Changing the Half-Open Limit for Windows 7 and Vista

ali — Sat, 02 May 2009 17:27:30 +0000

“I’m not getting the download speeds I should be” is a typical question from a peer-to-peer user. There might be several solutions including software and router hardware setups (UPNP… port forwarding etc), but for windows users who are not on XP, there is one definate factor slowing you down: your operating system’s unalterable half-open TCP connection limit. It’s set to 10 by default, which will likely limit downloads to 10 connections… usually something under 150KB/s.

This utility, available from HalfOpen.com will solve your troubles in an instant. 100 is a good half-open number to go for, which should suffice for up to 600KB+ p2p downloading a second.

I use Bitcomet for my torrents, and although there is an option to bypass port-forwarding using UPNP, I prefer to disable UPNP and use port-forwarding instead, it’s safer, and seems to gel with the OS better. Bitcomet has the ability to alter XP’s half-open TCP limit, but not in Vista or 7. This utility from half-open.com bypasses this restriction, and although Bitcomet’s settions will still grey-out the half-open limit option and tell you that “Current OS is not supported to be modified”, you will be on the new limit you’ve set.

Gmail on Windows 7 Desktop

ali — Sat, 02 May 2009 12:51:11 +0000

This article looks at the current options and future possibilities for desktop integration of Gmail with Windows 7.

Google Desktop runs on Windows 7 but the Gmail gadget seems to have problems. The Gmail gadget would be my only reason to run Google Desktop anyway, even though it is an awesome application, especially as you can run widgets on the desktop and bring them to the front anytime with a double-tap and the shift key.

Why integrate Gmail into your desktop?

I loved the Google Desktop’s Gmail gadget because I can have access to Gmail and be notified when I have a new mail, without keeping a mail program open or having the bandwidth overhead of Gmail in a browser.

Available desktop integration modes

There are a few inbox notifier style widgets listed on the windows gadget site. One is Gmail Counter which simply announces the number of emails and links directly to your web inbox. It’s only one step better than keeping your Gmail open all the time in a browser. Two steps better is Gmail Reader which lists your new mail by subject, and links to individual messages.

Neither comes close to the fantasticality that is Google Desktop’s Gmail gadget.

Windows Live Mail and Gmail

Windows Live Mail, downloadable via Windows Live, is not a bad option for Gmail on Windows 7 as it will automatically set itself up to work with IMAP. IMAP with Gmail is a little counterintuitive because it lists everything twice, the second time being inside a ‘Google Mail’ subfolder. An advantage is that folders can be setup to synchronise headers only which will cut down on unnecessary bandwidth usage (convenient only if you are online most of the time, otherwise you might want messages automatically stored on your computer).

Windows Live Mail works with the Unread Mail gadget, which alerts you to new mail and opens the program on default.

A Windows 7 native Gmail Desktop Widget?

A Microsoft supported (created???) Gmail gadget that operates similarly to Google Desktop’s Gmail widget would be more than welcome by users of windows 7 and Gmail.