Subject: Re: AOL browser caching? From: josh@the-tech.mit.edu (Josh Hartmann) Date: Tue, 2 May 1995 16:28:54 -0400

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At 1:07 PM 5/2/95, JohnAtl@aol.com wrote:
>The browser can be slow, but Tashbook said Web pages selected by America
>Online subscribers are stored in the system's computers for 24 hours. Once
>one subscriber has looked at a page, it will load faster for anyone else who
>looks at it within a day."
><<<<<<<<<
>
>Will this caching mean that pages with more-than-once-daily updates (stocks,
>etc.) will not be accurate? Or will the caching just save time for the
>graphics?
>
>Any technically knowledgeable opinions would be appreciated.

It all depends on whether the AOL proxy server, which maintains the cache,
is intelligent about handling expiration dates which are provided by the
original server, and whether the original server is intelligent about
providing expiration dates in the first place. Obviously a stock quote or a
sports score might be provided with 10-minute (or immediate) expiration.
Meanwhile, Time Daily, for instance, would have a 24-hour expiration, and
the Time magazine cover story would have a one-week expiration. After a
document expires, a well-behaved proxy server would check with the original
server to see if an update is available.

Another interesting thing to note about the increase in use of caching is
logging....  that publishers won't know how many times their document is
*really* being read by users behind caching proxies, and thus can't provide
accurate usage statistics to potential and actual advertisers.... (haven't
we trod over this ground before?)

-Josh

__________________________________________________________________________
Josh Hartmann       Webmaster, The Virtual Garden http://pathfinder.com/vg
Time Life Inc.       Kai's Power Tips & Tricks http://the-tech.mit.edu/KPT
777 Duke Street
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703 838 6967 fax 703 838 7289                http://the-tech.mit.edu/~josh
__________________________________________________________________________
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