What is a packet and why don't I have very many

I usually only look at these sent and recieved numbers when the Internet is down but I have noticed that sometimes they are in the thousands. When the Internet is down, like now, I only have like 32 and 5.

Sometimes the numbers stay low and the pages load very slowly or not at all. When this happens at length I call telecable and they tell me that they are going to send a commando and usually that miraculously fixes the problem. It happens a lot and sometimes it resolves itself.

By the way when you call Telecable to report this sort of problem the standard response is " there is a falla en su Zona" . If you insist they will send you a commando, whatever that is.

I googled this but I could not make sence of it. I did gather that part of it is something that my server controls and part is my activity and that sometimes servers are stupid about the number of packets allowed.

I KNOW you are speaking English but have NO idea what any of those words mean. Well, individually I know what they mean, but the way you have grouped them together makes no sense to me. I await more information from our Techie Overlords.

See now that is exactly how I felt when I googled this...it registered as English but that's about all.

LET ME GOOGLE THAT FOR YOU

http://www.theshulers.com/whitepapers/internet_whitepaper/#stack

I think I need to just forget about packets.

Thanks, but "See now that is exactly how I felt when I googled this..."

Packets are the "envelopes" in which data is passed around in the telecommunications universe. They are like an envelope in that they have a destination and return address along with a lot of other stuff.
Trust me... you really do not want to know anything more than that.  

I do trust you, Zen, and shall go back to reading about string theory.  

Lol

I gave up on reading and listened instead.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57603527-1/mama-mia-physics-themed-bohemian-rhapsody-rocks/

Ok, Thanks Zen. Packets are envelopes of information...Now I know what they are . Simple. Thats all I need to know about that...

But why dont I have any? Well...5. I have 5 right now´.. 5 recieved ones. But you cant do anything with just 5.

In fact, I need to recieve at least 300 or 400 to do anything at all.

Are other people using all of the envelopes? Did I run out of envelopes? Did the machine that sends the envelopes break? Is there a simple answer to why I do not have any envelopes?

Lady O has clearly lost intrest in packets...

Do I have packets? If I do how come I do not know it? If I don´t, what does it mean? Who/what tells you about the packets and why are they/it not talking to me? Have I done something wrong? I like string theory better. No one even expects me to understand it and not understanding has no impact on my life. But, these packets sound important--and personal? Or am I being overly sensitive?

Lady Otter Latté wrote:Do I have packets? If I do how come I do not know it? If I don´t, what does it mean? Who/what tells you about the packets and why are they/it not talking to me? Have I done something wrong? I like string theory better. No one even expects me to understand it and not understanding has no impact on my life. But, these packets sound important--and personal?  Or am I being overly sensitive?

As Zen says it is an envelope with info in it. You can resend a packet for example if one got lost and your computer never got it so it tells the other computer to resend THAT packet and Voila. A whole file is made up of many many packets. It is an organizational thing that helps files get to where they are suppose to be without losing any data or changing any data. Next week we will talk about error correction and what it means to you. :-)

As far as string theory goes there are a few people around here who truly understand it. Most people don't including myself. Never could get through that Stephen Hawkins Universe book. Not enough physics and math is my problem.
Z

Where are the envelopes? What information? Is this something my computer does by itself or do I have to tell it? What information and to whom does it go? How does Ms. Thang even know how many packets there are or are not? Seriously. I still do not get it.

Funny thread..

Maybe mordita is in order. .. bytes and bits..

Ms. Thang and I were hoping so!  

Lady Otter Latté wrote:Where are the envelopes? What information? Is this something my computer does by itself or do I have to tell it? What information and to whom does it go? How does Ms. Thang even know how many packets there are or are not? Seriously. I still do not get it.

Stop trying to think of it as something physical like an envelope.  It is a virtual envelope with information in it. You don't need to know how it works
just assume it does. All this goes on behind the scenes as they say.  So a physical envelope uses the post office to mail right?  Now the virtual envelope uses the Internet to get the virtual mail to you on your computer and packets are a small part of how this works.

Better??

Z

don't let anybody sell ya little packets of white powder

So, anything my computer sends out, it sends in packets of info not individual bits and it is of no concern to me? It makes me no never mind as we used to say. So, why is Ms. Thang worried about her packets?
Gotcha Pedro. No white powder in little packets.

Ms. Thang is worried about her packets because she has none, or only a few and without lots of packets (here it gets tecnical) you can't do stuff. Internet stuff. Anyone who is not worried about their packets must have plenty. Packets , in this regard , are more like money than envelopes.
No one knows where they come from or who is responsible for sending them so there is no one to blame when they do not arrive.

I can see how many packets I have , or don't have, by right clicking on the little computer icon on the bottom right of my screen. Then click on "status" and you will see how many packets you have.

Packets do seem to be quite personal but not physical. It's a tricky relationship.

Okay, you asked, and here is one (of many) answers.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question525.htm

Enjoy.

byte me?

My posts seem to be disappearing on me, but I'll try again. But straightforward.

The signal you get to your computer is a network connection to the Internet. That signal is broken up into little tiny chunks. These chunks all check each other to make sure the information is going to you and not somewhere else. They also check to make sure ALL the info is going to you.

If anything goes wrong with getting you your Internet, these chunks will fix it so you do. The chunks are called packets.

There are gazillions of them. If the Internet signal was just one long signal, it would never get to you, because it breaks... a lot.

Zen: Praise the lord and pass the peas, I UNDERSTOOD that! Now, I know how much I really do not care.

Pedro: