is a Torrent and how to use it?

Thu, 03 Nov 2005 03:45:38 -0800

Basically, torrents are one great idea, used mostly in a bad way.
It is the next generation of p2p (peer to peer) network that is taking over the NET. I quess you know what p2p is used for. In case you don’t – well, those kinds of networks are a vehicle for file sharing. While the old famous Kazaa and Edonkey are suitable for smaller files (or at least, I think so, because the speed has always been too slow), torrents do great job for larger files.

The concept here is a little bit different and there are a few terms related to torrents that people need to know:

Torrent client
Torrent tracker
Torrent file
Seeders
Leechers...

I know it looks scary the first time you see it. Actually, this complex terminology kept me away from using torrents for quite a while. But, things are quite easy, once you get to know them...