Jim Bytes! - An IT Blog

Have you just got broadband connectivity over the Christmas period, maybe one of those plug and play "no wires and no fuss" jobs from Irish Broadband or ClearWire? Maybe you're finding it's not all it was made out to be as your movie and music downloads crawl?

I posted a few months ago about a site called Speedtest.net and that post still gets quite a few hits so if you haven't seen this site you might like to give it a go before reading any further.

Maybe you've already got some numbers from there, and now you're asking how we can improve on it and squeeze some more out of that line ( or widget if you're on a wireless gadget!). I just came across a piece of software called TweakMaster Pro and frankly it's a must have for anyone serious about getting some bang for your broadband bucks.

It boasts an impressive feature set and is the first application of this type I've tried that actually delivers on it's promises. Prior to installation, my connectivity tests from several sites including SpeedTest came out as follows :

Download : 1681 Kbps , Upload : 215 Kbps , Throughput : 113 Kbps

After a quick installation and just 1 run of the Connection Optimization Wizard, several test sites report a significant improvement in download speed and a throughput of 144Kbps, a gain of 31Kbps.

Now while that may not seem like a hell of a lot, it's not so long ago we were all living with that kinda speed on dial-ups everywhere ! Plus, this software lets you try 5 Wizard based configurations and allows manual tweaking for the hardcore folks out there who like to dig deeper, so there's lots more potential gains to be had when you have a little time to invest.

So, dont hang around, install TweakMaster Pro today and get that new connection humming!

Get the full version here.

technorati tags:Broadband, Speed, Boost, Tweak, Testing, Tweaking, Software, TweakMaster, Pro, Speedtest, .Net, Dial-up, Connection, Wizard, DNS, ClearWire, Irish, ISP, Provider

Now you can have all the Britney Spears you want for your Zune running on the RTM release of Vista. Yesterday Microsoft released a (long awaited in some cases) hefty software and firmware update to v1.2 that makes the Zune unit compatible on Windows Vista. Fixes include imrovements in video loading speed too apparently.

So if you've had a Zune stuck in a drawer since you bought it cos Vista wouldn't play nicely it's time to dust it off. You can get the update via the Windows Update service or via this direct link.

Note, this update is not for Vista RC releases, you'll have to wait til Jan 30th!

technorati tags:Microsoft, Zune, MP3, Player, Firmware, Update, Software, Windows, Britney, Spears, Audio, Video, Patch, Rockstartup

“It’s very powerful because it’s bringing the power of communicating tothe next level,” said Yann Motte, co-founder and managing director ofWebjam. “Sharing is fine, but so what? We will make people better byallowing them to build on the communities of what Webjam is doing. Ifyou have no clue on how to run a Web site, you can go to Webjam, pickone you like, and just replicated it.”

Is this the future of web based portals and user generated content type sites? There's been a lot of buzz about de-portalization this week (the death of portals) and this may just start a few new ones.

Give it a go and let me know what you think. Is it easy to learn and produce respectable looking results? Are we about to see an explosion of more imaginative user generated content sites pulled from all over the web? Is this the start of a copycat epidemic or the infancy of Web 3.0?

technorati tags:WebJam, Launch, LeWeb3, Conference, Social, Networking, Applications, Site, Builder, User, Generated, Content, Portal, Designer, Startup, Paris

Scroll down the end of the YouTube home page today and you'll find a new link. It seems Google is further helping to shape the direction and hone the creativity of YouTube development by giving it the Google Labs treatment with the release of Test Tube.

It's the same deal as Digg Labs and others, an incubation area for new site features. Unlike the main site though, you do need to sign up for a YouTube account to gain access.

Go sign up right now because the Stream idea just might be worth a look. Stream allows you to chat with the people online who are watching the same videos that you are. It's Flash based  and slow to load (forgiveable for Beta!) but worth a look.

The odd thing about it is the very low key mention of it. I'd have had the logo on the main video site, but I guess Streams cant handle the traffic volume the main site gets on a daily basis right now, so don't tell too many folks ok!

technorati tags:YouTube, TestTube, Google, Labs, Digg, Streams, Beta, Site, Launch, Testing, Incubation

It looks like I'm finally getting the hang of the whole traffic generation / SEO deal. I just discovered a reader to my blog was referred by Google for the search term "Zune is rubbish" so I decided to replicate his search and find that I'm on top of Google ...YEAH!

That Zune related post has had a lot of traffic over the last few weeks with the Christmas shopping public doing their homework on the web. Thanks to all who have visited recently, my traffic is up 300% and more every day ( the "porn on your ipod" drew the crowds too!)

I hope you find an interesting opinion and keep coming back for more ;-)

technorati tags:Google, Zune, SEO, Search, Engine, Optimisation, Traffic, Generation, iPod, Porn

Hey all! Last Thursday saw the official launch of Windows Vista, and for the first time ever in Microsoft history, the simultaneous launch of Office 2007. Enough folks blogged about Steve Ballmer's speech in NY on the day so I wont bore you with it.

What you may not know is that tomorrow is the official launch of Vista in Ireland, and you can read the keynote etc on this specially created virtual launch site.

technorati tags:Microsoft, Windows, Vista, Ireland, Irish, Launch, December, Office, 2007, Exchange, Groove, Infopath, Sharepoint

One of the top stories on Digg and other tech news sites today tells the story of a guy who bought a "refreshed" ( read refurbished ) laptop from a London based Apple store only to find a desktop folder full of porn images when he got home. Apparently an Apple tech didn't quite do his job right and the 11 year old intended owner had a lucky escape when dad had to reformat himself at home.

Apple sells refreshed laptop filled with porn to 11 Year Old Girl

It's a worrying trend as this is yet another example of standards slipping at Apple. It's only about 6 weeks since we saw about 1000 iPods ship infected with a Windows virus thanks to an infected pc at the manufacturing site.

Apple accessories are outselling Zune units themselves this week and Apple are struggling to keep up with the demand. It seems like the world and his dog wants an iPod this Christmas too. My concern is, after so much success in recent years, it would be a real shame to see more serious cock ups in the run up to the holidays, as they rush to stock the shelves and neglect the basics that's made their name, like build quality.

Let's hope nobody opens a video iPod under the tree this holiday season to find it preloaded with "Debbie does Dallas" or worse !

technorati tags:Apple, iPod, Porn, Quality, Slippage, Video, Zune, Accessories, Windows, Virus