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A Quick Guide to IPv6

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In order to better understand what IPv6 is and why it’s important to the internet’s future, we should briefly discuss what Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is and what the main problem with it is.ipv6Illustration

IPv4 addresses are comprised of a 32-bit value. This system is what the majority of the internet has been using for Internet Protocol (IP). A standard IPv4 address looks like this:

(192.x.x.xxx)

This 32-bit integer system allows for a possible combination of up to 4,294,967,296 (232) addresses. Yes, that’s a lot of addresses but we have run out of them, in fact we ran out of them in early 2011. Keep in mind that there are over 20 billion active devices connected to the internet.

The Problem:

Every single device that connects to the internet is assigned an IP address. As we mentioned earlier, there are billions of devices out there and that number keeps getting higher every day. The internet needs to be able to keep up with that incredible pace, but it can’t. IPv4 has already run out of addresses and all we can do with IPv4 addresses now is reclaim them and re-assign them.

The solution

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the next step forward in internet address assignment. IPv6 uses a 128-bit address system and that means a possible combination of up to 3.4×1038  addresses, yes, that’s 340 trillion trillion trillion! Clearly this is the format we wan’t to be using in a world that’s constantly adding more and more devices to the internet.

A common address for IPv6 is formatted like this:

(2001:0db8:85a3:0042:1000:8a2e:0370:7334).

What are some other benefits that IPv6 has?

IPv6 is far more efficient when it comes to sending data and it even offers up auto configuration capabilities that don’t exist with IPv4. The new protocol is also much more secure and offers true end-to-end connectivity, which eliminates the need for Network Address Translation (NAT). NAT helped reduce problems with the IPv4 model as it began to run out of addresses by allowing you to hide multiple private IP addresses behind one IP address. Without it, we would have had a lot more trouble with IPv4 in the past.

So when do we switch and how long will it take?

Well the transition to IPv6 is going to take quite a while but it has already begun. The world IPv6 Launch occurred on June 6, 2012 and we continue to make progress as internet providers and websites make the change.

Am I on IPv6 Already?

Chances are that you aren’t but if you want to be sure, Google can help you figure that out by heading here.

 

 

See into the Internet Past With The Internet Archive

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The internet has come a long way over the years and that’s never more obvious then when you go back in time and look at what websites used to look like compared to today. So, how can we go back in time? We can with the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

Microsoft Old Website

 

This archive features over 240 billion web pages that date as far back as 1996. All you have to do to get started is head to the link above and then enter in a URL. The site will likely serve up the page you’ve requested along with a timeline at the top of the page. The timeline will indicate the number of captures for that particular URL and how far back you will be able to go.

Yahoo 1996

 

If you’re interested in the hardware behind all of this then you can head here for more information.

Get Your Apple ][ Fix Without the Hardware

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OregonTrailSS

The Apple ][ and the the Apple IIgs were great machines and can spark up some serious nostalgia. The only issue is that today, they are a bit hard to find. Let’s not forget to mention that you will probably have to drop some decent cash to get one that’s in good shape as well.

There’s no need to worry though, there’s still a way you can play almost every Apple ][ and Apple IIgs game ever made and it’s in your browser. Yep, the awesome people at VirtualApple have made it so simple to load up any of your favorite games in seconds. It even makes the old drive seek sound when the emulation starts!

One game that I couldn’t resist loading up right away was Oregon Trail. This game was one of my favorites growing up and now I don’t have to buy old Apple hardware to enjoy it. Even if you have never used an Apple ][ or IIgs, I highly recommend you check out the emulator and the games they are offering. It’s interesting to look at older games and see how much things have changed, it really puts things into perspective. Besides it can definitely help cure some boredom.

All you need to do is download a simple plugin that’s compatible with most versions of Windows and Mac OS X and most web browsers.

How To Understand and Test Your Internet Speed

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Your internet provider says you should be getting a specific speed for the price you’re paying, but are you really getting those speeds? There are many useful sites that you can go to to test your speeds but it’s important to remember that all speeds can vary from test to test.

Speed of internet connection

Varying Speeds

Let’s say that your internet provider is supposed to be supplying you a 12 Mbps connection on your downstream. At times that may test at 10 Mbps or 9400 Mbps. It’s important to note that these fluctuations are usually of no major concern and are a product of “normal” changes in your bandwidth. However, if you find (in our hypothetical situation) that you’re only getting 4 or 5 Mbps, something has likely gone wrong and you should contact your internet provider.

Bits VS Bytes

Don’t be confused by the data rates being advertised by your service provider. All to often do I run into people who are confused about the download rates they are seeing when downloading a specific file. Here is the easiest way to show the difference between 1Mbps and 1 MB/s.

1 Mbps is equal (=) to 0.125 MB/s

Remember this when your looking at the data rate for a given download, the speeds you’re seeing will make much more sense.

Bottlenecks

Remember that just because your connection to the internet is fast doesn’t mean that what your connecting to is. Many servers will only offer a certain amount of bandwidth for you to use when obtaining data from them. This is because the people who set up these servers want to reduce the overall load on their system. One way to get around this issue is to offer content through a torrent, this will allow for much higher data rates with minimal impact to server load. Torrents will be discussed in another article.

Websites to test your speed:

Here are a few websites that I have found to be the best when it comes to testing your bandwidth.

Yahoo Homepage Gets a Makeover, Love it or Hate it?

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NewYahooSS

After a few years (four) of the same look and feel of Yahoo’s home page, we see some pretty dramatic changes, but not everyone is loving it.

The new look of the Yahoo homepage does feel a bit cleaner and seems like it will match up with the style of Windows 8 quite well. The new homepage offers up a sleek tile design that you can easily customize to fit your needs. Another noticeable perk of the new design is how the site looks on a retina display or any other very precise display, it’s much clearer. As with pretty much everything these days, Yahoo is also getting a bit more serious with social networking and invites you to log in with your Facebook account for further customization and social linking.

The user response to the new look of the site is mixed so far. I can’t get through the comment section of almost any post without someone posting a complaint about the new look. Users are saying things are too big or not displaying very well on their screens while others just don’t see why they had to “fix something that wasn’t broken”.

I am taking a more optimistic approach and I actually think that while it may not be perfect it’s a move in the right direction. Infinite scroll on the newsfeed  and the a better connection to social media are a few of those “right” steps. However, there’s just something about the new look that feels a bit out of place; maybe it’s just because it’s new and so much different than the last. I think Yahoo may have to update this look, maybe relatively soon, in order to add a better feeling of solid design while preserving what makes Yahoo appealing in the first place, perhaps more of a hybrid of old and new. How do you feel about the new look?