Google releases tools for throttle-spotting
Google evangelist and Net patriarch Vint Cerf this week unveiled three tools that ordinary Net users can use to see whether their ISPs are choking up on their bandwidth. The research and evaluation tools add more fuel to the reinvigorated Net-neutrality debate.
The M-Lab (Measurement Lab) suite, co-developed by Google, the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute, the PlanetLab Consortium, and assorted academic researchers, will comprise five user tools; three are ready now.
AOL to let go of 700, even amid its recovery
Despite impressive traffic growth as high as 27% annually on its associated Web sites including new personal finance news service WalletPop, AOL is also faced with cutting back resources to survive the present economic situation.
This afternoon, a memo first obtained by The Wall Street Journal's Kara Swisher cites AOL CEO Randy Falco as telling his employees that even those who will be remaining with the company shouldn't expect much special this year.
Opera Mini 4.2 for Android leaves beta
Released to the Android market in beta last November, Opera Mini today received the definitive update to "final version."
This version allows uploading and downloading of files through the browser, and allows pages to be saved for offline viewing. YouTube videos and the like (not all Flash 9+ video sites are supported) are redirected through the system's video player, double tapping the screen now activates zoom, trackball speed issues have been addressed, and text size can now be changed to "extra large" for easier navigation.
Arr-ptui! TechCrunch head splits after spit
A lot of tech journalists will tell you that unpleasant reader interactions -- everything from incoherent hate mail to death threats -- are an occasional part of the job. But Michael Arrington, leader of TechCrunch, has always modeled himself as a remarkable specimen of tech journalist, and so he's taking an entire month off after getting spit on at a conference yesterday.
In a post to his site, Arrington describes the interaction with the unknown man. "The last thing I wanted was another product pitch as I hurried to the car that would drive me to Davos for the next event. So when I saw this person approach me out of the corner of my eye, I turned away slightly and avoided eye contact. Sometimes that works. But in this case all it did was make me vulnerable to the last thing I expected."
'Google for films' site helps Britons find media
A "Google for films" type of search engine site just rolled out this week lets you quickly peruse a database of 60,000 titles to find movies for downloading, in cinemas, to watch online, and on TV, standard DVD, and Blu-ray.
In a quick visit to the FindAnyFilm.com site today, for example, Betanews confirmed that The Dark Knight is available in all of these categories, whereas Slumdog Millionaire -- another box office draw -- can still be seen only in cinemas.
Stimulus package contains broadband open access provisions
A legislative measure to fund broadband deployment in rural and underserved areas is one of the attachments to the hotly debated economic stimulus package.
A chunk of the economic stimulus package being debated on Capitol Hill, and whose initial votes are happening now, would empower the Commerce Dept. to direct its NTIA division to provide federal grants to businesses that build out broadband service in underserved regions of the country.
The Sony PSP perception problem: Is it losing its luster?
Sony's PSP was Time's "Gotta Have it" device for 2005, which was like being voted "Person of the Year." Now as the PSP enters its middle-age, it is the subject of less adulation, and more dismissive grumbling.
Today, GamesIndustry.biz posted an interview with Laurent Benadiba, CEO of French software developers Smack Down Productions, who says publishers are discouraged from making PlayStation Portable games, despite it being an outstanding platform.
FCC's McDowell: Stay focused on February 17
In remarks this morning at a Media Institute Luncheon in Washington, FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell told attendees that he believes the government should concentrate on the existing DTV transition date of February 17:
I think it is important for all of us to stay focused on February 17 regardless of what Congress does or does not do. Most broadcasters are prepared to shut off their analog signals on that date, and with good reason. Not only has the government been working with them for three years to realize this goal, but broadcasters have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in new DTV equipment in the past few years.
Move to fast-track DTV delay fails in the House
A move to suspend the rules of the House in order that the DTV Delay Act would be brought to the floor immediately, was defeated minutes ago. Although a majority voted in favor -- 258-168 -- a two-thirds majority of aye voters is necessary in order to pass a suspension of house rules.
As a result, the bill will not be fast-tracked, though it has yet to face total defeat. Rather, it must now be processed in the usual manner by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Its ranking member, Rep. Joe Barton (R - Texas), led the fight against the rules suspension and is currently against the bill.
Cox experiments with an 'anti-throttling' alternative
While throttling is still being treated by some Internet users as an implicit form of discrimination, the nation's ISPs must find both a technologically and politically correct method of managing their traffic congestion problems.
The US' second largest ISP, by many estimates, remains the nation's second greatest blocker of Internet traffic believed to be related to BitTorrent protocol. This according to the most recent test data released yesterday by the Max Planck Institute.
Audacity X gets 1.3.7 beta update
Download Audacity for Mac OS X from Fileforum now.
Audacity X, the Mac version of the free open source audio editing and recording tool created by Google Dev Dominic Mazzoni, quietly received a beta upgrade this morning, fixing a handful of bugs and including some new features. The new features include Full Screen mode, a pitch shift/time scale slider effect, a WCAG2 accessibility testing function, improved latency correction and effect grouping.
AT&T earnings drop 23.6 percent, despite strong iPhone sales
While AT&T added 1.9 million Apple iPhone 3G subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2008, and the giant's overall revenues also rose, the company has reported an earnings dip of 23.6%.
AT&T also experienced strong growth across its wireless business, with revenues of $12.9 billion for the quarter, an increase of 13.2 percent over the final quarter of 2007.
House Republicans invoke bin Laden to expedite DTV transition
"Osama bin Laden isn't fictional, and he isn't waiting," stated Rep. Joe Barton (R - Texas), in a vehement defense of the February 17 hard date.
The postponement of the US' digital TV transition to June 12 hit its first serious legislative obstacle yesterday, when Republicans led by the former Energy and Commerce Committee chairman and current ranking member, Joe Barton, debated the DTV Delay bill for the first time on Capitol Hill. Yesterday, Barton and colleague Rep. Cliff Stearns (R - Fla.) began their counter-assault with a letter (PDF available here) to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D - Calif.), urging her to reconsider even bringing the delay bill to the floor for a vote.
US cell phone camera law might not really click
Although its intent seems to be in the right place, a newly proposed US law imposing an audible alert on cell phone cameras raises thorny issues about actual implementation in the real world.
Along the same lines as existing laws in Japan and Korea, the Camera Phone Predator Alert Act now introduced into US Congress is aimed at thwarting sexual predators.
Sony 3mm thick OLED hits UK stores
The Sony Bravia XEL is tiny. The Organic LED screen measures only 11" across, and has a profile of only 3 millimeters, roughly the thickness of two stacked pennies. But this size carries with it a heavy pricetag, and in the US, units cost between $2,400 and $2,600 each. Today, the OLED screen is available in the UK at a price point twice that of North American retailers, £3,489 ($4,944).
Most Commented Stories
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
Regional iGaming Content
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.