limited 4 G network and SL usuage

[Bee Glasswing]

im being switched after almost 4 years in sl from an unlimited internet plan to a plan that allows a total of 4 G a month. im use to spending as much time as I want inworld. does anyone have any idea how long in sl it takes to use a G? a friend of mine said he ran his laptop off his android while house sitting last weekend and 8 hours in sl used 1 gig. any other ideas on this? appreciate you help, bee

in response to  the answer below, its not a smart phone, its an internet plan that allows 4 g's of download a month (much like a phone). ive always had unlimited plans and this appears to be the new wave of ways to make more money, setting download limits on internet plans. but thanks for your answer :)

and yes, g refers to gb of course. you are allowed 4 g a month of download, when you go over they charge you more money. so as I said above, my friend said 8 hours of sl used 1 g, im hoping someone will say that's wrong lol, that would allow me around 32 hours of sl a month and as I run a gallery, host events etc, that would be a nightmare. :)

 

thanks to all that answered :) Linden's response was to contact my ISP, which was useless. you would think they would have a ballpark figure, I realize there are variables, pref settings, auto play media, cache etc, but you think there would be a ballpark figure. from the response to my question here and on FB, it appears im not the only one that has wondered. thanks again to all :)

[Bee Glasswing]

im being switched after almost 4 years in sl from an unlimited internet plan to a plan that allows a total of 4 G a month. im use to spending as much time as I want inworld. does anyone have any idea how long in sl it takes to use a G? a friend of mine said he ran his laptop off his android while house sitting last weekend and 8 hours in sl used 1 gig. any other ideas on this? appreciate you help, bee

in response to  the answer below, its not a smart phone, its an internet plan that allows 4 g's of download a month (much like a phone). ive always had unlimited plans and this appears to be the new wave of ways to make more money, setting download limits on internet plans. but thanks for your answer :)

and yes, g refers to gb of course. you are allowed 4 g a month of download, when you go over they charge you more money. so as I said above, my friend said 8 hours of sl used 1 g, im hoping someone will say that's wrong lol, that would allow me around 32 hours of sl a month and as I run a gallery, host events etc, that would be a nightmare. :)

 

thanks to all that answered :) Linden's response was to contact my ISP, which was useless. you would think they would have a ballpark figure, I realize there are variables, pref settings, auto play media, cache etc, but you think there would be a ballpark figure. from the response to my question here and on FB, it appears im not the only one that has wondered. thanks again to all :)

[Syo Emerald]

Do you mean 4G (which is mainly an information on the network your smartphone is using and therefore an information on the "speed" you get) or are you having a limitation on the amount of data you can get until your internet gets slower?

To me it seems like you are confusing the G here with GB. 4G tells nothing about how high your allowed data volume is, as this is something specified to the contract you have with the company providing the internet for your smartphone.

 

[Dilbert Dilweg]

SL uses a lot of Data. You are downloading thousands of images with objects and clothing. Sl can use a lot. You need to expose the ripoff the service provider is doing. Exploiting data transfer for mass proffit.

 

I can use up 4 gigs in a day lol

 

Also keep in mind streaming music to your viwer, downloads a lot of data as well. Disable "auto play media" in preferences

[Marigold Devin]

Oh dear, Bee, that sounds awful. 20Mb a month was not enough for my own usage of the internet, and so I went onto an unlimited package.

I fear your friend is right, and you will not get even 32 hours for 4G a month. :matte-motes-frown:

Are you able to shop around with internet service providers? Get quotes from them all and set them against each other to ensure you get the best possible internet deal.  Never believe what they are offering on leaflets or websites, always negotiate over the phone, and don't agree to sign anything until you're absolutely sure.

[PeterCanessa Oh]

How much bandwidth you use depends on how many different/new places you visit.

For a while I was using SL with a wifi 'dongle' designed for phones to surf the internet; an altogether different requirement.  It was pretty awful but worked well when it worked ^^.  As I was paying for every byte it also meant I paid close attention to what I was using.

The big demand from SL is, not suprisingly, when you visit a new sim and all the object and texture details need to be downloaded.  Once they have been cached the usage drops to an idle of 100kbs or so - sometimes even less.  Depending on the complexity and stability of the data that needs storing you may be able to cache 3 or 4 sims and get away with a lot of hours.

AVOID: Streaming video *at all* - I film is c 1.5GB as a rule of thumb.  Streaming music if you can help it - depending on the stream quality, etc. the amount can vary a lot but allow 1MB/min.  Skype - it's basically a two-way stream.  Oversized pictures in web sites & email (see below).  'Busy' ot constantly-changing sims - which just means more data has to be sent to your machine all the time.

With those provisos I worked as a Land Officer for NCI across 3 sims, while scripting, and was in-world for c 18 hours/day one month.  Really kicking it like that I used about 7GB, more usually SL needed about 2 - 4 for pretty intense use.  I'm still usng a capped broadband service but usually use c 3GB/month for all purposes.

[A note about pictures in email/web sites:- Many people love to post their 16 mega-pixel (or whatever) pictures all over the place.  A screen with 2000 x 2000 pixel resolution - which is more than most people have got anyway - can only SHOW 4 mega-pixels!  Image-editing software can be used to store pictures with a lower resolution and everyone saves TONS of bandwidth. eg; a photo stored as 4.2MB (in JPG format) reduced to 160Kb without visible loss of quality (unless you zoom in).  This is very dependent on the picture itself and YMMV but the advantage is obvious].