PowerBook G4 surfs slow

L

Lou Hahn

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Even when I'd only had it a few months, my PowerBook G4 would sometimes surf (actually, perform all internet functions, such as mail and uploads) at a very slow pace despite ample bandwidth. My bandwidth now is above 500 mbps, but it takes sometimes minutes for a page to load.
Clearing the cache does not help. Formatting and reloading the HD does not help. So I presume it is a hardware issue, either with my machine, or the ISP's hardware.
I use a small, homegrown ISP. They claim they have other people with Macs and no problems.

The problem will sometimes go away for 2-3 months, pages load almost instantly, then one day it will change and I might be in for weeks or months of slow surfing.
At times, certain sites will still load very quickly (notably macosx.com), but most will be slow, some to the point where the browser times out.


I'm on a LAN, wireless ISP service. I have plugged my laptop into the same network from a different location where another (Windows) PC was working fine, and my laptop behaved the same as at home.
I have also tried it not plugged in, but connecting with Airport to the ISP's building's in-house wireless network, and it surfs slowly there, too.
 
I've been using the settings that the ISP told me. That's the extent of my technical knowledge about that.

Another detail I forgot to mention earlier: last winter it was surfing real slow. I went and visited my parents in a faraway state for 2-3 weeks. They have Cox ethernet. My laptop did real fine on Cox, but when I came back here, it was slow again.

Which makes me suspect it is something with the ISP, though they claim I'm the only one complaining.
 
Lately my mail has been working great, but FTP is impossible and web pages take for ever if they ever do load. Some sites are flat inaccessible.

I did copy the IP, DNS, etc. numbers off another PC that was running well on this ISP. There was only 1 digit difference, in the IP. The DNS, etc. were the same as what I had.

No change whatever after that.
 
Lou try using OpenDNS instead. My suffing went a little fater when I starting using their DNs over my ISP's DNS. It's worth a try.
 
Well, thanks, Sat. I signed up for it, although the explanatory page was a trifle skimpy and I still have only a vague clue of what it's about.

Surfing and FTPing real crisply now, but don't know how much of a factor the OpenDNS is yet. Time will tell.
 
Lou Hahn said:
Well, thanks, Sat. I signed up for it, although the explanatory page was a trifle skimpy and I still have only a vague clue of what it's about.

Surfing and FTPing real crisply now, but don't know how much of a factor the OpenDNS is yet. Time will tell.
Click to expand...

Well if you ever typed a web site like http://www.google.com/ then you are using DNS (Domain Name Server). DNS is the way we ALL get around the net. Most every ISP has a DNS server or two but they rarely kept them up to date. they only update when enough users complain. Those ISP also use DNS to block you from getting to a site.

Don't take my word. So read about the company at the New York Times article about them.

OpenDNS's timeline gives you an idea of when/why they did what they did. Plus using their service gives YOU the control over the DNS you are using. Just signup if you use their service (they have yet to spam me at all) and make an account, you can have direct control of the DNS you are using. You can block known phishing, adult sites or any site you designate. The best thing about it is you don't have to install ANY nanny software to slow you computer down. Just use use their OpenDNS dashboard to control your account.
 
Jeff, I don't know what a router is. I reboot my laptop frequently.
I have a radio receiver for my wireless LAN ISP. I don't know if that's what you're talking about. I do turn it on and off a lot since I'm on solar power.

Sat, I did sign up and like I said, it's been crispy lately. But I don't know how much that has to do with OpenDNS. My FTP is real crispy, too, whereas for a while I could not even connect to my site with FTP.

It is unclear to me what OpenDNS does, other that block phishing sites, etc. Maybe that is the whole reason for improved surfing.
 
You might be onto something, Jeff. Within the past 20 minutes or so, on 3 different occasions my browser froze up and wouldn't load, so I turned off the LAN radio for a few seconds, and when i turned it back on, things were fairly snappy again.

Of course, it does get old having to do that so frequently.
 
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