PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Comcast Corp. will become the first major cable TV operator to roll out wireless broadband outside of Wi-Fi hotspots as it launches the service in Portland, Ore., on Tuesday, with at least three other cities to follow this year.
Comcast will offer speeds of up to 4 Megabits per second, faster than any other comparable, non-Wi-Fi service currently being marketed. The service is for use with laptops, but not other mobile devices.
Comcast's wireless broadband, which lets users surf the Web on the go with their computers, pits it squarely against the mobile data offerings of phone companies.
But the cable operator is coming out first with the market's fastest wireless broadband, using WiMax technology. Phone companies have lined up behind a competing technology called LTE, with Verizon Communications Inc. planning to deploy it next year.
Comcast, which is the nation's largest cable operator, plans to offer the wireless service in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago and other cities later this year.
The service will be carried over the 4G network of Clearwire Corp. where it's offered. Clearwire, a joint venture involving Comcast, other cable operators and technology companies, is currently in Portland and Atlanta, with plans to deploy in Las Vegas, Chicago, Charlotte, N.C., Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, Honolulu, Philadelphia and Seattle this year.
Elsewhere, the service will use Sprint Nextel Corp.'s 3G network.
Consumers can sign up with either a plan that lets them surf wirelessly within a city using Clearwire's network, or nationally switching between 4G and Sprint's 3G network.
Comcast, along with Intel Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc., Google Inc. and Bright House Networks, have hitched their wireless Internet aspirations on WiMax. Together, they invested $3.2 billion in Clearwire last year for a one-fourth stake. Sprint owns a 51 percent stake.
Comcast High-Speed 2go Metro service over Clearwire's network is on promotion for $49.95 a month for a year, including Comcast's wired Internet home service and a Wi-Fi router. The regular price is $72.95 a month. The national version, using Sprint, costs $20 a month more.
Shares of Comcast were up 14 cents, or 1 percent, to close Monday at $14.36.
by the associated press
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Showing posts with label Internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Internet. Show all posts
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Web takes away Family time
NEW YORK — Whether it’s around the dinner table or just in front of the television, American families say they are spending less time together.
The decline in family time coincides with a rise in Internet use and the popularity of social networks, though a new study stopped just short of assigning blame.
The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California is reporting this week that 28 percent of Americans it interviewed last year said they have been spending less time with members of their households. That’s nearly triple the 11 percent who said that in 2006.
These people did not report spending less time with their friends.
Michael Gilbert, a senior fellow at the Annenberg Center in California, said people report spending less time with family members just as social networks like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are booming, along with the importance people place on those sites.
Five-year-old Facebook’s active user base, for example, has surged to more than 200 million active users, up from 100 million last August.
Meanwhile, more people say they are worried about how much time children and teenagers are spending online.
In 2000, when the center began its annual surveys on Americans and the Internet, only 11 percent of respondents said that family members under 18 were spending too much time online. By 2008, that grew to 28 percent.
"Most people think of the Internet and (our) digital future as boundless, and I do too,” Gilbert said.
But, he added, "it can’t be a good thing that families are spending less face-to-face time together. Ultimately it leads to less cohesive and less communicative families.”
by the associated press
The decline in family time coincides with a rise in Internet use and the popularity of social networks, though a new study stopped just short of assigning blame.
The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California is reporting this week that 28 percent of Americans it interviewed last year said they have been spending less time with members of their households. That’s nearly triple the 11 percent who said that in 2006.
These people did not report spending less time with their friends.
Michael Gilbert, a senior fellow at the Annenberg Center in California, said people report spending less time with family members just as social networks like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are booming, along with the importance people place on those sites.
Five-year-old Facebook’s active user base, for example, has surged to more than 200 million active users, up from 100 million last August.
Meanwhile, more people say they are worried about how much time children and teenagers are spending online.
In 2000, when the center began its annual surveys on Americans and the Internet, only 11 percent of respondents said that family members under 18 were spending too much time online. By 2008, that grew to 28 percent.
"Most people think of the Internet and (our) digital future as boundless, and I do too,” Gilbert said.
But, he added, "it can’t be a good thing that families are spending less face-to-face time together. Ultimately it leads to less cohesive and less communicative families.”
by the associated press
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Challenging China Internet filter
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese lawyer has demanded a public hearing to reconsider a government demand that all new personal computers carry Internet filtering software, adding to uproar over a plan critics say is ineffective and intrusive.
Li Fangping, a Beijing human rights advocate who often embraces controversial causes, has asked the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to allow hearings on the "lawfulness and reasonableness" of the demand, which takes effect from July 1 and was publicized only this week.
"This administrative action lacks a legal basis," Li wrote in a submission to the ministry that was sent to reporters by email on Thursday.
"Designating that the same software must be installed in all computers affects citizens' rights to choose."
Li's demand, and denunciations of the plan from Chinese rights groups, have expanded a public battle over the "Green Dam" filtering software, despite a state media effort to promote the software as a welcome way to prevent children being exposed to pornography.
Many citizens worry such software and other measures are being imposed to deter discussion of sensitive political topics, especially in this year of controversial anniversaries, Li told Reuters.
"Above all, we're concerned about freedom of speech and the right to know," he said. "We know that citizens have been prosecuted because of their private emails, and we're worried about more such cases."
Chinese human rights and gay advocacy groups have demanded the software plan be immediately quashed.
A statement from five groups sent by email said the software threatened to cripple access to many of the gay community websites that have flourished in recent years.
The software works by judging whether website pages may show large amounts of exposed flesh.
Wan Yanhai, a leader of the Beijing-based Aizhixing organization, which works on AIDS and gay rights, said he was preparing a mass petition to mobilize opposition to the software.
"We need to demand not just the lifting of this software decree, but also an end to restrictions on gay publications," Wan told Reuters. "This is about opposing censorship."
Chinese state media have promoted the compulsory installation plan as an effective way to staunch the flow of pornography, which is banned in China but widely available.
"If you have children or are expecting a child you could understand the concerns of the parents over unhealthy online content," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters on Tuesday.
State television news said the software can be shut off and erased if users choose, and does not collect personal information.
China is one of the world's fastest-growing PC markets, and has hundreds of millions of Internet users. Research firm Gartner forecasts total PC shipments will climb by about 3 percent this year to more than 42 million units.
Li, the rights lawyer, said the ruling Communist Party is especially wary of dissent and controversy this year, the 20th anniversary of the 1989 pro-democracy protests ended by a bloody crackdown.
"How the government responds in the end will depend on the response from Chinese Internet-users," he said. "If it's strong, they'll back down, and may let the plan quietly die."
from the washinton post
Li Fangping, a Beijing human rights advocate who often embraces controversial causes, has asked the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to allow hearings on the "lawfulness and reasonableness" of the demand, which takes effect from July 1 and was publicized only this week.
"This administrative action lacks a legal basis," Li wrote in a submission to the ministry that was sent to reporters by email on Thursday.
"Designating that the same software must be installed in all computers affects citizens' rights to choose."
Li's demand, and denunciations of the plan from Chinese rights groups, have expanded a public battle over the "Green Dam" filtering software, despite a state media effort to promote the software as a welcome way to prevent children being exposed to pornography.
Many citizens worry such software and other measures are being imposed to deter discussion of sensitive political topics, especially in this year of controversial anniversaries, Li told Reuters.
"Above all, we're concerned about freedom of speech and the right to know," he said. "We know that citizens have been prosecuted because of their private emails, and we're worried about more such cases."
Chinese human rights and gay advocacy groups have demanded the software plan be immediately quashed.
A statement from five groups sent by email said the software threatened to cripple access to many of the gay community websites that have flourished in recent years.
The software works by judging whether website pages may show large amounts of exposed flesh.
Wan Yanhai, a leader of the Beijing-based Aizhixing organization, which works on AIDS and gay rights, said he was preparing a mass petition to mobilize opposition to the software.
"We need to demand not just the lifting of this software decree, but also an end to restrictions on gay publications," Wan told Reuters. "This is about opposing censorship."
Chinese state media have promoted the compulsory installation plan as an effective way to staunch the flow of pornography, which is banned in China but widely available.
"If you have children or are expecting a child you could understand the concerns of the parents over unhealthy online content," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters on Tuesday.
State television news said the software can be shut off and erased if users choose, and does not collect personal information.
China is one of the world's fastest-growing PC markets, and has hundreds of millions of Internet users. Research firm Gartner forecasts total PC shipments will climb by about 3 percent this year to more than 42 million units.
Li, the rights lawyer, said the ruling Communist Party is especially wary of dissent and controversy this year, the 20th anniversary of the 1989 pro-democracy protests ended by a bloody crackdown.
"How the government responds in the end will depend on the response from Chinese Internet-users," he said. "If it's strong, they'll back down, and may let the plan quietly die."
from the washinton post
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Internet hub created by Cable
NEW YORK — Digital video and audio cables, similar to the ones that already connect TVs to DVD players, cable boxes and receivers, will soon come with a new capability: connecting those devices to the Internet.
Manufacturers said last week that version 1.4 of the HDMI standard, for High-Definition Multimedia Interface, includes a data networking feature.
That means that a set-top box that connects to the Internet could share its connection with other devices in the entertainment center, for easier access to Web video, e-mail and news, said Steve Venuti, president and CEO of HDMI Licensing.
Devices with HDMI 1.4 ports could show up in small numbers before the holidays and in larger volumes early next year, the group said. New cables will be needed to take advantage of the networking feature.
Manufacturers said last week that version 1.4 of the HDMI standard, for High-Definition Multimedia Interface, includes a data networking feature.
That means that a set-top box that connects to the Internet could share its connection with other devices in the entertainment center, for easier access to Web video, e-mail and news, said Steve Venuti, president and CEO of HDMI Licensing.
Devices with HDMI 1.4 ports could show up in small numbers before the holidays and in larger volumes early next year, the group said. New cables will be needed to take advantage of the networking feature.
by the associated press
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