Internet

An online music company is launching a new take on the MP3 business model: it's offering unlimited listening (from any Internet-enabled device) to a track for 10 cents. For LaLa, the group offering the deal, this is the third different method it's ... tried. LaLa, which launched in 2006, began as a music business based on members trading physical CDs (originals, not copies), with LaLa charging a dollar to both parties as middleman. Last year it changed the focus to online music, with streaming music available with permission of the publishers (though this feature didn't last long) and the ability ... (view more)

Trivia time: which was the first U.S. city to offer area-wide broadband access? We now have an answer for you -- Baltimore, Maryland. When visiting the storied metropolis you won't need to be on the lookout for "WiFi available here" signs anymore, ... because the entire city has become one enormous hot spot. Mobile WiFi is a fourth-generation (4G) wireless technology also known as WiMax, short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. Wireless telecommunications giant Sprint has teamed with Seattle-based carrier Clearwire to offer WiMax service to thousands of potential consumers. ... (view more)

Telecommunications reforms could bring broadband service to even more American rural areas, but there are fears the changes could also mean nationwide increases in phone charges. The Federal Communications Commission is proposing changes to two ... existing systems: one, the 'intercarrier compensation' scheme, governs how telephone companies split the call revenues when one firm's customer phones somebody in another firm's region. The other is the Universal Service Fund, under which a portion of long-distance phone call revenues is used to pay some of the costs of phone and Internet services in ... (view more)

Tim Berners-Lee, the man who created the World Wide Web, says there may be a need for independent labelling of websites to distinguish between reliable and bogus scientific information. He told the BBC such a system could be useful in combating the ... unchecked spreading of rumours which have plagued both the Large Hadron Collider scheme and the distribution of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine to children. He added that it's probably not appropriate to score sites for credibility; rather that sites with a proven record of accuracy could get a seal of approval. The interview came as ... (view more)

The world's most popular Internet browser, its nearest challenger, and the 'new kid on the block' have all launched recently, or are in the process of launching new editions. Here's our guide to the latest offerings from Microsoft, Mozilla, and ... Google. Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Internet Explorer 8, the latest edition of Microsoft's browser, is currently in its second test edition, with the final version expected later this year. New features include improved security scanning, smarter search suggestions and a built-in function for viewing pages designed for earlier browsers that aren't ... (view more)

A new start-up is not only looking to enter the broadband market, but hoping to shake up the status quo with an agenda that liberates consumers once and for all: free broadband for the masses! If free broadband is to become a reality, M2Z will have ... to win a major portion of the wireless airwaves (known as advances wireless services 3, or AWS-3) which is up for auction next year by the Federal Communications Commission. While the small company remains optimistic, winning the auction will not be easy. The wireless spectrum is expected to sell for $50 million. The price alone will not scare M2Z ... (view more)

Google recently unveiled a brand new web browser that may very well revolutionize your Internet experience. Called 'Chrome', Google claims it presents a fresh approach to web browsing: "In the early days of the Internet, web pages were frequently ... little more than text...But today the web has evolved into a powerful platform that enables users to collaborate with friends and colleagues through email and other web applications, edit documents, watch videos, listen to music, manage finances and much more. Google Chrome was built for today's web and for the applications of tomorrow." (Source: ... (view more)

The battle lines have now been drawn clearly. Wide-open Internet usage could easily, and soon, become a thing of the past. On October 1, one of the nation's largest Internet providers will implement a new bandwidth limit policy for its residential ... customers. According to reports, by this time next month Comcast will introduce a 250 gigabyte-per-month limit. (Source: nytimes.com ) The Comcast move follows a recent dispute about its 'throttling' policy where the company limited bandwidth for customers using the BitTorrent file-sharing program. On August 1, the Federal Communications Commission ... (view more)

Those wanting to see a glimpse of the future need only look to the upcoming Internationale Funkausstellung in Berlin, the largest consumer electronics convention in Europe. Here, some of the biggest electronic companies in the world are set to ... showcase their latest products, with the main focus of the convention centered on wireless interconnectivity in the home. Manufacturers are closer than ever to releasing technology that allows televisions, stereos, computers and even kitchen appliances to communicate with one another wirelessly and automatically over the Internet. Among the new gadgets ... (view more)

In the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, a new breed of hacker-investigators monitoring how traffic is routed through countries where web sites are blocked and why it is happening are reportedly conducting digital espionage --- turning their ... attention to a new weapon of international warfare: cyber attacks. "Hacktivists," led by Ronald J. Deibert, director of Citizen Lab, referred to as the "NSA of operations," set out to help residents in countries that censor online content, but have ended up tracking wars. Citizen Lab researchers created a software tool called Psiphon that helps ... (view more)