Sounding Off

Broadband speeds:The only way you'd get close to the max speed is if there was no one else on the same network "segment" as you - the part of the network, owned by the ISP, between you and the router(s) to the internet. The number of people on any segment is called "contention", and this partly explains why download speeds can be so variable.

It only takes a few heavy users on your segment to slow everyone down, and ISPs are now using various "traffic shaping" techniques to limit the bandwidth from each user and/or traffic type (web, torrent, FTP etc). I remember broadband ISPs used to have the contention ratios in their advertising . . . they don't do that any more, for some reason. - Brian T

Brian's partly right - contention is one aspect. But it's also down to physical infrastructure in other ways - DSL broadband, which is the most common mode in Ireland, also drops speeds as the quality of the connection between your house and the DSLAM equipment gets lower and the distance gets longer; and I think the new wireless modems drop speeds dramatically depending on the availability of coverage in your area. - Justin

Bus travel woes

Five hours on the bus from Dublin to Galway is how long it took to travel on Friday evening. Left on time at 5pm and arrived at 10pm, not 8:40pm like the timetable reads. So there was not much of the night left in Galway when meeting friends. Granted, it was a Friday, but double that distance on a bus in Brazil took approximately three hours when I visited there. - Paul Carthy

Game

I have to say my experience of Game is the exact opposite [of last week's reader who sang its praises]. I bought a game there but it crashed everytime I wanted to save it. It turned out to be scratched. I went back to the shop with the receipt and was told that the second-hand games are all tested in-store to make sure they work and are "sold as seen". I've since bought some second- hand games there but make sure that they open the packaging to inspect for scratches. By rights I should never buy there again, but they're a very cheap option for a product which I consider to be overpriced if new. - Colm