GeekNJ
Premium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ
| [Free] Google Web Accelerator
Just found out about Google Web Accelerator
Google Web Accelerator is...
• Designed for Broadband – Web pages load even more quickly on DSL and cable connections
• Easy to use – Simply install and enjoy faster web browsing in seconds
The first 2 items from "Learn More...":
1. What is Google Web Accelerator?
Google Web Accelerator is an application that uses the power of Google's global computer network to make web pages load faster. Google Web Accelerator is easy to use; all you have to do is download and install it, and from then on many web pages will automatically load faster than before.
Please note that Google Web Accelerator is currently in beta test mode. If you have any problems using it or have suggestions for how we can improve it, please see the Google Group devoted to it.
Also note that during the first part of our beta testing period, users outside of North America and Europe may not see much improvement in their web page loading speed.
2. How does Google Web Accelerator work?
Google Web Accelerator uses various strategies to make your web pages load faster, including:
Sending your page requests through Google machines dedicated to handling Google Web Accelerator traffic.
Storing copies of frequently looked at pages to make them quickly accessible.
Downloading only the updates if a web page has changed slightly since you last viewed it.
Prefetching certain pages onto your computer in advance.
Managing your Internet connection to reduce delays.
Compressing data before sending it to your computer.
So, what is it? Is it a proxy? The "Learn More.." mentions to manually configure non-IE or FF to point to 127.0.0.1:9100 for HTTP connections. That's likely the local applet redirecting requests to something at Google.
Guess we'll have to play and find out.
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Rob A
Same Old Jets
Premium
join:2005-01-17
Pompton Plains, NJ | I hate browser discrimination. God dammit google. |
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GeekNJ
Premium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ
| said by Rob A  :I hate browser discrimination. God dammit google. It's not discrimination, I don't think. You can make any browser work with it, they just don't automate it on the setup.
Or are you referencing something else?
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Rob A
Same Old Jets
Premium
join:2005-01-17
Pompton Plains, NJ
1 edit | It says "Works in IE 5.5+ and Firefox 1.0+" Opera not included there. If you or ANYONE can tell me how to make it work with Opera, please let me know, I tried it out in the firefox I have installed and I'm amazed.
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Cruising with Verizon DSL 2793/714 & The Opera Web Browser
»verizon.net
»opera.com |
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Barbara Ann
Premium,MVM
join:2000-10-17
| reply to GeekNJ
Sending your page requests through Google machines dedicated to handling Google Web Accelerator traffic.
Storing copies of frequently looked at pages to make them quickly accessible.
Great Spyware! They now know our comings and goings!
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Please post back to let us know if the suggestions you've received worked or not! |
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GeekNJ
Premium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ
| reply to Rob A
said by Rob A :It says "Works in IE 5.5+ and Firefox 1.0+" Opera not included there. If you can tell me how to make it work with Opera, please be my guest. Come on Rob!!! RTFM on my post and the product site. Do I need to come over your house and do it for you, or can you handle it from here? 
7. Can I run Google Web Accelerator on a browser other than Internet Explorer or Firefox?
For other browsers running on Windows, you'll need to manually configure your proxy settings to 127.0.0.1:9100 for HTTP connections.
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Rob A
Same Old Jets
Premium
join:2005-01-17
Pompton Plains, NJ | I'm using proxomitron with opera though, how can I have 2 different proxies going? |
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Vamp
5c077
Premium
join:2003-01-28
MD | reply to GeekNJ
something that compresses data.... NO THANKS
Why would anyone need this when firefox and opera are already fast browsers.
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foamy |
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GeekNJ
Premium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ
| reply to Rob A
said by Rob A :how can I have 2 different proxies going? You wouldn't. Unless Proxomitron allows you to point to another proxy.
said by Vamp :Why would anyone need this when firefox and opera are already fast browsers. I think it's less the speed of the browser itself and more the speeding up of getting the content to you.
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Rob A
Same Old Jets
Premium
join:2005-01-17
Pompton Plains, NJ | Well proxomitron uses port 8080 instead of 9100. |
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state
stress magnet
Premium,Mod
join:2002-02-08
Hampton, VA
clubs: 
Host:
Webhosting
Sonic.net
UK Broadband
Washington & Balti..
UK Chat
| reply to GeekNJ
I been playing with it for a while now, and even though it says that I've shaved a few seconds off my load times it's really nominal...I sure can't see any difference. Yes, I know it's beta
I guess it might be useful for surfing a really slow site (if the Google backend is pre-fetching pages).
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wasting time.. |
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Santa Fe
Visit www.ALZ.ORG
Premium,ExMod 2002-7
join:2000-08-22
Freight Yard
clubs: 
1 edit | reply to GeekNJ
Yea!!! no Linux version. |
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GeekNJ
Premium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ
| reply to Rob A
Rob: If it's even possible, the fact that they use different ports is irrelevant. Both Proximitron and this Google Web Accelerator are processes on your machine. Having your browser point to this process is how it works. I don't know if you can tell/configure Proximitron to use a 2nd proxy server, but if you can, you'd tell it to point to 127.0.0.1 port 9100. If you can't, and want to continue using Proximitron, ignore this thread.
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Dustyn
Premium
join:2003-02-26
Ontario, CAN | reply to GeekNJ
I've got something like that that's already available and has been out for ages. It's called a Proxy Server. |
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Rob A
Same Old Jets
Premium
join:2005-01-17
Pompton Plains, NJ
| reply to GeekNJ
Ok I'm gonna stick with this google thing for a week. And if I like it better than proxomitron I'll keep it.
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Cruising with Verizon DSL 2793/714 & The Opera Web Browser »verizon.net »opera.com |
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weatherman12
join:2001-02-23
Lake Havasu City, AZ | reply to GeekNJ
I might stick with it for a couple of days, but this thing is slowing me down like hell. I feel like I am on dial-up again. |
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Rob A
Same Old Jets
Premium
join:2005-01-17
Pompton Plains, NJ | What type of connection do you have and whats your advertised speed? |
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DracoFelis
Premium
join:2003-06-15
| reply to Rob A
said by Rob A :I'm using proxomitron with opera though, how can I have 2 different proxies going? I'm using Privoxy as my local proxy, and it has an option to do it's connection via a 2nd proxy. While I don't use proxomitron myself, my understanding is that it was originally a fork of the Privoxy code. If so, it probably has the same option as Privoxy does, to allow you to run via a 2nd proxy.
So what you would do in that case, is modify your proxomitron config to use the google proxy for accessing the internet (instead of having proxomitron access the internet directly). You would then not touch your browser config, which is already setup to use proxomitron. The effect of this is that your browser would request pages from proxomitron (like it currently does). The only difference being, proxomitron would then be programmed to find it's web pages via the google proxy (instead of going directly to the web sites).
NOTE: The only advantage I can see of such an arrangement, is that the internet will likely "seem faster" due to the presence of the google proxy. Proxomitron is a "proxy", but it's main purpose is "filtering" (such as removing ads). The google proxy appears to also be a proxy, but it's main purpose is "speeding things up". So by having proxomitron call the google proxy, you would in effect get "the best of both worlds" (the filtering of proxomitron, and the speedup of the google proxy).
NOTE: The google proxy, is a 3rd party proxy (that can reroute internet fetches via the google network). While I'm mostly comfortable with this (as google has shown that they are a fairly "trustworthy" company), you are still rerouting normal web traffic via an "unknown party" (in this case google). As such, there are some potential security concerns about it. Just as I don't put "sensitive" (medical records, for example) data on my gmail account, I don't plan to put the google proxy on any machine I use for my work. However, for most "normal users" (that don't have that level of "security sensitivity"), that would not be an issue. |
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Rob A
Same Old Jets
Premium
join:2005-01-17
Pompton Plains, NJ | I've actually decided to just stick with google only, but thanks anyway for the info.:) |
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GeekNJ
Premium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ | reply to DracoFelis
DracoFelis - Excellent post! |
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