TCP/IP makes it possible for you to travel the Internet and Web looking for technical information, such as security tips and locations for Internet congestion. The protocol stack also provides communications underpinnings so that you can have a little fun. This topic lists almost ten serious and not so serious places you can visit, compliments of the TCP/IP protocol stack.
Find Internet Traffic Jams
Hopefully, most of the time your Web surfing is smooth sailing. (Yes, we’re mixing our sports, but, hey, they’re all water sports.) If you’re having trouble reaching some sites, however, you may want to check out the Internet Traffic Report, which tells you if any geographic regions of the Internet are congested. For example, you can get an idea if the site in Europe you’re trying to reach is impacted by high traffic. The map, updated every five minutes, is at www.internettrafficreport.com/main.htm.
The Traffic Report tracks the worldwide flow of Internet data around the world. You can see a map of the world that shows an index for each continent, except Africa and Antarctica. The current index is a number between zero and one hundred. The higher the index, the faster and more reliable the connections are.
If you’re hungry for more, you can view graphs for each continent that show the average packet loss rate and response rate for each continent.
Take Language Lessons on Your Phone
Talking phrase topics and dictionaries turn your smartphone into a talking translator. These phrase topics use native speakers, so there’s no confusion about accents. You can use your phone to order lunch in more than 40 countries without having to point to a menu and hope you get it right. LingvoSoft’s Talking PhraseBooks act as more than audio dictionaries. You also get a multitude of commonly used phrases, so that when you travel, you don’t need to look up nine or ten separate words to ask how to get to the metro. LingoSoft’s Talking Hebrew PhraseBook contains more than 14,000 complete phrases, organized into 15 subjects.
Several vendors make language translators for those of you on the move. You can get translators for more than just phones. Providers make them for most mobile devices running Palm OS, Pocket PC, and Windows Mobile. If you just want to stay home and relax, don’t worry; you can get lots of translation software for your PC or Mac. The CNET.com Web site reviews language translators and has several available for download. See their Web page at http:// download.cnet.com/mobile/language-software/3150-227 9_4-0. html?tag=bc for a list of translators for various languages.
Visit Antarctica (Armchair Traveler)
Communication satellites carry live images of the South Pole. You can watch live satellite coverage for about 11 hours and 15 minutes each day. Because the South Pole has six months of daylight and six months of darkness, the light gets too low from mid-September to mid-April for the camera to capture an image, so you see a still picture on the Web page during the dark months.
In addition to the Web cam, you can watch videos, examine maps, and watch what’s going on live at McMurdo Sound. The Web portal to all these goodies lives at www.usap.gov.
Check on the State of the Internet
Akamai Technologies publishes a quarterly report, "State of the Internet." Akamai is a huge server network provider all over the world, and it collects data from its global server network to report about network outages, attacks, hacks, and trends. In "The State of the Internet Q2 2008," Akamai lists the most attacked TCP/IP ports. The top four assaulted ports were Microsoft communication and programming ports. There is much to learn about dangers and trends at www.akamai.com/stateoftheinternet.
Akamai has an interesting little button labeled Visualizing the Internet on its technology page. Clicking this button lets you look at some neat information about Internet usage, such as all the online shopping that’s happening while you’re watching. As we write this topic, we see that the United States, Central America, and Canada are listening to a lot of digital music, more than any other place in the world. The link to the technology page is at the top of Akamai’s home page, www.akamai.com.
Create Animations Online
If you’re bored and looking for something to do or if you want to take up a new hobby, try making animated movies, and e-mailing them to your friends. In a four-step process, you can create your own little movie:
1. Select a background.
2. Select objects.
3. Move the objects around as you record the movements.
4. Play back your animation.
You can get a lot more creative by drawing your own objects or importing them. If you’re proud of your clips, you can embed them in a Web site or a blog.
FluxTime Studio, at www.fluxtime.com, even has a gallery so you can display your clips to the world. Only the demo portion of the site is free, but the cost to use the software for a year around $20, which includes Web space for storing your gems.
Test Your Computer’s Security for Free
Gibson Research Corporation, www.grc.com, provides free and reputable security services. It’s one of our favorites. The free online service ShieldsUP! probes computers running various Microsoft Windows operating systems from the Internet to see what information you’ve left public. There are two tests: Probing ports and LeakTest.
✓ Probing ports for security levels: Port testing tries to establish TCP connections to common ports and services, such as FTP, Telnet, Finger, HTTP, and POP3. The results can be stealth, closed, or open:
• Stealth: The stealth result is the most secure port type — outsiders can’t even see your ports.
• Closed: The closed result means that the port is visible to outsiders, but they can’t use it. Because you’re giving intruders information about your system, however, a closed result does mean that system privacy could be better.
• Open: The open result isn’t good. Not only are your ports visible, but they’re also available for break-ins.
You can opt to have all your service ports tested, but be aware that there are more than 65,000 ports. Even if you’re not using all ports (and you’re probably not), a hacker could try to get in on one of the high-numbered ports.
✓ Testing your firewall for outbound leaks: LeakTest is a program that checks your firewall to see if anything nasty can leak out of it. LeakTest tries to make an outbound connection from your computer to the Grc. com server. LeakTest lets you know the effectiveness of your computer’s personal firewall.
Watch Diet Coke and Mentos Explode
Is it an urban legend, or is it true that Diet Coke and Mentos candies explode when put together? And what about regular Coke and Mentos? Does that combination explode? If you want to see some big explosions, visit www. youtube.com/watch?v=hKoB0MHVBvM. KABOOM!
Ride in a Big Rig Over 350 Miles of Ice
People used to think the Internet superhighway was something amazing. Well, most of us have started to take the Internet for granted, but how about a 350-mile ice superhighway?
Up at the top of Canada, the geography is mostly deep lakes and permafrost. When the lakes freeze, an icy road across them is possible. When the ice is at least 16-inches deep, the road builders have one month to build the road. Truckers haul 10,000 loads of supplies to oil-searching camps in 60 days before the ice melts. Visit the Web site www.history.com to ride along with some of these brave (foolish?) truckers in 35 degrees below zero temperatures. Sadly not everyone survives. When the ice starts to thin out, trucks occasionally fall through the ice.
