Vista vs XP

Why should I upgrade to Vista if XP serve me very well all this years ? Will I become more productive? Will my PC become easier to be used? Will my PC become safer? Is vista more stable?

Read on….

• Vista is a very demanding operating system. 1 GB of RAMs considered bare minimum. So, if my PC has 512 MB of RAMs, I will not as productive as in XP!
• Vista new (user interface) approach might come in handy for new generation computer user but veteran user like me, any new approach equivalent to RE-LEARN (espcially Office 2007 Ribbon Features, yuck). So, I still felt XP is much easier to be used compare to Vista (because I use it for 5 years flat)
• Microsoft claim that vista will make your computing environment safer. Well, I think nothing beat common sense. Vista might has User Account Control so, if the user is stupid and careless enough, it will not corrupt the system by installing and deleting stuffs he/she shouldn’t. But hey come on. This stupid UAC, really drive me crazy espcially when I reformat my PC, install x-fi , forceware, mobo driver, and countless of application…this UAC keep popping and make my day = #$#%$#%$#%$. At the end of the day, I switch it off
  • Start Menu –> Control Panel –> User Account and Family Safety –> User Account –> Turn User Account Control On or Off –> Restart

  Vista still require dedicated anti virus to protect the whole system. The built in firewall also not as good as third party firewall. So, in other word, you still need to spend same amount of money to protect your PC. So, safer computing environment ? Perhaps.

• But Vista protect its important and critical file much better than XP. My last Vista installation was in September 2007. My vista still OK and no performance drop (This OS was tortured a lot by install, un-install countless of software, utility and games within this period). It safe enough for me to say, my XP will not be able to stand this kind of OS torture.
• Vista Aero UI. Hmm, definitely this feature really eye candy. Espcially if you have Direct X 9 cards. I use GeForce 8600 GT (Mainstream 3D card for now), and I can’t detect any performance drop when I turn ON Aero or performance gain when I turn Aero off. Seem Aero smartly utilize my 3D card to beautifully rendered its effect. So, is it important? Yes and No. Yes for me but may be no for some users. I love eye candy graphics. Be it in game or operating system. One of MacOS X major feature is it classy looking user interface. We spend a lot of time with windows GUI, so why not make it prettier? Nothing to lose right. If your integrated 3D chip not fast enough , Vista will not turn Aero ON.

However, I hate vista speed espcially while copying large and big in number files / folders. Even, when I delete a blank text file, Vista show me Calculating Time Required to Recycle! What the hack.

To improve vista performance for daily task, it definitely need to be patch. SP1 might not release yet but with my Izzi connection, the update process will approximately 1 hour. After couple of reboot after patch, then I start to feel a responsive system. But, don’t get me wrong. In term of responsiveness, XP is still top notch. I hate when I use All Programs (Start Button), and browse to specific shorcut (let say Microsoft Office folder), I click on it, and my vista require almost 2 second to show word, excel, power point icon. Too slow.

Not sure either nVidia driver is not fully optimize in vista yet, but gaming in Vista is a big no no for me. (My PC spec : Core 2 Due 2.0 GHz, 2 GB of RAMs, Geforece 8600 GT, X-Fi Gamers yada yadaa). Each game including old Command and Conquerr General Zero Hour, when I fight with more than 3 opponents, the system start to crawl. Need for speed Carbon and Most Wanted not silky smooth. Need for Speed Pro Street, the lag will make you think this is crappy game. But all this game run super smooth under XP. So now, either I like or not, I have to have dual OS in my PC. WinXP for gaming and Vista for other computing job.

To be honest, I will not upgrade to Vista if I was not upgrading my old box (Athlon XP 2500+, 2×256 Corsair TwinX LL, Radeon 9600 XT). But, this is me.

More Reading Material .

• PowerDonkey
• Tomshardware
• PC Pro
• Firing Squad
  

Adobe Acrobat 8 Pro

Despite numerous product available in the internet which is able to generate PDF (Portable Document File), Adobe Acrobat Pro series never short of idea to make it stay the way it use to be. Below is the screen shot of the latest incarnation Adobe Acrobat 8 Pro welcome screen.

The welcome screen alone make me feel “Wow”. I never thought all these features will be wrapped in one neat package.

 

I bet someone of you might ask, why we should use PDF. Why PDF exist?

Basically, we have countless productivity suite or software to date. Ranging from Office suite to Technical Software like CAD/CAM or Circuit Simulator, it is impossible to ensure our audience (the person who are going to get our file/work) have same software like yours. By convert it to PDF, and attach the reader with it (not necessary Adobe Reader as FoxIt will be a lot smaller XD), you can rest assure that your audience able to read and view that file the way you want him/her to be.

Another factor is security. You can set various kind of security mechanism to protect your intellectual property. You may allow them to read the documents but can’t save and print.

So back to the topic, why should we invest for Adobe Acrobat 8 Pro? Isn’t CutePDF or PrimoPDF free version not enough? Answer : Depend.

It depend on your need and working environment. Those free software basically only allow you to convert file to PDF by applying virtual printer method. So, you may forget table of content, link etc. Below are Acrobat 8 Pro strong features worth to be considered.

Easily create Adobe PDF documents

Create Adobe® PDF documents with one-button ease from Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Windows® users can also create PDF documents with one-button ease from Outlook, Internet Explorer, Project, Visio, Access, Publisher, AutoCAD®, and Lotus Notes files.

Scan to PDF with OCR

Scan paper documents with OCR technology to create compact, searchable Adobe PDF documents.

Convert e-mail to Adobe PDF files

Convert e-mail in Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes to Adobe PDF documents to facilitate searching, archiving, and retrieval. (Windows only)

Capture web pages as Adobe PDF files

Convert web pages to Adobe PDF documents to easily print, archive, mark up, or share. (Windows only)

Create in PDF/A or PDF/X

Create documents in PDF/A, the ISO standard for long-term archiving of electronic documents, or PDF/X, the ideal format for high-quality, professional printing.

Combine files from multiple applications

Combine and optimize documents

Combine documents, drawings, and rich media content into a single, polished Adobe PDF document. Optimize file size, and arrange files in any order regardless of file type, dimensions, or orientation.

Maintain individual file security settings

Maintain individual digital signatures and security settings in PDF files and forms when combining them into a single PDF package.

Include only the pages you need

Specify which pages, layouts, or sheets should be included from source files in your final, combined Adobe PDF document.

Optimize Adobe PDF output

Select from multiple file size and quality settings to optimize PDF output for your intended purpose.

Quickly regenerate a combined PDF file

Re-create a combined Adobe PDF document after revising source files, without having to locate and gather the native files again.

Unify with headers, footers, and watermarks

Automatically remove headers and footers from source files and add unifying headers, footers, or watermarks to your combined Adobe PDF document.

Attach native files

Share source files by attaching them to your Adobe PDF document in their original, native formats.

Enhance and extend document collaboration

Conduct e-mail–based reviews

Initiate a document review in Adobe PDF via e-mail. Merge inbound comments and markups from all reviewers into one PDF document with a single click.

Manage shared reviews

Easily conduct shared reviews — without IT assistance — that allow review participants to see one another’s comments and track the status of the review.

Enable collaboration tools in Adobe Reader

Enable users of free Adobe Reader® software* to participate in e-mail– or server-based reviews using all of the commenting and markup tools in Acrobat 8 Professional, including notes, stamps, highlighter, pencil, lines, shapes, and more.

Track reviews and manage comments

Track which reviewers have contributed feedback, send reminders, and add new participants. Easily compile all comments into a single Adobe PDF document.

View and print comments

View and print feedback for easy reconciliation. Sort comments by author, date, or page. Search comments for words or phrases.

Export comments to Word or AutoCAD

Select and export comments back to your original Word or AutoCAD file. Comments appear in Word as tracked changes and in AutoCAD as a separate layer.

Streamline data collection with Adobe PDF forms

Get started with form templates

Take advantage of an existing library of common form templates, such as human resources forms, invoices, and expense reports. (Windows only)

Easily create forms

Create fillable forms for distribution by e-mail or on the web from scanned paper, PDF documents, Microsoft Word documents, or Excel spreadsheets.

Auto-recognize form fields

Automatically locate form fields in static PDF documents and convert them to interactive fields that can be filled electronically by anyone using free Adobe Reader software*.

Optimize form workflow

Easily distribute forms; combine collected forms into a searchable, sortable PDF package; and export collected data into a spreadsheet.

Enable form features in Adobe Reader

Enable users of Adobe Reader software* to type information directly into Adobe PDF forms and save them locally for offline use.†

Apply advanced document security and controls

Apply passwords and assign permissions

Restrict access to Adobe PDF documents using 128-bit encryption. Set document permissions to help restrict who can print, save, copy, or modify a document.

Sign documents digitally

Apply digital signatures to authenticate documents, manage their status, and help protect against unauthorized modification.

Enable digital signatures in Adobe Reader

Enable Adobe Reader users* to digitally sign PDF documents.

Remove hidden data

Inspect Adobe PDF documents for metadata, hidden layers, and other concealed information, and remove as needed.

Permanently remove sensitive information

Use redaction tools to permanently remove sensitive text, illustrations, or other information from the Adobe PDF document.

Protect attached files

Protect files attached to your Adobe PDF documents with 128-bit encryption.

 

Bad ISP

According to Azureus Wiki :

The following is a list of Internet service providers (ISPs) that are known to cause trouble for BitTorrent clients or other P2P clients and the reason why. If you are using one of the following ISPs, please consider finding a new, better one. If your ISP is not on the list and you have reason to believe they are shaping traffic, come to the IRC channel and tell the OPs so that they can add it to the list. However, before you do that, please ensure that you have read about good settings and NAT problems.

One of the biggest problems are providers that that perform traffic shaping on P2P protocols, see Avoid traffic shaping for advice on how to counter that. You’ll need that if your ISP is listed with an encryption level greater than 0 or a question mark.

Malaysia –> TM-Net

Complete Table : Click Here

TM-Net Fair Usage Policy

TM is committed to ensuring our customers receive the best broadband service at the most competitive price. To achieve this goal, we provide a contended broadband service. This means our Internet bandwidth (capacity) is catered to be shared by all our customers at any one point in time, to ensure we provide a satisfactory and acceptable performance on an equal basis to all our customers.However, a small number of customers use more than their “fair share” of the Internet bandwidth provided by us. On average, about 10% of our customers are using a disproportionate amount of Internet bandwidth. These customers degrade the performance of our broadband service by taking bandwidth away from other customers, who use the service fairly.

“We do not take away bandwidth….”

For example, some customers use P2P or file sharing software, which constantly sends and receives videos and other types of very large files, throughout the day. These activities (download and upload continuously) use a lot of bandwidth and can significantly reduce the connection speed, which other customers are getting to access the Internet during peak hours. We don’t believe this is fair to the vast majority of our customers.

We wish to bring to your attention our traffic prioritization policy with regards to P2P and Fair Usage Policy. We would like to reiterate that the P2Pthroughput is subject to peers (seed) availability and their throughput as well. Kindly note that TM does not have any control over peers’ availability or throughput.

The Fair Usage Policy automatically identifies the extremely heavy users and manages their bandwidth in order to protect the service of all our other customers.

This traffic prioritization policy will protect the quality of service for the majority of our customers when they use the service, while at the same time,still allowing the extremely heavy users to continue to send and receive files with certain restrictions. With this policy in place, we will prioritize Internet activities like web browsing, live streaming, messaging applications and VOIP access while traffic to P2P sites will be given lower priority,due to the high bandwidth consumption of such services.

We wish to also highlight that as an Internet Service Provider (ISP), TM only provides access to the Internet and does not guarantee content delivery and performance where it is not within the domain of TM as an ISP. In fact, our international traffic management policy is designed to cater for all our customersso they have an optimal surfing experience within the normal limits of Internet usage.

As our priority is for all our customers to have a positive Internet experience, we wish to emphasize that it is important for all our customers to practiceresponsible usage of the allocated bandwidth based on normal usage.

We would like to reiterate that we are not against the use of P2P but we would like to educate our customers that the usage of excessive P2P does impact the overall service availability to our other customers.

TM does provide every customer with an allocated bandwidth, where other customers may use when not used by the others. Unfortunately, the nature of P2Pmore often than not, takes more than their allocated bandwidth, thus causing undue setbacks for other users when they want to use the service.

As a responsible service provider, we believe it is our responsibility and commitment to educate and encourage responsible usage of the infrastructure weprovide.

How to Beat Streamyx Internet Shaping

TM-Net Streamyx, is among Malaysia ISP who practice Internet Shaping technology. In other word, this ISP will limit your P2P download speed drastically. Don’t be surprise if your torrent speed capped at 10 kBps even your subscription line = 1.5 Mbps. Direct FTP download will not suffer from this mechanism.

So…how to beat this???

For those who has extra cash to play with, they can subscribe to any of these services.

• VPN
  • Anonymity and strictly private. TM will not able to tap you thus can’t shape you. A bit pricey.
• TorrentFlux
  • Server in datacenter will download torrent at full speed without any kind of capping or shaping. You will be given certain amount of space (5 GB, 10 GB or 20 GB) base on your subscription package. By using your browser, you may access this server under your account and download any kind of torrent . So, while your PC and Internet is offline, the server keep download your long list torrent non-stop. When the torrents are completed, you may download that file from the server directly (FTP download).

One of Lowyat Forum member provide this service. Click here for more info.

• RapidShare Account
  • More and more files in the internet nowadays are hosted in public file hoster such as RapidShare. Be it full DVD Rip movie, full warez or full version software…the list is on and on.

But, for those who are not willing to spend extra bucks monthly to buy those subscription, you may try to use bittorent client below which is able to beat TM-Net internet shaping mechanism.

• Deluge
  • Enable full stream encryption. Fully tested and verified. Even my NetGear router unable to recognize it and Port Trigger (kinda automatic port forwarding when it detect P2P application request port forwardng) can’t work. I did manual port forwarding and my torrent speed (use streamyx) more than 100 kBps.
  • Drawback : This client is made for Linux and ported to Windows environment. Not very stable.
  • Software : Download here
• Xunlei
  • Also known as Thunder. This is Chinese base P2P downloader. It use port 80 and encrypt it. So ISP will treat Xunlei packet as normal packet not P2P packet. Work best on anime download. For some reason, I can’t make it work with Btjunkie.org torrent file. I use Deluge instead.
  • Drawback : Chinese language. You may google its translation tho. Adverstisement.
  • Software : Download here
  • Translation Pack : Download here
  • 
    
• U-Torrent 1.8
  • Only limited to version 1.8 (perhaps onward), various user reported that they able to download up to 160 kBps using this client.
  • Drawback : Can’t guarantee 100% work.
  • Download here

Note the download speed was 171.6 kBps (equivalent to 1372 kbps). Streamyx package RM88

Latest Izzi Speedcheck

To be fair to my previous review, I re-evaluate Izzi performance base on current environment.

To be honest, after a good review a couple of months ago, Izzi performance drop significantly. It started in somewhere in the midle of November where I only enjoy half of the advertise speed. Roughly 50-60 KBps. It even drop to 30 kBps when peak hour. I call Izzi Customer Service 3 times. The first and second, the customer service just told me that he will check and re-inform me later…but no such luck…he just keep quite. I send them 3 emails, and they only reply the last one. My 3rd call, I speak and complain a bit harsh ( no more gentlemen manner). To be surprise they lodge me a report and give me my report number.

The last customer service guy did call me 2 times and ask me to provide him a screen shot (izzi speed test result + signal strength. I did provide and it clearly state even I received 100% signal, my speed still limited to 500 kbps. This is really piss me off because I pay for 1 Mbps not half of it. And guess what, that guy told me that, each iBurst tower will support up to 50 user simultaneously. And according to iBurst white paper, each iBurst tower only able to provide 24 Mbps downstream. So, if all 50 users doing heavy download (torrent or FTP), there is no way I can enjoy 1 Mbps download speed. Dang. Izzi actually greedier than TM-Net.

Here is my latest screenshot for Izzi speed test result with 100% signal strength. Location : Kelana Jaya. 15th floor.

Mind you that this result is more optimist compare to real world speed. This is my connection (speed test) with Izzi Server as my ISP. So, my speed should be lower when I download oversea content or torrenting.

TCP Optimizer Review

I knew about this method quite sometime. But in indirect way. So to speak, reading description from various of tuning software. But, I never felt any significant different. Maybe it is because I use Streamyx at that moment (wired connection) or simply the tuning software just not efficient.But last night, after reading various recommendation from techies at LYN, I decide to try it on my own. Login to SpeedGuide website, and read those documentations & FAQ, seem the reason between this optimization really make sense.

Basically, for every packet of data we receive and transfer, we want it to be as large as possible. However, fragmented data will hampered the transmission performance. So the idea is, to find the biggest packet possible without being fragmented.

So, i use that software (dont even need to be installed), and let it do its trick. Viola, I gain almost 200 kbps extra when I do heavy download. Reaching a bit higher 1000 kbps now is not a mission imposible now. Compare to 800 to 900 kbps previously, I think it really worth every single minute I spend to explore about this optimization tools and method.

Speed Guide TCP

Description: The TCP Optimizer is a free, easy Windows program that provides an intuitive interface for tuning and optimizing your Internet connection. There is no installation required, just download and run.

The program can aid both the novice and the advanced user in tweaking related TCP/IP parameters in the Windows Registry, making it easy to tune your system to the type of Internet connection used. The tool uses advanced algorithms, and the bandwidth*delay product to find the best TCP Window for your specific connection speed. It provides for easy tuning of all related TCP/IP parameters, such as MTU, RWIN, and even advanced ones like QoS and ToS/Diffserv prioritization. The program works with all current versions of Windows, and includes additional tools, such as testing average latency over multiple hosts, and finding the largest possible packet size (MTU).

The TCP Optimizer is targeted towards broadband internet connections, however it can be helpful with tuning any internet connection type, from dialup to Gigabit+

Download here

**********************

You may check your broadband setting automatically here

If you need help with the program, check the TCP Optimizer documentation, read SpeedGuide broadband tweaking articles, the Optimizer FAQ.

**********************

Source : SpeedGuide

Izzi Broadband

Review Date : 25 October 2007

Izzi BroadBand (iBurst) Izzi broadband (www.izzi.com.my) might a new player in Malaysia market but what they can offer definitely could eat any big boys out there.

Izzi package (PCMCIA, USB and Ethernet)

* Mobility (even traveling 100 km/h in car)
* Speed (1 Mbps, almost consistant, not offering 3.5 Mbps but 95% of the time getting 350 kbps…. Telco M for example)
* Price (RM 98 definitely cheaper than Streamyx + Phone Rental cost)
* Radius of Coverage (effectively 13 km, compare to 5 km for ADSL or streamyx).

I spend almost a week scouting every single information about this service. Every single page in LYN forum regarding Izzi. No need to mention googling like nerd. But, thats really worth consider so many wireless and wired broadband player in this market has so many dirty tricks under their sleeve.

Imagine you subscribe to Maxis broadband 3.5 Gbps, but have 3 GB max download per month, able to heavy download from 1 AM to 6 AM only and most of the time you just enjoy 10% of the advertised speed. This is really a nightmare. I really thanks to God for making my maxis broadband registration pain in the arse which I cancel it before I bonded to their contract. Lucky me.

And what about streamyx? I used to use this service for years (start from TM reduce the broadband package to RM88 (at that moment RM88 for 512 kbps )). And for years, I can’t count how many times I call their customer service, or pay a hostile visit to TM Clickers. No matter what I do, I still need to wait my problem to be fixed in 3 to 2 weeks. Yup, the longest one was 2 weeks. And I felt like a cripple man when I have no broadband at my disposal.

No need to mention about disconnecting problems, bittorent throttled down speed, high latency to US server (especially for online gaming), bandwith quota and had no connection when raining day. WTH man, we are in Malaysia, not Africa. The rain season could last couple of months. And for couple of months, I just say… ” Oh please god…please”. Luckily I never call any “Bomoh Hujan” yet.

So, Streamyx is not an option for me any logger. And any 3G broadband I consider as crap. Too many ports closed, so many limitation, slow speed and high latency connection. WiMax? So expensive. I will not spend more than RM100 for my broadband. That’s my ceiling. So, Izzi is the best bet I have. And well, the outcome ….. a very happy and satisfied customer.

And this is my point of view for izzi. The picture you may see here is my download speed in kiloByte. I am happy with that speed considering this is wireless technology, close to their promise really stable.

The latency to izzi server averagely 80 ms and to google.com averagely 350 ms. Pinging to microsoft.com avergely 400 ms.

Using uTorrent with default setting, I torrent couple of files last night, and I manage to get 90 kBps. But, due to the nature of torrent, sometime it fluctuate quite heavy. I could say 70 kBps is realistic average speed for my good seed torrent downloading. The best thing I love about izzi is, i can play my mmorpg online game even I was torrenting at that moment. That was close to impossible when i use Streamyx and ZTE modem. During the torture period, I am torrenting 8 movies, downloading 600+ MB roseonline client game (using download manager), and play rose private server. Everything run smooth without any significant lag in the games. Browsing speed also not affected much.

Overall, I have better consumer experience using izzi compare to streamyx and maxis broadband. RM 1258.00 for izzi iBurst USB modem + 12 months subscription really worth every single cent. I will pay more than RM 1400 if I go for streamyx. And streamyx will bond me for the whole 24 months if I am not mistaken.

The payment scheme for easy is more likely a prepaid version of broadband. For the first year subscription, you need to pay upfront RM1258 for USB iBurst modem. For a complete list for the product package, price and modem… click here . Afraid not, they offer interest free payment scheme for 12 months using major credit card. So, basically you will only need to pay more or less like any broadband subscription.

And after 12 months, they will not bug you anymore. If you want to use their service, you may buy the credits base on your need. 1 month, 5 months or any number of months. It’s really up to you. And base on my under understanding, they will discount for those who buy credit for the whole 12 months lump sum. Each month will cost you RM98 only. No hidden charge, no tax what so ever. It just like a prepaid. You pay RM98, you get 31 days izzi broadband. And the good parts is, the modem which worth more than RM600 (I doubt so..LoL) will belong to the user provided we subscribe the service for the whole year. For me this is more than worth. Paying RM 99 for streamyx 1 Mbps package (which RM 11 for 24 months for the modem) is really rip off. The modem could be bought as low as RM 70.00. Even ADSL modem + router + wireless + switch will cost around RM 150 only. RM 11 * 24 = RM 264. Ouch. You can use this izzi modem in any iBurst coverage (internationaly I mean).

There is a satisfaction guarantee policy. Most of the salesman will tell you, within 7 days, if you do not satisfy with izzi, they will refund 100%. DON’T believe this. This is utterly marketing gimmick by not so etiquette salesman. The truths is, the 100% refund policy is only subjected to everything BUT registration and admission fees (RM 180). So, bear in mind. And dont be a newb. Once you do your online registration, your RM 180.00 already fly to the salesman pocket and izzi. They say no question ask but I notice that there are 2 terms need to be met before you can claim your refund. No coverage AND download less than 3 MB. So be my guest.

75% refund before 3 month of usage, and 50% refund before 6 months of usage (in case their service down at your area).

So, I took ingenious step. During their roadshow at DigitMall, I ask is there any chance izzi salesperson to come to my home and demo to me about the connection speed, either using his notebook or my PC. (I am quite sceptical about wireless broadband, too many contributor to make the performance drop below acceptable level). And they give me their friend card and ask my mobile number. Not even 2 hour after I visit the road show, the sales person call me and ask me when can he demonstrate to me. I remind him that I will test the connection and if ONLY I satisfied with the product, I will buy it. The salesperson took this concept in very open and professional way.

So this guy come to my home (level 15 at Kelana Jaya). Setup the izzi USB modem (demo unit) to my PC (my PC located in a room with no windows). Login his account and let me try as much as I want. He just did his stuff and dont even care what I was doing. Things I do while testing :

* Dowload from nzones using download accelerator (12 segments)
* Torrenting the highest seeder torrent
* Browsing
* Test latency (ping) to several website (jaring.my, tm.net.my, google.com, microsoft.com and nzone.com)
* Speedtest.net and streamyx speed test
* Monitor the signal strenght (100% most of the time. But it can fluctuate a bit to 80% withotu antenna and I close the door)

So, after do all this things (not all at once), I really satisfy with the performance and pay him.

So, end of the day, I get a broadband which more stable than streamyx, as fast as streamyx (when streamyx in ‘good’ mode of course) and wireless. No need to mention I pay less too

Don’t take my word. As the sales person to perform short demonstration at your location and you decide.
Free download manager download at 75.5 kBps and Torrent at 20.2 kBps at once.

Evolusi Internet 10 Tahun

Cuba korang bayangkan, macam mana rupa internet 10 tahun dahulu. Bagi generasi muda (bawah 20 tahun sekarang ini, mungkin tak dapat mereka bayangkan langsung), tapi bagi generasi internet yang agak veteren, screenshot di bawah pasti mengundang nostalgia.

Saya pilih yahoo.com, salah satu search engine paling popular pada era tersebut (google tak wujud pun lagi time tu).

Yahoo Search Portal : 1996

Ini adalah actual size screen shot. Perhatikan resolution yang rendah, search portal sehebat Yahoo pun pakai low resolution graphics, table pun tak berapa nampak, apatah lagi la CSS.

 

Yahoo 1998

 

Yahoo 2000

 

Yahoo 2002

 

Yahoo 2004

 

Yahoo 2006

 

Yahoo 2008

Kalau betul betul bandingkan Yahoo 1998 dengan Yahoo 2008, memang amat besar perbezaanya. Sebab tu la, disamping line internet memainkan peranan untuk keselesaan browsing kat internet, kelajuan CPU pun main peranan jugak. Cuba la korang browse internet sekarang guna first generation Pentium (notebook first aku, Pentium 166 MMX, 32 MB RAM), for sure, merangkak browser nak render page website skrg nie.

 Korang jangan gelak dengan spec computer tu plak. Masih ada di opis gomen skrg nie yang masih pakai clasic pentium processor dengan RAM takat 32 MB jer tau. Office pun version 1997 punya.

 So apa yang kita dapat perhatikan dari evolusi ini, mungkin kita dapat unjurkan internet pada tahun 2018. Secara mudahnya, untuk mainstream user kat Malaysia nie,

• Line internet dari 56 kbps ke 1 Mbps (20x)
• Processor dari Pentium classic  166 MHz ke 3.2 Ghz Pentium 4 HT atau 2.0 Core 2 Duo (20x)
• RAM dari 32 MB ke 2 GB (DDR2 800 pun RM 80 jer utk 1 GB skrg nie) (64x)
• Hard Disk dari 2.1 GB dah 250 GB (119x!!!!!)
• Monitor dari 14 inch CRT  ke 19 inch LCD

 

 

Streamyx dah memperkenalkan 2 Mbps dan 4 Mbps package dia. Dekat Taiwan 10 Mbps line bukan la satu perkara yang palik. So, congak pi congak mai, mungkin 2018 nanti, line internet yang rakyat Malaysia boleh enjoy tanpa merabakkan dompet diorang mungkin mencecah 40 Mbps. Time tu, DVD rip dah tak main la utk di download….semuanya HD DVD Rip ataupun BlueRay rip. Saiz for sure gabak punya.

Processor pun time tu mungkin tak ligan GHz sangat tapi lebih kepada multi-core. 16 core dengan kelajuan 5 GHz pun dah superb dah espcially kalau software dan OS take advantage dari muti core environment.

RAM, bayangkan 128 GB. Budak budak zaman tu selamber jer beli 64 GB RAM per stick pada harga bawah RM 100!. Enthusiast pulak tak yah cakap la, tak 512 GB tak sah.

So hard disk camner plak. 250 GB untuk maintstream x119 =  Approx 30 TB.Hard core user mungkin ada sampai 120 TB hard disk. Yer la kan, time tu, game sekali install pun mungkin pakai sampai 100 GB. Blueray Disc boleh support sampai 50 GB. Kena plak lepas decompression apa semua….kembang sampai 100 GB, bukan la satu benda yang pelik…bila ingat balik, game tahun 1998 tak sampai 100 MB pun. Sekarang nie, game yang perlukan 10 GB pun dah mula bercambah…giler!

Aku & Internet (1998 – 2008)

Kali pertama aku kenal internet sekitar tahun 1997. Waktu tu, aku hanya kenal dua website jer,

• Hotmail
• Altavista

Altavista 1998

Yang bestnya, hotmail aku pun time tu minta kawan tolong setup kan.

Masuk tahun 1998, SPM dah settle. Punya la excited nak amik tahu pasal internet. Sanggup aku pergi beli Xircom PCMCIA modem (RM 500.00 sharp) dan subscribe Jaring. Semua pakai duit sendiri. Nak setup internet sendiri pun (time tu bukan macam sekarang nie, semua plug n play), kedai minta bayaran RM 50. Kalau nak diorang ajar, in case aku format PC aku sendiri, diorang suruh aku bayar RM 100.00. Giler tul. Last sekali, aku try and error jer la…huhuhu.

Zaman tu, blog semua tak wujud lagi. Semuanya static HTML website (ada la 4-10 pages, ada gambar sket, biografi sket). Personal website dah mula la berkembang terutamanya program macam Frontpage dan WYSIWYG html editor dah mula membanjiri pasaran. Aku pun start dengan Frontpage. Buat la website setiap kali cuti semester (UTM). Bapak aku mengamuk giler, setiap kali balik ke kampung, bil telefon lebih RM 200 kat internet jer. Kalau tiga bulan cuti, noh, RM 600 ++ kena bayor. Dah le tu, slow kan main. Modem aku jer 56kbps, tapi sebab rumah area aku tu copper wire dia hampeh dot com, aku dok dapat below 32 kbps.

Streamyx ke, izzi ke broadband ke mana wujud lagi time tu. 56 kbps tu, kalau dapat achieve mmg god bless la. Sedangkan cyber cafe pun masih ada yang pakai 56 kbps punya line. Masih aku ingat, bila aku gi CC, nak bukak email (hotmail time tu) pun, sempat aku bukak IRC dan login dan kenal seorang pompuan (la nie dah jadi bini aku dah). Punya la lambat CC tu (nama dah lupa, location : Taman U, Skudai). Kalau CC yang hebat sikit, diorang guna 2 x 56 kbps punya line. Ultimate CC solution at that period, ISDN la. Ada la satu CC pakai ISDN, siap advertise besar besar lagi dia pakai ISDN. So dia charge RM 2.50 sejam pun orang sanggup pi. Termasuk la aku.

Bila broadband (ADSL) dan start penetrate Malaysian market, baru la nampak perubahan drastik. CC pun tiba tiba bercambah macam cendawan selepas hujan. Harga pun sampai ada semurah RM1.00 sejam (nie harga CC yang tak upgrade ke streamyx lagi la). First time TM-Net introduce streamyx, harga masih mahal giler. Lebih RM 100 utk 512 kbps, sampai la Tun Dr Mahathir tegur TM-Net, baru la TM-Net turunkan harga ke RM 88.00 utk 512 kbps, dan lepas tu dia senyap senyap upgrade ke 1.0 Mbps dan sekang nie dah 1.5 Mbps.

Even so, streamyx skrg nie, walaupun top speed dia laju (bagi standard Malaysia), dia tak stabil. Senang DC dan yang org paling bengang traffic shaping utk pengguna torrent. Sebelum tahun 2005, seingat aku, guna streamyx mmg heaven la. Tak DC, laju, betul betul rasa evolusi dari 30 kbps dapat 512 kbps then 1.0 Mbps. Skrg nie, aku pun tak subscribe streamyx dah. Aku subscribe Izzi. Bagi aku streamyx too slow (in term of customer service response), senang DC (camner la nak torrent kalau DC setiap 20 minit), dan TM-Net aktif giler dok slow kan torrent. Macam cat and mouse. Diorang crack method A, tak lama lepas tu TM-Net berjaya utk shapping kan. Pastu tu, kecoh method B, tak lama lepas tu, sama jer nasibnya. Sebab tu aku amik Izzi (tak selaju streamyx tapi tak pernah DC, so torrent aku walaupun seeder dia tak banyak, boleh dapat constant speed. Dan torrent tak kena shape lagi.). Kalau Izzi pun shape torrent, defenitely aku lompat pi streamyx balik la. Pastu subscribe VPN atau TorrentFlux service, tak pun RapidShare account.

Skrg nie, baik generasi muda atau agak veteren, internet dah kira satu kewajipan dah. PC ada internet, mana-mana IPT ada wifi diorang, hotspot pun makin banyak, even handphone pun dengan 3G internetnya. Sekarang pun, jarang org kata, “try to search in the internet”, sebaliknya “why dont you google it”. Boleh kata apa ja kita taip kat internet la nie, semua content tu ada.

Bayangkan la Internet tahun 2018 kelak.