Researchers Break Internet Speed Record!!!

Data sent over a 20,000-mile path at 9.08 gigabits a second!!!



The University of Tokyo led a group of researchers in breaking internet speed records. The Internet2 network announced that they used modified protocols instead of standard communications protocols to send the data. Data started in Tokyo and traveled to Chicago, Amsterdam and Seattle, and then returned back to Tokyo. Internet2 is run by a consortium of over two hundred U.S. universities. They are currently working to merge with another ultrahigh-speed, known as National LambdaRail.

Although 9.08 gbps is an outstanding achievement, Internet2's current theoretical limit is 10 gbps, meaning they'd have to improve by 10% in order to break the record once more. Also, the Internet2 consortium plans to build a new network with 100 gbps capacity. Researchers used a newer Internet Addressing systems (IPv6) to set the record-speed

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If Internet2 network eventually comes through with its 100 gbps capacity, this basically means that the best-quality version of a film such as "Matrix" can be transfered in a matter of seconds. I still remember when file transfers were a pain in the butt back in the old school days with dial-up internet. I used to hate surfing the web because I was so impatient for the computer to load everything. I just think that increasing internet speed has come a long way, and it seems like it will continue get faster and faster, as the months pass by.

Virtual Affairs--Real-World Infidelities???

This article was written by a games editor, Kristin Kalning. Kalning describes several intimacies that have occurred through “Second Life.” Second Life is a virtual world in which people can explore a second life by creating animated avatars. Unsurprisingly, users have gotten lost in emotional and intellectual intimacies in Second Life, without thinking of how it affects “real-life” around them.

There are WAY too many examples listed in this article, but to briefly touch on all of the situations… “it’s basically a 3-D avatar having sex with another 3-D avatar… What looks like a hot blonde babe could be a 60-year old man in Milwaukee.” Marriages and families have gone through therapy because of secret meetings with avatar girlfriends and Second Life break-ups. Full details can be found by clicking HERE.

I just thought this article was interesting because it reminds me that the use of the Internet is ever-changing. After learning about how the Internet has evolved during the past 10-15 years, reading about something like this is pretty funny. The early days of the Internet involved people creating newsgroups and forums based on common interest. Then we passed through the dot com era and e-commerce boomed. Now….. now we’re at a point in time where people use the Internet to create virtual worlds and do virtual human-like activities, without fear of real-life physical attachment.

Final question: Is virtual affair real-world infidelity? Or are in-game chats and animated sex just harmless experiments? Answers to these questions will vary, but ultimately, I believe that things will only go as far as you let them. “If you play with fire, you better be prepared to deal with the flames.”

Mexico City Explores Wireless Internet

This article reports how Mexico City is exploring wireless Internet. Mexico City’s new mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, currently plans to set up hot spots throughout the city for its 8.7 million residents. Mayor Ebrard recently signed with China’s ZTE Corp. to link schools, government offices, and thousands of surveillance cameras by setting up wireless broadband hot spots. Reports announce that this project will quickly launch within months because the city government is giving it the highest priority.



I think Mexico City’s strive for high-speed wireless internet is fabulous… AMBITIOUS… but fabulous. This is actually a pretty big thing for Mexico City, because we’re talking about a city that is still struggling to provide consistent basic services including water and electricity. In some areas, these utilities are NONEXISTENT. So when we think about a city like this striving to provide wireless internet, I see a great thing.



It’s wonderful how a new mayor comes in town with a big vision. Stories like these show us how Internet technology has impacted societies all around the world. Technology will continue to move forward, and in spite of Mexico City’s struggling condition, it’s a great move to start catching up. I hope nothing but the best for Mayor Ebrard’s plans to model Mexico City in line with technological trends.


Read More About Mexico City!

The Right Price for Digital Music

Adam L. Penenberg wrote about the music industry and its inability to create a business model that deals with digital downloads. We all know that piracy is here to stay, but what's the best way to handle it? Apple is handling it by offering downloads on iTunes. It costs a user 99 cents per song, and since 2003 iTunes has sold 600 million songs. If you do the math, that's A LOT of money.

Peneberg doesn't believe that 99 cents per song should be the "fair" price. Instead, he suggests the songs to be priced strictly on demand. Basically, it models after the stock market. The more people who download the song, the higher the price will go up... and vice versa. He figured this way consumers can't complain about the price since we are the ones driving them up.

It's a creative way to look at it, but overall, I don't think this will be a very good idea. A "Digital Music Exchange" seems a bit far-fetched... considering all the cons. It could run into problems of users hacking into the system to either drive up or drive down the costs, if a song becomes too popular, the cost of downloading one song could potentially equal the cost of going out to buy the entire album... etc.

So the ultimate question is who should set the price?.... consumers, or record executives? I say it doesn't matter because either way, consumers will not pay the price if they do not think it is fit. At the end of the day, anyone can set the price, but each individual will make different choices in purchasing.

Virus Gang Warfare + Hijacked Computers

I found this article quite interesting. It basically described the upswing of digital gang warfare. This isn't anything like the typical gang warfare you find on the streets. These hacker gangs don't use knives and guns; they use YOUR COMPUTER!

Hackers create viruses and "Trojan horses" that creep into home computers through email attachments or websites that are already infected. Their purpose of infecting your home PC with a virus is to hijack your computer and use it as a "bot" that sends out countless spam messages and overwhelms websites with traffic. The number of infected computers has sky-rocketed, and security experts in the article consider it an "INTERNET EPIDEMIC."

The one thing that most hackers have in common is their motives. I think each and every one of these hacker gangs want to be able to say that they're #1. What's funny is the fact that these hacker gangs have to be up to date with protecting their hijacked PCs from getting hijacked by other gangs, just as we try to protect our home computers from attacks!

For example, the article describes a Russian gang that removed all other viruses and protected computers from getting attacked by every virus, except their own. The rival gang retaliated by creating a virus that spams AND attack websites run by the Russian gang. Security experts call it an "automated war."

After reading about the MyDoom virus of 2004 described in this article, I was so mad because my laptop went crazy in 2004!!! Even though I manually deleted the virus, it kept leaving open back doors and staying on my computer! It's not fair that these hackers find software flaws and exploit them faster than commercial software can be fixed! No wonder hackers end up working for top security-related jobs.

You can view the full article by clicking the link below:


VIRUS GANG WARFARE SPILLS ONTO THE NET

Hacker Hall of Fame!!!

Who would have ever thought a "Hacker Hall of Fame" would exist? I know I didn't. I was reading about the famous hackers in history, and I just think it's hilarious. Don't get me wrong, because these people are brilliant. But when I think about a most wanted list, I picture people with typical shady profiles... like a bald guy wearing a dark hooded sweater and sunglasses. When I looked at the Hacker Hall of Fame gallery, it's just funny that all pictures are people who I would never imagine to be a criminal.

I think it's also interesting that a good percentage of these criminal hackers end up working for security consulting firms and our federal government. In order to fight against hackers, we have to think like hackers. In other words, the only way to protect our private information from hackers is to use software that is created by the best hackers.

To read about more famous hackers, follow these links below:
Wikipedia - Criminal Hackers

Hacker Hall of Fame

The Book Stops Here

Daniel H. Pink's "The Book Stops Here" is an article describing how the WIKIPEDIA web site was created. Jimmy Wales created a massive online encyclopedia that is freely available to anyone. The difference between Wikipedia and traditional encyclopedias is basically the authors. Wikipedia allows anyone to contribute and make edits to anything that has already been posted. Wales creation has come a long way. In the late 90's, Wikipedia started with 12 articles. Now, the count has leaped to 1.3 million articles.

Although Wikipedia occasionally runs into problems with vandals editing articles with random pictures and information, I don't think it's that big of a deal. When we look at the bigger picture, problems like these are fixed within minutes. The amazing thing about Wikipedia is the people responsible for fixing these vandalized articles. Since contributors become so addicted to Wikipedia, they are more than willing to keep a constant watch for tampered articles.

Personally, I think Wikipedia is a great source that provides general knowledge of any topic, because most of the articles are written with style and language that's easy to understand. Since the articles do not need a formal review process before posting, academics doesn't think information found on Wikipedia is credible. Regardless of what the critics say, I think articles found on Wikipedia are almost as accurate as searching in the encyclopedia. It's always safer to double check the information with another source, but for the most part, I enjoy reading articles that are up to date. Besides, it's not as easy to edit and update a printed encyclopedia. Why would anyone prefer an out-of-date encyclopedia over a never-ending online one?