Testing internet connections by listening to them

From the Online Journalism Review <http://www.ojr.org/> :

Test your Net connection with a twang
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993112
global | access
2002-11-28 11:49 PST | 2002-11-28 19:49 GMT
- Anamika Wani

Listening to an Internet connection†is a better way of testing
its†quality†than the current practice of†"pinging,"
reports†NewScientist.com. Chris Chafe, a cellist and director of
the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at
Stanford University,†discovered a new method of†detecting
microsecond variations in the steadiness of an Internet
connection. It involves converting variations in a jitter (the
variation of a ping and its return†over time)†to musical notes.
Musicians are able to detect tonal variations, thus the longer
the transmission time, the lower the pitch of the note
produced.†Quality connections are vital in new areas such as
telemedicine, where a remote surgery is required and large data
packets†have to be transferred quickly and accurately.

NewScientist.com: http://www.newscientist.com
Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics: http://www-
ccrma.stanford.edu/
Chris Chafe's home page: http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~cc/
Whatis.com: Definition of a ping:
http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci214297,00.html
Whatis.com: Definition of a jitter:
http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci213534,00.html

- Joel