Tips to use a Shared Internet Connection at home

Let me start off by saying I share an internet connection via a wireless router with my family while waiting on our new home to be finished.  We always have issues where we have slow internet access due to certain family members being online at different times, and thanks to a certain family member getting a new digital camera, I have come up with a few tips to make sharing the internet more pleasant for all involved.

Tips to use a Shared Internet Connection at home

Tip 1: Everyone loves getting that shiny brand new digital camera and the first thing you do is start snapping away with relentless passion. The next step you are most likely to take is inserting that memory card from your camera into your computer and upload them to all of your favorite websites. The steps that most common users are unaware of to take are:

Before taking pictures on your new camera, check the resolution of your camera settings (refer to your camera manual) and set a size that best suits you.

• For someone who is just going to take photos and upload them to share without any photo editing, try adjusting the settings to a lower resolution. Camera manufacturers generally by default set the resolution to a larger choice.
• For someone who is going to edit their photos before uploading, choose a larger resolution that best suits you for editing. The larger resolutions make editing better as it is always best to work with a larger image and then scale them down after editing before you upload to share. This is also good if you plan to store the images on your computer for editing later on.

Sizing the images before uploading benefits both you and everyone else that may be on the internet in your home. If you check the site you are uploading to as well, chances are you will see a maximum image size that an image can be. Uploading a very large image, it is going to be re-sized once it is uploaded, so why not go ahead and re-size them anyways.

For Example: If you have 20 pictures you have taken at 4320×3240 and you’re trying to upload them to show off on Facebook, that’s almost 100 MB you’re trying to upload at once. Given that younger users maybe even uploading 5x’s that many at once if you might have purchased a camera for a child would be almost 500MB. Another point to make is if you are storing them on your computer, you may find space being taken up quickly.

Tip 2: Everyone downloads its part of the experience of having so many choices available on the web. A good tip for anyone is to take into consideration everyone else on your network that may be trying to use the internet as well.

• If you’re going to be downloading a large file and you know it’s going to take a while, try setting downloads for times when other users on your network may not be busy on the internet as well. I personally set downloads during the hours of  11 PM and 5 AM when I know everyone is asleep.
• If you’re a user who likes to play heavy computer games via the internet try picking times that other users on your network may not busy on the internet as well. Those games though awesome to play can be a serious internet resource hog at home.

For Example: If you are downloading a movie that is 700MB and you have your settings set to unlimited download speed, realize that this is taking away speed other users on your network can access the internet.

Tip 3: If you’re playing music from an online playlist, watching videos on YouTube, or doing them all at once.

• While the ability to have an online playlist for music is pretty neat, I personally see no reason you don’t just play the music on your computer, be aware that a 300 song playlist being played does affect other users. I have found it proven true from playlists being played especially from sites such as MySpace.
• Everyone loves YouTube videos. It’s a great way to share a video with everyone for almost anything you can video record. Try not to have ten open browser windows/tabs trying to load YouTube videos at once.

For Example: You may ask why I say ten, I have personally seen this done, and when asked the culprit’s answer was, I wanted them all ready for me when I click play. Doing this is definitely not a nice thing to do while others on your network are trying to access the internet.

Tip 4: If you’re the administrator on your home network, keep your router updated.

• Make sure you check for updates for your routers. Most have an automatic update but generally do not have this feature set as default.
• Some routers have the ability to adjust settings for internet access such as media download. Adjusting these settings while not for every user can help in assuring less lag on all users on a home network.

Choosing the right internet connection from your internet provider and choosing the correct router are the major contributors to a pleasant internet as well.

Feel free to add your tips in the comments. As someone who is constantly trying to make everyone in the house understand my point, more tips can definitely help prove the point.