A competition on my radio show

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Dr.Flay
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A competition on my radio show

Post by Dr.Flay »

Another random competition. Win faster internetz !
5 copies of cFosSpeed are up for grabs on tonight's "15% Extra" radio show.(after 10pm GMT)
http://www.cfos.de/en/cfosspeed/cfosspeed.htm

Because many of you wisely don't use facebook I have put the details here also, so you can take advantage of the competition and submit entries here.
If enough interest is generated, I may be able to get regular commercial prizes which can be used for competitions here.
...or no interest and we stick with Carbon donating every time :noidea

What is it, and what can it do ?

cFosSpeed is a Windows network driver with traffic shaping and various forms of dynamic optimisation.
It also has a few security features that Windows lacks.
If you have problems with a slow or laggy internet, this software may help you (depending on what your problem is).
Most network optimisation tools are manually worked out then set. The settings stay the same no matter what conditions your internet is until you change them again.
Gamers often prioritise higher ping rates instead of faster downloads. cFosSpeed allows easy switching between the 2 modes.

If you often use many things that interfere with each other, cFosSpeed can manage and prioritise not just the software, but also the protocols, meaning you can continue downloading while you use VOIP such as skype.

cFosSpeed configures itself, but for the geeks it can be tweaked all you like.
After installing you should do some downloads and uploads to give it data to digest.
A speed-test site is ideal, and it also provides one if you don't already have a favourite.
http://www.cfosspeed.de/speed-test/speed-test_en.htm

If you have multiple devices trying to share 1 router, you can install on the Windows PCs and turn them into optimised Wifi hotspots
http://www.cfos.de/en/cfosspeed/documen ... -point.htm

To enter the competition, submit your speed tests from before, and after using cFosSpeed, to the "15% Extra" facebook group, in the chat room, or here.
The winners will be announced either by the end of the show, or next Friday if there are not enough entries by midnight.
You can use cFosSpeed for free, for over a month. This gives you plenty of time to inspect it and decide if it helps.
It is also very small, at under 5Mb so does not eat much RAM in use.


http://www.thesourcefm.co.uk/radioplaye ... index.html
Use this direct link if the flash player does not work
http://live.canstream.co.uk:8000/sourcefm.mp3
Join the chat room, and talk to the droid so it reads your messages.
https://cgiirc.synirc.net/?chan=%215_Percent_Extra
irc.synirc.net #15_Percent_Extra SSL 6697

https://www.facebook.com/groups/15percentExtra/
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Dr.Flay
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Re: A competition on my radio show

Post by Dr.Flay »

CLARIFICATION
It has been pointed out that this may look like spam to some people, but I have been trying to find sources of prizes that are genuinely useful to a wide variety of people.
If enough people show interest here, I can justify asking for prizes for the mapping competitions here.
The show will be on in a hour so we will see how it goes anyway.
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Re: A competition on my radio show

Post by EvilGrins »

1) Radio show?

2) Shame on you Doc! You double-posted!!
http://unreal-games.livejournal.com/
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medor wrote:Replace Skaarj with EvilGrins :mrgreen:
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Dr.Flay
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Re: A competition on my radio show

Post by Dr.Flay »

1) yes, for a couple of years I have been hosting a regular radio show with another nerd.
We mostly cover technology, science, privacy and security news for the week.
Music is usually chosen to fit the mood or topic, and almost any genre is played, but mostly lots of mashups, metal, classical, jazz, and the occasional bit of Mongolian throat-singing, or sounds of panic.
There are a few recent episodes here including the last one https://www.mixcloud.com/drflay/

2) Yeah, I thought long and hard about it, but at the point it is added to the post above it becomes pointless, as it is not the post it points to.
If you get my point ?

....that said, I don't know that my point had much point, as I don't think people get the point of the software.

1 entry was posted soon after the show, and you can see a clear improvement with ping and up/downloads. What does not show is the difference in stability expressed by the listener.
eg, instead of only peaking at a faster upload speed, he now has a consistent faster upload speed.
For an online gamer this is very useful, and I got a message the following day that he is now putting it on all his windows rigs.

If anyone here is the only person on their router, and they have all the bandwidth their account says it should be, they won't see any difference.
If that sounds like you, move along, nothing to see.

If you share a connection, use a portable PC, or your ISP is not giving you all it could, then you will very likely see and feel an improvement after the optimising is complete.

There are still keys up for grabs, and until next Friday to submit your own speed tests (which I know members of this forum will do just to show-off).
Now I offer an incentive to do some speed tests as a way to win a more reliable connection with extra security features, and all I can hear is the sound of a cricket dropping a tiny pin.

Q: Do we want other prizes for our own competitions, or do we stick with winning copies of UT ?
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Carbon
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Re: A competition on my radio show

Post by Carbon »

I didn't know about your program and will certainly give it a listen, so thanks for the heads up. :tu:

But....my prizes aren't good enough?! :wtf: :wink:
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Re: A competition on my radio show

Post by Dr.Flay »

Aww, hell when it comes to Unreal treasury, if it is worth having, you have it :highfive:
But I think it sucks that 1 person keeps dipping into their collection that they paid for, and how many people have offered to cover your expenses ?

Quality (or it seems quantity) is not a problem, only that it will never attract many mappers that live in a digital only world.
We could have 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes. Prizes for best map of its type, or group etc.
Or a bundle of prizes to 1 winner :noidea
Copies of rare UT releases are always a bonus, but maybe not a main draw for every competition.

I had the idea that we could all suggest software that could be useful to mappers, modders and coders, but needs a key for full use or to remove a nag-window etc.
We offer those authors/companies a chance to have their theme and logo turned into features of a competition map pack.

There are art and audio packages. and all sorts of things mappers and modders can use, so the tools that help make the maps could also be prizes.
Unlike advertising and traditional product-placement, the forum users get to choose who we think is worth promoting.


The radio show may be early for you, as it is late for me (10pm).
We are a late show and allowed to be adult, but we try not to swear as the stream crosses all time zones.
Abuse hurled at me via the chatroom and any IM accounts in my phone are read aloud by a robot voice.
Mostly it is a listener in England (who phoned-in on the last show for a change).
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Carbon
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Re: A competition on my radio show

Post by Carbon »

Yep, my time zone is ahead of you by 9 hours.

I bought a pile of UTs when I found them here for the sole purpose of giving them away in one fashion or another. I have sent a few out to guys just for being awesome dudes (looking at you gopostal!) but the others are earmarked for competitions. Getting down in numbers now but still good for a couple more.

Anyhow, the idea of alternate prizes sounds cool. I hope it goes well and I'll be a part of it if I can. :agree1:
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Re: A competition on my radio show

Post by papercoffee »

Screw thos cool and useful tools I want this Korean UT version!!!


:ironic:
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Re: A competition on my radio show

Post by JackGriffin »

Carbon wrote: I have sent a few out to guys just for being awesome dudes (looking at you gopostal!)
It's among my most cherished possessions. You'll never know what it meant (and still means to me).
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So long, and thanks for all the fish
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Re: A competition on my radio show

Post by Dr.Flay »

Hehe yeah, Nicely illustrated jack
I know the collection has true rare gems in there, and I am not saying we give-up with the treasury, only that we seek to add more all-round value to our prizes.
A rare Unreal or UT pressing, and a key for something you like to use is still better than only one or the other.

OK, so why did I pick product, and what do I know about it ?

I optimise because the ISP do not give what they promise, and I am on a shared connection which means it varies often.
Without optimisation my UT ping varies between 200 to 500, unless I can find a UK server running something I like.
With optimisation I can keep it below 100 for most servers I join.

For many years I have used the free "Speed Guide TCP Optimizer" http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php
with this page http://www.speedguide.net/articles/gaming-tweaks-5812
However, gaming is not the only thing I do, and playing online is a rare event for me, so those tweaks will not give me the best results most of the time.
"Nagle's Algorithm" is why some people will always have a slow ping. Gamers should disable it. Mobile and Wifi-only users should also disable it.

Normally you need to configure any OS, save and reboot, but cFos speed lets you swap between best ping and best throughput, without a reboot.

The cFosSpeed tool is available in free OEM builds, but OEMs always fall behind with updates.
My ASRock build was very out-dated and I had to find newer releases by looking at support pages for newer Mobos.
Once I found who made the actual tool, and that it had new features and less OEM bloat, I downloaded the real thing and tested for a month.

As I said before, results will vary for everyone, but compare what you have to do manually for an optimal connection, with a tool that does it for you, and adapts to changing line conditions (manual tweaks cannot).

3 Days left to win faster internet

This Friday night I either give-up or announce some winners.
Even the recent v10.10 works on XP, so almost everyone here can try it.
The listener that submitted his speed tests to the FB group is so impressed, he is writing a full review after installing it across his home network.

All you need to do is grab a screen-shot of an average speed test from before you try cFosSpeed, and compare with the average speed you have after running the optimisation (2 more speed tests should be enough data to calibrate with).
Almost everyone here should see an improvement, so you should have something to show.
The only risk is faster or more stable internet for your trouble, and those that show the biggest improvement deserve the keys, because they need the most help.

BTW. you can see your important current connection settings here http://www.speedguide.net/analyzer.php
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