Internet

AT&T Gets Annoyed by Net Neutrality, Opera Mobile Gets Squashed by China

Kit Eaton — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:44:41 -0500

Net neutrality seems an innocuous concept when you look at it rationally--but no one seems to do that. Especially not big-name ISPs and cell-phone providers in the U.S. who are fighting the idea.

Satellite Direct Review - Is Satellite Direct Tv a Scam?

mark review — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:00:26 -0500

Satellite Direct Review - Is Satellite Direct Tv a Scam? Satellite Direct software technology taps into more than 3,500 TV channels worldwide right over the Internet. Now you can enjoy more channels than your cable and satellite TV combined for a one-time fee less than one month of your monthly cable bill.

You don't need a satellite dish, receiver or any other equipment to use our software. All you need is a computer and an internet connection. Simply download our software and you are ready to enjoy over 3,500 channels worldwide.

Tim Berners-Lee Launches Foundation to Increase Web Access Around the World

Ariel Schwartz — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:25:43 -0500

U.S. and U.K.'s Individuality Is Depressing, but Social Nets May Help

Kit Eaton — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:56:32 -0500

Western society's habits, according to a new survey, are resulting in overly individualistic behavior that makes us depressed. But before that news makes you sad, a different piece of research says the social networking boom may be able to help.

Is There Such Thing as Internet Addiction?

Chris Dannen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:19:45 -0500

China has banned the use of physical punishment to cure Internet addicts, according to a report in CIO, a publication of the International Data Group. But was there ever such a thing as Internet addiction in the first place?

Netflix Study Says No One Knows About Streaming Video. Huh?

Chris Dannen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:01:05 -0500

A new study comparing streaming video services from Amazon and Netflix found that most people surveyed didn't even know they could stream video in the first place. Wait a minute: Didn't a study we reported on yesterday say that 90% of Netflix users were aware of Watch Instantly?

What Will Google's Newspaper Crusade Mean for Readers?

Chris Dannen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:54:31 -0500

It's nice that CEO Eric Schmidt feels Google has a "moral responsibility" to help reinvent the newspaper industry. But how?

Angry Store Owner Assaults Yelp Reviewer Who Called Her Store "a Total Mess"

Chris Dannen — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:06:38 -0500

Man pans bookstore on Yelp. Bookstore owner tracks him down, writes harassing emails, and tries to break into his house. Man responds by calling police--and Yelping about the entire experience.

In what can only be described as a paradigm of Internet justice, a California Yelp user named "Sean C." was able to follow up his initial negative review of a San Fransisco bookstore with this gem:

Rumor: Apple Wants to Route Your TV Shows Through iTunes

Kit Eaton — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:26:30 -0500

Apple rumors swirl practically every week, but there's rarely one that's as potentially game-changing as this one: According to insiders, the company's aiming to cut out the cable TV middle man, and serve up network TV to as many as 65 million users via iTunes.

ICANN announces internationalized domain names

Andrew W Morse — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:35:30 -0400

ICANN brings the languages of the world to the global Internet, announcing the Fast Track process for internationalized domain names which launches on November 16, 2009.

The first Internet addresses containing non-Latin characters from start to finish, will soon be online, thanks to today's approval of the new Internationalized Domain Name Fast Track Process by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) board.

Most People Use the Web to Talk to People Nearby

Chris Dannen — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:53:58 -0400

Ever use email to talk to the person sitting one office down? You're not alone. Most people use the Web to talking to people within their own city, not far-flung contacts, according to a new study by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The study says that while the Web has developed a reputation as a tool for geo-commerce and penpalling, the main utility has been to increase communications hyper-locally. In fact, the abstract says, "the volume of electronic communications is inversely proportional to geographic distance."

The Evolution of Marketing Agencies

Reid Carr — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:29:05 -0400

As a frequent attendee of local marketing association events, I am perplexed by the occurrence of regular, prevailing discussions that focus more on areas such as the best use of social media and less on aligning the campaign’s goals and metrics with that of the corporation as a whole. The days of such practices are numbered to say the least.

Web's Inventor Finally Gets Twitter, but Can't Beat Al Gore's Three-Screen Mega-PC

Chris Dannen — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:08:10 -0400

Tim Berners-Lee, the British MIT engineer who first proposed and later implemented the World Wide Web as we know it, has joined Twitter. And he is not impressed. "Oops confusing user interfxce [sic]" he wrote in his first tweet.

The Powers or the People: GOP Rep. Tries to Delay FCC Vote on Who Owns the Web

Clay Dillow — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:31:01 -0400

With an FCC vote on net neutrality rules looming on Thursday, it would be a shame if partisan politics didn't come into play. But who will stand up to declare regulations barring Internet service providers from picking and choosing favorites "catastrophic?" Ah, thank you Texas Representative Joe Barton, we knew we could count on you.

Farewell to Shepard's "Fairey Use" Movement

Zachary Wilson — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:49:38 -0400

It's no secret that we at Fast Company love an underdog. A little guy taking on a big guy? Bring on the popcorn.

News Manipulator Rupert Murdoch Gripes About Google's News Manipulation

Kit Eaton — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:51:10 -0400

Rupert Murdoch is so concerned about the future of traditional (i.e. his) news publishing at the hands of Google, he's launched paid Web newspapers via an online club. But if Google's so evil, why doesn't he block its Webcrawlers?

Murdoch's Argument:

Four Ways to Fast-Track 4G, Says FCC

Chris Dannen — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:17:11 -0400

Today FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski took to the stage at CTIA and outlined his agency's plan to handle the welter of wireless transmissions coming in the next decade. The goal: 4G, as fast as possible. According to Mashable, the FCC's plans fall into four categories:

Is Toshiba's $11K Turbo TV the Media Hub of the Future?

Chris Dannen — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:45:04 -0400

Today Toshiba announced an ultra-powerful LCD TV powered by the same chip as the Sony PS3. It's backed by a 3 TB hard disk, and can play and record up to eight different television channels at once. It'll also cost 1 million yen (about $11,000) when it becomes available in Japan this December. What's Toshiba thinking?

OnLive Goes Online--And It Could Kill the Game Console

Kevin Maney — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:00:00 -0400

Steve Perlman rushes out of a conference room, laptop under his arm, power cord dangling to the floor. He's wearing a lime green tropical shirt over his burly frame, his short thinning hair gelled to stand on end. It all gives him the appearance of Tony Soprano crossed with a geek from the A/V club.

How Much Are You Worth to Facebook?

Adam L. Penenberg — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:00:00 -0400

Some of the most iconic companies of our time -- Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter -- attracted millions of users practically overnight, by unleashing what's known as a "viral-expansion loop." In plain English, they grew because each new user led to more users. The trick is that each of these businesses created something people really want and then made it easy for customers to happily spread their products for them to friends, family, and colleagues.

How much does a web site cost?

Chris Tomlinson — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:32:13 -0400

The question of how much does
a web site cost is by far and away one of the most common questions any
designer, freelancer or studio is asked on a regular basis. No doubt
about it.

And as much as we designers would like to say well this one in aisle
4 is $299 and the ones in aisle 9 are $10,000, it just doesn’t work
that way.

For a moment imagine a web design project much in the same way you would build a house.

ESPN asks Wharton School: Internet or TV?

Chris Dannen — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:24:39 -0400

ESPN announced today that it is partnering with a Wharton School initiative to find solutions to the growing list of challenges presented by digital media. (Below, the Wharton campus.)

Age Distribution of People on the Web

Jay Bhatti — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:52:55 -0400

Despite Privacy Concerns, 74% of people openly show their age on the web!

As a people search engine, Spock crawls and indexes millions of web documents and social network profiles everyday.

FCC Embraces Net Neutrality, Enforces It On ISPs

Kit Eaton — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:28:37 -0400

We'd heard beforehand that the Federal Communications Commission was going to make a big announcement embracing rules that enforce Net neutrality on ISPs. It's gone ahead and done that, right now, in a surprisingly open way.

Now You Can Make Phone Calls From Twitter, Thanks to Jajah

Kit Eaton — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:14:22 -0400

Twitter's about to get a fascinating new tool in its social communications toolbox courtesy of Jajah: Phone calling. It's a VOIP solution that will work for anyone with a Twitter account. Does this signal a future as an extensive communications tool for the lifecasting app?