Infamous San Fran IT Admin Gets Four Years for Hijacking City’s FiberWAN Network [Terry Childs]
Terry Childs, the systems administrator made infamous back in July 2008 when he installed secret backdoor access to San Francisco's FiberWAN network and refused to give up the passwords, has finally been sentenced to serve four years in prison. More
A Knife Made From Fiber Optic Glass [Knives]
This beautiful handmade knife is shaped entirely from fiber optic glass. You know, the stuff that gives us super fast internet. A knifemaker used a process called knapping, a throwback method of shaping stones into useful tools, to form it. More
My Cinderella Would Wear These Fiber Optic Heels [Shoes]
Italian designer Francesca Castagnacci made a pair of heels fit for any girl—or at least any girl who's serious about her bandwidth. They're made from strands of fiber optics as thin as human hair and lit by a LED. More
Verizon hopes to bring 3D programming to FiOS TV customers by year-end 2010
A smattering of pay-TV providers have already announced their intentions to start piping out 3D programming to their users (starting next week with The Masters), but up until now, neither of America's (two) major fiber operators had bit the three-dee bullet. Verizon's own Shawn Strickland, vice president of FiOS product management, has come forward today with a bit of news on the matter, and it's the kind of stuff you want to hear if you're a) lucky enough to already be in a FiOS TV market and b) one who cares about the third dimension. He notes that his company is "monitoring the early sales of 3D TVs and expects to announce a 3D offering well in advance of the holiday TV-shopping season," further saying that Verizon is already in "active discussions with a number of companies in the emerging 3D value chain." He makes no bones about the hurdles along the way, suggesting that "technological challenges remain, as technology that enables TVs and set-top boxes to adjust the set to display 3D content has not been perfected or distributed, causing a major viewing hassle for consumers." That said, we're pretty stoked about having a 3D FiOS TV offering "in the market in time for the holiday," with the company aiming for a product that has "fully automated HDMI format-switching capability that switches between 2D and 3D, not via ponderous access to the TV's setup menu." Now, let's see how many of these wishes come true, cool?
Verizon hopes to bring 3D programming to FiOS TV customers by year-end 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
AT&T’s 24Mbps U-verse broadband hits 22 new states, 120 new markets
Maybe you're sick of waiting for FiOS, maybe Time Warner or Comcast have rubbed you the wrong way, or maybe you just really want in on that mobile DVR action AT&T announced last week. Whatever the reason, if you're interested in U-verse the Max Turbo broadband service now available in 120 new markets across 22 states. That entails maximum download speeds of 24Mbps with 3Mbps upstream -- less than half the maximum speed offered by Verizon or most cable companies, but its cost of $65 per month actually makes it quite competitive against mid-tier broadband plans. What AT&T hasn't said is exactly which new states and markets can now join in the fun, but there's an availability checker on the site that will quickly tell you the good or bad news.
AT&T's 24Mbps U-verse broadband hits 22 new states, 120 new markets originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Google receives ‘more than 1,100 community responses’ for gigabit fiber network
Ever wondered what it looks like when the entire nation wants a piece of Google? Well, we've already seen some crazy action in a few cities, but here's a bigger picture -- a map showing the vast lot of locations that have signed up for Google's experimental 1Gbps fiber network service. What's more, the number of community submissions almost doubled between 10am and the 5pm deadline, resulting "more than 1,100 community responses and more than 194,000 responses from individuals." Yep, that sure is a lot of paperwork to go through, but Google reckons it'll have a location or two picked "by the end of the year." Meanwhile, let's hope that these Googletown-wannabes will churn out enough nutso videos to keep us entertained.
Google receives 'more than 1,100 community responses' for gigabit fiber network originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Google’s 1Gbps broadband offer brings out the crazy in municipal officers around the States (video)
You'll be aware by now that Google's cooking up an experimental high speed broadband network, which is currently in the process of collecting applications and nominations from interested communities. Given the limited coverage planned -- anywhere between 50,000 and 500,000 people -- there's understandably a lot of competition to get your small town on Google's radar, and city officials all around the USA have been doing their utmost to grab some publicity for their locale. Duluth mayor Don Ness can be seen above taking a dip in Minnesota's icy Lake Superior (with his unfortunate underling Richard Brown taking a fish to the face), while others have held parades, danced, invented a "Google Fiber" flavor of ice cream, and even swam with sharks for the sake of that precious fiber. Duluth, however, is the only place officially endorsed by a senator, and you can see Al Franken promote the city's virtues on video after the break.
[Thanks, b3ast]
Update: We've now also got video of the actual dip in the water, slide past the break to see it [Thanks, TheLostSwede].
Google's 1Gbps broadband offer brings out the crazy in municipal officers around the States (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Cities Go Gaga for Google Fiber [Google]
No one knows exactly how much Google plans to invest in its ISP business, but its reputation as cash giant alone has cities from Anchorage, Alaska, to Sarasota, Florida battling to become the search giant's new test market. More
Building a Gigabit Fiber Network Is Real Hard, Even for Google [Google]
The WSJ delves into the trials and tribulations of trying to build a gigabit fiber network out to even the 50,000 homes at the low ends of Google's goals for their trial network. It could cost up to $1 billion, and Google's already mentioning to people it's asking for help, like Case Western Reserve University's Lev Gonick, whose building gigabit fiber to 104 homes, that "we have a lot to learn." Oh boy, sign me up. (Actually, do sign me up.) [WSJ]
See the article here:
Building a Gigabit Fiber Network Is Real Hard, Even for Google [Google]
Cyber-Nerdy Cities Woo Google’s Fiber-Optic Service With Viral Campaigns
Hoping to be selected as test sites for Google's upcoming high-speed fiber network, many cities have launched weird viral campaigns. According to an Associated Press report, Google set the nomination deadline for March 26th, and will announce the winners by the end of the year.
Sascha Meinrath, director of the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative, told the AP that Google wants cities that are ready to hit the ground running. "They want a fast, easy rollout," he said. "They are really looking for a community that is fully bought into this." Judging by a few of the more interesting nominees that PC magazine found, that won't be a problem.
Continue reading Cyber-Nerdy Cities Woo Google's Fiber-Optic Service With Viral Campaigns
Cyber-Nerdy Cities Woo Google's Fiber-Optic Service With Viral Campaigns originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.