We all have a need for speed. When I want to measure how fast (or slow!) my interconnect connection is, I use the online test at www.SpeedTest.net.

It doesn’t get much simpler than this. Go to the website. Watch out for the false “start now” button.

While the site is free, and supported by ads, it is a little deceptive. It is very tempting to click on the start now button, or one of the other inviting buttons.

The one to click is the Begin Test button, in green in the middle of the screen.

This starts the test. You get the ping back rate- which measures the responsiveness of the server you connect to. Then you get the upload and download speeds of the connection.

I used this to test the speed of the various internet connections to the routers I have in the house. I use three different routers, plus a range extender. Surprisingly, the Apple airports offered the highest download rates, as fast as 20 Mbps or more, while the Linksys routers only gave about 6 Mbps.

When I am at Peets or Starbucks, I find, depending on who else is online, the up and download rates are on the order of 0.1 to 0.5 Mbps. An example of the last test I did at Peets is here.