The requirement is expected to pressure other companies to match the offering to avoid the loss of business.
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AT&T to offer $20 ‘Naked’ DSL Service
In order to approve AT&T’s purchase of Bellsouth, the FCC forced AT&T to agree to offer $19.95 a month ‘naked’ DSL service. Naked means that you do not need any other AT&T service to receive it. It will also offer $10 for new subscribers who also buy their services. Under the deal, the inexpensive DSL will offer 768 Kilobits per second. Average now is 1.5 to 3 megabits per second.
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Netflix Launches Online Movie Feature
Netflix is unveiling an online movie delivery service, which will allow subscribers to watch about 1000 DVD-quality movies and television shows on their computers at no additional charge. It is not the first organization to offer online videos, but Netflix has six million or so subscribers to patronize the service.
The system, which cost forty million dollars to develop, is designed to adjust the picture’s resolution based on the bandwidth so the movie doesn’t freeze during play. Online distribution could save Netflix the costs of distributing DVDs by mail. Netflix has contracted for additional movie and television programming that will add to its offerings.
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iPhone
We have not yet used an IPhone…and we don’t intend to buy one. We are frugal people…and the iPhone is most definitely not a frugal purchase. Since we will not be reviewing the iPhone…we turned to the Consumerist’s roundup of professional reviews…people had issues with it. It seems the technology needs more time to mature.
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Cell Phone Battery Ignites in Man’s Pocket
Batteries would seem to be a safe and established technology. Perhaps if it was a now fuel-cell battery, we could understand some flaws in the technology. It would be no less acceptable…but more understandable.
A cell phone apparently ignited in a man’s pocket, causing second and third degree burns. There is currently no information on the manufacturer of the phone of the battery. We hope we use neither of them.
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Paypal to Issue Security Key
Gizmodo reported yesterday on Paypal’s new security measure. Paypal will be offering a hardware-based solution which will display a one-time use passnumber every thirty seconds, to be added to your password and username. These keychain sized devices, common for business based security protocols, are an easy and inexpensive way of ensuring security…assuming you don’t lose the device.
We wish we could get one to review. We tried to log in…and it said it was currently unavailable.
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iPod Illegal?
Apple is being sued over the immensely popular iPod. The suit alleges that it is “Crippleware” in that the software disables iPod’s inherent ability to play WMA format files and other forms of protected music format besides AAC. Thus, the owner of an iPod can only purchase music online from Apple’s Music Store. Conversely, owners of other music players cannot play music purchased at Apple’s store.
Specifically addressing WMA, which is a Microsoft creation, it is the only music player not supporting it, and it is the format preferred by competitive music stores. Apple’s response is that it opted to develop its own format rather than being forced to license from Microsoft.
Perhaps the solution is to force an open-source format for DRM, if that is at all possible. A standards body could be established to certify devices and software as complying with the standard. There are various good examples of such bodies in the computing industry.
Is Apple engaging in monopolistic practices by locking iTunes, its purchased content, and your music player together with no alternative options?
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Vending Machine for Books
Slashdot directed us to report on a new $50,000 machine that can print books on demand. It can print up to 550 pages and bind it in seven minutes. It will debuting in some U.S. libraries this year. 2.5 Million books are now available, within five years, On Demand Books will be able to reproduce every volume ever printed.
It is very exciting. Such technology will allow bookstores to sell virtually any book by generating it on request, thus reducing inventory required in stock. For libraries, content now in the public domain and other information can be given out to patrons.
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Free International Phone Calls by Calling Iowa
AllFreeCalls.net offers free calls if you call a number in Iowa. As Techcrunch reports, the founder created his own telephone company in Iowa under an FCC kickback scheme that gives telephone companies a portion of the fees generated from every inbound call to an Iowa number. So, when you call them, a portion of the fees go to the company, and they use it to cover the international calling fees.
They offer service to Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil (Rio De Janerio), Canada, China, Christmas & Coco’s Island, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland (Warsaw), Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UK and USA, with more coming soon.
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Comcast announces collaboration with Tivo
Comcast announced on Monday that its digital video recorder boxes will now feature Tivo software. It allows their subscribers, for an extra charge, to search for and record their favorite shows, suggest ones they might enjoy, and schedule recordings from the internet.
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Seven New Year's Resolutions for Your PC
Lifehacker recently came up with its New Year’s Resolutions…things people should do but don’t for their computers.
- Regularly back up your hard drive – We know we should…but we don’t. Admittedly, we store our data on a mirroring RAID array, but that doesn’t make us any safer if disaster comes
- Set up a self-repairing hard drive – Schedule your computer to run repair programs regularly, including things liek defragment, drive checks, etc.
- Clean out your hard drive – Over time your hard drive becomes full of programs and files you don’t use…get rid of them. If you aren’t using it, delete it or back it up to optical media.
- Organize your virtual filing cabinet – Now that you’ve cleaned things up…time to organize what you have into a good and easy to work with hierarchy.
- Keep your hard drive clean – You just did all this work…you had better work to keep it that way.
- Encrypt your private data – Protecting your important information from prying eyes is important…especially if you have a laptop.
- Securely Track Your Passwords – First…make sure your passwords are not easy to crack…and then secure them somehow. A password program, such as KeePass, among others, can create a secure password vault.