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Friday, April 19, 2013

Broadband internet arrives in California's Gold Country through white spaces deployment

White Space Arrives In Gold Country

The first commercial application of TV White-Space broadband offers residents of California's Gold Country a 'wealth' of opportunities.

ARCATA, Calif., April 18, 2013

ARCATA, Calif., April 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The rugged landscape of California's Gold Country has been sought after for centuries, but its enchanting features have also obstructed 21st-Century Internet access. Newly-released technology is about to liberate these rural environs, as the nation's first independently-funded commercial-grade TV White Space (TVWS) broadband network is deployed in the area.

White-Spaces are unused TV channels, whose powerful signals can travel over rough, tree-laden terrain. This long-awaited broadband solution avails rural customers to all the benefits of today's Internet. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of an El Dorado County wireless Internet provider, Cal.net, many Gold Country businesses and residents now have access to these previously unattainable resources.

Just ask the local entrepreneur who wants to efficiently monitor her store locations. "I'm finally able to keep tabs on my business from home," states Mrs. Edwards. "For twenty years we've had no decent Internet service were we live. Now we have superior remote access to our office computers, and can finally enjoy peace of mind while saving us many hours of driving."

"Over 59,000 residents in our rural service area have had little or no quality Internet access," explained Cal.net CTO Ken Garnett, who began investigating White-Space technology several years ago. "When I discovered Carlson, their White-Space network equipment was a quantum leap ahead of all other contenders. This new product allows us to serve a large contingent of these people."

"Carlson specializes in rugged territory," noted Jim Carlson, CEO of the Arcata-based RF design firm. "Rural broadband has long been the focus of our efforts, and we knew as soon as the FCC set aside TVWS for broadband that this would be the preeminent solution for rural areas."

A brewery in the quaint town of Camino offers a prime example of TVWS advantages. "This is a very effective tool for my business," states David Coody, owner of the Jack Russell Brewery. "Video conferencing was smoother than satellite, and I'm not hamstrung by its limitations. I'd highly recommend this to other businesses in rural areas."

Carlson and Cal.net formed an alliance and set out to tame the wild territory. Armed with an FCC-granted Special Temporary Authority to validate the efficacy of the product in real-world scenarios, the partners have commenced the world's first large-scale deployment of commercial TVWS products. The project comprises multiple transmission sites delivering broadband to several hundred heretofore un-serviceable subscribers in El Dorado County. The success of their project will help qualify the potential of TVWS and provide a hopeful outlook for millions of other rural Americans awaiting quality broadband.

Late last month Carlson began shipping its RuralConnect system to FCC authorized customers in fulfillment of pre-orders.

About Carlson

For more than a decade, Carlson has led the way in engineering high-speed wireless communication solutions for a broad spectrum of applications by using RF technology to deliver full voice and data connections, no matter how rugged the terrain. More than 20 million people in nearly 200 communities worldwide rely on Carlson radios for their public safety communications needs. Today, Carlson is considered a pioneer of the revolutionary new TV White Space broadband technology.

About Cal.Net

Cal.net is a premier northern-California based Internet service provider, offering services to meet the data communications needs of individuals and businesses since 1996. The company provides wired and wireless broadband Internet access, Web services, and a local co-location datacenter. Cal.net's fixed-wireless broadband service provides quality high-speed Internet to thousands of rural subscribers in El Dorado and Amador Counties, California.

Source

By: Unknown On 1:35 PM

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Arris closes deal to buy Motorola Home cable and internet biz from Google

ARRIS Acquires Motorola Home: Creates Premier Video Delivery and Broadband Technology Company
Powerful Combination Transforms Industry, Accelerates Innovation
SUWANEE, Ga., April 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ARRIS Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRS) today announced that it completed its acquisition of the Motorola Home business from a subsidiary of Google Inc. This combination will enable ARRIS to transform how service and content providers deliver entertainment and communications. ARRIS paid Google approximately $2.2 billion in cash and issued Google 10.6 million shares of its common stock in connection with the transaction.

The cash portion of the consideration was funded through syndicated debt financing and the sale by ARRIS of 10.6 million ARRIS shares to Comcast Corporation. As a result of these securities transactions, Google and Comcast each hold approximately 7.7% of ARRIS' currently outstanding shares.

"This acquisition creates a global player in video delivery and broadband technology. We are combining the industry's top experts and technologies to create a powerful solution for the entire multiscreen delivery chain – from network infrastructure, to transport, to user experience," said Bob Stanzione, Chairman and CEO of ARRIS. "The new ARRIS has the expertise to transform the industry."

The company will be led by a management team of top executives with unrivaled experience from both companies. These leaders have a proven track record for pioneering many of the industry's most significant transformations to date, and bring with them deep customer relationships and industry expertise.

As previously announced, ARRIS will release first quarter 2013 financial results after the market close on Wednesday, April 24, 2013. ARRIS management will also conduct a conference call at 5:00 p.m. EDT on the same day to discuss these results. More information about this conference call can be found on ARRIS Investor Relations website:
http://ir.arrisi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=87823&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1804842&highlight=

About ARRIS
ARRIS is a premier video and broadband technology company that transforms how service providers worldwide deliver entertainment and communications without boundaries. Its powerful end-to-end platforms enable service and content providers to improve the way people connect – with each other and with their favorite content. The Company's vision and expertise continue to drive the industry's innovations, as they have for more than 60 years. Headquartered north of Atlanta, in Suwanee, Georgia, ARRIS has R&D, sales and support centers throughout the world. For more information: www.arrisi.com

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and related public disclosures contain forward looking statements. These statements include, among others, statements concerning future performance of ARRIS following the completion of the acquisition of the Motorola Home Business and ARRIS' ability to achieve the expected strategic benefits and synergies. Statements regarding future events are based on the parties' current expectations. Actual results may differ materially from those suggested by any forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are necessarily subject to associated risks related to, among other things, the retention of employees of Motorola Home Business and the ability of ARRIS to successfully integrate Motorola Home's opportunities, technology, personnel and operations. Other factors that could cause results to differ from current expectations include: the uncertain current economic climate and financial markets, and their impact on our customers' plans and access to capital: the impact of rapidly changing technologies; the impact of competition on product development and pricing; the ability of ARRIS to react to changes in general industry and market conditions; rights to intellectual property and the current trend toward increasing patent litigation, market trends and the adoption of industry standards; possible acquisitions and dispositions; and consolidations within the telecommunications industry of both the customer and supplier base. These factors are not intended to be an all-encompassing list of risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company's business. Additional information regarding these and other factors can be found in ARRIS' reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012. In providing forward-looking statements, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update publicly or otherwise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE ARRIS Group, Inc.

Source

By: Unknown On 1:02 PM

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

'World's fastest' home internet service hits Japan with Sony's help, 2 Gbps down

4/16/2013 8:01AM by Alexis Santos

(Click for Image)

Google Fiber might be making waves with its 1Gbps speeds, but it's no match for what's being hailed as the world's fastest commercially-provided home internet service: Nuro. Launched in Japan yesterday by Sony-supported ISP So-net, the fiber connection pulls down data at 2 Gbps, and sends it up at 1 Gbps. An optical network unit (ONU) given to Nuro customers comes outfitted with three Gigabit ethernet ports and supports 450 Mbps over 802.11 a/b/g/n. When hitched to a two-year contract, web surfers will be set back 4,980 yen ($51) per month and pony up a required 52,500 yen (roughly $540) installation fee, which is currently being waived for folks who apply online. Those lucky enough to call the Land of the Rising Sun home can register their house, apartment or small business to receive the blazing hookup, so long as they're located within Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Tokyo, Kanagawa or Saitama. Click the bordering source link for more details on signing up.

View the full version of Engadget

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By: Unknown On 9:33 PM

Monday, March 25, 2013

Internet Explorer 11 user agent makes browser look like Firefox, thumbs nose at legacy CSS hacks

Early build of Internet Explorer 11 tells people it's 'like Firefox', enjoys the look on their faces

Subtlety can't always avert controversy. That leaked build of Windows Blue is a case in point: it suggests a relatively incremental update to Windows 8, yet some of its revelations are already causing quite a stir. Neowin now reports that Internet Explorer 11, as contained within the leaked build, identifies itself to host websites as "Mozilla... like Gecko." Confusing, right? Perhaps, but it's not really as underhand as it sounds, as you can see from the full line of code in the picture above.

The program still identifies itself (in brackets) as IE 11, but it forgoes Microsoft's older identifier ("MSIE") and simply describes itself as being a browser that renders HTML in a similar way to Firefox's Gecko layout engine. Neowin speculates that the reason for this could be to start afresh: by confusing host websites with a new identifier, IE 11 might avoid having legacy CSS code thrown at it, dating back to the bad old days when web designers had to give Internet Explorer special treatment. It's also been suggested that this could cause problems for business apps that genuinely rely on legacy CSS code -- although it's worth remembering that we're not looking at a final release here, and none of us (ahem) are even meant to be using it.

Via: Slashdot

Source: Neowin

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Slacker reinvents itself: simpler, more approachable internet radio

Slacker redesign goes brighter and bolder as it moves to the mainstream

If you were a fan of Slacker's old-school black and gold aesthetic, you can mourn its passing today. The internet radio service has just undergone a rebirth, with a brand new white and burnt orange logo and a completely revamped design -- on web, mobile and Xbox -- in an effort to reintroduce itself to the mainstream and stave off competition from the likes of Pandora, Spotify and Rdio. The new look is decidedly simpler and more approachable, with a prominent search box and a distinct blue and white theme that carries its way throughout all interfaces. Indeed, the smartphone apps are explicitly designed to mirror the site, not just style-wise but functionally as well. For example, you can continue a song on the phone right where you left off in the browser.

The pricing structure remains the same -- there's a free ad-supported version, a Radio Plus $3.99 a month option and a $9.99 per month Premium plan. The new iOS and Android apps should be available today, with Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10 versions to come. For more on the relaunch and a few thoughts from Slacker's execs, join us after the break.

DNP Slacker redesign is simpler, more approachable as it reinvents itself for the mainstream

As soon as you load the new site, you'll notice three buckets: Slacker Stations, Music Guide and My Music. The first has long been a mainstay in Slacker's arsenal; it lists a slew of stations the company says are "expertly curated" along with sports, talk and comedy options. As of the relaunch, you can fine tune the list even further by choosing related artists, favorite tunes, or just how popular or new you want the song selections to be. Music Guide, on the other hand, capitalizes on the "lean forward" aspect of the service that is designed to go head-to-head against services like Spotify and Rdio where you already know what sorts of songs you like. The Guide offers editorial takes on the latest industry news plus recommendations based on listening habits and the social network behavior of your friends -- in fact, it can populate the "What songs your friends are listening to" list from competing services. As for the My Music section, that's where you can compile your favorite songs, playlists and custom-built stations.

We had a chance to sit down with Slacker CEO Jim Cady and CMO Craig Rechenmacher who gave us some insight into the philosophy behind the site's relaunch. As they tell us, Slacker was originally designed for the early adopter crowd as an alternative to satellite radio. The market has changed remarkably since then, and so they adapted. "This is a new product across all devices," Cady said. "It's a product redesign, a brand redesign." He goes on to say that after months of focus groups and testing, "if you give people 30 to 60 minutes, we win [compared to competing services]. But that isn't good enough -- it needs to be 30 to 60 seconds."

For Rechenmacher, the combination of over 13 million songs, 200 "expertly programmed" stations, offline listening for paid subscribers and enhanced customization makes them "the most complete music service on the market," and he hopes the redesign helps get that idea across. We can't attest to that of course, but at first glance, it does seem like Slacker's making a step in the right direction here. To get an idea of how the new redesign looks, have a peek at the gallery, check out the video or just head to the source to see the brand new site for yourself.

Slacker RelaunchSee all photoswhen.eng("eng.galleries.init")

Show full PR text

SLACKER UNVEILS THE WORLD'S MOST COMPLETE MUSIC SERVICE
Digital Music Service Gives Listeners Anytime, Anywhere Access to
the World's Best Entertainment with New Web, Mobile and Automotive Apps
SAN FRANCISCO – FEBURARY 13, 2013 – Listen up. Slacker has launched the world's most complete music service for the Web, mobile devices and a range of automotive and consumer electronics platforms. The new Slacker gives listeners anytime, anywhere access to millions of songs and hundreds of expert-programmed stations for free on any device. Slacker also raises the bar for music discovery, highlighting stations, personalized picks and exclusive content from Slacker's team of expert curators. Get Slacker for free at www.slacker.com or download the app now for iOS, Android, Windows Phones and Blackberry devices.
Slacker works directly with record labels to offer a massive music library of more than 13 million songs, with new tracks added daily. Listeners can also personalize their experience with the industry's deepest customization tools and easily add news, sports and talk from ABC and ESPN. Slacker's team of expert music curators also constantly update Slacker's more than 200 genre and specialty stations so the music is always new, fresh and surprising.
Slacker is free on any device. Listeners can also subscribe to Slacker Radio Plus for a commercial-free experience with offline listening and unlimited song skips for $3.99 a month. The Slacker Premium service delivers the ultimate experience with on-demand listening, the ability to create custom playlists and more for $9.99 a month.
"Slacker is the most complete music service on earth, with 10 times the music of Pandora, expert- programmed stations Spotify can't touch, and personalization that satellite services only dream of," said Jim Cady, CEO, Slacker. "We've quietly built a scaleable business with more than a half-million paying subscribers and more than four million monthly average users. 2013 will be a blockbuster year for Slacker as we ramp up our marketing efforts and take the service to a broader audience."
Slacker was founded in 2006 as a satellite radio company and pivoted to become a digital music service in 2010. The company has doubled its business every year. Slacker also has billing and distribution deals with every major North American wireless provider, including Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular. In addition, Slacker also has distribution deals with major automotive manufacturers including Ford, GM, Chrysler, Acura, Honda, Scion, Subaru and Tesla.
The new Slacker service and company logo were revealed to media at a press event featuring Silversun Pickups last night in San Francisco. Event production was handled by Madrone Studios. A press kit with logos, screen shots and video is available here.
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And to celebrate the launch of the new Slacker service, listeners can also experience all the features and benefits of the Slacker premium service for free on February 14 and 15, sponsored by Cars.com.
For more information about Slacker, a complete list of platforms, or to listen for free, visit
www.slacker.com
About Slacker
Slacker is the most complete music service on Earth. The company delivers free and subscription-based access to millions of songs and hundreds of expert-programmed stations, plus news, sports and talk, on the web, mobile devices, in-car infotainment systems and consumer electronics platforms. By blending a team of expert music curators and content programmers with cutting-edge analytics, Slacker delivers a seamless music discovery experience and uniquely personalized entertainment. Slacker was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in San Diego with offices in Palo Alto, CA and New York City. For more information about Slacker, or to listen for free, visit www.slacker.com
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Source: Slacker

Ted Sarandos, Mitch Hurwitz and Will Arnett wax poetic about creating content for the internet

Look, Will Arnett is hilarious. His gravely tones are also just as romantic in person as they are on television. And he took the stage here at D:Dive Into Media 2013 alongside Mitch Hurwitz (creator of Arrested Development) and Ted Sarandos (Chief Content Officer & VP of Content at Netflix) in order to talk about the changing world of original content production. Outside of making jokes about premiums paid for getting props back in order to create a new generation of Arrested Development (seriously, they sold the Aztec Tomb "immediately," per Arnett), Hurwitz and Arnett both agreed that it's a completely different dynamic in creating television for the internet.

When producing a show for a cable or network channel, Hurwitz confessed that you have to make "flat" programming -- stuff that'll satisfy a huge, huge demographic. As in, the whole of America. With the next generation of Arrested Development, however, Netflix only needs to appeal to the demographic that digs Netflix. Sarandos affirmed that Netflix is paying all of the parties involved "network-level money," and both he and Hurwitz stated that these next episodes will truly be written by fans of the show. In other words, you can expect the quality to be exceptionally high, as there are far fewer stipulations behind the scenes.

When host Walt Mossberg asked Sarandos if Netflix was "in this for real," he stated that "in success, we'll do more." Of course, he also announced that House of Cards is now the company's "most watched program in every market that Netflix has service in, both in number of hours and in number of people." He also said that while few Netflix viewers "binge watch" and consumed every single House of Cards episode at once, a meaningful chunk of them watch at least two or three in a row. Hurwitz chimed in, noting that Netflix is "staying nimble," and doesn't have to produce a certain amount of shows each year in order to meet network demands. Sarandos also noted that since Fox owns the property, even the next episodes will eventually make their way out on DVD, onto iTunes, etc., but only after a window lapses once it's all out on Netflix.

Sarandos stopped short of telling Mossberg that Netflix is indeed going to consider itself a production company, but it's clear that the company is enjoying the experiment. And, given the restrictions that are removed when you're able to produce material for a specific and highly mobile audience, we're personally jazzed to see what kind of creativity is allowed to flourish in such a brave, new world.

We'll be reporting live from D:Dive Into Media as it continues on February 11-12. You can follow our coverage by using the "dmedia2013" tag.

Source

By: Unknown On 2:17 PM

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Hewlett-Packard creates Converged Cloud unit, gets serious about the internet

Nearly a year after HP announced its cloud computing plans, it has finally gotten serious about the internet by creating a specialized business unit around it, according to AllThingsD. Dubbed the Converged Cloud unit, it'll be headed by Saar Gillai who has been promoted to senior VP. The unit will manage all things cloud, from hardware and services to its marketing and networking partners. Judging from its recent financial woes, perhaps this renewed gamble on internet services will push it further into the black.

when.eng("eng.perm.init")

Source: All Things D

Tags: cloud, cloudcomputing, convergedcloud, hp

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By: Dilusha On 10:17 PM

Saturday, December 29, 2012

U.S. clears way for wider in-flight Internet deployment

By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON | Fri Dec 28, 2012 4:01pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has cleared the way for wider adoption of in-flight Internet services, aiming to cut by as much as 50 percent the time needed for regulatory approval.

Newly adopted rules should boost competition in this part of the U.S. mobile telecommunications market and promote "the widespread availability of Internet access to aircraft passengers," the FCC said in a statement Friday.

Since 2001, the commission has cleared companies on an ad hoc basis to market in-flight broadband services via a satellite antenna fixed to an aircraft's exterior.

Under a newly adopted framework, the licensing procedures will be simpler, the commission said.

Airlines will be able to test systems that meet the commission's standards, establish that they do not interfere with aircraft systems and then get approval of the Federal Aviation Administration, the FCC statement said.

The FAA, a Labor Department arm responsible for operating the nation's air traffic control system, said in response that the FCC's effort to establish standards "will help to streamline the process" for airlines to install Internet hookups on planes.

The goal is to speed the processing of applications by up to 50 percent, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a separate statement.

The FCC drive to promote broadband aboard planes does not change a ban on the in-flight use of cell phones, which is tied to concerns about interference with ground stations.

Genachowski earlier this month urged the Federal Aviation Administration to allow more electronics on aircraft.

The FAA announced in August that it was forming a government-industry group to study aircraft operators' policies to determine when portable electronic devices may be used safely during flight.

(Reporting By Jim Wolf; Editing by Claudia Parsons)

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By: Dilusha On 10:03 PM

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

China may require real name registration for internet access

BEIJING | Tue Dec 25, 2012 12:20am EST

BEIJING (Reuters) - China may require internet users to register with their real names when signing up to network providers, state media said on Tuesday, extending a policy already in force with microblogs in a bid to curb what officials call rumors and vulgarity.

A law being discussed this week would mean people would have to present their government-issued identity cards when signing contracts for fixed line and mobile internet access, state-run newspapers said.

"The law should escort the development of the internet to protect people's interest," Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily said in a front page commentary, echoing similar calls carried in state media over the past week.

"Only that way can our internet be healthier, more cultured and safer."

Many users say the restrictions are clearly aimed at further muzzling the often scathing, raucous - and perhaps most significantly, anonymous - online chatter in a country where the Internet offers a rare opportunity for open debate.

It could also prevent people from exposing corruption online if they fear retribution from officials, said some users.

It was unclear how the rules would be different from existing regulations as state media has provided only vague details and in practice customers have long had to present identity papers when signing contracts with internet providers.

Earlier this year, the government began forcing users of Sina Corp's wildly successful Weibo microblogging platform to register their real names.

The government says such a system is needed to prevent people making malicious and anonymous accusations online and that many other countries already have such rules.

"It would also be the biggest step backwards since 1989," wrote one indignant Weibo user, in apparent reference to the 1989 pro-democracy protests bloodily suppressed by the army.

Chinese internet users have long had to cope with extensive censorship, especially over politically sensitive topics like human rights, and popular foreign sites Facebook, Twitter and Google-owned YouTube are blocked.

Despite periodic calls for political reform, the ruling Communist Party has shown no sign of loosening its grip on power and brooks no dissent to its authority.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Huang Yan; Editing by Michael Perry)

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By: Dilusha On 5:00 PM

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Vatican takes first spot in Internet domain name draw

Pope Benedict XVI looks on through the incense smoke as he leads a Vespers mass in Saint Peter's basilica at the Vatican December 1, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Max Rossi

By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor

PARIS | Thu Dec 20, 2012 12:07pm EST

PARIS (Reuters) - The Vatican has come out in first place in a long-awaited draw to expand the Internet address system with new domain names that go beyond the usual .com, .org or .net endings.

ICANN, the corporation that oversees the Internet address system, announced this week the domain name .catholic written in Chinese characters will be the first bid it considers in a drive to expand and reorganize sites on the World Wide Web.

The same extension in Arabic letters ranked 25th in the random draw and the Vatican's application for a version in Cyrillic for Russian and other Slavic languages came in 96th.

Ranking high means the applicant could get approval early next year to operate the new domain and approve addresses using it. In the Vatican's case, Rome could then ensure only genuine Roman Catholic institutions get to use that domain name.

"This is a way to give a coherence and authentication to our presence in the digital arena," said Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

"Anyone looking online will recognize the site belongs to an institution that belongs to the Catholic Church," he said, adding the new, so-called top level domain names (|TLDs) could also help speed online searches.

.BIBLE AND .ISLAM

For online retailers such as Amazon, whose application for .store in Japanese came in second, early approval could mean a competitive advantage and prompt a quick introduction of the new name.

But the Vatican did not enter the draw for commercial reasons and would not rush to launch its TLDs, Tighe said. In addition, the main TLD it seeks - .catholic in Latin letters - ended up in 1,366th place and may take months before it is approved.

Website owners are now restricted to a few dozen TLDs such as .com and country code domains such as .co.uk or .fr. Many of the 1,930 applications for new TLDs came from companies, including Internet giants such as Amazon and Google.

Several other faith-based groups applied for other TLDs such as .bible or .islam. The extension .mormon was the next-highest religious application drawn, coming in at 118th place.

ICANN (www.icann.org), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, has stressed that assigning a certain TLD does not imply any endorsement of the religious group seeking it, just recognition it is the best suited to use the name.

Tighe said the ICANN draw handled applications for TLDs in non-Latin alphabets first, which explained why the Vatican's Chinese, Arabic and Cyrillic extensions came out far ahead of its main TLD in Latin letters.

INTERNET IMPRIMATUR

ICANN invited comments on applications earlier this year. The Vatican's application for exclusive use of .catholic drew criticism from members of several Protestant churches that also use the term, which comes from the Greek for "universal".

"This request is a move by a powerful group to squelch the voices and rights of other Christians," Dave Daubert, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Elgin, Illinois, wrote on the ICANN webpage for comments on the applications.

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, apparently saw no hope of a consensus on religious TLDs and opposed them all.

Some religions seem to have kept out of the fray entirely. There were no applications for .buddhist, .hindu or .jewish.

(Reporting By Tom Heneghan; Editing by Michael Roddy)

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By: Dilusha On 8:08 PM

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Gigabit Squared heading high-speed fiber and wireless internet initiative in Seattle

CITY OF SEATTLE, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, AND GIGABIT SQUARED ANNOUNCE PLAN TO DEVELOP ULTRA-FAST BROADBAND NETWORK

Plan begins with demonstration fiber project in 12 Seattle neighborhoods

SEATTLE (December 13, 2012) – Today Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn announced that the City of Seattle has reached an agreement with broadband developer Gigabit Squared to develop and operate an ultra high-speed fiber-to-the-home/fiber-to-the-business broadband network. The plan will begin with a demonstration fiber project in twelve Seattle neighborhoods and includes wireless methods to deploy services more quickly to other areas in the city. The initiative, leveraging the City of Seattle's excess fiber capacity, the expertise of Gigabit Squared, and the community leadership of The University of Washington, aims to stimulate business opportunities, spur advancements in health care, education, and public safety, and enhance quality of life for the residents and businesses of Seattle.

"This is a very promising proposal that can help bring 21st century infrastructure to Seattle," said McGinn. "I've heard from residents and businesses that Seattle needs better broadband service, and this agreement lays the groundwork for building that network. I'm excited to work with the University of Washington and Gigabit Squared to provide new Internet service choices."

The City, the University and Gigabit Squared have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and a Letter of Intent that allows Gigabit Squared to begin raising the capital needed to conduct engineering work and to build out the demonstration fiber network. The project is the second city project announced by Gigabit Squared as part of its multi-million dollar Gigabit Neighborhood Gateway Program. Gigabit Squared will collaborate with the City of Seattle and the University of Washington to initiate a process for sharing information and soliciting input on the project from members of the affected communities.

"The UW, the City of Seattle and Gigabit Squared are working together to make Seattle the most wired and connected city in the nation and to continue its role as a major leader in the innovation economy of the 21stcentury," said University of Washington President Michael Young. "This new level of high-speed connectivity will provide essential infrastructure to help us address some of our biggest problems in the areas of climate, the environment, education, energy, and transportation. It's definitely a game-changer, and we are delighted to be one of the driving forces in making this a reality."

The network, called Gigabit Seattle (www.gigabitseattle.com) includes three pieces: Fiber directly to the home and business in twelve demonstration neighborhoods, dedicated gigabit broadband wireless connections to multifamily housing and offices across Seattle, and next generation mobile wireless internet.

1) Fiber to the home and business: Gigabit Seattle plans to build out a fiber-to-the-home/fiber-to-the-business (FTTH/FTTB) network to more than 50,000 households and businesses in 12 demonstration neighborhoods, connected together with the excess capacity that Gigabit Seattle will lease from the City's own fiber network. Gigabit Seattle's technology intends to offer gigabit speeds that are up to 1,000 times faster than the typical high-speed connection.

The initial 12 neighborhoods include: Area 1: the University of Washington's West Campus District, Area 2: South Lake Union, Area 3: First Hill/Capitol Hill/Central Area, Area 4: the University of Washington's Metropolitan Tract in downtown Seattle, Area 5: the University of Washington's Family Housing at Sand Point, Area 6: Northgate, Area 7: Volunteer Park Area, Area 8: Beacon Hill and SODO Light Rail Station and Areas 9-12: Mount Baker, Columbia City, Othello, and Rainier Beach.

2) Dedicated gigabit to multifamily housing and offices: To provide initial coverage beyond the 12 demonstration neighborhoods, Gigabit Seattle intends to build a dedicated gigabit broadband wireless umbrella to cover Seattle providing point-to-point radio access up to one gigabit per second. This will be achieved by placing fiber transmitters on top of 38 buildings across Seattle. These transmitters can beam fiber internet to multifamily housing and offices across Seattle, even those outside the twelve demonstration neighborhoods, as long as they are in a line of sight. Internet service would be delivered to individual units within a building through existing wiring. This wireless coverage can provide network and Internet services to customers that do not have immediate access to fiber in the city.

3) Next generation mobile wireless internet: Gigabit Seattle will provide next generation wireless cloud services in its 12 neighborhoods to provide customers with mobile access.

The fiber network, the gigabit dedicated wireless connections, and wireless cloud services neighborhoods will together provide broadband wired and wireless network and Internet services, giving Seattle customers new choices.

"Seattle and its spirit of entrepreneurship, community advancement, innovation and invention make it the ideal City for this exciting initiative," said Mark Ansboury, president of Gigabit Squared. "Bringing the City of Seattle, the University of Washington, individual neighborhoods, as well as Gigabit Squared and our investors together, we're able to do what none of us could do individually – build a platform for economic development and business creation."

This is the first demonstration project of Gigabit Squared's Gigabit Neighborhood Gateway Program (GNGP), which will bring other projects like this to promote gigabit network innovation in six selected university communities across the country. The $200 million broadband program was developed in partnership with The University Community Next Generation Innovation Project (Gig.U).

"This exciting public-private partnership serves as an example to communities all over the world of how universities and their local stakeholders can collaborate to drive economic opportunities by putting private investment to work alongside public capital," said Blair Levin, Executive Director of Gig.U. "We're thrilled to see our Gig.U member, University of Washington, at the center of this innovative initiative to help Seattle communities benefit from the advanced applications and services accelerating the meaningful use of this gigabit speed network. Congratulations to all involved in the Seattle Broadband Initiative in developing this world-class fiber network that will support not only today's needs, but foster innovation and serve the research and community development needs of tomorrow."

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By: Dilusha On 7:54 PM

Connectify Dispatch merges all of your Internet connections into one

A new piece of software that promises to boost your Internet connection speed and reliability is now available for download. Connectify Dispatch is able to combine a wired Ethernet connection, a Wi-Fi connection and signals from 3G and 4G wireless modems to create a seamless data link that balances the load across all methods, according to the founders.

Connectify Inc. describes the end result as a super connection since users are able to utilize the combined speed of all connections. Furthermore, in the event that one or more of your connections are spotty, the software will switch to the most reliable connection should one of your links drop.

According to the press release, there doesn’t appear to be any limit to the number of various connections that can be used at once. CEO Alex Gizis points out that some hardware routers can aggregate certain types of connections but that such devices are hard to use and can cost thousands of dollars. With Connecfity Dispatch, anyone can use load-balancing technology with a simple-to-use interface.

The software is a result of a successful Kickstarter campaign that wrapped up in September. The project earned more than $100,000 which allowed them to revamp the user interface. They were able to launch the software on time thanks to help from numerous backers that offered feedback and beta testing.

Connectify offers a lifetime package that includes Connectify Dispatch and Hotspot PRO for just $89. If you’d rather give it a try before committing long-term, pricing starts at $70 for access to both programs for a full year.

View the original article here

By: Dilusha On 7:16 PM

Microsoft investigating 'mouse tracking' flaw in Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer 'mouse tracking' flaw under Microsoft investigation

The mouse problem isn't too bad, Microsoft says

A new report surfaced on Wednesday indicating there was a massive flaw in Internet Explorer which allowed mouse cursor movement to be tracked.

The apparent JavaScript problem allowed IE to detect mouse movements even when a window was inactive or minimized.

Analytic firm Spider.IO found Internet Explorer 6 through 10 were guilty of the flaw, and even claimed, "the vulnerability is notable because it compromises the security of virtual keyboards and virtual keypads."

The firm also disclosed two ad firms were known to use the exploit, though the flaw didn't allow for clicks to be tracked, nor could it determine what programs were open on the PC at the time.

Microsoft has since addressed the complaint, and fired back its own analysis of the problem, disputing some of Spider.IO's claims.

In a IEBlog post published Thursday, Microsoft revealed what it knew about the issue, and how developers were working on a solution.

"From what we know now, the underlying issue has more to do with competition between analytics companies than consumer safety or privacy," said Dean Hachamovitch, corporate vice president, Internet Explorer.

According to Hachamovitch, Microsoft believes Spider.IO only brought the issue up to deal with potential competitors, which would explain the knowledge of the two supposed agencies using the exploit.

Hachamovitch further explained the lengths to which Microsoft was going to ensure the safety of Internet Explorer and its users, and claimed it would take a lot of effort on the part of an intruder to take advantage of the flaw.

"The theoretical use of this behavior to compromise the safety or privacy of consumers is something Microsoft's security team has discussed with researchers across the industry," Hachamovitch stated.

"Getting all the pieces to line up in order to take advantage of this behavior... is hard to imagine."

Just to make sure minds were at ease, he also reassured that security experts that researched the problem found no danger for any consumers using the web browser.

"From our conversations with security researchers across the industry, we see very little risk to consumers at this time," Hachamovitch concluded.

Though Microsoft still hasn't been able to completely eradicate the tracking flaw, it would appear that everyday use of Internet Explorer won't create any additional vulnerabilities for its users.

Via Engadget, The Verge