The Concept Atomic Helped Father the Internet

In “A History of the Internet and the Digital Future” by Johnny Ryan, he writes about the exciting (if not terrifying at times) when strategic policy decisions regarding Nuclear deployment systems, redundancy, and communication systems were developed in order to insure the United States would not fail in the defense of itself.

But before the technology could be built, competing conceptual theories about just how all that could meaningfully occur in a rapid timeframe were happening in think-tanks. The now Ex Soviet Union eventually developed vaguely similar strategies; but in the early 50s, they relied on brute force and numbers to get their upper hand.

This is the story about how the U.S.took those theories they developed, and forged them into other areas that would allow every part of our world to be connected. Whether it’s medical information, scientific data between universities and schools, or even how commerce and tool die shops tie in to one another; these once specific Atomic concepts eventually morphed into what now allows women and men around the world to chat with their families and friends nearly everywhere in a fashion that is simply taken for granted by most.

This three page post found in this link, is the whole first chapter of a very enjoyable read. It is in fact the whole first chapter and a book I recommend for anyone wanting to learn how we got to the great place we are, as well as where we are going to. (and soon!)

Enjoy…

"What's The Internet?" Circa 1994

For some reason I always thought the Internet was around for a while. Well that doesn't seem to be the case as Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric prove that we (well, at least them) were pretty ignorant about the Internet in 1994.

It's worth a listen.

RIAA Wants Your Anti-Virus To Scan For Pirated Content

So now the RIAA wants your Anti-virus to scan your downloads for pirated content. The one thing that went through my mind at first was "I can barely get the damn Anti-virus to do what it was designed to do", and now the RIAA wants to Big Brother my downloads via Anti-virus? Cary Sherman says "doesn't give rise...to any privacy concerns because it can operate automatically and anonymously"? uhh.... yeah, right.

But Sherman at least knows that people wouldn't go for this:

"Why would somebody put that on their machine? They wouldn't likely want to do that, they'd do that when it benefits them such as for viruses and so on and so forth...it could be enforced at the modem or put in by the ISP."

Oh, so now you want my ISP provider to filter my content now? Yes copyright material should be protected, but this isn't the way. If the ISP providers open this Pandora's Box, where will it end?

What else will be filtered one day? News? Blogs that bad mouth ISP's?

We can't afford to let this happen.

[Public Knowledge via Gizmodo]

Time Warner To Set Bandwidth Caps In Texas

In another episode of “how we can screw everybody”, Time Warner has confirmed that they will roll out a new pricing plan in Texas that’s based on how much bandwidth you use. So instead of the all you can use one price that everyone enjoys, they’re now going to have “hard caps” on bandwidth. Pay $50 a month for 500GB, and if you consume more they’ll slap you with extra fees, most likely hefty ones. I’m sure that this aimed at BitTorrent users who do heavy downloading, and they say that this will improve network performance.

But I have to call BS on this!

While most people wouldn’t care that BitTorrent users will be hurt at the beginning of this, everyone will eventually suffer. People are using more bandwidth than ever, and that will only increase as time goes on. Don’t think so? Well just with Apple and Netflix announcement, people will start to consume more bandwidth. And with home networking becoming more popular and possibly with the elimination of physical media (Blu-Ray DVD), this country will use more and more bandwidth than ever. ISPs and telcos are lobbing hard against network neutrality so they can hit users with higher costs for more bandwidth usage. So not only will they charge you with their standard monthly fee, they’ll get you again if you go over your allotted cap.

Time Warner will only intro this only to new customers, but if people don’t get pissed about this and complain, you can be sure that the rest of the countries ISP providers will roll this out.

Start bitchin people!!!

[AP/Wired via Gizmodo]

Adobe To Move To On-Line Only Applications

Web based applications have become the standard that many companies are leaning towards. Now it looks like Adobe is planing to move completely to a web based service. Within the next 5 to 10 years, all of Adobe's applications (including Photoshop) will be web based. This makes so much sense because a user wouldn't have to dump gigs of software on their system. Also companies would be able to restrict piracy much better, and make changes and updates easier.

I get the feeling that Adobe will not be the last to start doing business like this.

Adobe sees full shift to Web [Reuters via Crunchgear]

The Fastest Internet Connection: Blue Hair In Sweden

This is becoming maddening!!! Everyone is getting all the cool stuff that I wish were in the U.S. It seems that an old Swedish lady has become the fastest surfer on the Internet, as crazy as that sounds. Sigbritt Löthberg is sporting a 40 Gbps Internet hookup!!! And the kicker is that she's 1200 miles away from the accusal connection source. All using fibre Optics.

So how fast is that? She could download a full High Definition DVD in 2 seconds!!! Or if she would like, watch 1,500 high definition HDTV channels simultaneously.With standard broadband you would be looking at hours, so now regular broadband is turning into dial up.

According to Karlstad Stadsnät the distance is, in theory, unlimited - there is no data loss as long as the fibre is in place.

"I want to show that there are other methods than the old fashioned ways such as copper wires and radio, which lack the possibilities that fibre has," said Peter Löthberg

If the distance is truly unlimited, I'm ready for my hook up!!!
Read the entire article here. [The Local via Crunchgear]

New Wi-Fi Distance Record Set: 238 Miles

A researcher in Venezuela has set a new Wi-Fi distance record, sending a signal 238 miles from his research facility to another one in the Andes Mountains. Well both are located in the Andes mountains, but what's most impressive here is that similar efforts haven’t produced results anywhere near this.

Intel’s best efforts here in the U.S. have only reached distances of more than 20 miles away. The Venezuelan researcher used some off-the-shelf parts in addition to specialized equipment Intel provided him with.

Funny, I can't get a signal past my patio door. Bastards!!!

Read the entire article here. [CNET]

U.S. Preps for Potential Cyber War Against China: Battle Stations, People!

I not sure why I find this kinda cool but the thought of a cyber war between the U.S. and China sounds fun. I'm sure that it's serious business, but I can't get the thought of Mathew Broderick hacking China's top network out of my mind.

A senior general in the U.S. military, the best military in history, recently said that while numerous countries try to hack the military’s network infrastructure, China goes above and beyond the established decorum. So the U.S. is setting up sort of “cyber command,” a place where officials can monitor the country’s vital electronic communication infrastructure. The Pentagon is worried that Beijing will use the Internet to launch an electronic war against us, like Estonia accused Russia of doing a few weeks ago.

The moral of the story is that Pentagon doesn’t trust China to play nice over the Internet and is doing its best to prevent it from gaining any sort of technological upper hand.

Read the article after the jump.

Safari For Windows Tops 1 Million Downloads In 48 Hours

Despite its problems, more than 1 million people downloaded the Safari Web browser for Windows in the first 48 hours of its availability. Apple claims that the browser is the fastest in the whole wide world, but I’ve read a few reports online that suggest otherwise.

And it seems to run slower than Firefox on my system; that’s all I care about.

So congrats to Apple on this milestone. There’s still some ground to make up in its competition with Firefox and Internet Explorer and some Windows users appear to be militantly anti-Apple (I'm glad I'm not in that company!!!), but it's a good start nonetheless.

Read the press release here. [Apple]

Connecticut Sues Best Buy

We all know Best Buy sucks. That’s just common sense. But did you know that Best Buy has been trying to scam customers into paying higher prices for crappy electronics? Last month, Best Buy was caught with their pants down trying to make customers pay higher prices via an in-store Internet site that was similar to BestBuy.com.

Now the state of Connecticut has filed a lawsuit against the company, stating that they engaged in deceptive business practices. Connecticut is looking to have Best Buy reimburse customers for the inflated prices they paid, which is what they should do. But Best Buy is currently claiming its innocence, saying the charges are absurd, etc.

Yeah right Best Buy.

We hear karma is a real bitch.

Read the entire article after the jump.

Guy is fined for using Cafe's WiFi

If you're a geek and you're thinking about moving to Michigan, don't!!! A Michigan man was recently fined $400 and ordered to perform 40 hours of community service. Damn, he must have assaulted a police officer or something, right? Actually, the dude was just using a cafe’s WiFi connection to check his e-mail and surf the web. A nosy police chief confronted the gentleman about it and eventually booked him on fraudulent computer access.

Michigan’s computer access law apparently states that using a WiFi connection without authorization is a felony. You can get 5 years and be fined $10k for using a WiFi connection that doesn’t have WEP or WPA on it.

Wow!!!

You think Michigan could spend that time, I don't know, maybe looking for real crimes?

Read the rest after the jump.

BlackBerry 8830: released into the wild

The new "World Edition" BlackBerry will be released on May 14 through its business units and online retailing stores. Verizon will be the first carrier of the unit, and will cost $299.99 after a $100 rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Verizon will give you an additional $100 off if you sign up for one of their "qualifying" plans.

The cool thing about this BlackBerry is that the 8830 also has a SIM card, so that overseas you get voice roaming over GSM or CDMA in 167 countries. If you're an Internet surfer, it also has EDGE data roaming in 62 different countries.

So all the CrackBerry addicts can now leave the country.
Send a post card.

Two cautioned over wireless Internet "piggy-backing"

I just had a conversation a few days ago about possible repucussions of "going on someone else's wireless broadband". I've not done it; after reading this I'll be even more cautious about it.

What are your thoughts?

Two cautioned over wireless Internet "piggy-backing"

By Peter Griffiths
LONDON (Reuters) - Two people have been arrested and cautioned for using someone else's wireless Internet connection without permission, known as "piggy-backing", British police said on Wednesday.
The practice, which sharply divides Internet users, has been fuelled by the rapid growth of fast wireless broadband in homes and people's failure to secure their networks.
On Saturday, a man was arrested after neighbors spotted him sitting in a car outside a home in Redditch, Worcestershire, using a laptop computer to browse the Internet.
A 29-year-old woman was also arrested in a car in a similar incident in the same area last month.
Both received an official caution, a formal warning one step short of prosecution, for "dishonestly obtaining electronic communications services with intent to avoid payment".
They were among the first to be arrested for piggy-backing in Britain. Gregory Straszkiewicz, from west London, was the first person to be convicted of the offence in 2005. He was fined 500 pounds and give a 12-month conditional discharge.
"Wireless networks don't stop at the walls of your home," said PC Tony Humphreys, of West Mercia Constabulary. "Without the necessary protection, your neighbors or people in the road outside may be able to connect to your network."
There is a lively ethical debate in Internet chatrooms over whether piggy-backing is immoral or harmless.
"If it travels through the air it is open season," wrote one contributor to a Web forum. Another wrote: "If it's out there unsecure and I'm not trespassing, it's fair game."
Up to a quarter of home wireless connections are unsecured, according to a recent survey by the consumer finance Web site www.moneysupermarket.com.
Jason Lloyd, the site's head of broadband, said it left people open to identity theft, fraud and pornography being downloaded using their account.
"The repercussions can be severe," he said. "It's bad enough when your neighbors can use your Internet connection freely, but this becomes far more sinister if someone uses your wireless connection for criminal activity."
Businesses are also at risk. A survey of 320 companies by the London trade show Infosecurity Europe found that a quarter have no wireless security policy.
© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.