# Please try this experiment. It is inordinately impressive! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 31, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856 "2009-01-31T13:41:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/1 "2009-01-31T13:41:57Z")
Go to [speedtest.net](http://speedtest.net) and perform the speed test of your computer. To get the test going, simply left click on the golden pyramid as it emerges. Once the test is done, save the web page to your drive and email it to someone as an attachment. Now open the attachment in your SENT mail. Click on the bars at the top of the page. **MY RESULTS** , **MY SUMMARY** , **GLOBAL STATS**. It might surprise you to find that the doc is active. You can fiddle with the data to your heart’s content - comparing your results with the rest of your state, etc., etc. And so can the person(s) you email it to. PLEASE NOTE: YOU MIGHT HAVE TO SAVE/OPEN IT AS A GOOGLE DOCUMENT TO GET THE FULL EFFECT. This is probably old hat to you computer wizards, but it blew my mind. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/2 "2009-01-31T15:01:07Z")
It’s active, because it’s just a link to Speedtest’s servers. I like speedtest as testing site. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/3 "2009-01-31T15:21:16Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > It’s active, because it’s just a link to Speedtest’s servers. > > I like speedtest as testing site. I found it by complaining to my ISP (AT&T) about the miserable DSL speed. He said AT&T’s speed test site is lousy so he took me to [speedtest.net](http://speedtest.net). What I discovered at speedtest is while I’m downloading at 2.7 MegPS, my son is going at 9+ on Comcast. Compare your results BTW with [dslreports.com](http://dslreports.com) and [speedtest.net](http://speedtest.net). At dslreports you hit Tools and then speed tests. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/4 "2009-01-31T16:04:29Z")
Moved from General Questions to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share. **Gfactor** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Kaboodle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kaboodle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaboodle)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/5 "2009-01-31T17:27:30Z")
> [@BarnOwl](#): > > I found it by complaining to my ISP (AT&T) about the miserable DSL speed. > > He said AT&T’s speed test site is lousy so he took me to [speedtest.net](http://speedtest.net). > > What I discovered at speedtest is while I’m downloading at 2.7 MegPS, my son is going at 9+ on Comcast. > > Compare your results BTW with [dslreports.com](http://dslreports.com) and [speedtest.net](http://speedtest.net). > At dslreports you hit Tools and then speed tests. Are you sure you’re reading the results correctly? If you’re getting that fast a download that’s great but the results from both [speedtest.net](http://speedtest.net) and [dslreports.com](http://dslreports.com) is presented in Kb (kilo_bits_) per second. If I understand correctly, you have to divide the number by 8 to give KB (kilo_bytes_) per second. Then it depends if you want to be picky and divide by 1,024 instead of 1,000 to get MB per second. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/6 "2009-01-31T17:53:34Z")
> [@Kaboodle](#): > > Are you sure you’re reading the results correctly? If you’re getting that fast a download that’s great but the results from both [speedtest.net](http://speedtest.net) and [dslreports.com](http://dslreports.com) is presented in Kb (kilo_bits_) per second. > > If I understand correctly, you have to divide the number by 8 to give KB (kilo_bytes_) per second. > > Then it depends if you want to be picky and divide by 1,024 instead of 1,000 to get MB per second. 🙂 It’s 2.7 Meg/sec > **[Kilobytes/Second (SI Def.) to Megabytes/Second Conversion Calculator](http://www.unitconversion.org/data-transfer/kilobytes-per-second-si-def--to-megabytes-per-second-conversion.html)** > > Kilobytes/Second (SI Def.) to Megabytes/Second Converter ---
**Author:** ![Kaboodle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kaboodle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaboodle)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/7 "2009-01-31T18:09:30Z")
Okay, maybe I’m not reading it correctly. Your conversion calculator link pointed to a KB to MB converter not a Kb to MB. If that’s the conversion you’re using I think it’s wrong. Kilobits (Kb - lower case b) is not the same as Kilobytes (KB - capital B). When I tested my connection speed at [speedtest.net](http://speedtest.net) I got a download speed of 12,637 Kbs. Your calculator (Kb to MB) shows that as the equivalent of ~1.5 MBs. To get a download speed of 2.7 MBs, speedtest would have to give you a result of around 22,650 Kbs. Am I reading it right? ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/8 "2009-01-31T18:19:52Z")
> [@Kaboodle](#): > > Okay, maybe I’m not reading it correctly. > > Your conversion calculator link pointed to a KB to MB converter not a Kb to MB. If that’s the conversion you’re using I think it’s wrong. Kilobits (Kb - lower case b) is not the same as Kilobytes (KB - capital B). > > When I tested my connection speed at [speedtest.net](http://speedtest.net) I got a download speed of 12,637 Kbs. Your calculator (Kb to MB) shows that as the equivalent of ~1.5 MBs. > > To get a download speed of 2.7 MBs, speedtest would have to give you a result of around 22,650 Kbs. > > Am I reading it right? Try again [http://www.numion.com/Calculators/Units.html](http://www.numion.com/Calculators/Units.html) See the 2784 KbPS at the top, converted to 2.784 in the middle. You divide by 1,000, not 8 ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/9 "2009-01-31T18:25:41Z")
You’re getting 12.6 MgPS download. Celebrate!!! You’re about 4 x fater. I get crap and I pay $30 a month. ---
**Author:** ![Kaboodle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kaboodle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaboodle)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/10 "2009-01-31T18:35:16Z")
I think we’re talking past each other. The converter you linked to uses 1,000 to convert kilobytes to megabytes. Fine, that’s why I had the smiley because a lot of techs use 1,024 kilobytes per megabyte instead of the 1,000 used by hard drive and flash drive manufacturers. Forget the mega to kilo for a second. It’s the bytes versus bits that was my original point. Speed tests show your results in kilo_ **bits** _ not kilo_ **bytes** _. To go from bits to bytes you have to divide by 8. I’m pretty sure that’s a modem thing. The baud rate was based on bits not bytes. I wish I was getting 12MBs download. On the fastest sites I can usually achieve a real rate of just over 1MBs. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/11 "2009-01-31T18:38:21Z")
> [@Kaboodle](#): > > I think we’re talking past each other. > > The converter you linked to uses 1,000 to convert kilobytes to megabytes. Fine, that’s why I had the smiley because a lot of techs use 1,024 kilobytes per megabyte instead of the 1,000 used by hard drive and flash drive manufacturers. > > Forget the mega to kilo for a second. It’s the bytes versus bits that was my original point. > > Speed tests show your results in kilo_ **bits** _ not kilo_ **bytes** _. To go from bits to bytes you have to divide by 8. I’m pretty sure that’s a modem thing. The baud rate was based on bits not bytes. > > I wish I was getting 12MBs download. On the fastest sites I can usually achieve a real rate of just over 1MBs. Good. I give up. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/12 "2009-01-31T18:50:27Z")
> [@BarnOwl](#): > > Good. I give up. The confusion is understandable, though – you’re talking about megabits (per second), he’s talking about megabytes, which is the far more widespread unit when talking about file sizes, hard disk space, RAM and the like. On your 2.7 megabits per second line, a file sized 2.7 megabytes would take 8 seconds to download. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/13 "2009-01-31T19:05:25Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > The confusion is understandable, though – you’re talking about megabits (per second), he’s talking about megabytes, which is the far more widespread unit when talking about file sizes, hard disk space, RAM and the like. On your 2.7 megabits per second line, a file sized 2.7 megabytes would take 8 seconds to download. I am talkimg about KILOBYTES PER SECOND converted to MEGABYTES PER SECOND Look at the chart - at the top. 2784 Kil **o** bytes per second [http://www.numion.com/Calculators/Units.html](http://www.numion.com/Calculators/Units.html) Now, go into the big square, and starting at the top entry, count down six lines until you come to 2.784 MBpc [megabytes per second] Start fresh. Go the chart, fill in 2784 kilobytes per second and click the CALCULATE BUTTON yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/14 "2009-01-31T19:49:14Z")
Why are you talking about kilobytes per second? If you’re getting 2784 kilobytes per second then you’re running on one of the fastest connections in the country. If your son was getting 9+ mega **bytes** per second then his connection is 40% faster than the fastest connection in the country. (Lawrence Berkeley National Labs at 45444 kilobbits/sec = 5.7 megabytes/sec) The results on the speedtest site are in kilobits per second, so when your results says 2784 kbps that means 2784 kilobits per second. (2784 kbps = 348 KBps) If they mean 2784 kilo **bytes** per second they would represent that as 2784 KBps. Here’s a link to the [speedtest FAQ](http://speedtest.net/qna.php#q6). > [@](#): > > Does kb/s and kbps mean kilobits or kilobytes, and can I change the speed measurement? > > We use kb for kilobit and KB for kilobyte throughout the site. So unless you see it in upper case, then it means kilobits. While the measurement seen in the Flash test application itself is always in kbps, you can change it to other measurements at the top right of the My Past Results page. However, it is true that if you put 2784 kilobytes per second into the calculator it is equivalent to 2.7 megabytes per second. The issue is that you aren’t seeing 2784 kilobytes per second on your computer at home. (If you were, you wouldn’t be complaining about it.) ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/15 "2009-01-31T20:42:29Z")
> [@Tenebras](#): > > Why are you talking about kilobytes per second? If you’re getting 2784 kilobytes per second then you’re running on one of the fastest connections in the country. If your son was getting 9+ mega **bytes** per second then his connection is 40% faster than the fastest connection in the country. (Lawrence Berkeley National Labs at 45444 kilobbits/sec = 5.7 megabytes/sec) > > The results on the speedtest site are in kilobits per second, so when your results says 2784 kbps that means 2784 kilobits per second. (2784 kbps = 348 KBps) If they mean 2784 kilo **bytes** per second they would represent that as 2784 KBps. Here’s a link to the [speedtest FAQ](http://speedtest.net/qna.php#q6). > > However, it is true that if you put 2784 kilobytes per second into the calculator it is equivalent to 2.7 megabytes per second. The issue is that you aren’t seeing 2784 kilobytes per second on your computer at home. (If you were, you wouldn’t be complaining about it.) [COLOR=“Blue”]Thanks. Tenebras. But that’s what the techies were saying at AT&T - kilobytes per second[/COLOR]. Maybe I’m fast enough. Maybe I’m not. But I have DSL Pro from AT&T which says I’ll get up 3.0 Mbps. Does Mbps = Megabytes/second? [http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=10937](http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=10937) I am not stating this contentiously, but hoping to clarify all this in my own dense head. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/16 "2009-01-31T20:51:46Z")
Nice test site. I get 14mbps down, 1.5mbps up (or 1750kBps down, 187kBps up). I love cable internet, but can’t wait for FIOS. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/17 "2009-01-31T20:58:15Z")
Never mind, I found it: “Likewise, one megabit per second (Mbps) equals one million bps” Sorry to have been so stupid. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/18 "2009-01-31T22:09:27Z")
This is what my son got at [speedtest.net](http://speedtest.net) [http://www.speedtest.net/result/401714710.png](http://www.speedtest.net/result/401714710.png) ---
**Author:** ![EpicNonsense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@EpicNonsense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EpicNonsense)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/19 "2009-01-31T22:27:34Z")
4890 896 … pfft… I’ll try to do a direct connection later on… Currently using an adapter, which connects to router, which is connected to the modem. Also my adapter has a low output max so that is probably the issue. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856/20 "2009-02-01T04:28:53Z")
Mine was kind of sad. ☹ [![](https://www.speedtest.net/result/401880111.png) ](https://www.speedtest.net/result/401880111.png) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-try-this-experiment-it-is-inordinately-impressive/483856.md?page=2)