Broadband – Page 2

Toshiba pushing Web-enabled HD DVDs

November 13, 2023 By Nino Marchetti

Toshiba said today the next generation DVD format it backs – HD DVD – will begin offering new titles which offer Web-enabled network capabilities. The goal of this new feature is to offer a higher degree of interactivity for HD DVD users.

Folks who update the firmware on their Toshiba HD DVD players, the consumer electronics company said, will find their device now supports improved network connectivity for downloading web-enabled network content. Going through the Ethernet ports one will be able to download and store bonus features or unlock content on the disc which requires a downloadable key. HD DVD owners will also be able to upload content and interact with content providers.

Web-enabled network content became available on June 26 with the launch of Bandai Visual’s anime title “Freedom” volume 1. This title is the first HD DVD anime title available in the United States, the first web-enabled network content disc and the first “twin format” disc (featuring both HD DVD and DVD on one side of the disc).

Originally posted on June 29, 2007 @ 3:01 pm

Broadband users to reach half a billion by 2012

November 10, 2023 By Nino Marchetti

Are you on broadband yet? If not, you may well be by 2012. That’s the year a new report out by research firm Research and Markets suggests there will be close to 500 million broadband subscribers worldwide.

The report indicates that globally, in addition to such a huge growth in broadband users, DSL currently holds a 65 percent market share over cable among high speed subscribers. The USA is one of only two reported countries in which cable subscribers have a larger base than DSL but this is expected to change next year as continued massive deployment of fiber networks by telcos improves the speed and bandwidth of their high speed networks.

Outside of the USA the Latin American region looks to be one of the world’s fastest broadband uptake regions with an annual growth rate of around 54% in 2006. However broadband penetration at the end of 2006 was only 2.5% – less than the global average of 5.4%. Globally at the moment around 50% of Internet traffic is consumed by less than 5% of Internet users.

Originally posted on June 20, 2007 @ 1:54 pm

Cisco creates contest for your idea of the Connected Life

November 10, 2023 By Nino Marchetti

Cisco is offering innovative people a sizable cash reward as part of a new contest to help shape its version of the connected life. The Connected Life Contest is open now and ends September 14.

The Connected Life, as defined by Cisco, “describes the unique, personalized experiences enabled by networked communications, whether at home, at work, or on the move. Cisco believes that the network is the platform for making daily life more entertaining, more productive and more convenient.” Cisco is looking for users to submit an entry (in 1,000 words or less) describing a new experience or capability they would like networking and communications technologies to help them do, whether at home, at work, or on the move. People are also invited to record a short video describing their idea.

Cisco will work with service providers around the world to select the top ideas, awarding one Grand Prize winner $10,000 and ten runner-up winners $1,000 each.

“We believe in continuous innovation and are always working to bring great ideas to reality,” said Jeff Spagnola, vice president of service provider marketing at Cisco. “We know that many of our customers, from the largest businesses to individual consumers, share our passion for innovation and we invite them to share their great ideas for experiences that they would like to enjoy in their Connected Life — enabled by Cisco and delivered by service providers around the world.”

Originally posted on June 14, 2007 @ 3:01 pm

Akamai offers to help you visualize real-time Internet performance

November 10, 2023 By Nino Marchetti

You’ve probably asked yourself at least once “why is the f’ing Internet so slow?” One way you may be able to get some answer going forward is Akamai Technologies’ new “Visualizing the Internet” tools.

These Visualizing the Internet tools, unveiled by Akamai today, let you see how healthy the Internet currently is. Akamai draws upon information from over 25,000 servers in more than 750 cities that are used by content providers to provide visual data of why some Web traffic may be slow, infected, or simply non-existent.

Three tools make up Akamai’s offering. A real-time web monitor “identifies the global regions with the greatest attack traffic, cities with the slowest Web connections (latency), and geographic areas with the most Web traffic (traffic density).” Network performance comparision “illustrates how Akamai identifies the fastest and most reliable path available between an Akamai edge server and an enterprise’s origin data center to retrieve dynamic content.”

The final tool, visualizing Akamai, “provides insight into the world’s online behavior at any given moment including how much rich media is on the move, the sheer volume of data being requested, the number and concentration of worldwide visitors, and average connection speeds worldwide.” This data is drawn upon the fact, Akamai said, that at times it handles 20 percent of the world’s total Web traffic.

Originally posted on June 7, 2007 @ 3:01 pm