HiWEB-Interactive Show Log –
017– 062608
-Opening Comments
“Welcome to HiWEB-Interactive, bringing you information from the edge of technology”
*This is a summary
of recent news and technology highlights.
HiWEB-Interactive – Show #17 – From June 26th 2008
Airing weekly Thursdays at 8p (PST) – And available on LIVE.HIWEB.NET as well as archived
* Comcast called and
said my 464GB is too much data and they will have to terminate my service if it
continues. So they threatened to terminate my service if it continues, BS: 250k
24x7 affects the quality of their network, they better fix their network then
rather than unjustifiably trash there good customers and their reputation.
*HiWEB Has is
hosting a Giveaway on June 26th, sign up to WIN at HiWEB.NET
-Hot NewsTopics this week
(*Prepped 24 Hours Prior)
1-20
million Firefox 3 downloads in a week, ~4% market share
2-Comcast
gets spectrum for WiMAX femtocells, wireless services
3-Safari
update fixes "carpet bomb" flaw
4-iPhone
2.0 firmware to go golden master this week
5-Apple
and host of others added to touchscreen patent lawsuit
6-Mac
OS X 10.5.4 update likely to be ready before July 11
*Youtube viewers make sure to see HiWEB.NET for the live streaming, also this entire show and other past shows.
<<<CUT FOR YOUTUBE POSTS>>> IE: Stop Recording/Start Recording
-Review of Hot Topics
(*Elaborate on Hot Topics)
*SEE PRINTED
NOTES…..
1 -20
million Firefox 3 downloads in a week, ~4% market share –
Mozilla'sFirefox 3 web browser, which was
officially released
one week ago, has already been downloaded over 20 million times since the
official launch. This is a noteworthy achievement for the open source browser,
which is rapidly eroding the domin The number of Firefox 3 downloads continues
to climb, but currently represents only a portion of Firefox's 170 million daily
users. This is primarily because Mozilla has not yet rolled out the new version
to existing Firefox 2 users through the update channel. In response to an
inquiry, Mozilla told us that they have not finalized the schedule for when
Firefox 3 will be made available to Firefox 2 users through the update channel,
but they suspect that it will happen within the next two or three months.ance of
Microsoft's Internet Explorer.Net Applications provides detailed market share
statistics that show the rate of Firefox 3 adoption on an
hourly basis.
Last month, prior to the official launch, Firefox 3 prerelease versions alone
totalled 0.62 percent of the browser market—not far from Opera's 0.71 percent.
Within a few hours after the release, Firefox 3 market share had jumped to 1.16
percent. According to Net Applications, Firefox's total global market share is
currently around 19 percent. Opera got a slight boost too following the release
of Opera 9.5, but still hasn't exceeded one percent according to Net
Applications.
Market share statistics are generally a useful tool for gaining insight into
trends, but—as we have pointed out many times in the past—do not paint a
completely accurate picture. Net Applications bases its statistics on the
traffic of its customers, which obviously don't represent the entire Internet.
It's also worth noting that some Opera users customize the user-agent string of
their browser (e.g., reporting as Internet Explorer or Firefox), which means
that the total number of Opera users is thought to be underestimated. A clearer
picture will be available when other market share monitors like XiTi and W3
Counter release their statistics for June.
A significant factor that contributed to the early success of Firefox 3 was the
download day event, which was coordinated by Mozilla's global marketing team.
Mozilla aimed to
set a new Guinness world record
for the most software downloaded in 24 hours. During the first 24 hours after
the launch of Firefox 3, the total number of downloads
reached 8 million,
exceeding the initial goal of 5 million.
The Firefox developers have already begun working on Firefox 3.1, an
incremental update
that will bring user interface improvements and privacy features. An early alpha
release for Firefox 3.1 is expected sometime next month.
<Change Slide>
2 -Comcast
gets spectrum for WiMAXfemtocells, wireless services -
One typically thinks of WiMAX as a wireless technology useful mainly for large,
citywide networks and widescale broadband deployment. But, if the Clearwire
Broadband consortium has its way, the networking tech will be widely deployed in
any home with cable internet connections.The group's new
agreement
on the use of its massive spectrum allotment sets aside 5Mhz of spectrum across
the US solely for use by WiMAXFemtocells. This set-aside appears to have been
primarily advocated by Comcast and the other cable Internet companies in the
group, as it's not clear what the other members of the group get out of it.
The Clearwire Consortium formed as a
merger
between wireless ISPs Clearwire and Sprint's Xohm division, with an infusion of
cash from a number of other firms,
including Comcast, Time Warner, and Google, which bought shares of the new
venture. The consortium owns a large amount of spectrum bandwidth all over
the United States, and the new decision sets aside a significant chunk of it for
the exclusive use of Femtocell devices. Recent years have seen a lot of
news
and hype about cell network femtocells, small and cheap devices which provide
wireless access to a small number of cellular devices in a small area, typically
indoors or underground. Their limitations include contention and interference
problems with larger towers covering the same area. WiMAX is faster and has the
potential to be more effective for applications like internet access on a
wider variety of devices,
but the cells have typically been large and expensive. The new spectrum
allocation should spur the development of WiMAXfemtocells and, with a chunk of
spectrum specifically dedicated to them, interference problems should be reduced
or eliminated.
Comcast has announced plans to deploy these Femtocells via its cable internet
subscribers. These small and cheap devices will provide wireless access to
subscriber's houses with backhaul going through their Comcast Internet
connections. The Femtocells would reportedly provide longer range than WiFi,
with a speed in the neighborhood of 8Mbit/s. Although WiFi is well entrenched in
small-cell wireless, WiMAXfemtocells have a number of notable advantages over
WiFi for home applications, which may help the new technology gain traction.
Although WiMAX uses registered spectrum, devices use the spectrum more
efficiently, providing more bandwidth overall. Also, bandwidth and latency
guarantees are
stronger
in the WiMAX protocol, potentially allowing greater reliability for sensitive
applications like VoIP.
The WiMAX connection provided by the cells could interface seamlessly with
larger-scale citywide networks, which WiFi cannot do. This
would allow Comcast to route wireless services through their own
backhaul infrastructure as much as possible, saving them money and allowing for
cheaper in-home access to these services for consumers.
The reserved block of spectrum is technically open to Femtocell use by all the
members of the Clearwire consortium, but it appears likely the primary users
will be the cable companies. The biggest advantage of WiMAX for large-area
deployments is its range; WiFi deployments have been
hindered
by prohibitive expense due to unexpectedly large numbers of access points needed
to effectively blanket large areas.
Providers like Sprint, when trying to cover large cities with wireless, probably
won't want to deploy lots of small cells, even with the interference problem
solved. Although the small cells can allow indoor access, which is frequently
problematic with existing networks, carriers of large networks probably won't
think it's worth the expense. Indeed, Comcast's Dave Williams referred to the
spectrum assignment as a "hard-won" concession, and said Comcast "would have
liked more [spectrum]" to allow for greater bandwidth. Other players in
the consortium apparently just aren't as interested.
Home deployment of WiMAXFemtocells could ease the costs of infrastructure
installment, solve indoor access difficulties, and offer cheap access to
seamless wireless services to consumers. Comcast will need to see good
performance and rapidly-falling prices if their planned deployments are going to
make economic sense. They're also going to have to hope that consumer devices
will emerge to make use of the new networking system. Apparently, they're
optimistic, as Comcast now sees Femtocells as "absolutely key to WiMAX."
<Change Slide>
3 -Safari
update fixes "carpet bomb" flaw
-
Apple released a patch for the Windows version of its Safari Web browser on
Thursday, fixing four flaws including one that allows attackers to place an
unlimited number of untrusted executable files on the desktop.
Apple had previously
told the flaw finder
that the issue, dubbed the"carpet bombing" bug security consultant
NiteshDhanjani, would not be fixed. A second researcher, Aviv Raff, found a way
to execute files on the desktop without notifying the user. Microsoft
argued
that the combination of the two flaws constituted a legitimate security weakness
that needed to be fixed.
"To help mitigate this issue, the Safari browser has been updated to prompt the
user prior to saving a download file," Apple stated in
its advisory.
"Also, the default download location is changed to the user's Downloads folder
on Windows Vista, and to the user's Documents folder on Windows XP. This issue
does not exist on systems running Mac OS X."
The company also fixed three other flaws, an information disclosure
vulnerability and two remote-execution bugs.Finding security holes in the top
four browsers has become increasingly popular over the past few years. In June
2007, less than a day after Apple released the beta version of its Safari Web
browser for Windows, researchers
detailed numerous vulnerabilities
in the program. In early 2007, VeriSign's iDefense subsidiary
offered a bonus
to its vulnerability bounty hunters for any critical flaws found in Internet
Explorer 7. Browser makers have consistently focused on using their handling of
software bugs as
a measure of security.
Both
Opera
and
Mozilla
have released major revisions to their browsers in the last two weeks.
http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/760
<Change Slide>
4-
iPhone 2.0 firmware to go golden master this week
-
The highly-anticipated 2.0 version of the iPhone firmware is said to be "highly
probable" to achieve golden master status this Friday, according to
a report
by Gizmodo. Citing "a source inside the Cupertino's iPhone software development
effort," the golden master will follow build 345, which is said to have two new
code-signing and encryption features.The report contends that iPhone 2.0 could
be available this Friday, ahead of the iPhone 3G launch an in time for a
previously-mentioned
June release. However, Apple stated numerous times during WWDC that the update
would be
available in July,
ostensibly around July 11 when the iPhone 3G becomes available. That the golden
master should be done this early only makes sense, as the firmware will need to
be added to devices before being packaged and shipped in time for the July 11
launch date.The firmware will also update the features of the original iPhone as
well as the iPod touch, though due to accounting issues, Apple is charging iPod
touch users a $10 upgrade fee. In addition to gaining access to the AppStore and
numerous third-party apps, upgraded devices will also gain added Office and
iWork document viewing, push syncing with Exchange and MobileMe, improved
foreign language input, contact search, and a host of other improvements.
<Change Slide>
5 -Apple
and host of others added to touchscreen patent lawsuit -
Apple and 11 other companies have been added to a lawsuit over touchscreen
computing technology originally files in December last year against Dell and
Xplore Technologies. Typhoon Touch Technologies and its licensee Nova Mobility
Systems filed an amended complaint on Monday, claiming that nearly every company
making a touchscreen phone or tablet PC infringes on its two patents,
5,379,057
and
5,675,362,
both titled "Portable computer with touch screen and computing system employing
same."Both patents describe portable data collection devices, but the
descriptions in the patents could be interpreted as any portable computing
device that uses a touchscreen interface. The complaint, filed in patent
litigators' favorite Eastern Texas District Court, specifically mentions Apple's
iPhone, as well as HTC's Touch, Nokia's N810, and Palm's Treo 700. In all, the
lawsuit names Fujitsu, Toshiba, Panasonic, Apple, HTC, Palm, Samsung, Nokia, LG,
Xplore Technologies, Sand Dune Ventures, Lenovo, and Dell.Typhoon Touch
Technologies appears to be a patent firm created solely to license and litigate
its two patents. The company even goes so far as to brag about list its
current litigation defendants
on a section of its web site. If a jury finds in its favor, though, Typhoon
stands to earn significant income from "reasonable royalties" that companies
must agree to pay to license the patents. That could cut into Apple's iPhone
profits, but I doubt it will do anything to stop the coming onslaught of the
iPhone 3G.
<Change Slide>
6 -
Mac OS X 10.5.4 update likely to be ready before July 11
-
The latest test build of Mac OS X 10.5.4, build 9E17, lists no known issues in
its release notes, according to
a report
on Apple Insider. The test builds are being released with increasing frequency
to developers, indicating the update could be available soon.Only two fixes
where included in the latest build, related to iCal shortcuts and syncing. Apple
has also asked developers evaluating the test builds to pay particular attention
to Airport, Windows networking, Spaces, and "frequently-used" apps like iChat
and Mail. These are the same areas Apple had mentioned in previous builds,
another good indication that the development process is winding down. There have
been
some indication
that Apple's new MobileMe service will require 10.5.4 for Leopard users. Since
MobileMe is expected to launch July 11, expect the OS update before then.
The iPhone 2.0 operating system Golden Master will follow the release of build
345, which has seen the activation of two code-signing and encryption features
not previously available.
Keep in mind that this date is tentative, even if the source remarked that "this
is the plan." Meanwhile, the iPhone Dev Team has confirmed they are working hard
cracking the latest build, getting ready for the
pwnage
of the final release. Also, remember that releasing a Golden Master internally
or to developers doesn't mean releasing it to the general public. As announced
publicly during WWDC, Apple will make the
update
available in July.
http://gizmodo.com/5019445/iphone-20-golden-master-could-hit-this-friday
<Change Slide>
- Viewer Questions
(*Troubleshooting, New Tech,
Etc.)
How can I block Private Messages in IRC Chat?
For example if you are getting Private Messaged excessively in a channel or
maybe even a BOTNET script is attacking you.
Use some very simple commands to suppress these messages very quickly and
stop the headache!
In you IRC Chat Client type ‘/umode +R’ and/or ‘/mode NICK +R’
Then to restore Private Messages type ‘/umode –R’ and/or ‘/mode NICK –R’
Other useful IRC commands:
/mode #channelname +l 25 (Limits the numbers of user in a channel)
/mode #channelname +m (Moderates the channel, only voiced user can chat)
/mode #channelname +n (Dis-Allow External Messages into channel)
/mode #channelname +t (Only Ops can change channel topic)
/umode +p (CTCP
Blocks
you from receiving ctcp messages such as pings.)
/umode +x – (This will mask your ip so no one can see your true ip.)
/umode +y – (Whois available to operators only)
Remember:
+mode will turn the mode on
-mode will turn the mode off
Command : /umode -/+mode Or /mode Nick +/-mode
*Note: Some commands are network specific and privilege, check with your IRC
Operator for more detail and a list of support commands.
This is just a very few of the important / useful command, get much more on IRC
Commands here: (100’s of commands)
http://www.ircle.com/reference/commands.shtml
http://docs.dal.net/docs/modes.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_Relay_Chat_commands
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-New Technology to keep an
Eye On
(Auto
Tech, Alt. Fuel, Environment, Hacking, High Tech, etc…)
1 -
MacBook Drinks Solar with Apple Juicz -While
Apple is
greening
up its
laptops,
it isn’t spitting out solar products yet. So, taking up the call, QuickerTek has
put out an awesome new product specifically for Macophiliacs. Fitting the
MacBook, a foldable sheet of thin-film solar cells can charge up your laptop for
free – well, after you shell out the big bucks for the product.Depending on how
fast you want your battery recharged (and how much you have to spend), you can
get an 18 watt panel that takes 14 hours to charge up your MacBook, a 27 watt
panel that takes 8 hours, or a 55 watt panel that can get you juiced up in as
few as 5 hours.Now, the sheets range from $500 to $1,000, so I’m not quite sure
what the incentive is to use this rather than WAY cheaper plug-in, unless you
have a massively guilt-ridden eco-conscience or you’re rarely near an outlet,
which, let’s face it, is unlikely to be the case if you own a MacBook.
I think the demand for realistically priced
(and sized)
ways to charge
laptops with solar
is increasing, so hopefully soon we’ll see more options attached lower price
tags.
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1788/83/
<Change Slide>
2 -
Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines – Where Have You Been?? -
I live in a very windy area. Pretty much every afternoon as I ride my bike home
directly into the full-force wind, I wonder how I could set up some sort of sail
system so that I don’t have to pedal as hard as possible only to go about 2
miles an hour. I also think about how I can be capturing all this wind so I can
power my home. In other words, because of where I live, wind is on my mind a
lot. So, over the weekend I was glad to read about the WINDPOWER 2008
conference. It was the first time I’d heard about the annual conference and
tradeshow and it sounded like something I’d love to attend. Well, clearly not
knowing about it in the first place made attending a little difficult, but
luckily the folks at
Clean Tech were there
and posted some video and interesting info on vertical wind turbines.Vertical
turbines have a few one-ups on the traditional three-blade turbines for urban
areas like where I live. They’re quieter, blend in with a rooftop more
seamlessly, take up less space, can produce 50% more electricity per year, can
produce energy at lower wind speeds, and are safer for wildlife such as birds
and bats.
Considering the amount of thought going in to
urban turbines,
I’m curious as to why vertical turbines aren’t gaining more popularity. It seems
like there are myriad ways to utilize them. For instance, many cities are
installing solar panels on streetlamps to generate electricity to power the
lamp…but not as many are
combining solar and wind.
Seems like the more logical thing to do since the odds of getting enough
electricity go way up. “Gus” (shown in the above image) is a turbine from
Tangarie,
and it has been combined with solar for streetlamps. But, I suppose when you
look at the price tag, my “why” question is answered – the package runs about
$7,000 and that doesn’t include the cost of installation. “Gus” creators have
thought about aesthetics, and have utilized a reflective coating to reduce
glare. It’s the little things like this that will help turbines gain popularity
as the
aesthetics are boosted
and
innovation is amped up.
The video below shows a design from Energy in which light metal bands surround
the turbine to give it a low start-up wind speed, which allows users with a less
substantial wind resource to get at least a little power from local winds. With
designs like these helping people even in soft breezy environments to utilize
wind, I just can’t help but wonder why not more…
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1796/86/
<Change Slide>
3-
Google Earth Shows Deforestation's Graphic Reality -
If you want to be depressed about the deforestation that is going on around the
world, then Google's got the ticket for you.
If you happen to have Google Earth, you can take a look at the
new layer,
by
David Tryse,
showing the current status of forests around the world. Color coding shows how
bad the state of these forests are in any given country. If you click on a
country, a score card will pop up, giving you stats about the country, a counter
of how many hectares have been lost so far this year (Brazil, arguably the worst
country, has lost 1488590 hectares, and counting). It works similar to the
pollution feature.
The charts also show if the country, even though cutting down trees, is
replacing forest cover, whether through replanting initiatives or from growing
natural forests. Unfortunately there's not a lot of great news, as most of the
countries are losing forest much faster than they are being replenished, and
even those new forest are weaker in biodiversity and can suffer from poorer
soils resulting from erosion prior to replanting.
If being depressed about deforestation doesn't sound intriguing or you want to
do something to counter it, Google Earth has other solutions, like
buying a tree and watching it grow,
sort of, on the website. And their
reforestation feature
is a little more optimistic.
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1795/72/
<Change Slide>
4 –Green
- er, Orange - Charging Station Gets Upgrade -
Got Wind has some fun tricks up its sleeve. Last year at the Glastonbury
Festival – a massive music and performing arts festival in the Vale of Avalon,
England – phone service provider Orange and renewable tech creators Got Wind
provided a tent-mounted wind-powered phone charger – a pretty awesome set up
considering that the event is off in the boonies and cell phone charging
stations would be in demand. But this year, the team plans to dwarf last year’s
charging pod.
The new pod will stand nearly 23 feet tall and host a wind generator and solar
panels that will generate enough electricity to charge up to 100 mobile phones
and hour, and store any leftover energy in its battery tank. With thousands of
people attending the festival, they think they’ll be pretty busy. And the newer
recharge pod is still only a test for bigger, more powerful stations to come. I
can definitely see stations like this being useful at any large event where
outlets are scarce.
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1779/86/
http://www.gotwind.org/orange_recharge_pod.htm
<Change Slide>
-Weekly Picture
*None
this week!!!
<Change Slide>
-Tech Tip / Demo
How can you verify encryption on your Wireless Network or Access Point?
On Windows run NetStumbler-
Acquire from
http://netstumbler.com
The program can come in handy if you are using a WLAN and you don't have signal
or it is not working properly. NetStumbler is a tool for Windows that allows you
to detect Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) using 802.11b, 802.11a and
802.11g. Here are some key features of "NetStumbler": · Verify that your network
is set up the way you intended. · Find locations with poor coverage in your
WLAN. · Detect other networks that might be causing interference with your
network. · Detect unauthorized "rogue" access points in your workplace. · Help
aim directional antennas for long.
Download Here -
http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/NetStumbler-Download-17714.html
-General Talk/Discussions
1-Viewers see giveaway link on HiWEB.NET for more details. Next Giveaway June 26th– Remember the eligibility requirements. Subscribe to Youtube, Register and Comment on Blog –*Andthen stay Tuned for Hot Giveaways
2- Future segments will include music production segments, hardware reviews and demos
3- We are currently engaging SME to produce custom segments away from live show –
4- Viewers can send show Tips / Recommendations to live@hiweb.net
5-HiWEB-Interactive Past Shows on http://www.hiweb.net/pastshows.html (past shows)
-Closing Comments
This was HiWEB-Interactive – Show #17
Remember tune in anytime at live.hiweb.net and Thursdays at 8p (PST) for the HiWEB-Interactive Tech Show
“Thank You for participating in HiWEB-Interactive, we look forward to bringing you more information from the edge of technology” Until next time have Fun with your technology – GottaJiboo!