FM75 Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 As a result of various CC activities lately, I was forced to use BBOWin (5.2.6). Since I only wanted to work on a CC, I clicked Cancel on the dialog box that said it was downloading the thousands of online users. I guess you aren't supposed to do that, because it cancels the program and not just the download. The next day I was thinking about how silly that behavior was, and I was suddenly struck with the realization that it probably explains why when someone loses a connection, you see him online but it takes him a very long time to rejoin the table. I am wondering about Web version. Does it do the same odd thing, but just not expose it, while it does its moving dots display on the login screen? If so, wouldn't it be better to do that "in the background", i.e. on a separate thread. It seems like it would be a priority to get a player back to his table (especially in a tournament or teaching table), rather than downloading user lists for "friend/enemy" management. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Here's the story... The moving dots that appear when the web client is first launched indicate that the software is loading and initiatizing. We have made an effort to minimize the amount of time that this takes. Once you actually attempt to log in with either the web client or the Windows client, the first thing that happens is that a connection to the BBO server is established. The length of time this takes is typically no more than a couple of seconds regardless of the version of our software that you are using. Web client users will see more moving dots during this time. Once the connection is established, whichever version of the BBO client you are using needs to receive some information from the BBO server before you can actually do anything. For the web client, the amount of information involved is negligable, but the Windows client typically has to receive a massive amount of information before it can be used. The more information that has to be sent and received, the longer it takes. For the Windows client, the amount of information that is loaded when logging in (and hence the amount of time that logins take) is proportional to the number of people who are currently logged in to BBO. Having a slow Internet connection or having not logged in with the Windows client for a while can also significantly slow things down. The part of the world you are connecting from can also be relevant. In a worst case scenario (slow connection, lots of people online, no recent logins, unlucky part of the world) this process can easily take several minutes. This is one of the main reasons we created the web client in the first place - there is a flaw in the basic architecture of the Windows client that will manifest itself in worse and worse ways as the number of people who are logged in to BBO increases. If BBO continues to grow then the time will come when the Windows client will grind to a halt and become unusable. Or, as a computer person might say, "the Windows client is not scalable". This basic problem with the Windows client (among others) could not have been effectively addressed by trying to fix the program itself - it was easier for us to start from scratch. Of course we tried (and are still trying) to do a better job in other areas while we were (and still are) at it. For all those Windows client enthusiastics reading this, there is probably no need to panic. As far as we can tell, your preferred method of accessing our site does not rate to grind to a halt or become unusable in the near future, especially if you have a speedy Internet connection. Fred GitelmanBridge Base Inc.www.bridgebase.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FM75 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Here's the story... snip For all those Windows client enthusiastics reading this, there is probably no need to panic. As far as we can tell, your preferred method of accessing our site does not rate to grind to a halt or become unusable in the near future, especially if you have a speedy Internet connection. Fred GitelmanBridge Base Inc.www.bridgebase.com Thanks, Fred Also no need to panic unless we have a Black Swan event dramatically increasing the popularity of bridge in the general population and they flock wildly to BBO as the premier provider of bridge. :) If that happens, then BBO will have a problem that it would dearly like to have to solve - and the funds to do it. For those of us who prefer the browser, could we get the same monthly incentive pricing on robots as the BBOWinners? If we buy robots on BBOWin, do they run in BBOWin, or on the servers? (i.e. if I use bbowin to buy robots, do I get to use them on browser?) BBO Fan and another Fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 It seems to be raining Freds these days. Last week I was in a room with 9 other people and 2 of them were also named Fred! Robots rented using the Windows client run on the user's PC whereas those rented with the web-client run on our servers. That is why it is necessary to have different rates for the "basic" and "advanced" robots available through the web client - it is much more expensive for us to host the advanced robots. I am not really involved in things like pricing decisions, but I will forward a copy of your request to the appropriate person. I am guessing there exists some good reason why we don't offer monthly discounts through the web client. Fred GitelmanBridge Base Inc.www.bridgebase.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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