CloudFlare Rolls Out Free IPv6-to-IPv4 Translation Service

It may take a couple of years before an organization will have to make the switch to IPv6, but there is no question that the switch will be made and the majority of IT professionals aren't prepared. According to a recent survey, 80% of about 2,400 respondents feel they are not educated enough on the subject to perform an IPv6 migration, half don’t know which of their network elements support IPv6 today, and 70% are concerned about whether they can successfully implement an IPv6 deployment.
That's where CloudFlare hopes to make a difference. The San Francisco-based Web performance and security vendor has announced Automatic IPv6, a free cloud-based IPv6-to-IPv4 translation service. "Everybody knows it's a problem; what if we made it really easy? We realized six months ago we could solve the problem of transition from IPv4 to Ipv6," says CEO Matthew Prince.
The transition to IPv6 is necessary because the number of IPv4 addresses is running out. To increase Internet Protocol address space, IPv6 addresses will be 128-bit addresses, versus IPv4’s 32-bit, creating a virtually infinite number of IP addresses. In addition to its primary role of increasing the supply of IP addresses, a test of a dozen IPv6 Web applications saw increases in performance from 2% to 200%, averaging 80%.
Prince says more than 100,000 Web sites already use CloudFlare, but that only about 1% of the total existing Web sites are available in IPv6. Powered by proxies at the company's 14 data centers, the service translates IPv6 traffic to IPv4 before being sent to a Website; the service also offers IPv4-to-IPv6 translation, he says. "We've been testing for the last month and I think we have over 10,000 sites using it."
In a year the company has gone from zero traffic to 350 million unique visitors every month and 15 billion page views in the last 30 days, says Prince. The typical Website using CloudFlare's free service loads twice as fast, uses 60% less bandwidth, has 65% fewer requests and is significantly more secure, says the company. The company also offers a paid service, CloudFlare Pro, and intends to launch an enterprise version.

What is Clock Speed?

Clock speed is a measure of how quickly a computer completes basic computations and operations. It is measured as a frequency in hertz, and most commonly refers to the speed of the computer's CPU, or Central Processing Unit. Since the frequency most clock speed measures is very high, the terms megahertz and gigahertz are used. A megahertz is one-million cycles per second, while a gigahertz is one-billion cycles per second. So a computer with a clock speed of 800MHz is running 800,000,000 cycles per second, while a 2.4GHz computer is running 2,400,000,000 cycles per second.

How clock speed should be used as a benchmark of a computer's speed is a matter of some contention, though most chip makers appear to be drifting towards the conclusion that clock speed should be abandoned as the primary value given. The problem comes from the fact that, although clock speed works as a fairly reliable indicator of how one of a company's chips stacks up against another of their chips, it is a poor indicator of how that chip might compete against a different company's chipset. One reason clock speed of the CPU isn't such a reliable test of overall computer speed is that many other factors come into play. The amount of RAM a computer has, the clock speed of that RAM, the clock speed of the front-side bus, and the cache size all play significant roles in determining overall performance.

For this reason, AMD stopped listing their clock speed as a primary method of advertising on their computers, instead associating a number with the computer meant to show its performance in comparison to a Pentium. The AMD Athlon 64 3000, for example, has a clock speed of only 1.8GHz, but AMD determined it to be roughly comparable to a Pentium 4 at 3GHz. Intel itself has also begun to move away from the clock speed model of advertising, mostly due to their introduction of a laptop-oriented M line, which has much lower clock speeds to optimize portable performance. By sticking to a clock speed model, Intel made its Pentium-M computers look like they were slow and weak compared to their Pentium 4 models.When comparing one Intel Pentium chip to another Pentium chip, for example, the clock speed is a fairly good indicator of an improvement in speed. An 800Mhz Pentium computer will perform most processor-based tasks roughly twice as quickly as a 400MHz Pentium computer. When comparing a different company's processors, however, the story changes. If we look at both a Pentium chip and an AMD chip, for example, we find that the AMD tends to perform most tasks more quickly than a comparable Pentium. A 1.8GHz AMD chip significantly outperforms a Pentium 1.8Ghz chip, instead performing near the speed of a Pentium 2.2Ghz.

While clock speed can still give a general idea of computing power, it is more often recommended these days to look at some sort of trusted benchmark as a way to compare computers. Looking at benchmarks of how various processors handled tasks you care about will give a clearer picture of how the computer will perform for you. One computer might be significantly faster than another at transforming images in a graphic design program, for example, but slower at video-intensive games. This paradigm of more task-specific computer ratings, rather than a focus exclusively on clock speed, ultimately offers consumers a better understanding of what sort of product they can expect.

How To Identify Good Laptop?

There are many laptops out there and each is unique. There is no laptop that is perfect for everybody. Everyone has their ideal laptop. Such factors include usage, application requirements and budget. Here are my steps to getting that dream laptop:
1: Budget. That should always the first thing to consider. No use looking at the $2500 laptops when you only have $500 to spend. Once you have put together a budget, move on to the next step.
2: Required features. I do a small amount of work on graphics plus play games so i checked out the computers with good graphics. I watch movies on my laptop so I bought one with a large screen and inbuilt theatre features such as viritual surround sound, TUBE bass and multimedia buttons. These are examples of required features. Do you intend to do a lot of DVD burning on your laptop? Then buy one with a fast DVD burner.
3: Battery. This is one very big feature that needs its own step to ensure you make the right choice. Do you use your laptop as a desktop replacement? Then it is ok to get a laptop with a shorter battery span. Do you use your laptop for long periods without plugging into the power? Then it is a wise choice to buy a laptop with a large battery while sacrificing on the extra features you don't need.
Oh and it is also worth noting that some laptops have inbuilt battery saving software where you can easily change the screen brightness, the CPU speed, Graphics speed, ect. These should help influence your decision.
4: Durability. Some laptops are soft and very breakable (Probably the most common). Some laptops are built to withstand liquids on the keyboard, sand, small drops and can run on higher altitudes than others. Also, some laptops may have a longer or shorter lifespan.
5: Extra features. There may be extra features that can be a good thing to have in a computer. Some are just going to slow down your computer. While you can just simply make them vanish from your startup registry, it is probably better to not get it in the first place because you are basically paying for the software and features you aren't gonna use.
6: Warranty, Support and Help. Warranty is pretty obvious. If you are worried the computer will break, extend the warranty. I did it and it actually payed off after my graphics gave way to a small fault (no i did not overclock). The best bit is, it was outside of the normal warranty so I actually got good results from the warranty. However, Don't put too much warranty!!! I once put heaps of years into my iPod and it never broke. For support and help, you should know where to ask and where to go when you have an answer.
7: Freebies. Sometimes, you get freebies such as "free 2gb extra ram". However, there can be some catches to it...
8: Appearance. If you are the kind of person who hates a certain colour, it might not be a good idea to grab a computer of that colour... Also, some computers can have options to change colour/appearance. It is always nice to have a computer that looks as good as it works :D
9: Other stores. Check other stores if they have the same or similar laptop for better value. That's how I got my laptop. It's worth that extra mile if you are gonna save money. in my case, $200.