Exploring the impact of broadband and technology on our lives, our businesses, and our communities.
Gmail can read your attachments
Gmail can now read many kinds of attachments. It is touted as a benefit to users, as a Gmail user can search not just the text of emails, but also the text of attachments stored on Gmail. But it also means Google will be searching those attachments as well and using the information it finds to fine-tune the kinds of ads it delivers to you.
Technology News:
Knowledge Democracy:
Making telecom central
Susan Crawford, writing as a Fellow of the Roosevelt Institute, argues eloquently for paying more attention to broadband capacity and affordability, especially in rural areas of the U.S. She argues that well-provisioned, modern broadband connectivity is essential to economic growth.
Technology News:
Chattanooga continues to be serious about economic growth
Chattanooga is providing financial assistance to people with technical backgrounds who agree to buy a house and move to the area. It's a brilliant idea, and coupled with their fiber network, Chattanooga continues to prove they are not just serving up the same old warmed over, forty year old economic development strategies.
Technology News:
Community news and projects:
Profits go up if service is slow
Via Slashdot, here is a link to a new book that talks about why Internet and broadband in the U.S. is so poor. It's worth a read....basically, all the money has been spent on mobile cellular networks and not on local fiber infrastructure. And adding to the problem, in most markets, there is cartel pricing via the telco/cableco duopoly. Residents and businesses have only two choices: marginal DSL or cable modem service that won't support now-common business services and applications.
Technology News:
Apple's iPhone 5 is a beauty
Apple pundits, prior to the release of the new iPhone 5 yesterday, were saying that the new device would be no big deal because Apple had nothing to add in the way of features. In a way, that's true; there is nothing like the iPhone 4S release of Siri, the voice input software. But Apple kind of busted through the old engineering joke: "Quicker, cheaper, better: pick any two." Apple has managed, with the iPhone 5, to offer a phone that is faster, lighter, and thinner: customers get all three! Apple is saying this is the best iPhone they have ever built, and I believe them. Not only did they make the phone and the screen bigger and brighter, they also managed to make the phone thinner and lighter. That's quite an achievement. And it is truly a world phone; it supports just about every cellular wireless protocol on the planet. They speeded up the processor, speeded up graphics, and speeded up WiFi networking.
My iPhone 4S is barely a year old, and I'm already looking longingly at the iPhone 5.
Technology News:
New Kindle HD is a direct assault on Apple
Amazon has released its new Kindle HD, and it is really something. It's nice to see someone giving Apple some real competition, rather than just copying what Apple does (cough, cough, Samsung...).
The original Kindle Fire was a bit underpowered, and seemed to be primarily a conduit for selling Amazon content (as well as being a decent book reader). But the Kindle HD, while still a conduit for Amazon content, has a more refined interface, improved graphics, improved processor, and better connectivity (better WiFi, 4G cellular support). But the new Kindle also supports Skype, better email, a very interesting set of parental controls, and an improved Web browser. Finally, Amazon is touting support for college textbooks, a direct swipe at Apple's similar iBook initiative.
This is great for consumers. The Kindle HD now appears to be a much more capable tablet device that can go head to head with the iPad. And it is no accident that Amazon released it just days before the rumored iPad mini.
Technology News:
Apple's reinvention of TV hitting rough spots
According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is finding it difficult to re-imagine TV. Content providers are scared to death that Apple will be successful in creating a better TV experience. The problem is that the cable companies are deeply involved with the content providers...recall that Comcast, as one example, owns a big chunk of NBC. The cable companies have decided to go down with their own ship; they are going to cling to the sixty year old analog cable model until their last customers swim away the S.S. TitanicCableCo.
I can't really figure out what Apple has in mind that hasn't already been done. I've already ditched cable TV, and am quite content with cheap Hulu and Netflix subscriptions. Why do I need to buy a box from Apple? It's not that hard to bookmark the Netflix site and click on something in my queue. This is one area where I don't Apple really can bring some fresh new user interface experience a la the iPod or the iPhone and win.
Technology News:
Knowledge Democracy:
Put down the iPad at bedtime
Here's another report on backlit tablet devices and how they disturb your sleep cycle. The Kindle does not cause the same problems, as it uses the reflective e-ink technology.
Update: I was reminded by a reader that the Kindle Fire is backlit, so that is a device you should NOT be using at bedtime. The less expensive black and white Kindles are the e-ink models and do not have a back light.
Yet Another Update: Amazon just released a new Kindle Paperwhite and Paperwhite3G....with higher screen resolution....and...a backlight! They even have a picture of someone reading in bed in the dark using the backlight. Somehow they forgot to mention "Warning: use of the backlight before bedtime will keep you up all night."
Technology News:
Death of TV: Part XXXVI: Netflix and HBO to dump "TV"
The clash of the Titans is on....Netflix and HBO are taking the gloves off in Northern Europe. Both content companies are ditching cable and satellite TV to offer their movies and "TV" shows as IP-TV offerings. No cable or satellite TV subscription required. Meanwhile there are bunches of small start ups that are negotiating "channel" line ups for a pure IP-TV offering; their plan is to offer bundles of niche channels (e.g. The Food Channel, the Golf Channel) at a very low monthly subscription price. Once subscribed, you can pick out any show you want and watch it anytime you want, much like Hulu.
Technology News:
Knowledge Democracy:
A woodstove that charges phones
Sometimes little things can have big impacts. The BioLite HomeStove has the ability to make a lot of lives better while reducing tree loss in many parts of the world. The innovative cooking device is a highly efficient "jet" or "rocket" stove that burns small amounts of wood while generating a lot of heat. There are many similar jet stoves, and because they are so good at creating lots of heat quickly, in many impoverished areas, the stoves can dramatically reduce the amount of wood needed to cook food, and make it possible to sterilize water much more easily. The stoves also reduce the amount of work needed to collect wood, which, if you are cooking for a family over an open fire, can be very significant.
But the real innovation of this device is the integrated thermocouple that powers a small fan (to make the stove more efficient) and powers a USB port that can charge small portable devices like LED flashlights and cell phones. It is an amazing innovation that has the potential make millions of lives better.
Technology News:
Community news and projects:
Pages
