Off-Topic Questions Thread - closed. Open new threads for specific questions please.

[Kaz Hayashi]

..

[Kaz Hayashi]

Anyone know the best solution for lowering broadband Ping? I know optimum is upto 20’ish If possible, but mine was at 368 earlier... the fuck?? Download speed is fine averaging at 70.

However, with the Ping being a twat, It means live streaming is a complete twat.

Ive heard a few bits, the best solution being to fuck wireless off and connect my router straight to PS4/TV. Problem with that is that I have 2 stationary devices upstairs and 2 downstairs. Not a really an option.

Saying that, I have 2 routers. Is there any magic tricks to perform based on this?

Thanks 

[Keith Houchen]

What is Ping?  I have a speed test app and have no idea what the ping is all about.

[Kaz Hayashi]

2 hours ago, Keith Houchen said:

What is Ping?  I have a speed test app and have no idea what the ping is all about.

Basically, your computer asks the internet to perform a command, such as load a page. The lower the ping the faster the response. Mines fucking shite. Anything under 20 is considered optimum/good.

More of an issue for things like streaming live.

[Keith Houchen]

55 minutes ago, Kaz Hayashi said:

Basically, your computer asks the internet to perform a command, such as load a page. The lower the ping the faster the response. Mines fucking shite. Anything under 20 is considered optimum/good.

More of an issue for things like streaming live.

Cheers Kaz. Just tried mine and it’s a ten from Len. 

[Kaz Hayashi]

27 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

Cheers Kaz. Just tried mine and it’s a ten from Len. 

Mines a pisstake. I’d be quicker walking to the bloody takeaway.

[simonworden]

Going to be having my honeymoon in Western Europe in a few months. What sites do you recommend for booking accommodation? I usually use booking.com in Asia but not sure the rates are as decent for Europe mostly Rome, Amsterdam and Paris.

Also any alternative types of accommodation you recommend? Camping is a no as it will be April and my other half has trouble walking around in any temperature below 20C let alone sleeping in it. 

Any advice on saving a few quid with the accommodation welcome! Especially nice places which are not the city center but well linked. 

[hallicks]

On 28/12/2017 at 4:30 AM, Kaz Hayashi said:

Anyone know the best solution for lowering broadband Ping? I know optimum is upto 20’ish If possible, but mine was at 368 earlier... the fuck?? Download speed is fine averaging at 70.

However, with the Ping being a twat, It means live streaming is a complete twat.

Ive heard a few bits, the best solution being to fuck wireless off and connect my router straight to PS4/TV. Problem with that is that I have 2 stationary devices upstairs and 2 downstairs. Not a really an option.

Saying that, I have 2 routers. Is there any magic tricks to perform based on this?

Thanks 

You can get these ethernet over power extenders. It has an RJ45 socket and plugs into a power outlet. Then you just plug the receiver into another power outlet near your destination with another ethernet cable and voila. We got one when we had BT a few years ago, it was great. Cheapest I've seen lately is £17 on ebay. Here's an amazon example:

BT Broadband Extender 600 Kit, Powerline Adapter https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B015E3MXKC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_MhGrAbX2VY7BW

[Chest Rockwell]

1 hour ago, simonworden said:

Going to be having my honeymoon in Western Europe in a few months. What sites do you recommend for booking accommodation? I usually use booking.com in Asia but not sure the rates are as decent for Europe mostly Rome, Amsterdam and Paris.

Also any alternative types of accommodation you recommend? Camping is a no as it will be April and my other half has trouble walking around in any temperature below 20C let alone sleeping in it. 

Any advice on saving a few quid with the accommodation welcome! Especially nice places which are not the city center but well linked. 

Well worth looking at Airbnb, especially for cities. It's not just spare rooms; I've only ever used it for whole flat/house rentals and you get some really good rates.

[Kaz Hayashi]

Yup fully agree with Chest regarding Airbnb. It’s all we really use now.

@hallicks thanks for that info. I was looking at a power supply plug adaptor but the ones I saw didn’t have an Ethernet slot. This might indeed do the trick. Cheers. 

Was ping an issue for you beforehand or did this just help boost your signal?

[simonworden]

Cheers haven't really checked it for anywhere but Paris and the places weren't suitable there as I need to fly home for 24 hours leaving a Vietnamese girl in Paris meaning I want somewhere with support like a hotel but will definately check it out for the rest

[Carbomb]

A question for the graphic designers of this forum:

When creating a logo, is it standard practice for a graphic designer/graphic design company to dig up generic, freely-available elements from the internet and re-colour them? 

[Kaz Hayashi]

It’s a bit fucking cheeky if they are charging for it @Carbomband it’s clearly a rip of something really obvious. Maybe professional @John Matrix can explain from a professional point of view, but generally I’d say it’s someone taking the piss. 

Obviously there will be exceptions to the rule such as the customer asking for a very specific image, say a photo of a historical event in which it would be pretty much impossible for them to recapture. 

But a logo, well in my experience when I’ve required work for music PR purposes, the customer usually provides a brief, the artist the provides a couple of moc designs to ensure they are on the right track. Hopefully the customer isn’t a tit and changes their mind etc, but yeah, I’d be expecting the designer to be original and not simply lifting an image. 

[John Matrix]

39 minutes ago, Kaz Hayashi said:

It’s a bit fucking cheeky if they are charging for it @Carbomband it’s clearly a rip of something really obvious. Maybe professional @John Matrix can explain from a professional point of view, but generally I’d say it’s someone taking the piss. 

Obviously there will be exceptions to the rule such as the customer asking for a very specific image, say a photo of a historical event in which it would be pretty much impossible for them to recapture. 

But a logo, well in my experience when I’ve required work for music PR purposes, the customer usually provides a brief, the artist the provides a couple of moc designs to ensure they are on the right track. Hopefully the customer isn’t a tit and changes their mind etc, but yeah, I’d be expecting the designer to be original and not simply lifting an image. 

Alright fellas?  It's not unheard of mate, those free resources exist for a reason, but of course, i'd expect that to be reflected in whatever price you'd been quoted.  

See below...

https://www.shutterstock.com/search?search_source=base_landing_page&language=en&searchterm=mma+logo&image_type=all

Now admittedly, those are paid for rather than free, but the point remains the same, if you were happy/content with a personalised 'stock' logo, its less time and effort to adapt the colours and text on something like that, labour costs are significantly reduced - as I always say to my customers, every minute im working on graphics is a minute less spent with my kids or getting sleep - and so subject to what you've been quoted, it's not uncommon, although i'd expect any designer worth their salt to be upfront with you and confirm that their design was a modified stock logo.

If however, you want something completely bespoke and creating from scratch, of course, it'd come at a much higher cost due to the concepts, development etc involved.

In my experience, many graphic designers on my rung of the food chain will tend to opt for the former initially because we're working on high volume, low margin projects just trying to make a few quid.  A few weeks spent designing custom logos can mean other business falling by the wayside, especially in something as ruthless as the wrestling business where theres a) stiff competition and b) plenty of people willing to work for free in order to be 'part of the business'.

I don't know if that's answered your question in the slightest, but I hope it's helpful.

[Carbomb]

Thanks for that, Kaz. I was worried that I was missing something; as a layman, I don't know what standard practices are, and I don't want to risk that I'm being unreasonable. Obviously I'd like to get as much info and as many opinions as possible.