Web Gangsta - Web Watch - Web Gangsta - Web Watch takes on pop culture, the web, and other interesting things ...since 1994.

How fast is the Internet? It’s fast… but not “Cheetah-fast”

Post author By web gangsta
Post date November 16, 2009

The Internet today is certainly faster than the Internet of 20 years ago.

Web Watch remembers using a 2400 baud modem to connect to what was the ‘net back in the day – and that was considered lightning fast for the time. (Sadly, Web Watch still has that modem in the back closet, just in case our broadband connection dies and we have to resort to connecting to the net the old-fashioned way.)

We eventually got 19,200 baud, and later 56k modems – everyone thought that was as fast as the Internet could possibly go at the time. We were transferring files in hours instead of days, and that was good enough for us.

But with broadband and wireless everywhere, transferring large amounts of data has become an everyday activity – but some transfers can still take a while to process.

With that in mind, some enterprising scientists decided to see exactly how long it would take to transfer a large file across the Internet, and compare that to the landspeed of some animals to see which was faster.

Tags gadget, Internet, science

Internet shopping Websites

Billionaire Exchange: an eBay for the Socially Privileged

Post author By web gangsta
Post date November 15, 2009

BILLIONAIRE XCHANGE is not for the common folk who like to eat chicken wings, watch football, and sit in the back of the plane on cross-country flights.

No, Billionaire Xchange is for those snooty rich folks and celebrities who like to hobnob amongst themselves, drinking tea with their pinkies sticking out and yelling “cheerio!” during their polo match.

Yes, even the rich need to auction off an item or two, but for them – eBay just isn’t the right way to go about things. Billionaire Xchange gives those sellers with some big ticket items…and we do mean BIG TICKET items…a place to buy and sell without worrying about being scammed by a crafty teenager with a hacked American Express card.

Tags ebay, Internet, shopping, website

Funny Internet Travel

“Visit Bulgaria” needs a better marketing campaign than this

Post author By web gangsta
Post date November 14, 2009

Visit Bulgaria Google News will automatically find appropriate images to display alongside news articles, based on article keywords and other things.

If this is what visiting Bulgaria is all about, Web Watch really doesn’t want to go.

Tags Internet, Travel

Book Funny Websites

Cramming in Year-End Healthcare, and other Stuff that Unemployed People Like

Post author By web gangsta
Post date November 13, 2009

Previously, Web Watch has pointed you in the direction of STUFF WHITE PEOPLE LIKE and similar sites that point a satirical finger at stereotypes… and in the process, getting a book deal out of it.

STUFF UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE LIKE is yet another one of those sites, looking to cash in on other people’s misery, using the stereotype of the unemployed to find their humor.

Tags Blog, Book, Party Talk, website

Websites

Society of American Magicians Convention – June 30, 2010 in Atlanta. RSVP Today!

Post author By web gangsta
Post date November 12, 2009

Is it really almost 2010?

And if the Society of American Magicians convention being held in Atlanta, Georgia on June 30-July 3, 2010 is even half as much fun and exciting as the 2009 convention in Buffalo, New York was – then by golly, Atlanta’s going to burn again!

Tags Convention, David Copperfield, magic, magicians

Gadgets Games Movies

Want to star in a Hollywood Movie? Try YOOSTAR

Post author By web gangsta
Post date November 11, 2009

Remember that Drew Carey show with Drew and all his funny friends from WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY doing all their improv stuff in front of a green screen?

Wouldn’t it be fun to do that at home, but instead of having to improvise comedy, all you have to do is insert yourself into a real movie and act out the scene yourself?

Now’s your chance to YOOSTAR!

Tags gadget, game, Movies, video games

How To

Germs and the Real World: a Size Comparison

Post author By web gangsta
Post date November 10, 2009

Have you ever wondered exactly how big germs were, relative to the real world?

Thanks to the people at the University of Utah, we now know.

Just go to the CELL SIZE AND SCALE application to see what things look like at actual size.

Tags How To, science

Internet Websites

TweetedBrands tells you the most tweeted brand names

Post author By web gangsta
Post date November 9, 2009

Twitter is still the best place to go if you are looking for instant feedback on any topic, product, or service.

And if you’re a business that is playing in the social media field, you would be well-served by monitoring who is at the top of the heap when it comes to Twitter mentions of brand names.

Tags business, Internet, twitter, website