According to Cisco‘s seventh annual Visual Networking Index, global IP traffic will rise at a dramatic compound annual growth rate of 23 percent between 2012 to 2017, representing a three-fold increase from the start to the end of the forecast period.

This rate won’t continue, says Robert Pepper, Cisco global technology policy vice president. But it will be a dramatic spurt; he said the amount of global traffic in 2017 will amount to 1.4 zettabytes (ZBs), which is larger than the history of the Internet from 1984 to 2012 (1.2ZB).

Pepper said four drivers are behind this: more users; users connecting more devices; growing network and broadband speeds; and more media-rich content.

Number crunching

Cisco’s Visual Networking Index (VNI) highlights that in 2017 and 2018, half of the world’s population will be online, with Asia-Pacific (APAC) trailing the average with 46 percent. The growing adoption of Internet use is mirroring the adoption of the mobile phone.

Average Internet speeds are on the rise. Cisco predicts mobile connections will reach 8Mbps in 2017, with average Wi-Fi speeds from mobile devices forecast to reach 30Mbps.

By 2017, an even wider variety of devices will be connected to the Internet. They will include not only today’s smartphone, tablet, and PC, but extend to machine to machine (M2M) products, such as fitness wristbands.

The hot spots

According to Pepper, a key takeaway from this year’s VNI is the divide between peak hour and average network traffic. For example, in Australia, where he gave his presentation, peak traffic is 3.5 times greater than the average, and is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24 percent, compared to the 18 per cent CAGR of the average.

This is creating somewhat of a “prime time of the Internet” between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m., mirroring the habits of television viewership. This consumption model is being driven by video.

Another significant takeaway is the dramatic growth in M2M devices; Cisco forecasts this category to grow 11 percent CAGR, and expects that by 2017, M2M and handsets will make up 77 percent of the devices.

This three-fold incremental growth will see 8 billion devices connected M2M by 2017, with traffic on them to grow 20 times, not including products using RFID chips.

Cisco credits this proliferation in M2M is a result of the rise of IPv6-capable connections, in combination with IPv6-capable devices, and content providers’ capability to support it.

Many people expect their computers to get slower over time, chalking it up to an inevitable consequence of old computer age. But the truth is that there is no reason why your computer shouldn’t run as quickly and smoothly as the day you got it. All it requires is some simple and regular maintenance with built in Windows utilities or free-to-download programs.  

1) Defragment the disk

 Over time, a computer’s efficiency may be hampered by a fragmented disk, making it harder to quickly access the correct files and data. Using the inbuilt Windows utility called Disk Defragmenter is a great way to increase your computer’s speed and start-up time. Simply open your start menu and type Disk Defragmenter into the search box. Once it is open just select the disk you would like to defragment and click the “Defragment disk” button. The process may take only a few minutes to several hours, depending on how fragmented the disk is. With regular maintenance you should find the time decreasing. Disk Defragmenter can handily be set to run on a schedule.

2) Perform a disk cleanup

Disk Cleanup is another handy Windows utility that will help your system run faster by removing unnecessary files and clearing up a lot of space. It can be found in the same way as Disk Defragmenter. It will only remove files that you no longer need, such as temporary files or files in the recycling bin, so don’t worry about accidentally deleting anything important. Simply select the disk and run it. You may also want to download a free program called CCleaner. 

3) Run a good adware and malware scanner

 Keeping your computer free of adware and malware is absolutely essential to keeping it running smoothly, as well as for protecting yourself and your personal information. One of the very best and free programs of this sort is Spybot Search & Destroy. This program has been a trusted name in getting rid of malicious software for years. It is easy to use and constantly updated, ensuring that it is able to catch the latest threats. Simply install Spybot Search & Destroy and follow the straightforward instructions to run it. It should take no more than about half an hour to run, but don’t worry if it takes more. You are prompted to remove any threat that Spybot Search & Destroy finds, and if you have kept it properly updated than it should have no trouble getting the job done.

 Remembering to perform these three tasks weekly, or at the very least monthly, should help keep your computer in good shape and keep it running without much noticeable loss to its speed and efficiency over time.

Professional and original, our Ormond Beach  Programming team will help your business succeed.  We have been developing applications in the Ormond Beach area for over 10 years. Our programmers are well versed in the full application development life-cycle, from flowcharts to maintenance patches. We use some of the most common programming languages of today, including Java, C++, C#, Objective-C (iPhone apps), Visual Basic .net, and Perl. In addition, we can support legacy applications or port them to a modern platform.

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