What to do with 100mbps connection?

February 15, 2008 8:55 PM

What can I do with a 100mbps internet connection?

I just got a 100mpbs fiber connection at my apartment and I want to play with it! Yeah, I updated OS X by downloading a 180MB update in just over a minute, but that's not very fun!

What are the really high-bandwidth sites? I tried bittorrent, but it's a little depressing since you need to find the right torrent or else you get typical 100-200 kbps speeds...

posted by phaedrus441 to technology (23 answers total)

Let me move in?

Operate a Tor Node by contributing your bandwidth to a massive anonymous proxy service?

Host a team fortress match?

Hit up multiple torrent sites at once and grab as many tv shows you want (You wont get massive speed on any one torrent, but you will be agregate bandwidth).

Watch all the HD trailers on apple.com?
posted by mrzarquon at 9:00 PM on February 15, 2008

Test how fast the connection really is?
posted by porpoise at 9:01 PM on February 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

Haha, the first thing I did was hit up movie trailers, since I know Apple uses Akamai and bandwidth one their side is never a problem... Nice, but still unfulfilling!
posted by phaedrus441 at 9:01 PM on February 15, 2008

And, upload is capped around 10mpbs, I think... (at least in the speedtests I ran it hovered around that)....
posted by phaedrus441 at 9:02 PM on February 15, 2008

I'll just say join a usenet file service like giganews or easynews and say nothing more. Trust me, it's worth every penny.
posted by mathowie at 9:09 PM on February 15, 2008 [5 favorites]

1.) Flaunt it in our faces. ;)

2.) 10 Mbps upload is still awesome. You could host various services, if not prohibited by your ISP's Terms of Service. (Most do.) Maybe a webserver for friends? Or seed popular (legal!) torrents, like OpenSource software.

(Things like Team Fortress 2 aren't that bandwidth intensive; it's more CPU-intensive, plus latency-sensitive.)

Don't host a Tor node unless you're familiar with it and understand how it works. I love the idea, commend EFF on their work, and so forth. But I will not ever host a Tor node, because I'm the type of cynical bastard that fully expects that setting up a Tor proxy on my computer will get me nabbed for child porn the next day as a total stranger exploits my charitable contribution to do something illegal. Yes, you can kind of work around that problem. That's why I say to make sure you're familiar with it.
posted by fogster at 9:44 PM on February 15, 2008

This reminds me of when I spent a couple of days back at my alma mater, which reminded me that academic bandwidth : consumer broadband :: consumer broadband : dialup.

What I liked most about that experience was the 'click - it's there' of everyday browsing. So try that. A site that's very 'linky' rather than just offering masses of data will have a snap that you will find to your liking. Go on one of those classic Wikipedia meanders, and the instantaneousness brings its own satisfaction. Though you could always see how long it takes to download an entire local version of Project Gutenberg...

My gut feeling is that hyperbroadband sites will be based out of places where hyperbroadband is the growing norm: S. Korea, Japan, bits of Scandinavia. (And may well be GeoIP limited.) If you can download a 'learn Korean in 14 days course', you're laughing. but #1, he speaks with wisdom
posted by holgate at 9:47 PM on February 15, 2008

Find and join private bittorrent site, particularly one with a large Swedish contingent, you'll find the speeds are waaaaaaaay faster ...

+1 giganews, too.
posted by doublesix at 10:10 PM on February 15, 2008

Can we assume that this is in Japan? Do you mind sharing what this costs?

I would say that something like Netflix's streaming video service would rock with a connection like that although I don't know if they offer it outside of the US.
posted by mmascolino at 10:31 PM on February 15, 2008

agreed: streaming netflix, giganews, easynews, etc...
posted by joshgray at 11:16 PM on February 15, 2008

With a fat pipe, newsgroups (start with then newzbin.com search engine and find a provider like giganews) will be your friend.
posted by bprater at 2:26 AM on February 16, 2008

seed legal torrents
posted by browolf at 3:00 AM on February 16, 2008

If his connection is anything like mine, it's probably about ¥4000-6000 (about US$35-55) a month.

And yes, 100 Mbps throughput is FABULOUS. (Though I'm actually running my laptop through an airport express, so I'm not making full use of my downstream unless I wire up... An Airport Extreme is on my shopping list!)
posted by armage at 5:15 AM on February 16, 2008

I'll just say join a usenet file service like giganews or easynews and say nothing more. Trust me, it's worth every penny.

Seconded.
Thirded.
Fourthded.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:34 AM on February 16, 2008

Sorry, but I really don't know anything about usenet services... What's the point if you have bittorrent? And, I'm in Japan, so I might not get a great connection speed (giganews speedtests hits about 4mbps, though it's still increasing when the download completes). Oh yeah, I pay about $46/month
posted by phaedrus441 at 7:19 AM on February 16, 2008

Well usenet downloads are way faster than torrents usually because you don't depend on people uploading but on the server you are downloading from.
posted by josue at 7:37 AM on February 16, 2008

Sorry, but I really don't know anything about usenet services... Guide to newsgroups
posted by doublesix at 9:08 AM on February 16, 2008 [2 favorites]

Also, major networks (ABC, NBC) have their shows available online (with crappy commercials), but they're in HD. I hate the commercials, too, but it was pretty cool to see Lost and be like "hey, I can see the stubble on everyone's chin!"
posted by cowbellemoo at 10:27 AM on February 16, 2008

Also, in case you want to automate your TV torrents, TED.
posted by cowbellemoo at 10:32 AM on February 16, 2008

Conventional speed tests are not really engineered to test much beyond raw bitstreaming, and they are targetted towards typical low-end DSL/Cable speeds. You should use something like NDT to stress several bends along your tubes to see where you might optimise for efficiency. Weak links can arise from software mismatches, limited software and hardware buffers, annoyingly sub-optimal mis-configured settings, etc.
posted by meehawl at 10:49 AM on February 16, 2008

Seconding the Tor suggestion, even if as a middle-man node as opposed to an exit node.
posted by Brian Puccio at 12:11 PM on February 16, 2008

If you decide to run some sort of server software, don't forget to set an upper limit on the speed. Otherwise, it'll saturate your link, and it'll be like you're on dial up again. Plus, you could run several different servers with plenty of bandwidth each, this way.
posted by philomathoholic at 12:53 PM on February 16, 2008

Run a file sharing server and get sued back into the dialup age.
posted by fourcheesemac at 12:59 PM on February 16, 2008