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What Is “Ping” and How Does It Affect the Internet?

If you’ve been browsing the Web long enough or love playing multiplayer games, you may have come across the term “ping.” You may know already that the lower the ping is, the better your connection is. But what is a “ping” really? What does it mean in the computing world, and why does it have such an odd name? Where Did the Name Come From? There are a few theories that “ping” is actually an acronym, and some say it stands for “Packet Internet or Inter-Network Groper.” But there’s nothing really substantial to say it stands for anything. What everyone does agree on is… Read more

Hashing vs. Encryption: How Your Password Is Being Stored in Server

Let’s say you set up an account at VerySecureWebsite.com. You type in your email address and password and set up your account. A little while later you receive an email informing you that, ironically, the website has been hacked, and the usernames and passwords of every user, which were stored in plaintext, are now for sale on the dark web. While you start changing the password on all your accounts (you only use one, you monster), you wonder, “Isn’t that a bad idea? Shouldn’t my password be in some kind of secret code so hackers can’t just read it?” You’re correct. Any web app or… Read more

Audio Wars: Digital (S/PDIF) vs. HDMI vs. Analog

The saying “classics never die” isn’t something applied often to electronic cabling. Sure, golden oldies like the Figure 8 cable and the Kettle Lead stick around forever, but with cabling where modernization gives big boosts in quality or speed, such as video and USB cabling most notably, things depreciate much faster. That hasn’t quite happened with audio cables, where seemingly ancient formats like 3.5mm and optical audio continue to kick around even in modern devices. But given the option, should you use one of these or the newer HDMI audio formats? We’ll explain all formats here so that you can make an educated choice. Analog… Read more

The Pros and Cons of Your Technology’s Short Lifespan

When Apple admitted that it uses software updates to save battery life by degrading the performance of older phones it triggered quite a bit of outrage. Planned obsolescence, or the intentional shortening of a product’s lifespan, sounds a lot like the company is telling you, “We could make this product better, but we’re choosing to make it worse because we want to get your money again in a few years.” That’s not an unfair interpretation – many companies have used planned obsolescence purely as a profit mechanism – but it’s also not the whole story, especially when it comes to tech. Indeed, one could argue… Read more