August 5, 2012
by sjvn01
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IPv6 growth explodes

or years, decades, no one wanted to switch their Internet connection from good old IPv4 to IPv6. Oh, we knew we’d have to move to IPv6 eventually, but we really didn’t want to. Now, though, according to Akamai, a Web high-performance company, on the last World IPv6 Day, June 6 2012, IPv6 traffic exploded by 460 times since 2011’s World IPv6 Day.

What’s more significant though, since every Internet network administrator was tinkering with IPv6 on that day, is that in the year since the 2011 IPv6 Day, Akamai saw a nine-fold increase in IPv6 traffic. And, this growth rate is only increasing. Erik Nygren is Chief Architect at Akamai, wrote, “The IPv6 preference rate for many dual-stacked sites has been steadily rising by a few percent week-over-week since World IPv6 Launch.”

IPv6 growth explodes. More >

August 5, 2012
by sjvn01
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Desktop Android? Multi-user Android support is on its way

Your smartphone is your smartphone, your tablet is usually your tablet, but your desktop, well you probably share it sometimes with friends, family, and co-workers. That’s one of the reasons why Android, the popular Linux-based device operating system has never been seriously considered for the desktop. Without multi-user support, it’s not great for a shared computer. That may be changing. We now know that Google has been slowly introducing multi-user support into Android.

There’s never been any question that Android users want multi-user support. A quick look through the Android bug tracker shows that users have been demanding multi-user support since 2011. Ron Amadeo, a writer for Android Police, an online publication dedicated to Android, has dug into the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) for code for Android 4.0 and 4.1, which was publicly released in early July,, and he’s found clues that Android multi-user support is being built into Jelly Bean, Android 4.1. Indeed, some of it is already working today.

Officially, Google tells me that they “don’t have anything to announce at this time!” But, while they may not have any announcement, the code speaks for itself.

Desktop Android? Multi-user Android support is on its way. More >

August 3, 2012
by sjvn01
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Ballmer’s biggest blunder ever? The mis-naming of Metro

I have a low opinion of Microsoft, but even I never saw Microsoft under Ballmer making such a basic blunder as not checking out the trademark for Metro, the most distinctive name attached to Windows 8. Just how dumb is Ballmer?

Seriously. This is business 101. Oh, Microsoft is claiming now that the “Metro de-emphasis is not related to any litigation,” but they’re refusing to answer on questions about the Windows 8 Metro name conflicting with the German company name Metro AG. Metro AG isn’t talking either. Interesting huh?

Ballmer’s biggest blunder ever? The mis-naming of Metro. More >

August 2, 2012
by sjvn01
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AT&T acquires NextWare to expand 4G coverage

AT&T may not have been able to buy up T-Mobile and all its precious radio frequency spectrum, but it shouldn’t have any trouble acquiring NextWave Wireless with its Wireless Communication Services (WCS) and Advanced Wireless Service (AWS) spectrum licenses.

Under the terms of the buyout, AT&T will acquire all of NextWave’s equity for approximately $25 million plus a contingent payment of up to approximately $25 million and, through a separate agreement with NextWave’s debt-holders, NextWave outstanding debt for $600 million in cash. NextWave, which s a holding company for mobile multimedia businesses and a wireless spectrum portfolio, has been mired in the pink sheets, so it comes as no surprise that its debt-holders have agreed to the terms, and a majority of shareholders support the transaction.

What AT&T gets for it’s $650-million is access to WCS spectrum.

AT&T acquires NextWare to expand 4G coverage. More >

August 1, 2012
by sjvn01
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Verizon: No free tethering for unlimited data plan customers

For Verizon‘s remaining unlimited data customers, it’s turned out that Verizon being required to offer free tethering—letting other devices share a 3G or 4G connection via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB—was too good to be true. According to Verizon, customers with unlimited data plans must still pay the $20 a month fee to Verizon before they can share their connection.

Debra Lewis, Verizon’s director of public relations, said in an e-mail that “The tethering fee charged by Verizon Wireless reflects the fact that customers who tether multiple devices may be expected to use more data than customers who do not. Under the terms of the unlimited data plans, customers are not limited in the amount of data they can use with a single device, but if they choose to tether additional devices they are required to pay an additional fee to account for the greater usage. Our service is called Mobile Broadband Connect.”

Verizon is no longer offering unlimited data plans. Instead, the giant carrier is now offering Share Everything plans that offer unlimited voice and text, but doesn’t offer unlimited data options. These plans do include free tethering.
Verizon: No free tethering for unlimited data plan customers. More >

August 1, 2012
by sjvn01
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How HTML5 Video Works

Portland, OR: Adobe Flash seems to be ubiquitous, and it’s used by everyone from the London Olympics to your neighborhood brewpub’s website.

But in video technology circles, everyone hates Adobe Flash. Indeed, even Adobe is moving away from Flash. HTML5 video promised that it would be the one universal answer for Web video, but Web browser makers, such as Mozilla, have problems with it.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Scott Davis, founder of ThirstyHead, a training and consulting company, argued at the O’Reilly Open Source Convention (OSCON) that HTML5 Video is ready to go today.

Davis opened by saying that, unlike closed video standards, HTML5 video can play on a wide variety of devices – everything from smartphones to HDTVs. It achieves this by not supporting any single video format or container. With this multiple-choice approach, HTML5 makes a “standard” by defining a standard way to embed video in webpages using the <video> element.

But, before we can talk about that we need to know Web streaming video basics.

How HTML5 Video Works. More >

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