When I am debugging, I often have to ping a machine to make sure my network is up. In order to minimize my typing, what is the shortest address that I can ping (IP or DNS)? Bonus points if your short address is easy to type.
So here are the rules:
The system must be on the internet (not a local system).
The name must be resolvable using generic DNS servers. Adding addresses to the host file isn’t an option. Neither is using a custom DNS server.
My candidate is “av.com” which is a shortcut for altavista. I am hoping there are shorter hostnames and certainly there are plenty of shorter, two-letter country TLDs.
Since you want to minimize typing effort, I suggest “p.pl”, which has the advantage of all characters being on one side of the keyboard, making it a snap to type with just one hand.
Adding to my previous, you could try “l.pl”, “m.pl”, “o.pl” or “k.pl” in addition to “p.pl” and decide for yourself which involves less effort. All the suggestions return websites.
Or decide not to touch the idea with a ten-foot pole; either way.
If you don’t care about lack of DNS resolution (use an IP addres), then 4.2.2.2 goes to a GTE nameserver. I’ve never seen it down, and it’s my most common “is outside network up?” test.
If you want to minimize your typing, why not use a batch file? If you name your batch file p.bat then your typing ammounts to two keystrokes (P and Enter). You could even make a shortcut and just click on the bugger, no keyboard typing at all required.
You could even make it do something fancy like ping your internet gateway, ping your dns server, and ping machines on both your local network and on the internet, which would give you quite a lot of debug info for a minimal amount of typing.
Thanks – these are great answers! I have already started using a.cc and p.pl today and it saves me a lot of trouble. I have been developing on Windows Mobile devices and typing in an address using a stylus and tiny keyboard is a real pain. I felt like Homer when he discovered that he could type ‘y’ instead of ‘yes’.
Also, the 4.2.2.2 address will be very handy for times when I don’t have a DNS configured.
Not if you’re drinking a Red Bull with your left hand, as all debuggers and programmers and network administrators tend to do when they’re eleven hours in and the damn thing still isn’t working right.