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Data leeches

  Does anybody else think it would be a good idea for someone here to compile a list of known or suspected data leeches? 

 

  I sort of hinted around to GabeU about this, but he didn't take the bait . :>)>

 

  I'm willing to open the nominations:

 

Known:

Iphone:  Can use gigs of data in a short time.  I was told by an experienced Iphone user that this is because by default all installed apps are reloaded periodically, and that this can be controlled or turned off completely at the Iphone.  I haven't verified the latter

 

  Any other nominations?

 

"Progress doesn't come from early risers -- progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things."
ROBERT A. HEINLEIN

13 REPLIES 13
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@gaines_wright wrote:   

  I sort of hinted around to GabeU about this, but he didn't take the bait . :>)>   


You did?  

 

There are too many specifics to list, but satellite TV receivers, cloud connections, website ads, Facebook videos playing automatically and various settings in Apple prodcuts (which can be locked down) are the biggest data leeches I usually see on here.

BirdDog
Assistant Professor

Chromecast unless the default settings are changed and is not powered on except when being used.

 

EDIT: One of the biggest, kids with any device connected to the Internet. Sorry parents but just a fact.


@GabeU wrote:

@gaines_wright wrote:   

  I sort of hinted around to GabeU about this, but he didn't take the bait . :>)>   


You did?  

 

I think I said something like:  Wouldn't it be nice if someone started a list?

 

I guess I'm going to be that someone.  :>)>

 

lol... what was that adage? if you passively suggest something, be prepared to do it.

 

Honestly, I'm late to this (due to a heat pump blower motor issue... long story), but I'd have to say that the biggest drains are (not in any particular order):

 

1. Satellite television boxes and gaming consoles - I can generally just term this IoT anymore, because more and more we're seeing lots of devices (even toilets) have some dumb reason for being connected (and susceptible, but that's whole 'nother story) the internet and they're increasingly unrelenting on the data they use. Satellite television seems particularly a problem, because remote DVR setting tends to prioritize On-Demand instead of live programming and you can mistakenly record a 5GB movie. There are other services such as software updates will prioritize internet over the one-way satellite feeds. This will also include on-screen guides and apps that use a tremendous amount of data, and are perfectly happy using it without you knowing about it. All of my DirecTV boxes are off-line and are staying that way unless I want to order/watch a PPV, then I might temporarly hook them up. BTW: Have you seen the size of on-demand nexgen games now?


2. Video streaming protocols - not just because of the inherent volume that a 1-hour show or 90-minute movie would require, but depending on protocol and server response window, the high lag can contribute to unwarranted resends that unnecessarily add to buffer time and data drain. To a lesser extent you can add security cameras to this because it's basically the same thing, but you have to send the video somewhere, then recieve it somewhere else. If you're using it to watch what's going on and they're both using the same modem, it's a double-whammy.

 

3. Any kind of real-time cloud work - for reasons similar to streaming, things like Google Docs are especially notorious for eating data. Whenever my wife says she has to update her lesson plans and grading (all done on-line) the hairs on the back of my neck go up.

 

4. Social media apps - Particularly Facebook and Instagram because there's no way to hide people's images and videos. Media, especially hi-res media, are a massive data sink depending upon what resolution they are converted to. We also had a discussion about compression/decompression of media built into Gen5, and I had a test procedure all ready to go to try to characterize it. But I never really pursued it. I'm mainly a Twitter guy (and not a lot of even that anymore), where you can hide all media from showing by default. That greatly reduces data consumption.

 

I'm sure there's a lot more. This is just off the top of my head.


* Disclaimer: I am a HughesNet customer and not a HughesNet employee. All of my comments are my own and do not necessarily represent HughesNet in any way.
maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

An internet-connected toilet.....Interesting.

 

MarkJFine wrote:

 

1. Satellite television boxes and gaming consoles - I can generally just term this IoT anymore, because more and more we're seeing lots of devices (even toilets) have some dumb reason for being connected (and susceptible, but that's whole 'nother story) the internet and they're increasingly unrelenting on the data they use. Satellite television seems particularly a problem, because remote DVR setting tends to prioritize On-


 


@maratsade wrote:

An internet-connected toilet.....Interesting.

No s..., right?


 


* Disclaimer: I am a HughesNet customer and not a HughesNet employee. All of my comments are my own and do not necessarily represent HughesNet in any way.
maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

Exactly! It gets disappeared by the smart toilet. 😉

 


@MarkJFine wrote:

No s..., right?


 


 

  Thanks for your suggestions!

 

 Oh no!  Not toilets!  One would  hope that they don't have a Google monitored web cam.  :>)>

  Well, I posted the list over in Tech Support as a reply to "Extreme excessive data usage".

 

  Feel free to criticize, suggest revisions, additions, or rewrites.

 

 

At one point in time I suggested there be some FAQ pages for some of these things, rather than community topics.

If this comes about there really should be a whole section devoted to this and data management as a whole.

An adjunct to this would likely be a minor dissertation in how the various acceleration techniques are used to get large file download speeds, but there's no way around radio being bound by the speed of light without going into a dissertation into quantum physics, wormholes, naquadah generators, etc.


* Disclaimer: I am a HughesNet customer and not a HughesNet employee. All of my comments are my own and do not necessarily represent HughesNet in any way.


@MarkJFine wrote:

At one point in time I suggested there be some FAQ pages for some of these things, rather than community topics.

  Great idea!

gaines_wright,

 

Could you make a new thread with the comments you made on the Extreme excessive data usage post? If others contribute, we can pin the post for future reference. 

 

Doing so will allow us to more easily bring up Mark's suggestion to have these topics covered in proper FAQs.

 

Thank you!

Jay