Internet

ICANN Opens Door For Crazy Domain Names Like Crap.Crap

ICANN has just made a decision that goes beyond allowing .xxx to be a top level domain; they're allowing all words to be top level domains. That means you're going to see domains like fuck.shit, shit.shit, shit.fuck, whatisthisshit.fuck, and so forth. What's not allowed is domains that conflict with trademarks (.pepsi was the example), too similar to current top level domains, or names associated with countries or governments (juicy.turkey). Companies will also register their products and services, leading to really annoying domains like pleaseplayyour.ps3pleaseplease, or dontyouwantanother.ipod. Nice one, ICANN. Nice one. [USA Today]

5:40 PM on Fri Jun 27 2008
By Jason Chen
5,655 views, 86 comments

Latest by Sketchee: Ifyoucanremberthis.com whycantyouremember.this? I don't understand why people think you'll have to remember all the new TLDs? It'll just be part of the address. And we had to remember everything before the .com befeore anyway more »

verizon fios

Verizon Plans to Expand FiOS to the Boonies By Using Less Fiber (¡Que!)

PC Mag is reporting that Verizon is looking at a couple different ways to spread the good word of FiOS beyond the projected 18 million homes it'll reach in 2010, maybe by using less, um, fiber after that, according to tech chief Mark Wegleitner. Update: Verizon's Policy blog has a post that makes it clear they're still all about fiber after 2010, though they'll be using a combo of ways to bring broadband to less dense areas, maybe even 4G LTE stuff. More »

11:20 AM on Wed Jun 18 2008
By matt buchanan
6,890 views, 49 comments

Latest by n/a: Look , for the ones that are still on dial up you can get the sat internet and it works real well now. A little over 2 meg down and about 1 up! I have it on a more »

verizon fios

Verizon Pumping FiOS Bandwidth to 50Mbps Down, 20Mbps Up Across Whole Footprint

Verizon FiOS's blazingest 50Mbps downstream/20Mbps upstream package is no longer confined to the pit of the tri-state NY/NJ/CT area and select other locales. Starting next week, it'll be available across Verizon's entire, growing FiOS footprint in 16 states. (Though it'll run $139.95 a month to NY and VA's bargain $89.95/month.) Also, everyone who got 15/15 Mbps now has the option for 20/20 symmetrical ($64.95 a month), and its lower end packages are getting juiced from 15/2 Mbps to 20/5 Mbps, and from 5/2 Mbps to 10/2 Mbps (uh, why do you people have FiOS?). Overall, a nice day to be a FiOS customer, even more so than before. *Kicks stupid cable modem* [Verizon]

9:33 AM on Wed Jun 18 2008
By matt buchanan
4,784 views, 51 comments

Latest by dweinric: Oddly enough I've had pretty damn good customer support here. I've never had a bandwidth problem or outage either, just a bum dvr or two. Quick, everyone who wants FiOS move to Temecula, CA (I need house prices to go more »

google

Google Tools Will Tell You If Your ISP Is Slowing Down Your Connection

And I was starting to feel unfulfilled by the stuff coming out of Google's labs. Its senior policy director, Richard Whitt, says that they're cooking up software that'll tell you if your ISP is screwing with or slowing down your connection because you're hogging too much bandwidth, and what exactly they're doing to it. (There's already some available, BTW, since Whitt didn't mention a release date.) But it's not necessarily because they believe willy nilly in net neutrality. More »

7:00 PM on Sat Jun 14 2008
By matt buchanan
45,726 views, 19 comments

Latest by maven2k: I would totally download this. I have Roadrunner "turbo" and it seems to be losing it's "turb-ness" lately. I trust Google a hell of a lot more than Time Warner. more »

downloads

Firefox 3 Available on Tuesday

For those who've been eagerly awaiting the next Firefox but have been too scared to deal with release candidates, Firefox 3 will be released Tuesday, June 17th. (That's just next week.) And yes, they're trying to set a ~~marketing ploy~~ world record. Then again, it's tough to blame a company for shameless self-promotion of a superb free product. It'd be like shunning the world's largest free ice cream festival because the free ice cream company wants people to know about their delicious free ice cream. [Mozilla via Lifehacker]

8:25 AM on Thu Jun 12 2008
By Mark Wilson
5,527 views, 43 comments

Latest by n/a: boooooo fatfox. more »

Mobile Browsers

Firefox Mobile Video Proves It Actually Exists

Whoa—Aza Raskin, Mozilla's Head of User Experience, just put out a video showing off some of the features they've been working on for Firefox Mobile. Though it's still in the early stages, some of the features like the navigation buttons on the sides of the pages, browser actions on the footer, search bar functions and the multiple window interface all look cool... Between Opera, Safari, Skyfire and Firefox, it will be interesting to see who ends up with the best mobile product in the end. [Aza's Thoughts via Into Mobile]

10:24 PM on Wed Jun 11 2008
By Adrian Covert
5,646 views, 31 comments

Latest by Nakko: @surur: Yeah, well, that may be what the Mozilla devs are "primarily" focusing on at the moment, but being as Firefox is open-source, I can imagine the linux version being hacked to run on the goofy version of BSD/Darwin that more »

wi-fi

Handlink Wi-Fi Base Station: Quick Net Access at Drop of a Coin

This gizmo from Handlink is clearly aimed at hotels, coffee shops and other public places where you may need net access, and you can't argue with the thinking in its design. Simply pop in some coins, grab the printout with your time-limited access codes, and then connect up your notebook, or phone to its 802.11b/g service. Kind of the retro-future public payphone of the internet era, it saves time from all that messing about you sometimes have to do in internet cafes. Useful if you're without credit cards, I guess. [RegHardware]

6:16 AM on Mon Jun 9 2008
By Kit Eaton
2,096 views, 8 comments

Latest by n/a: I wouldnt mind betting the unit will soon have paypal access like Handlinks WG-602 Hotspot in a box product. Noticed on Handlink.com.au website that an 802.11n version has just been released at Computex 2008. more »

at&t

Welcome to the Future of Broadband: Third Major ISP AT&T Testing Bandwidth Caps in the Fall

AT&T chief tech officer John Donovan has told Wired that they're going to test bandwidth caps in the fall, making them the third of the four major ISPs to do so. (Verizon stands alone, but for how long?) He lays out the familiar rationale, a small group of users (5 percent) pillage the network (40 percent) and they've got to stop them. But then he slips what's probably the real reason they've moving to caps: "Traffic on our backbone is growing 60 percent per year, but our revenue is not." More »

6:57 PM on Sat Jun 7 2008
By matt buchanan
9,105 views, 97 comments

Latest by n/a: @Subterfuge: Nope, the whole point of FIOS, originally, was to give Verizon a way to compete with the video delivery portion of the cable providers. Check oiut [www.verizon.com] more »

Mossberg Speaks

WaltMossbergSays is the Best Tech Pundit Site EVER

It's no secret Walt Mossberg is a freakin' super-pundit in the tech world (it's rumored he once liveblogged for 14 hours straight...while standing). And if you need some words from the man himself, all you have to do is head over to waltmossbergsays.com, jot down your statement/prediction/infallibility, and BOOM! — Walt speaks. Not only that, but people never question what Mossberg says, because he basically knows everything. I mean, did you see the D6 Conference? [WaltMossbergSays] (Thanks, Grant)

7:35 PM on Fri Jun 6 2008
By Adrian Covert
5,707 views, 19 comments

Latest by inspectorgadget420: Walt Mossberg Says: THERE'S ACTUALLY NO 3G IPHONE. more »

bbc

BBC to Broadcast Analog Channel Live on Internet

The BBC is to broadcast programmes from its main BBC1 channel live on the internet. The main BBC website, www.bbc.co.uk is about to be relaunched, and will have a live video stream of its flagship channel. Although two of its digital stations, BBC3 and the BBC News channel are already available online, this is the first of the corporation's analog channels to be available. More »

6:55 AM on Thu Jun 5 2008
By AddyDugdale
3,176 views, 20 comments

at&t

AT&T LaptopConnect Gets 20 Percent Speed Bump to 1.7Mbps Downstream, 1.2 Up

Users of AT&T's LaptopConnect should notice some more spring in their (already springy) virtual steps by the end of this month, courtesy of AT&T's rabid 3G build-out adding HSUPA to its existing HSDPA 3G network. (What?) Downstream speeds are now 700Kbps to 1.7Mbps, upstream is 500Kbps-1.2Mbps, a nice boost in upload speed. The catch is that you need the following data cards: AT&T USBConnect 881, Sierra Wireless AirCard 881, Option GT Ultra and Option GT Ultra Express. But if that's not fast enough, you can always pop into a Starbucks for unlimited free Wi-Fi. [AT&T]

1:19 PM on Wed Jun 4 2008
By matt buchanan
1,442 views, 12 comments

Latest by n/a: But if that's not fast enough, you can always pop into a Starbucks for unlimited free Wi-Fi No, I can't. Looks like the free WiFi@Charbucks needs AT&T's MS-DOS connection manager software until/unless someone figures out what it's really doing and more »

comcast

Comcast Starts "Net Neutral" Slowdowns of Heavy Broadband Users

Comcast is finally rolling out its "net neutral" network management scheme, starting with customers in Chambersburg, PA and Warrenton, VA. As we've explained before, Comcast says of the new plan that "heavy users, who are doing things like conducting numerous or continuous large file transfers, may experience slightly longer response times for some online activities, until the period of network congestion ends." And it doesn't matter whether it's BitTorrent or gobs of GooTube. More »

5:00 PM on Tue Jun 3 2008
By matt buchanan
7,040 views, 41 comments

starbucks

Starbucks Free Wi-Fi Officially Launched

Just like we told you yesterday, the Starbucks free Wi-Fi program with AT&T is officially a go today. If you go to sign up for a Starbucks card, you get the option of with or without Wi-Fi. As long as you use the prepaid card once a month, you get two hours of free Wi-Fi a day. Welcome to 2008, Starbucks. [Harbucks]

11:19 AM on Tue Jun 3 2008
By matt buchanan
3,877 views, 31 comments

time warner

Time Warner Monthly Data Caps Detailed

We'd heard about Time Warner Cable's test run of consumption-based billing in Beaumont, Texas, back in January, though details were scant. Now they're plentiful. The plans (for new subscribers only) start up on Thursday, but thankfully they're not as bad as we imagined—the overage fee is only $1/GB and is waived the first two months. Plans start $30 for 768Kbps downloads and a 5GB cap, and go up to $55 for a pretty sweet 15Mbps downstream and a 40GB cap. Not egregious, but we still hate it, especially since you'll probably be seeing this in lotsa places, sooner than you'd expect. More »

6:20 PM on Mon Jun 2 2008
By matt buchanan
5,519 views, 52 comments

Latest by n/a: @smcallah: Alright...I'm not sure how you know that since I can't seem to verify that information online, but I can accept it anyway. ISPs in the UK, Japan, and a number of other countries do not get billed using that more »

unconfirmed

Free Starbucks Wi-Fi Launches Tomorrow

Our friend and Starbucks addict Dave Zatz says that Starbucks' long-overdue free Wi-Fi is officially launching tomorrow. Info comes from the manager of his usual haunt, who gave him a peek at the store memo and signage, though he couldn't take photos. No word on whether iPhone access is coming back tomorrow (or June 9th), unfortunately. Makes sense, given that AT&T's service has been there since May 1 for AT&T customers. Anyone planning a run just to celebrate? Just remember you need to register a Starbucks card and use it once a month to get your two free hours a day. [Zatz Not Funny, Thanks Dave!]

10:23 AM on Mon Jun 2 2008
By matt buchanan
4,629 views, 22 comments

Latest by n/a: I'm a shift supervisor at sbux. First of all, the sbux card is free. Secondly, the registration is free, and is mainly for security reasons in case you get your card stolen. Limiting the wifi to 2 hours a day more »

isps

Are You Getting Screwed? Quick-Glance ISP Pricing Chart

Electronic House has done some serious homework, compiling price, bandwidth and plan information from most US ISPs, from sluggy dial-up to hyperspeedy fiber. (I couldn't spot Cablevision, but there were others I hadn't even heard of.) Due to cable build-out and the territorial nature of phone companies, you can't do as much comparison shopping as the charts would suggest. And man, wouldn't I love it if it were a sortable database where I could see all my options by region? Wishlist aside, though, it's a very helpful resource for, say, figuring out if you're getting screwed by an older monthly rate. I, myself, will be making a customer-service call shortly. [EH]

9:15 AM on Fri May 30 2008
By Wilson Rothman
14,328 views, 41 comments

Latest by Arvin Bautista: Don't forget to haggle! We've currently got comcast basic (the 44.95 kind), digital cable with HBO, AND an HD-DVR for a year for 96 dollars a month (with Time Warner). It used to cost us 130 dollars a month for more »

spectrum auction

FCC Planning New Spectrum Auction With Free Broadband for All

It looks like the FCC is taking up Congresswoman Anna Eshoo's dopey scheme to deliver internet to the masses with another spectrum auction that would require the winner to offer free broadband to half of the US within four years, and 95 percent sometime after that. A nearly impossible task, on top of being silly in the first place, so don't expect anyone to volunteer to pay for the privilege. There's no set date for this proposed auction of 25MHz in the 2155 to 2180MHz range, but the FCC is planning to meet on June 16 to discuss the rules of the ~~fail~~ sale. [RCR Wireless News]

4:30 PM on Sat May 24 2008
By Elaine Chow
3,320 views, 18 comments

Latest by n/a: @one2show: so tell me, the difference between wifi filled skies versus cellular is what? by your reasoning "BIG BRROTHER" is already here(cell phone companies). more »

media

Internet Party 2: The MySpace Intervention

The original Internet Party was a pretty funny video, but I'd say that the sequel is even tighter in its execution. Watch your favorite websites—almost scarily apt in their personification—tell MySpace that it's time to stop. The actress playing IMDB is especially brilliant.

UPDATE: Autoplaying video tossed after the jump. Sorry about that.

More »

11:55 AM on Thu May 22 2008
By Mark Wilson
28,395 views, 52 comments

Latest by n/a: "This one's from LiveJournal... oh, wait, it's just a picture of her cutting herself." That actually made me double over in laughter. more »

Gizmodo

Lightning Review: Lego Egg Timer

Gizmodo Team

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