How to Save Bandwidth If Your Connection Is Capped

how-to-save-bandwidth1

Since the issue on data capping has been widely talked about, a lot of Internet users are on the hunt on looking for the best Internet subscription with no capping at all. While wired home broadbands usually have unlimited bandwidth, wireless and mobile broadbands are limited to volume-based plans with ridiculously small data allocation or an all-day plan with throttling. Here are 5 simple tips you can follow to save bandwidth.

1. Watch your usage

The best thing to do when saving data is to monitor your usage. Keeping an eye on your consumption will greatly impact your future usage and you’ll learn how to prioritize when and how much data to use. Major platforms like Windows, iOS, and Android already have built-in usage meter tucked underneath the settings panel.

Android has a pretty good native meter with alerts and breakdowns but if you wish to get more details regarding your usage, you can try out Onavo Count (download) or Opera Max (download) which are both available for free. With iOS, the native data meter is very basic and it only shows your usage but won’t give alerts if you’re already emptying your allocation, but it allows you to turn off specific apps in consuming data.

data-managers1

To further manage your data on an iOS device, check out My Data Manager (download), it’s free and comes in handy. It’s also available on Android, which is perfect if you have both OS, it will avoid any confusion with UI. Lastly, if you’re on Windows Phone, you can try out Data Sense which is pre-installed with the latest update available. It has the basics covered like monitoring and limiting data usage.

If you’re using Windows desktop or Mac OS X, there are some applications you can try out as well. For Windows, aside from the built-in monitor, you can install NetWorkx (download) and get a bit geeky in exploring what it can do. While for Mac OS X, we found the Bandwidth+ (download) and it seems simple and easy to use.

Now that we’re monitoring our usage, it’s time to take action on things that makes us unsuspecting users.

2. Beware of automatic updates and sync

Updates could be crucial and we should install them to crash those bugs to improve our system. Yet, they can be hefty at times, some ranges from a small 1MB patch to gigabytes of major update. It’s best to schedule updates — both download and installation. Be sure to disable automatic updates because from the word automatic, it’s downloads and consumes bandwidth without prompting you. Also, if you have online storage apps on your PC or mobile device, you might want to disable automatic syncing. Big files will have a great impact on your data and most of the time, the automatic photo sync feature is to blame. In short, if you have limited bandwidth to spare, stay away from anything automatic.

3. Avoid HD streaming

1080p YouTube videos are a joy to watch but they consume about 35MB for a 10-minute playback. You might want to lower it down to 480p or even 360p. To avoid HD playback, you can set your YouTube account to “Never play higher-quality video” through the account settings. You might also want to disable automatic playback on Facebook because they can also slow down performance and quite annoying too. Local streaming is starting to get some traction lately, and they consume varying bandwidth. Good thing ISPs are providing a dedicated data allocation for their own streaming service.

4. Tame yourself from torrent

Torrent, this is something capped subscriptions want us to avoid. Heck, this might be the sole reason why ISPs strictly enforce throttling for abusive users. A 1080p YIFY movie with a TRT of an hour and a half usually weighs around 1.5GB, that’s already above the local ISPs Fair Use Policy (FUP) limit of 800MB to 1GB/day. If you rely on mobile broadband for downloading, you’re better off in looking for a coffee shop with decent Wi-Fi, and hoping it’s free. Globe’s current Tattoo Home Broadband wired plans are also limited by having data caps as low as 50GB for 3Mbps.

5. Secure your Wi-Fi

Yes, your neighbor might be stealing your bandwidth especially when they have visited you and asked for the password during a get together. Make it a habit of securing your home network by changing your password from time to time. If possible, you can use your router’s guest SSID feature to monitor connections when you have visitors at home. Being strict with your Wi-Fi network doesn’t harm anyone.

Hopefully, these 5 tips will be able to help you control your bandwidth usage. There are also more you can do to save additional data, but you can begin with these. The FUP capping still has to prove its benefit for consumers by protecting from abusive users, because clearly we’re not having faster internet. It seems to just a way to control consumer behaviour. If you have a tip related to this topic, feel free to share on the comment section.

The post How to Save Bandwidth If Your Connection Is Capped appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines News & Tech Reviews.

How to Save Bandwidth If Your Connection Is Capped

how-to-save-bandwidth1

Since the issue on data capping has been widely talked about, a lot of Internet users are on the hunt on looking for the best Internet subscription with no capping at all. While wired home broadbands usually have unlimited bandwidth, wireless and mobile broadbands are limited to volume-based plans with ridiculously small data allocation or an all-day plan with throttling. Here are 5 simple tips you can follow to save bandwidth.

1. Watch your usage

The best thing to do when saving data is to monitor your usage. Keeping an eye on your consumption will greatly impact your future usage and you’ll learn how to prioritize when and how much data to use. Major platforms like Windows, iOS, and Android already have built-in usage meter tucked underneath the settings panel.

Android has a pretty good native meter with alerts and breakdowns but if you wish to get more details regarding your usage, you can try out Onavo Count (download) or Opera Max (download) which are both available for free. With iOS, the native data meter is very basic and it only shows your usage but won’t give alerts if you’re already emptying your allocation, but it allows you to turn off specific apps in consuming data.

data-managers1

To further manage your data on an iOS device, check out My Data Manager (download), it’s free and comes in handy. It’s also available on Android, which is perfect if you have both OS, it will avoid any confusion with UI. Lastly, if you’re on Windows Phone, you can try out Data Sense which is pre-installed with the latest update available. It has the basics covered like monitoring and limiting data usage.

If you’re using Windows desktop or Mac OS X, there are some applications you can try out as well. For Windows, aside from the built-in monitor, you can install NetWorkx (download) and get a bit geeky in exploring what it can do. While for Mac OS X, we found the Bandwidth+ (download) and it seems simple and easy to use.

Now that we’re monitoring our usage, it’s time to take action on things that makes us unsuspecting users.

2. Beware of automatic updates and sync

Updates could be crucial and we should install them to crash those bugs to improve our system. Yet, they can be hefty at times, some ranges from a small 1MB patch to gigabytes of major update. It’s best to schedule updates — both download and installation. Be sure to disable automatic updates because from the word automatic, it’s downloads and consumes bandwidth without prompting you. Also, if you have online storage apps on your PC or mobile device, you might want to disable automatic syncing. Big files will have a great impact on your data and most of the time, the automatic photo sync feature is to blame. In short, if you have limited bandwidth to spare, stay away from anything automatic.

3. Avoid HD streaming

1080p YouTube videos are a joy to watch but they consume about 35MB for a 10-minute playback. You might want to lower it down to 480p or even 360p. To avoid HD playback, you can set your YouTube account to “Never play higher-quality video” through the account settings. You might also want to disable automatic playback on Facebook because they can also slow down performance and quite annoying too. Local streaming is starting to get some traction lately, and they consume varying bandwidth. Good thing ISPs are providing a dedicated data allocation for their own streaming service.

4. Tame yourself from torrent

Torrent, this is something capped subscriptions want us to avoid. Heck, this might be the sole reason why ISPs strictly enforce throttling for abusive users. A 1080p YIFY movie with a TRT of an hour and a half usually weighs around 1.5GB, that’s already above the local ISPs Fair Use Policy (FUP) limit of 800MB to 1GB/day. If you rely on mobile broadband for downloading, you’re better off in looking for a coffee shop with decent Wi-Fi, and hoping it’s free. Globe’s current Tattoo Home Broadband wired plans are also limited by having data caps as low as 50GB for 3Mbps.

5. Secure your Wi-Fi

Yes, your neighbor might be stealing your bandwidth especially when they have visited you and asked for the password during a get together. Make it a habit of securing your home network by changing your password from time to time. If possible, you can use your router’s guest SSID feature to monitor connections when you have visitors at home. Being strict with your Wi-Fi network doesn’t harm anyone.

Hopefully, these 5 tips will be able to help you control your bandwidth usage. There are also more you can do to save additional data, but you can begin with these. The FUP capping still has to prove its benefit for consumers by protecting from abusive users, because clearly we’re not having faster internet. It seems to just a way to control consumer behaviour. If you have a tip related to this topic, feel free to share on the comment section.

The post How to Save Bandwidth If Your Connection Is Capped appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines News & Tech Reviews.

How to Save Bandwidth If Your Connection Is Capped

how-to-save-bandwidth1

Since the issue on data capping has been widely talked about, a lot of Internet users are on the hunt on looking for the best Internet subscription with no capping at all. While wired home broadbands usually have unlimited bandwidth, wireless and mobile broadbands are limited to volume-based plans with ridiculously small data allocation or an all-day plan with throttling. Here are 5 simple tips you can follow to save bandwidth.

1. Watch your usage

The best thing to do when saving data is to monitor your usage. Keeping an eye on your consumption will greatly impact your future usage and you’ll learn how to prioritize when and how much data to use. Major platforms like Windows, iOS, and Android already have built-in usage meter tucked underneath the settings panel.

Android has a pretty good native meter with alerts and breakdowns but if you wish to get more details regarding your usage, you can try out Onavo Count (download) or Opera Max (download) which are both available for free. With iOS, the native data meter is very basic and it only shows your usage but won’t give alerts if you’re already emptying your allocation, but it allows you to turn off specific apps in consuming data.

data-managers1

To further manage your data on an iOS device, check out My Data Manager (download), it’s free and comes in handy. It’s also available on Android, which is perfect if you have both OS, it will avoid any confusion with UI. Lastly, if you’re on Windows Phone, you can try out Data Sense which is pre-installed with the latest update available. It has the basics covered like monitoring and limiting data usage.

If you’re using Windows desktop or Mac OS X, there are some applications you can try out as well. For Windows, aside from the built-in monitor, you can install NetWorkx (download) and get a bit geeky in exploring what it can do. While for Mac OS X, we found the Bandwidth+ (download) and it seems simple and easy to use.

Now that we’re monitoring our usage, it’s time to take action on things that makes us unsuspecting users.

2. Beware of automatic updates and sync

Updates could be crucial and we should install them to crash those bugs to improve our system. Yet, they can be hefty at times, some ranges from a small 1MB patch to gigabytes of major update. It’s best to schedule updates — both download and installation. Be sure to disable automatic updates because from the word automatic, it’s downloads and consumes bandwidth without prompting you. Also, if you have online storage apps on your PC or mobile device, you might want to disable automatic syncing. Big files will have a great impact on your data and most of the time, the automatic photo sync feature is to blame. In short, if you have limited bandwidth to spare, stay away from anything automatic.

3. Avoid HD streaming

1080p YouTube videos are a joy to watch but they consume about 35MB for a 10-minute playback. You might want to lower it down to 480p or even 360p. To avoid HD playback, you can set your YouTube account to “Never play higher-quality video” through the account settings. You might also want to disable automatic playback on Facebook because they can also slow down performance and quite annoying too. Local streaming is starting to get some traction lately, and they consume varying bandwidth. Good thing ISPs are providing a dedicated data allocation for their own streaming service.

4. Tame yourself from torrent

Torrent, this is something capped subscriptions want us to avoid. Heck, this might be the sole reason why ISPs strictly enforce throttling for abusive users. A 1080p YIFY movie with a TRT of an hour and a half usually weighs around 1.5GB, that’s already above the local ISPs Fair Use Policy (FUP) limit of 800MB to 1GB/day. If you rely on mobile broadband for downloading, you’re better off in looking for a coffee shop with decent Wi-Fi, and hoping it’s free. Globe’s current Tattoo Home Broadband wired plans are also limited by having data caps as low as 50GB for 3Mbps.

5. Secure your Wi-Fi

Yes, your neighbor might be stealing your bandwidth especially when they have visited you and asked for the password during a get together. Make it a habit of securing your home network by changing your password from time to time. If possible, you can use your router’s guest SSID feature to monitor connections when you have visitors at home. Being strict with your Wi-Fi network doesn’t harm anyone.

Hopefully, these 5 tips will be able to help you control your bandwidth usage. There are also more you can do to save additional data, but you can begin with these. The FUP capping still has to prove its benefit for consumers by protecting from abusive users, because clearly we’re not having faster internet. It seems to just a way to control consumer behaviour. If you have a tip related to this topic, feel free to share on the comment section.

The post How to Save Bandwidth If Your Connection Is Capped appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines News & Tech Reviews.

The Bad: A Look Back on Top Local Tech Stories of 2014

Lazada Philippines

2014 is drawing to a close and we thought of compiling the worst that the local tech industry has to offer, as well as some tech-related stories that either provoked anger to most of our readers or, worse, make them feel ashamed to be part of . Sit back, relax, and let’s look back on some of this year’s epic fails in the technology segment.

header

Editor’s note: the news/topics on the list are arranged in chronological manner.

1. The Inevitable F***UP – Globe Telecoms subscribers greeted 2014 with a sour taste on their mouth as the Ayala-owned telco has announced that it will be stricter in implementing the Fair Use Policy.

In the weeks that followed, Globe tried to justify the need to enforce data capping by explaining how it works and by pointing out that only 3% of their subscribers will be affected by this.

globe-fup

Obviously, users that fall under Globe’s 3% category (such as us) contemplated on switching to Smart thinking that they will not go down the same route. Sadly, this was not the case as the MVP-owned telco scrapped the unlimited data allocation on the latter part of 2014.

2. DepEd Has an Eye for Antique PCs – Just when the 2014 school year is about to commence, AksyonTV has uncovered that DepEd purchased PCs with outdated specs for Php400,00 each under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s term.

Old PC

Unfortunately, like most of the anomalies that involve government officials, the issue is still not resolved as we speak.

3. The House Bill Which Must Not Be Named – 2014 is undoubtedly the year of the selfie. But just because it’s popular, doesn’t mean that politicians must use the term to name a House Bill (HB4807) after it, especially if it has little to do with self-portraits but more about privacy.

First proposed to the Congress on August, the House Bill 4807 coined as the Anti-Selfie Bill reached second reading after it was dissed by the House of Representatives a month later due to the overwhelming opposition from various media organizations, as well as photography associations which claims that it will violate the freedom of the press.

4. Pushed a Little Too Far – In the string of mishaps and inconveniences that MRT passengers endure on a regular basis, none is probably more worthy of a facepalm than the recent accident that took place on the afternoon of August 13.

MRT Derailed

This incident was a case of being pushed a little bit too far (literally and figuratively) as the train that stopped between Magallanes and Taft Avenue station was being pushed by another train when the coupling mechanism unbuckled, leaving the defective train going over board and destroying everything in its path.

5. The Sale That Didn’t Quite Hit The Mark – Sales are almost always a win-win for consumers and companies, but only if proper forecasting and careful implementation was made. Well, I think we can all agree that the companies behind the infamous ZTE Grand X2 L Sale might’ve overlooked these two just a little bit.

ZTESaleDavao

Hundreds, if not thousands of consumers flocked participating branches and outlets all over the archipelago with hopes of grabbing the Php12k-worth smartphone which was being sold, at that time, for only Php1,999. Instead a lot of them went home with a long face and are prepared to bring out their pitchforks as there were not sufficient stocks of the ZTE Grand X2 L to go around for everybody.

The post The Bad: A Look Back on Top Local Tech Stories of 2014 appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

The Bad: A Look Back on Top Local Tech Stories of 2014

Lazada Philippines

2014 is drawing to a close and we thought of compiling the worst that the local tech industry has to offer, as well as some tech-related stories that either provoked anger to most of our readers or, worse, make them feel ashamed to be part of . Sit back, relax, and let’s look back on some of this year’s epic fails in the technology segment.

header

Editor’s note: the news/topics on the list are arranged in chronological manner.

1. The Inevitable F***UP – Globe Telecoms subscribers greeted 2014 with a sour taste on their mouth as the Ayala-owned telco has announced that it will be stricter in implementing the Fair Use Policy.

In the weeks that followed, Globe tried to justify the need to enforce data capping by explaining how it works and by pointing out that only 3% of their subscribers will be affected by this.

globe-fup

Obviously, users that fall under Globe’s 3% category (such as us) contemplated on switching to Smart thinking that they will not go down the same route. Sadly, this was not the case as the MVP-owned telco scrapped the unlimited data allocation on the latter part of 2014.

2. DepEd Has an Eye for Antique PCs – Just when the 2014 school year is about to commence, AksyonTV has uncovered that DepEd purchased PCs with outdated specs for Php400,00 each under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s term.

Old PC

Unfortunately, like most of the anomalies that involve government officials, the issue is still not resolved as we speak.

3. The House Bill Which Must Not Be Named – 2014 is undoubtedly the year of the selfie. But just because it’s popular, doesn’t mean that politicians must use the term to name a House Bill (HB4807) after it, especially if it has little to do with self-portraits but more about privacy.

First proposed to the Congress on August, the House Bill 4807 coined as the Anti-Selfie Bill reached second reading after it was dissed by the House of Representatives a month later due to the overwhelming opposition from various media organizations, as well as photography associations which claims that it will violate the freedom of the press.

4. Pushed a Little Too Far – In the string of mishaps and inconveniences that MRT passengers endure on a regular basis, none is probably more worthy of a facepalm than the recent accident that took place on the afternoon of August 13.

MRT Derailed

This incident was a case of being pushed a little bit too far (literally and figuratively) as the train that stopped between Magallanes and Taft Avenue station was being pushed by another train when the coupling mechanism unbuckled, leaving the defective train going over board and destroying everything in its path.

5. The Sale That Didn’t Quite Hit The Mark – Sales are almost always a win-win for consumers and companies, but only if proper forecasting and careful implementation was made. Well, I think we can all agree that the companies behind the infamous ZTE Grand X2 L Sale might’ve overlooked these two just a little bit.

ZTESaleDavao

Hundreds, if not thousands of consumers flocked participating branches and outlets all over the archipelago with hopes of grabbing the Php12k-worth smartphone which was being sold, at that time, for only Php1,999. Instead a lot of them went home with a long face and are prepared to bring out their pitchforks as there were not sufficient stocks of the ZTE Grand X2 L to go around for everybody.

The post The Bad: A Look Back on Top Local Tech Stories of 2014 appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.