by Paul
Technology jargon can be confusing. Most Internet service providers offer different packages which allow for more or less bandwidth. You'll hear figures like 10GB and 20GB being thrown about.
These are values that limit your internet activity which is all well and good, but more often than not, ISPs make it hard to find out how much of your allowance you've used.
This is where BitMeter OS steps in - it's extremely simple to use and provides easy access to the values you need to know.
If you don't have BitMeter OS installed, it's available here.
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BitMeter OS is a very small application. It takes seconds to download and an even shorter amount of time to set up.
It displays various statistics in real time about your current internet usage as well as monitoring your internet use history. This is very useful for people that don't have an unlimited bandwidth payment plan.
It's got a very simple and basic layout which means that it's very lightweight and you'll never notice it running. It's also a very "clean" interface - showing only the necessary information.
Clicking on the shortcut will open up a tab in your default browser showing the screen above. This displays a live feed showing your current download and upload speeds.
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BitMeter OS also allows you to view your history of the past few days, hours and minutes. This isn't particularly useful for analysis sake, but it's interesting to look at.
Being able to view the history of how much download and upload bandwidth you've used in terms of days may well be useful for noticing patterns in usage should you wish to cut your usage down.
There's also an option to export it to CSV format which will be able to be opened in spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft Excel.
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One of the main reasons I like BitMeter OS is the fact that it stores your previous internet usage information for a long period of time. Here you'll be able to see how much you've used so far this day, month, year and since you started using the program.
This is the most useful place for people without an unlimited subscription package as this allows you to easily monitor your previous usage with ease ensuring that you don't go over your limit and collect a fine.
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BitMeter OS also contains a preferences menu which allows you to change things such as the colour scheme of upload and download speeds as well as the units the program displays.
There's also a calculator so you can estimate a length of time for which a download will take to complete. It's not the main use of the program, but it's a decent additional feature.
All in all, BitMeter OS is a great free program that anyone can get some use out of. I've used it only to see how certain activities affect my internet usage and it's helped me increase my upload and download efficiencies.
It's well worth a try.
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Comments
Haha! At least you'll be able to keep a close eye on how much you're using!
I bet that would be ...me :)
It might be worth installing it on all laptop/computers that are connected, then you can see who's using the most, Hollie!
Don't know how I missed this article Paul- but this is definitely something I'll be needing in the next few months. At the moment I'm with Talk Talk and it's a special deal so unlimited downloads for now. But that will change, and given the fact that there are three of us who are very active internet users, I'm going to need to keep my eye on the usage.
It is very useful - plus I'm unaware of an ISP that allows you to see your download and upload in real time!
Yeah, it's well worth a look even if it's just for checking what effects certain programs have on your upload/downloads :)
Ah! So this is what you keep going on about. I don't know as it would be too useful for me, as I have unlimited bandwidth. Should I get it anyway for interest purposes?