From: Bill Kelly <billk@...>
Date: 2008-01-03T21:17:30+09:00
Subject: [OT] Help Request: Dialup, CardBus Cell Phone, etc. Modem IP Loopback Test

Rubyists,

If any of you having a "not-always-on" internet connection would
be willing to try my test program on your systems, I'd be most
grateful:

http://tastyspleen.net/~billk/ruby/loopback-test/

Years ago, some colleagues and I learned that some operating
systems can attempt to dial out to establish an internet connection,
even when a program is only trying to do inter-process communication
using the IP stack over loopback (localhost).  I am hoping that this
has changed in the intervening years.

The purpose of this test is to discover whether your OS can handle
UDP and TCP activity on localhost, without the OS trying to dial
your modem and establish an internet connection.

The program performs two tests.  UDP over loopback, and TCP over
loopback.  Before the tests, you are asked to verify that your
system is currently NOT connected to the internet.  After the tests,
the program gives the option to automatically submit the results
via email, or explains how to submit the results manually.

No personal information will be gathered during this test, and a
summary of the results will be made available to everyone.

Here's hoping all tests come back negative!

Thanks very much for your help!

Regards,

Bill