Just my $0.02 worth, but the buffering problem
some people are seeing
could very well be network and/or connectivity
related. More info would
be useful, though...how are the people
that are experiencing problems connecting?
Are they using dial-up, DSL, Cable, etc?
Are they having the same problem with other
sites? Etc....
First of all, connectivity:
If they are using dial-up, the connection
may be slow, or the line may
be noisy. This would be the fault of the
phone co. that owns the lines,
& is usually not a problem with the
computer or the ISP.
People using DSL or Cable shouldn't have
any problems in this regard.
Now for network issues:
Not much you can do about this, either.
Some ISPs are infamous for
over-selling their markets, not providing
adequate equipment, etc., and
slowdowns can occur anywhere along the
line.
Remember a few years ago when John Glenn
was sent on the Shuttle?
I tried to watch the launch on the CNN
website. At the time, I was
working for an ISP, (yeah, I used to do
tech support) & we had a *very*
fast connection. Lotsa bandwidth.
No could do...I tuned in about 1/2 hour
before the launch, & the
connection got slower & slower, &
finally timed out. Got audio, but no
moving video. Tried other sites, but they
were *all* getting pounded.
Anyway, a couple of diagnotic tools to try.
On a Pee Cee, go to a DOS screen, and type:
tracert www.yahoo.com
then hit enter. This will show any slowdowns
from point A (you) to point B (yahoo),
as well as the number of hops involved.
Another tool is this: in the DOS screen, type:
ping www.yahoo.com
then hit enter. This gives an idea of the
relative speed & quality of the connection.
Smaller numbers are better. Timeouts are
not good.
On a Mac, you will need a telnet program
if you are using any OS before OS X;
a dedicated telnet program is preferred
on a Pee Cee, as well, since the ping
command under DOS only does 3 pings. Under
OS X, there is a network utility
built in that does traceroutes, pings &
more.
Hope this helps.