Free Internet?
Posted by Theyain Riyu on Wed, 2006-12-27 04:33
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 "Oh my god, theres LEMON JUICE IN MY EYE! DX" Location: In a small little box in your small little mind.
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Is there a free internet connection at the Westin Inn? I'm just asking, cause it would suck if i brought my Laptop all the way there to play Second Life and there isn't a internet connection for free. Look! Stop posting in this thread! I understand that most of you guys think its stupid just to go to AC just to end up playing SL while there. ITS NOT THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! MAB! MAB! MAB! MAB! MAB! Gah, people annoy me. |
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Location: Ardmore, PA
Website: [Link]
Blog: [Link]
WiFi is free, wired costs extra.
However, I'd like to point out that their network was built for the occasional business traveller to check their email and browse a few webpages. Second Life, on the other paw, is a bandwidth-intensive application. If there is an entire hotel full of furries playing SL over the hotel's network, that will pretty much kill network performance for everyone else.
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permalinkWebsite: [Link]
Awww, I guess on-line gaming is out then
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permalinkLocation: In a small little box in your small little mind.
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how much for the Wired?
...
hehe
...
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Want to help me Build AC in SL? Email me at
Theyain_Riyu (at) Yahoo (dot) Com
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permalinkLocation: Ardmore, PA
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Blog: [Link]
Last year it was $9.95 per day.
That's about in line with what I've seen other hotels charge.
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permalinkLocation: In a small little box in your small little mind.
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I wouldn't mind paying that to get a connection. Hehe, and SL isn't that bandwidth intensive, it barely uses up 22 K (mosti have ever seen it use for longer then a few seconds) on my connection.
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permalinkWebsite: [Link]
Multiply that by 2000 furs, and you have some serious network drag though.
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permalinkLocation: In a small little box in your small little mind.
Website: [Link]
Not really, cause lets say that only half (I don't think every fur there plays SL, probably not even half), if that, play SL. You then have to take into account that some of them (maybe 100 of them) are not going to either have lappys, while another fifty probably won't have a wireless card. Then we have the fact that not all furs there that play sl will play it (and that could be a LOT of furs!). So lets leave the number at 760... times that by 22, and you get 16,720. Now i know that their network is probably going to be fast and up to date (their LAN, not the connection). And I also know that a hotel is going to have more then a fifty mgbs connection (if they don't the Network Admin needs to visit the sharp end of a hammer very soon) because of several things. One, i know for a fact that several business men (oh, say nearly 5 tenths of the business man population) like to have high quality web meetings from their room in the hotels (and lets not forget the parents who like to talk to their friends and family via webcam and text messaging!). Another is that MANY people at once will be checking their email and surfing the web around the clock. then you have the people who will be downloading music and pictures from the internet. And lastly, you have the peeps that play games off the interweb, from solitaire to WoW and SL. When you add all of that up, your going to get enough bandwidth usage that is going to equal well over 30 to 40 megs. Now lets add our 16.7 to that 35 (i adveraged) and you get, gosh!
:P
just barely 52 mbps!
Now I'm not trying to be rude, just showing you guys (I think, im not even sure WHY im saying all of this) how silly you are being about this.
Anywho, i just like proving my point.
Merry New year to all!
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Want to help me Build AC in SL? Email me at
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Point taken, I was not really being all that serious about the 2000 furs all playing at the same time all con long comment. There would be no point in having the con if we all just sat in our rooms and played SL. Also I do not thing that you proving your point makes you come off in any way as rude.
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permalinkLocation: In a small little box in your small little mind.
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I know, but sometimes i feel like i wrote something rude with out meaning it, so i just say I'm not trying to be rude.
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permalinkLocation: Ardmore, PA
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Blog: [Link]
> And I also know that a hotel is going to have more then a
> fifty mgbs connection
Sorry, but I'm going to have to call you on this. Please provide some evidence to back up this claim.
> Another is that MANY people at once will be checking their
> email and surfing the web around the clock. then you have
> the people who will be downloading music and pictures from
> the internet. And lastly, you have the peeps that play
> games off the interweb, from solitaire to WoW and SL.
The assumption here is that the average hotel patron uses the Internet to the same level that furries use it, and that is not the case. Hotel guests primarily fall into two categories:
1) Business travellers
2) People on vacation
Neither of those groups tend to use the Internet heavily. Business travellers are usually sales or management types who pretty much only do email and occasional websurfing. People on vacation are even less likely to use the Internet.
From a business standpoint, having a gigantic amount of bandwidth that goes unused amounts to throwing away money. Simply put, hotels are in business to provide hotel rooms, not sell Internet access.
While we are on the subject of money, I should mention that we inquired with the hotel last year about getting a T1 (1.5 Mbps) for our Internet Room over the weekend. The total cost was well into four figures. And is for a circuit that is normally $600-1000 per month. Draw your own conclusions on how much larger amounts of bandwidth would cost.
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permalinkLocation: In a small little box in your small little mind.
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First and foremost, let me say something about a T1 line. It dedicated. That means for all you non Net workers out there, 1.454 mbps or bandwidth is being used ALL THE TIME, no matter what. That would be WHY it costs more then say a cable connection with a up of 15 Mbps and a down of 10 Mbps. A T1 just sucks up more bandwidth. Now consider the fact that a T3 (Lets just say 45 Mbps cause i don't feel like looking up the exact amount) is from as low as 5 grand (and thats from around here, in the middle of nowhere with a small time internet provider) and some were as high as 12 grand (and thats if the Int provider is hard pressed). Now that isn't much of a increase, especially considering that hotel is VERY wealthy (I mean, for gods sake, they are adding a new tower!)
>The assumption here is that the average hotel patron uses
>the Internet to the same level that furries use it, and
>that is not the case.
On this part, i would have to say your wrong. My father (the average Joe) happens to use the internet alot when he travels, and he is traveling 11 out of the 12 months of the year (ouch). So he, an average Joe, happens to fall into one of those categories. Think about it, the average person uses the internet quite heavily, even when they are on vacation. So there are going to be at least a few people who will be trying to see how far they can go with maxing out their bandwidth while at the Inn (figuratively speaking of course).
You also forgot about what i said about business and our conference calls. ^_^
One more thing: What about the people who have to stay in the hotels for a month or more because of a way from home slash state jobs? My father Use to be in the category. And don't say how its 'convenient' that my father is gone most of the year, because its not : (
Oh, and on your call, okay i will. ^_^
Basically, what i did before i said that is simple. I went to both Google and Ask.com and looked up the average speed of a hotel (in total). What i found was that most Hotels use a T3 connection, while some will even go as far as... what was it called? I know what it is, and that it can cost on average around 25 grand a month... something like "OBS"..... Anyways, i know that that connection speed is used on average (I'm using that word a lot to day lol) by internet providers. Sooo.... If you want anymore evidence then that, just do what i did and google and Ask it.
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permalinkPutting on my work hat.
I'm the Director of Technology for a large Marriott and Convention Center, and the internet connection comes under my office.
You're dreaming if you think "MOST" hotels have T3s. Most hotels are happy if they can maintain a T1. Many smaller hotels these days use commercial cable modem feeds from the local providers.
BUT, even if he hotel has a bank of fiber, that doesn't mean the end user sees that much of it.
Most hotel wireless connections are 100m lines, and usually cover a 100' radius from each access point and rarely overlap. One guy sitting in the sphere of wifi gets a nice smooth connection. 20 guys get smaller chunks of the pie. 100 yahoos in a meeting all trying to do day trading on their stocks on the same time are screwed.
If you're in your room and go hard wired, you should be getting a nice steady 100m feed.. ASSUMING the GED educated guy from engineering hasn't messed up the server, again or the punch downs per floor are so old a rotted your actually getting more that 50% of the strands on the braided carrying signal.
So it's really a crap shoot.
Last year, the internet at the Westin was at best so-so. And wifi at the convention center was virtually no-existent, though I did hear from some of the dealer's that if you were in the right place, you could hit a low power free access point from somewhere out in the city.
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David M Stein, DI
"Not Unlike the Toaster, I Control the Darkness"
-- Abby Normal, "You Suck"
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permalinkLocation: Harrisonburg, VA 22802
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22K may be its average standing-still bandwidth usage for you, but watch the bandwidth meter if you do anything besides stand in place and chat, it'll spike as high as your settings allow for 10-40 seconds at a shot every time you move, teleport, or someone moves near you.
Also, games like SL, as well as audio/video streams, have to communicate with the remote host constantly without interruption, and that 22K of bandwidth usage (I've never seen SL dip that low personally) is a constant draw. Add to that the near-constant draw of lots of furs trying to do low-bandwidth internet stuff, and not only will SL be nearly unplayable, but your computer be drawing far more bandwidth overall than someone who's downloading HTML pages and images in short bursts with nearly zero-usage in between.
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permalinkLocation: UK
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As far as the official AC internet room goes we will be repeating our nifty set-up from last year - namely TFT terminals sharing a single connection - a 3G cell phone connection - which, given the signal strength, was averaging around 500Kbps max.
We will offer very limited wired connection to this, but as you can understand - it will have strict download limits. We offer you a way to check your mail, look at news - but we're not your local ISP offering unlimited bandwidth, so your considerate use is appreciated!
Darkclaw T Wolf Esq.
AC Staffer 7 Years
Internet Room
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I remember this happened TWICE at around 7:00 pm at the westing ( on saturday and sunday ) , both WIFI hotspots got knocked down XD
so yeah, id say keep it to browsing and emails and maybe chatting.. but I even heard some people even tried to download torrents. and that is not fun :/
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permalinkLocation: Ardmore, PA
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Since we've had quite a debate on network bandwidth and Internet usage, I checked in with Jaime at the Westin to see what kind of bandwidth they had.
And the answer is: 2 T1 circuits. The total bandwidth is 3.152 Megabits per second.
For comparison, that is about the same as two ADSL circuits or one cable connection.
For the entire hotel.
This is why we ask that people be considerate in their bandwidth usage.
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permalinkBlog: [Link]
I can add one more note: experience. Last year we saw the hotel's network speed slow to a crawl in the evenings. We even got into a bit of trouble because one person had set up a router on the hotel's system and was letting people leech off of it for free. In the end we had to beat him to death with sticks.
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permalinkLocation: In a small little box in your small little mind.
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Sticks? You should of used his router and then called him a Hub. (hehe, Giza might get that)
But okay, point taken. I won't play SL while there (:[)
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did you videotape the beating for a DVD extra
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Err... You're going to a massive furry convention so you can sit in your room and play computer games?
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permalinkLocation: New Brighton, MN, USA
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If you're going to be using internet access for anything, do it for messageboards, E-mail, or instant messenger chatting, something that doesn't use up the bandwidth of the hotel as others have stated. And don't be online for longer than you need to. I maybe used the internet 3 or 4 times, and each time was to check on a post or my E-mail.
Second Life will just flood the bandwidth of the hotel... please, please don't do it. There will be many other things to do at Anthrocon that I figure will be far more entertaining than a videogame.
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permalinkLocation: Lawrence, Kansas
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*blinks* i wasn't the only fur to get that thought O.o
hehe plus, if your on SL at AC most SL furries are attending AC, i met soo many other sl players walking around XD
and besides, you gotta try either the roomservice pizza at the omni, that little down town diner right accrost the street from the convention center, OH can't forgit that TOTALY OUTRAGESLY tasty sandwitch shop over that way too! and the activities, come out and dance! and such! you can play cpu games when ya get back home, AC only comes once a year ^.^
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permalinkLocation: Somewhere over the rainbow in a land far far away
The fuzzy one is right here.. I know first hand 50 or so furries from SL who are attending AC.. Want me to name them? Sorry not all of them I can name.. Cause well some of them are friends of my friends who I never really bothered to get to know em.. Though I will if I run into them at AC extend my paw in greetings. I as well know of 4 (yes 4) parties that will try to get off at AC that contain the gathering of SL furries!
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permalinkLocation: Elgin, IL
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Yeah, I certainly don't plan on bringing my computer with me. Who needs internet when you're surrounded by furs?! Forget the digital *pounce*-ing, go out and have some fun!
*sniffs* you smell....*sniff sniff*...interesting.
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permalinkLocation: Lawrence, Kansas
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hehehe indeed, no digital pouncing here, just HUGS OF friendship and love....and other stuff AHEAD!
POUNCE/HUG MEH!
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permalinkLocation: Somewhere over the rainbow in a land far far away
*pounces and/or hugs you with a lick* ^_^
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I am always amazed when I see posts like this. Going to Anthrocon is an investment in time and money, you are surrounded with more activity than you can actually find time for, and yet you want to sit in your room and play SL? You can do that any other day of the year and it doesn't cost a thing. Get out there and mingle, meet real people, see the sights, attend panels, dance, volunteer! You will not regret it and the time away from SL will not be fatal. I only get on-line there to check my emails for things that are truly important, and the others get a one sentence reply: "I am at Anthrocon, I will get back to you in several days".
Jovina
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permalinkLocation: Chicagoland
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Everyone goes for different reasons. I know that having an Internet feed of some variety is nice for downtime--there's not always something going, and once in a while, a nice sit'n'surf is refreshing.
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permalinkI agree. Are there actually t1 providers who service that area. It is nice to actually have bandwidth to work with.
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It's not a question of whether there are providers. It's a question of whether the Westin or the Convention Center will let those providers in. The Westin, for example, has an exclusive contract with IBahn, who last year refused even to negotiate with us in good faith and eventually stopped returning our calls entirely.
We're looking forward to the day that the Westin's contract with IBahn runs out.
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permalinkLocation: In a small little box in your small little mind.
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Look, look, look. I was not saying I would play sl the entire time i was there. Its for two things: One, Me and another friend, both of us going to AC 07 are running a very complicated and involving RP on a friends sim. And we need to check up on it at least once a day to make sure how everything is going. Right now NOTHING is happening, but when AC roles around it could easily be VERY VERY active, and considering I have to make all the RP decisions and he has to make all the story altering decisions, we need to be updated every day. Sorry for repeating myself, I do that.
Another thing is that I alone have been trying to build, start, and run my own Con. Its called AC in SL. Basically its Anthrocon in Second Life. And that’s very involving. I am not doing very much in SL, just trying to see if all these different very important things go right. The AC in SL can wait a week, that’s nothing, but the RP NEEDS to be checked on atleast once a day.
PS. I do a lot of things on SL, including listen to music, but even with all of that I still only see it on an average of 22kbps, even with the music on.
PSS. I happen to only have a 300 K connection,. So if I can run music, build prims, talk, move and do a few other things with out going over my shared connection speed (which only reaches 30K download), I think the dedicated connection in the Westin Inn will not mind if I am just checking up on a very involving RP Me and Another are running.
Sorry if I was being rude, but I exactly don’t like being bashed over the head for something with out having my side heard first.
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Want to help me Build AC in SL? Email me at
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permalink>>I only get on-line there to check my emails for things that are truly important
same here with regards to Net stuff at the convention. In my case I quickly printed up my boarding pass for the next day's
flight home (Southwest, allows up to 24 hrs before flight)
so that was good.
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permalinkLocation: Elgin, IL
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I haven't been on SL in ages, and frankly, it doesn't bother me.
*sniffs* you smell....*sniff sniff*...interesting.
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permalinkLocation: Lawrence, Kansas
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well yeah, an email check when things get abit slow or at the end of the day, all good. but going to the con, to play it just to be on sl all day and not intereact with what you paid for...eg.... the con itself. dosn't seem right. all we are saying is. hang out, have fun.. hug someone and make a real connection. go out and touch some fuzz! hehehe
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