How Much Bandwidth Is Chewed Up By Voip??

Let's talk turkey for a moment (or Vonage if you want to throw a pun into the discussion ha ha.).

The age old question (OK recent topic of concern) among VoIP users and those whose bandwidth is used to make those calls is......how much bandwidth does VoIP use?

Well Virginia....that's an interesting question. Any discussion may illicit potentially tense reactions. So let's try and shed some light on the subject....in a practical fashion.

Bandwidth isn't measured like it was a garden hose of water. ON and OFF, measuring it's usage. It can be read that way, but it isn't actually looked at that way. Not by most providers anyway. (Unless of course they are trying to rationalize prices to the FCC).

For instance; as a business you may have numerous DS3/OC circuits that you pay for each month. A DS3 for instance rounded off is 45mb of pipe. Now, you pay the same thing for that circuit each month whether you put 1 voip line on it, or an entire network with hundreds of computers and such.

Same with your VoIP. You pay the same amount on an unlimited calling plan whether you make 1 phone call or 1000 calls. To try and measure actual Mega or Terabytes of data as a means of determining cost is pure rationalization.

Ma'Bell, Level 3, or any other backbone has "X" amount of bandwidth that they can use simultaneously. Some of that bandwidth is dedicated, some isn't. Some are using ATM so it can better utilize the bandwidth among inconsistant users, while there are also other flavors like Frame and TDM.

The point is, while some providers and backbone and backhaul carriers might charge a metered circuit, most sell fixed amounts of bandwidth. That's why your ISP has little statements like; "UP TO 1.5MB" or "Speeds may Vary". Just because voip has started making a presence, doesn't mean that ISP's have had to automatically start buying more bandwidth from the backbone.

If they tell you that, they are full of ......it. When DSL and cable broadband are sold to you, the max bandwidth that you are buying is formulated into their pricing and bandwidth demands.

For what it's worth, more bandwidth was probably used, until recently, on streaming audio/video, torrent, MP3 downloads, distributed computing, etc. If your service provider gets too saturated, they will offer more bandwidth at a higher price, which is what they will use to buy from the backbone/backhaul providers.

However when you have 10 people that are using the bandwidth (for VoIP) that would supply 50-100 average (internet using) joes..... not only is that causing more congestion at that junction box, but you are also causing the provider to buy more bandwidth.

You know as well as I do they will not make another tier! They will just raise the prices on the ones already established. How many average people max out their connections on a regular basis?

Anyway, the VoIP companies for the longest time have been getting pretty much a free ride on the PSTN and the ISPs.... plus were not subject to the same taxes MaBell is. So.... you can see why there is so much tension about bandwidth?

If you'd like help find just the right VoIP based solution....covering all the bandwidth in's and out's.....I suggest you take advantage of the free consulting services offered at http://Business-VoIP-Solution.com.

Source: http://www.content4reprint.com/computers/how-much-bandwidth-is-chewed-up-by-voip.htm

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Unique Peru Vacations - The Secrets of Kuelap, Chachapoyas and Gotca Falls

If you are taking a Peru vacation, you should consider the less visited North of the country. Peru is not just about Machu Picchu; there is so much more!

Chachapoyas - The Spanish Stronghold

Included in the secrets of the North is Chachapoyas, one of Peru's oldest cities with a long history and its colonial Spanish influence. This small town is located in beautiful northern Peru and its name is derived from the Chachapoyacuno, a native word meaning "mountain of mist or forest". It was originally founded on September 5, 1538 by Alonso De Alvarado and was the capital of the whole of Eastern Peru during colonial times as it served as a staging post for expeditions intended for colonizing and conquering the Amazon Jungle.

The city has remained fairly isolated until relatively recently when better roads were built connecting it with major coastal cities such as Chiclayo, Trujillo and Piura. The climate and surrounding spectacular mountain ranges make Chachapoyas a unique and beautiful destination. The colonial Spanish influence is still evident by the existence of large colonial mansions with their red clay tiled roofs, patios and wooden balconies with their surrounding orchards and gardens, and fields of sugar cane and coffee.

Around Chachapoyas

There are many attractions for tourists in and around the city of Chachapoyas. The city has three plazas which are linked by Victory Street, named after the victorious Chachapoyanos who paraded through the city on this avenue after famous battles. The main square in the city is called Saint Anna's square and is where the first church of the city was built. Historically eight days of bullfighting took place in this square during the San Juan de los Indios festivities. In the east of the city Independence Square is to be found where a monument stands to the Chachapoyan heroes from the battle of the Higos Urco that took place on June 6, 1821.

Other attractions close to the city include the Cuyana fountain which is located on the hill known as Luya Urco just west of the city. This fountain is legendary as it has a water-well sunk into a rock from which Santo Toribo de Mogrovia was able to draw water, ending a drought that was affecting the region. It is also considered a fountain of love as it is said that any man who drinks from the fountain will always be attractive to the women of the city. Anything goes with the desperate...

The Ancient Citadel of Kuelap

There are also many important archeological monuments in the areas surrounding the town that were built by the Chachapoyans. Some of these are ancient stone citadels that were built on the tops of mountains with commanding views and leaving more land open for cultivation. One fine example of these citadels is Kuelap, three miles from the village of Tingo and one hour by dirt road from Chachapoyas.

Kuelap is a colossal structure containing millions of cubic feet of stone and presumed to have taken 200 years to construct. Its strategic location between the Marañon and Utcubamba Rivers, both tributaries of the mighty Amazon, has contributed to the fact that it still stands today. At 9,843 feet above sea level, it can be reached by car, horseback or a three to four hour hike. The main group of buildings are circular with one main access corridor, designed for maximum security and defense. Inside the huge outer walls there are over 400 buildings in total, some of which are small round stone houses with some of the larger ones measuring up to 1,969 feet long and 66 feet high. Many towers for defense were strategically placed around the complex to protect the inside and outside of the citadel from invaders.

The Waterfalls of Gotca

Gotca Falls, located a couple of hours from Chachapoyas, remained unknown to the wider world until an expedition in 2002 led by Stefan Ziemendorf, a German engineer, and a group of Peruvian explorers re-discovered it. At a height of 2,532 feet, Gotca Falls is the third highest waterfall in the world if you consider its two stage drops together. The scenery is spectacular and the 3 hour hike to the middle of the falls is well worth the effort, as you are able to stand under the torrent at the bottom of the first drop.

The Gotca falls are produced as the Cocahuayco River runs over a sharp cliff face from a high plateau and falls for the first thousand feet to a large ledge which interrupts the torrent. The river waters then meander a short distance through vegetation and fall over the side of the second cliff to continue the decent to the base of the canyon.

Although this region is relatively new to tourism, many Peruvian travel agencies have developed tours for people with an interest in archeology and a sense of adventure. A tour through the landscape and history of Peru's little known northern region can make for a magical and enchanting vacation, one that few people have had the opportunity to experience.

Source: http://www.content4reprint.com/recreation-and-leisure/travel/unique-peru-vacations-the-secrets-of-kuelap-chachapoyas-and-gotca-falls.htm

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Crazy People - Crazy Reality

Stop watching the news! Stop reading newspapers! Indeed, we have to keep up with important developments in the news but, beyond that, normal people wallow in bad news, love discussing bad news and being the first with bad news. And, unfortunately, you know what they say, bad news sells newspapers so the newspapers and TV stations are full of bad news - and that lulls us into arriving at the bizarre conclusion that we're not all that crazy when compared to others (bear in mind that there's over seventy years research from the field of psychology which, when taken together could lead even the casual reader to the conclusion that all normal people are crazy). But that's only the news. What about so-called "reality TV" - so-called "normal" people entertaining us with their bizarre behaviour?

These programs are dangerous for what's left of your mental health (I say "what's left" because the research that I've just mentioned proves that "normal" people have lost the plot). These "reality" shows comfort you in the mistaken belief that, at least, you don't live next door to the neighbour from hell, that you won't have to jump into a vat of man-eating insects at work today or that your husband or wife isn't running off with someone they've just fallen for on paradise island!

However, the real problem is that not only do these programs have nothing to do with reality (ask the people of Haiti, Rwanda or Gaza) - these programs actually confirm your mistaken belief that your life is real. In fact, however, your life is as off-the-wall as those programs. To confirm this, take one step back and consider the behaviour of some of the people that you meet on a regular basis. You'll find people bitching about other people, people delighting in other's misfortunes, husbands beating wives, wives beating husbands, bosses bullying staff, staff spending half their working day on the internet - nobody living the life that, in reality, we should all be living. Unfortunately, the way the normal mind works completely divorces us from reality. We think we know what's going on and then mindlessly react to it. That's not a theory, it's scientifically proven psychological fact.

Your life has nothing to do with real reality. Your reality is a figment of your imagination. It's created by "snapshots" that you have in your subconscious mind - these are your beliefs about how the world works and, more particularly, about yourself. These beliefs are constantly being reinforced by your habitual repetitive life and, indeed, by all the other normal crazy people around you who are living similar lives in their own individual versions of reality. Actual reality is something quite different from your clouded perspective on it. Actual reality is where the energy of all things vibrates in and out of manifestation, moment to moment. In other words, actual reality is here and now. It is before your blinded eyes, your deaf hears and your hardened heart - all of which have been divorced from the present moment by the raging torrent of thought that flows ceaselessly through your mind.

But, if you stop that torrent and came to your senses, not only would you experience what we normally call a "natural high" (when we are captivated by what's going on in the moment) you would also realize that you are not your accumulated perceptions of who you think you are - you are whatever you want to be and your life can be whatever you want it to be - within reason. But you need to come to your senses to realize this and then capitalize upon this self-realization. We have five senses - they are our only interface with reality - and research shows that, as adults, we pay little or no attention to what our senses are actually telling us. Our sick and confused mind thinks that it knows best! You've got to train yourself to really see, feel, hear, smell and taste the reality of the present moment - the only time and place in which you can begin to fashion the life that you really want. And that's not some theory either, there's plenty of evidence to prove it - after all, your mind is creating your reality at the moment. So, if you change your mind you really can change your life.

So, in fact, not only should you stop reading the news and forget about reality TV - you need to be very careful, what you listen to and who you hang out with. You need to be always on your guard so that you can make sure that you don't let yourself be overwhelmed by the nonsense that passes for normal behaviour, normal living and, therefore, normal reality, every day.

Source: http://www.content4reprint.com/inspirational/motivational/crazy-people-crazy-reality.htm

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Problems With BitTorrent Error Messages

There are many error messages that your Torrent software (client) may report during the course of a download. While they may seem alarming, the majority of them are not related to your computer and will not result in any adverse effects to your download. Below are some of the more common error messages with their meanings and solutions:

*A piece failed hash check, re-downloading it* - This has many causes, but the result is that a piece of the data you are downloading has been corrupted and didn't pass the 'hash check'. Solution: You can just ignore this message as your torrent software will automatically discard the corrupted data, and downloaded it again.

*Bad data from tracker* - Sometimes happens with a problematic tracker, or when it is overloaded. Solution: You can ignore this message.

*Couldn't listen -(10048, 'address already in use')* - A port that your torrent software is accessing is probably being used by another application. Solution: Close the other application, or change the port settings in your torrent software/client.

*Error : Data Missing {Download path}* - The download path has become corrupt. Solution: Stop the download and remove the .torrent from the client. Move your incomplete download files to another location and restart the .torrent, saving it to the new location. Ensure the files have been hash checked and are not corrupt.

*(IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied)* - If you open a second instance of your client (while it is already running), and it tries to open a .torrent file you are already using, you will get this error. Solution: Close all instances of the client, and start it again.

*No space left on device* - When you begin a BitTorrent download, your torrent software will allocate the space it needs to store it on your Hard Drive. This error message means that you don't have enough. Solution: Make room by deleting stuff you don't want, or choose another drive if you have one.

*Problem connecting to tracker* - Followed by: timeout exceeded; HTTP Error -1; HTTP Error 503: Connect failed (10054, 'Connection reset by peer'); urlopen error (10055, 'No buffer space available'); (10060, 'Operation timed out'); [Errno socket error] (10061, 'Connection refused'); upload error (10065, 'no route to host'); (111, 'Connection refused'); or (7, 'getaddrinfo failed').

These and similar messages appear with a heavily loaded tracker that your client continues to attempt a connection with. Think of it as if you have been placed in a queue. Solution: You can ignore these messages, as the client will usually connect after a few minutes. If it still hasn't after an hour, and your equipment is configured correctly, then you should assume that the tracker has gone, or no longer supports that .torrent.

If you are having problems with all your .torrents, then there is a problem with your client, modem/router or Internet connection.

*Problem connecting to tracker - HTTP Error 400: Not Authorized* - This .torrent file has been denied access by its tracker. This can happen if the file was not obtained from the tracker's website. Solution: Go to the website associated with the tracker (usually indicated by a link following the error message) and download it from there.

*Problem connecting to tracker - HTTP Error 404: Not Found* - This is an old .torrent file, no longer supported by its tracker. Solution: You will have to find another .torrent file to download the files you want.

*Problem getting response info - [Errno 2] No such file or directory:* - This sometimes happens when opening a torrent link directly from a website where Internet Explorer hasn't saved the torrent file in the Temporary Internet Files directory properly (usually regarding .torrent files with square brackets in the filename) Solution: Save the torrent file to your computer, and launch it from there. Also, Clear the IE cache if this is a recurring problem.

*Rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted* - Your torrent software is using the default BitTorrent ports (6881-6889), or other ports commonly used for P2P connections. It is quite usual for trackers to block these ports, as they are normally throttled by ISPs, which results in very slow speeds. Solution: Configure your torrent software to use different ports. A range of no more than 10, between 48000 & 68000 should be fine.

*Rejected by tracker - Your IP is not registered to use this tracker for this file* - You have to be a registered member of this Tracker, and be logged in when you start the downloading. Solution: Sign up, or find another .torrent.

*Too many args - 0 max* - This error is the result of a bad command line. Solution: Get the latest version of your BitTorrent client. If it is up to date then reinstall it. If this still doesn't work then replace the client with a different one.

*Torrent not registered with this tracker* - Torrents are only supported by their tracker for a limited time, and this error means that the .torrent you are using has expired. Solution: You will have to find another .torrent file to download the files you want.

*Tracker response error: duplicated entry '2086-exbc' for key 2* - Probably an overloaded tracker. Solution: Ignore it. If it persists, you may need to try alternative torrent software.

*Tracker response error: gzip decoder error* - Probably an overloaded tracker. Solution: Ignore it. If it persists, you may need to try alternative torrent software.

*Tracker Status: Offline (SocketException:Unexpected end of file from server)* - There is a problem with the tracker or your .torrent file. Solution: Re-download the .torrent file.

These are the most common, but there are many more that may appear. The best advice is to simply see if it goes away, but you can always do a Google search for a possible solution should you need it.

Source: http://www.content4reprint.com/internet/problems-with-bittorrent-error-messages.htm

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Bit Torrent Vs Apple The Battle For Your Video Downloads

The high Steaks poker Game Has begun; Hollywood watches and waits. As Bit Torrent takes on Apple in a battle for your video downloads.

Earlier this year Apple pushes for and gets removal of DRM (digital rights management) from music and video downloads on Itunes. Just as Bit Torrent goes head to head with Itunes on video downloads.

In February Bit Torrent Inc, the internet company founded by Bram Cohen opened it’s new entertainment web site.

For those who don’t know about Bit Torrent yet, it is a protocol, that can be used free of charge to download large files quickly over the internet using very little band width, It was invented by Bram Cohen. (to learn about bit torrent and how it works go to see the resources box at the end of this article)

Last year Cohen’s company entered into agreements with several movie companies among them Paramount, Warner Brothers, MGM,20th Century Fox and MTV networks. This was the ground work for them to build their business model for a broad market video download service. MTV is a key company because of it’s market demographics.

Apple was quick to follow suit and made it’s own agreements with various movie companies.

This latest effort by Bit Torrent will offer a strong competition to Apple’s Itunes as well as other movie download sites, such as ,Walmart and don‘t forget DirectTV and cable on demand services.

What Bit Torrent offers is rental downloads, purchase downloads and some free downloads. It also offers an opportunity for you to publish your own torrents. Very attractive to new producers of video content. This appears to be a move to create a home for original content providers at the Bit Torrent web site.

You might say that is all well and good but how do I watch the content on my big screen TV? Good question.

Two months ago Bit Torrent announced it’s partnership with the company Netgear , which has developed a small inexpensive interface cable box to use to transfer your movies, video and other content from your computer to your TV. Hmm…. sounds a lot like Apple TV.

In an interview on CNBC May 3, 2007 Patrick Lo, the chief executive of Netgear said that Netgear’s plan is to use it’s wireless networks in the home to drive content from the internet to the home TV and make everyone’s home a wireless network.

Not so fast Bit Torrent; last week Apple counters with , what else, video on demand.

London’s financial Times wrote an article indicating that Apple would be offering a video on demand download service in the Fall. And the downloads would be rentals that would cost $2.99. These rental downloads would be good for thirty days and could be shared on one or more of Apple’s devices, Apple TV, iphone or ipod.

This latest move by Apple seems to have placed Apple and Bit Torrent in direct competition with all other video on demand services, which include Amazon’s service, Netflix service and the cable and direct TV companies services.

The gamble would appear to be for Apple and Bit Torrent to drive these other services to a point where they are marginal players and for one of them, that is Bit Torrent or Apple to emerge as the consumer favorite for video and internet content downloads and streaming wirelessly.

A question arises; where is Microsoft in all this? Are they missing the boat again? Or just waiting for the dust to clear?

Hollywood is placing bets on as many power players as it can; hence the agreements with both Bit Torrent and Apple waiting to see who comes out on top.

Source: http://www.content4reprint.com/recreation-and-leisure/entertainment/bit-torrent-vs-apple-the-battle-for-your-video-downloads.htm

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Where Can I Download TV Shows Online? Torrent Files And Torrent Sites

Numerous websites offer free downloads of programs that uses P2P networking. A P2P or peer-to-peer file sharing is a way of transferring huge sizes of data over the internet. Although there is a so-called original distributor who is responsible for the original file, total dependence to this person or computer is greatly reduced. His beginning load of supplying a huge amount of data is lessened by other new recipients who also supply the smaller pieces of data themselves. The effect is a sharing pattern of data from one person or computer to another, hence the term peer to peer. There will be a cumulative aggregation of each of the recipient's bandwidth making data transfer, such as downloading, faster.

To begin downloading TV shows online, internet users browse certain torrent listing sites in the web to find the torrent they are looking for. They then download it making a torrent file. This file, in turn, will be opened by simply double-clicking. It will automatically be detected by torrent clients installed in the computer. These are the programs, which download the entire file. It is important not to confuse the torrent file from the actual file because the first is just referring to a "key file" to download the actual file, which is often a very huge file. Afterwards, the client [program] connects to the tracker indicated in the torrent file wherein a list of peers [computers or persons] is shown. They are the ones presently transferring smaller pieces of the files specified in the torrent. In the end, the user downloading the file connects to those peers to obtain the various pieces and the final file will soon be completed. Bandwidth speed also influences the data transfer rates making downloading either fast or slow. For broadband or cable internet users, this will not be a problem.

There are many torrent listing sites available via the internet. A torrent is one of the mechanisms to download these very in demand TV shows. Most of these sites utilizing this system only began operation after the year 2000. Since then, sites like these became one of the most popular ones to be used for this purpose. Not only does it allow downloading TV shows but also software, documents, music files and many other more. To top all of that, this method of downloading files is totally free. Torrent sites list a directory and at the same time, offer a search engine for many kinds of torrent files. Thus, finding your desired TV show is a breeze, quick and user friendly. An example of the popularity of these sites is the billions of downloads that had been made for each site. This is a very noteworthy figure knowing that most of these sites just operated for less than a decade.

The advantage of downloading TV shows online using this method is that visitors of torrent listing sites can anonymously upload torrents into the site, which is actually tracked by a "tracker." In addition, an individual's IP address is also not being logged by the site ensuring anonymity. It is also said that most torrent sites doesn't allow uploads of pornographic material, although other similar sites does this anyway. Moreover, those that claim to be pornography free also has some glitches of their own because some pornographic videos still get to be uploaded.

Article Source : http://www.content4reprint.com/technology/cable-and-satellite-tv/where-can-i-download-tv-shows-online-torrent-files-and-torrent-sites.htm

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How to Use Torrents

Their speed of download being aptly likened to torrential rain, by their inventor, Bram Cohen, torrents are file formats that are used for faster download. With the help of torrents, large files can easily be downloaded even if you have a small computer with low bandwidth. The way a torrent works is pretty similar to the working of a peer-to-peer (P2P) software. Just like in a P2P software, the files are hosted by one party and the host lets other people download it by using the P2P application. The only difference is that a file being downloaded through P2P softwares is downloaded all at once, creating pressure on the bandwidth, while torrents help you download a file in small parts. So how to download and use torrents?

How to Use Downloaded Torrents?

• Before understanding how to use torrents, you need to be familiarized with the 'torrent-lingo'. In the torrent world, a file that has been put up for download is called a seed. The people who are viewing or searching for the file are called peers and the process of downloading the file is called leeching.

• While using torrents, there are two ways in which you can source the file that you are looking for. The first is to download a BitTorrent software. µTorrent is one of the most commonly used softwares for this purpose. This µTorrent software will help you search for the files that you are looking for. Softwares like µTorrent work predominantly like Lime Wire where you key in the file name and it helps you locate the seed files from various hosts that are using this software online.

• But here lies the difference between P2P softwares and torrents. While a traditional P2P software downloads one full file at a time, the µTorrent application helps in first locating and downloading a .torrent file. A .torrent file is a small 100 kb file that contains trackers which help in finding the various sources of the file you are looking for. For example, let us assume that you wish to get a free software download or better yet a movie download for the James Bond flick - Casino Royale. The µTorrent software will look for the .torrent file that has the trackers which will help find Casino Royale from different peers that are using the software.

• Once you download the .torrent file, the rest will be done on its own. The file that you want to download (Casino Royale in this case) will be broken up into many pieces and each piece of the movie will be downloaded one by one. Herein lies the advantage of torrents. Unlike Lime Wire, if your host suddenly disappears, your download will stop and you will have to start over again. But if the host on the BitTorrent network disappears, the download will not stop. The trackers will merely look for other hosts from where you can download the pieces that were not downloaded. Thus when you download small pieces of the seed file, you can look for other hosts on the server for the remaining pieces, if your initial host leaves you halfway into your download. Torrents give you this option.

• On the other hand, you could also look at different torrent websites to source the .torrent file. Popular, well-stocked websites include mininova.org and isohunt.com where you will find pretty much anything that you may be looking for. Search for the file that you are looking for from the search field and click on the result to start the download. The size of the database of the website really depends on how many users are logged into the website for file sharing. The more the number of people logged in, the greater is the chance of finding the file of your choice. And when you have more hosts, the download speed is also faster as the download will take place from the host having the best bandwidth.

• So now you know how to use torrents. Torrents are great especially for large files and their speed varies from fast to super fast depending upon the hosts and the website you are using. But you have to ensure that you are downloading the files from legal websites, as, in case you download illegal copies, you may be charged for intellectual property and copyright violation.

Source : http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-use-torrents.html

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