On 1/1/2011 12:11 AM Jeff Liebermann spake thus:

On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 23:10:51 -0800, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

On 12/31/2010 10:54 PM John Tserkezis spake thus:

David Nebenzahl wrote:

http://s786.photobucket.com/albums/y...speed44-59.gif

Phew. Finally; yes, that's what I'm talking about, the "little"
fluctuations (between ~4K and ~5K in that second snapshot).

Methinks you're looking at the effects of roundoff error. There are
not enough packets used for the download test, so the graph is
rounding off the result to the nearest convenient significant figure.
A running average, with larger time slices, would yield a much
smoother and more realistic curve.

But as I watch the display during a download, I can see the rate *very
regularly* alternating between two definite speeds (like 4.4 and 5.9 K).
As you can see, the pattern is visible, at least according to this
display. Doesn't that tell us something about how the transfer is taking
place? Or is this just a regularly repeating roundoff error?

In fact, I can tell when the transfer rate is faster or slower, based on
the display: it'll bounce between the same two speeds--that never
changes--but the "flats" on the upper part of the line will be longer,
meaning it's spending more time at the faster speed. The difference is
actually noticeable, in the time it takes to render web pages and such.


--
Comment on quaint Usenet customs, from Usenet:

To me, the *plonk...* reminds me of the old man at the public hearing
who stands to make his point, then removes his hearing aid as a sign
that he is not going to hear any rebuttals.