Optimizing PubGizmo Speed

To interact with PubGizmo, data must travel through the internet between your computer and our servers, and then your computer must process that data.

Here are steps to ensure you've done everything you can to optimize your experience.

Test Your Speed

Click to retest

First, test! You can do this by visiting the Home screen and clicking the About PubGizmo tab. At the bottom of the screen you'll see Connection Speed and a coloured button.

• green: great speed, things will be smooth and quick
• amber: okay speed
• red: poor speed, working will be suboptimal

Speed is tested when you login, but you can do an instant test by clicking the indicator. This allows you to change your circumstances and re-test to determine if that had an effect.

If you hover your mouse over the button, you'll see a value; this is a raw number that indicates latency.

Causes and Potential Fixes

Poor Network Connection

If your internet is slow, access to PubGizmo will be slow. You can check your speed by going to speedtest.net and running a test. Faster is better, but at a minimum your up and down speeds should exceed 10 Mbps. Either or both of your internet provider speed or your network connectioncan impede network traffic. And "ping" matters too; a high ping number (30+) indicates high latency.

Things that may internet speed:

1. Get closer to the WiFi: This one's pretty easy: if your WiFi unit sits in the basement and you're on the third floor, get closer! The further your WiFi signal has to travel, the more walls and floors it must penetrate, the more devices (phones, other computers, TVs, microwave ovens, etc., which introduce radio interference), between your computer and the WiFi, the slower your connection. Remember to test as you make changes to your environment by clicking the coloured test button; you may be able to find the sweet spot where speed is optimal.
2. Wire up: If you have the option of connecting directly to your network using an ethernet cable, do it; cable is the fastest connection.
3. Talk to your internet supplier: If your speed is nowhere near what you are paying for (e.g., you pay for 1GB speed and you are only getting 10% of that), there may be a problem with your internet. They can help troubleshoot and ensure you're getting what you pay for.

Slow Computer

Is your computer generally slow at other tasks? If yes, then an issue lies with your computer, either the hardware or your operating system. A number of factors can impede computer speed:

Software/Operating System

Issues with your operating system (Windows or macOS) can slow down your computer. This kind of issue accrues over time as your computer receives updates and as you install and remove programs. Windows is especially prone to this, more so than macOS. The best bet is a complete wipe and reinstall of your OS; it's not a trivial task, but it can yield significant improvements (some say it's like getting a new computer), not just in terms of speed, but also stability.

You can find on various tech sites information on how to perform a wipe and reinstall. The most important step is to back up your data, since the "wipe" part involves deleting everything on your computer.

Computer

Bad Hardware

If your problems survive a wipe/reinstall, there could be an issue with your computer hardware, for example, bad memory, a failing hard disk, overheating. This is best diagnosed by a professional.

New Computer

We recognize that a new computer represents significant expense, but it can really help if your current hardware is old and slow.

What Kind of Computer Should I Get?

While PubGizmo works fine on both PCs and Macs, it runs best on Macs. Not only are Macs faster than PCs, they are also much more reliable in terms of operating system integrity (see above) and hardware quality, and require less support – we do tech support too, and this is empirically true, whatever your cranky uncle tells you. They may cost more, but they are more rugged and last longer than PCs.

FileMaker Pro, the software that runs PubGizmo, also performs better on Macs. We're not sure why. Even a base model MacBook Neo handles PubGizmo well (provided your internet speed is good too).

Distance From Servers

This one is harder to fix: your distance from one of PubGizmo's two servers will be a factor in your access speed – it's the physics of network latency. The physical server that hosts your solution is optimized for your press's physical location; we have two servers currently, and they are both in North America (Toronto and Vancouver), so if you're visiting Frankfurt, it will take longer for data to travel between your location and the server.