Mereja

Author: Zach Walton

  • Mozilla, Google Bring WebRTC Interoperability To Firefox And Chrome

    WebRTC is the future of Web communication if the W3C has anything to say about it. It’s an HTML5 technology that turns your browser into a video/audio communication tool. The only problem standing in its way was that it would only work if both users were on the same browser, but the folks at Mozilla and Google have found a way around it.

    Google and Mozilla jointly announced the RTCPeerConnection today that brings interoperability to WebRTC clients on both Firefox and Chrome. This will allow users of either browser to engage in video/audio chats by just using the power of the Web instead of relying on third-party plugins.

    You can check it out in action below:

    RTCPeerConnection is currently available on the Chrome 25 beta and the latest build of Firefox Nightly. Once you download one of those, set the media.peerconnection.enabled to true in about:config and you’ll be set.

    For the developers out there, Mozilla has a lengthy tutorial on how to bring RTCPeerConnection to your apps at its blog post. Check it out to get all the details.

  • Gain A New Appreciation For The Internet By Checking Out This Underwater Cable Map

    In today’s modern world, the Internet connects us all with each other. That used to be a much harder task before the advent of fiber optic cables in the 1980s. Now cables are being laid all over the world, including under the ocean, to connect us all to the magic of the Internet.

    Of course, we should never take the Internet for granted. We should also appreciate all the hard work that went into making the world an interconnected community with the Internet. A new map from TeleGeography and Telecom Egypt should help puts things into perspective as it lays out all the underwater Internet cables that are currently in existence on this earth. It’s awe-inspiring stuff. Here’s a few of the major underwater thoroughfares:

    Internet Under Water

    underwater internet

    underwater Internet

    You can check out the full interactive map here. It contains a number of interesting stats that should make you really appreciate all the hard work that went into making sure you could communicate with people from all around the world. If you want to learn more about submarine communications cables, check out the Wikipedia article on the subject.

  • New Metal Gear Rising Trailer Details Boss Weapons

    When I was a wee lad, I had an epiphany while playing Mega Man 2 for the first time. Obtaining a boss enemy’s weapon after defeating it was the most perfect style of skill progression for a game of its genre. Not many games then or now employ a similar mechanic, but Metal Gear Rising is bringing it back in a limited capacity.

    The latest trailer for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance reveals that Raiden will be able to obtain boss enemy weapons after defeating them. The weapons shown off in the trailer include a pole arm, a pair of sai and massive pincers. Each provide their own advantages and disadvantages while allowing players to craft their own strategies as they take on enemies large and small.

    Unlike Mega Man, I doubt that Metal Gear Rising will make certain boss weapons effective against future boss enemies. In that way, it loses a bit of the novelty, but the game still has plenty of punch as one of the most exciting action games to be released this year.

    Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance slices its way to the PS3 and Xbox 360 on February 19. As for a potential Wii U release, Platinum Games says its all up to Konami and fan demand.

  • HP Enters Chromebook Market With The Pavilion 14

    It may have taken a few years, but Google’s Chromebook is finally taking off as a valid alternative to the traditional Windows laptop and MacBook. That means more OEMs are starting to make them with HP being the latest to join the fray.

    HP announced the Pavilion 14 Chromebook this morning as part of its “multiOS approach to offer customers more choices.” HP’s new Chromebook fits snugly between Samsung’s and Acer’s offerings with an attractive $329.99 price tag and competitive specs.

    “Google’s Chrome OS is showing great appeal to a growing customer base,” said Kevin Frost, vice president and general manager, Consumer PCs, Printing and Personal Systems, HP. “With HP’s Chromebook, customers can get the best of the Google experience on a full-sized laptop—all backed up by our service and brand.”

    If you choose to go with the HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook, you can look forward to the following specs:

  • 14’’ BrightView LED-backlit display (1366 x 768)
  • 0.83 inch thin – 3.96 lbs / 1.8 kg
  • Up to 4.25 hours of battery
  • Dual-core Intel Celeron Processor
  • 100 GB Google Drive Cloud Storage with 16GB Solid State Drive
  • Built-in dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and ethernet
  • HD Camera
  • 3x USB 2.0
  • HDMI Port
  • 2-in-1 memory card slot (SD, MMC)
  • Bluetooth 3.0 Compatible
  • Kensington key lock compatible

    • Compared to the other Chromebooks from Acer and Samsung, HP’s Pavilion 14 is probably the second best available. The downside to that is the increased cost. It’s not as ludicrous as Samsung’s Chromebook 550, which retails for $450, but $330 may still be a bit too much for those looking for something super cheap like Acer’s $199 Chromebook.

    Regardless, it’s good to see more OEMs experimenting with Google’s Chrome OS. That being said, Chromebooks still have yet to break into the mainstream, but that’s more the fault of the OS being closely tied to the Internet. As access to broadband becomes more widely available, expect the Chromebook to grow alongside it.

  • Stratasys Has A 3D Printer For Every Need In 2013

    Objet and Stratasys merged late last year to become one of the largest 3D printer companies the world has ever known. The merger allows the company to enter 2013 with a selection of 3D printers that will appeal to everyone from the desktop designer to the professional manufacturer.

    The latest ad from Stratasys shows all the different 3D printers it offers from both its own and Objet’s hardware. The company is categorizing its 3D printers into three distinct product lines that gives designers at every level exactly what they need to bring their ideas to life:

    Stratasys’ Idea Series of compact, affordable 3D printers gives designers and engineers the power to discover their design potential through a high quality 3D printed model that can be invented and reinvented at the push of a button.

    Stratasys’ Design Series of advanced 3D printing systems can effortlessly simulate the true performance and aesthetic realism of virtually any intended product.

    Stratasys’ Production Series allows manufacturers and engineers to think beyond the confines of the production line floor and respond instantly to new manufacturing directions, production floor innovations and customization requirements.

    The above 3D printers are only what Stratasys currently offers. The company will undoubtedly be unveiling some impressive new 3D printers at various trade shows throughout the year. That alone makes 2013 super exciting for the 3D printer enthusiast.

  • 3D Printers Are Revolutionizing Dentistry

    3D printers are proving to be revolutionary in medical fields, and now the technology is being used to revolutionize dentistry.

    Objet has a new video up on how its 3D printers are helping to cut down on the time required to make models of teeth for those seeking restoration. Apex Dental Milling says that it was able to make maybe three or four models in an hour traditionally, but now it makes 20 or 30 with 3D printers.

    Here’s how they do it:

    Apex Dental Milling use the Objet Eden260V 3D Printer to turn digital impressions into physical models. The use of the Objet 3D printer allows Apex to reduce their cost per case significantly and to stay at the forefront of Digital Dentistry. The final models are sent to the dental technician who performs a final fit and quality check before a restoration is sent back to the doctor. Objet’s reputation for fine resolution 3D printing allow the dental technician to provide the most accurate restorations to his clients. Objet machines are reliable and robust and are typically left to run overnight and over weekends without attendence – further improving the cost/benefit to Apex.

  • Rep. Zoe Lofgren Publishes Revised Aaron’s Law After Receiving Input From Reddit

    After the suicide of Aaron Swartz in early January, Rep. Zoe Lofgren got to work on an amendment to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to prevent another tragedy like Swartz’ from happening again. That original amendment was submitted to Reddit and the Internet at large to help her fine tune it before submitting it to the House Judiciary Committee. Now that revised amendment is ready for your perusal.

    In an AMA posted to Reddit a few hours ago, Lofgren published the latest version of Aaron’s Law for Reddit to look over. You can read it here. If legalese is not your strong suit, Lofgren has also laid out in plain speak the core essence of Aaron’s Law:

    Like the first draft, this revised draft explicitly excludes breaches of terms of service or user agreements as violations of the CFAA and wire fraud statute. This revised draft also makes clear that changing one’s MAC or IP address is not in itself a violation of the CFAA or wire fraud statute. In addition, this draft limits the scope of CFAA by defining “access without authorization” as the circumvention of technological access barriers. Taken together, the changes in this draft should prevent the kind of abusive prosecution directed at Aaron Swartz and would help protect other Internet users from outsized liability for everyday activity.

    As our discussions have continued, it is clear that many believe a thorough revision of the CFAA and substantial reform of copyright laws are necessary. I agree. “Aaron’s Law” is not this complete overhaul, but is a first step down the road to comprehensive reform. If we succeed in getting this draft bill enacted into law, it will be in honor of Aaron Swartz, and should be seen as a beginning of a concerted effort to bring reform to these broader issues. To be successful, that effort will likely take substantial time and require sustained and intense support from all of you in a push that will need to exceed our stoppage of SOPA.

    I see “Aaron’s Law” as common sense fixes that should be enacted to stop the kinds of abuse Aaron was subjected to from affecting others. I intend to introduce a final version of “Aaron’s Law” as legislation soon, and in talking with my friend Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, I understand he wants to introduce it in the Senate as well. I will be urging my colleagues in the House of Reps to become cosponsors. The chances of success – whether for “Aaron’s Law” or other proposals – will depend greatly on the degree of positive public engagement and support to change the law. As SOPA showed, when the Internet speaks, lawmakers listen. I think with enough constructive support we can have an opportunity to pass “Aaron’s Law.”

    In the comments, Senator Ron Wyden showed up to offer his support for the bill, and said that he would be “taking the lead in the Senate” if the bill passes the House.

    The executive director of Demand Progress, the organization founded by Swartz, also announced their newest campaign in the comments. It’s asking U.S. citizens to request their representatives back Aaron’s Law when it hits the floor.

    As Logren points out, Aaron’s Law, and any other legislation like it, faces an uphill battle in Washington. The CFAA is a very old law that was introduced when the Internet was new and Machintosh was still king of home computing. Technology has drastically changed since then, but lawmakers’ perception of it has not. That’s going to be a problem as we go into a year where supporting any loosening of cyberlaws is tantamount to letting cyberterrorists just waltz right in.

  • Nvidia’s Tegra 4 Isn’t Finding Support Among Smartphone Manufacturers [Rumor]

    The major tech at CES 2013 wasn’t the 4K HD TVs or that awesome water display, but rather mobile processors. Nvidia, Qualcomm and Samsung all announced their respective next generation processors that will be powering smartphones and tablets in the near future. One of the companies, however, may be having some trouble in getting companies to support its latest processor.

    Digitimes reports that demand for Nvidia’s Tegra 4 processor has been weak among OEMs. In fact, the only OEM confirmed to use the processor so far is Toshiba. The other major players, like Asus and Acer, are reportedly still undecided on which processors they will be using:

    Asustek Computer and Acer, which have been aggressive about the tablet market, have not yet decided whether to place orders for Tegra 4 as their focuses have already turned from 10-inch and above tablets to the 7-inch entry-level segment.

    Nvidia’s previous mobile processor – the Tegra 3 – is being used in devices like Google’s Nexus 7 and Microsoft’s Surface. It still enjoys relative popularity among OEMs so Nvidia may start focusing more on its previous generation processor while it waits for Tegra 4 demand to increase. To do this, the company is reportedly considering dropping the price of the Tegra 3 so that more OEMs start using it.

    Relying on the Tegra 3 is only a temporary solution, however, as Nvidia needs to kickstart Tegra 4 demand. It may be able to do this by working with Google again on the Nexus 7 refresh that’s rumored to becoming later this year. Having the Tegra 4 in such a high profile device would only help Nvidia’s case.

    Of course, all of this is rumor for now, and Tegra 4 devices won’t even start popping up until later this year. Nvidia still has some time to get people behind its latest mobile processor.

  • Scientists Capture The Birth Of A Thought On Video

    Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wonder what my thoughts look like?” It’s the kind of meta-question that you normally would never ponder, but some scientists have captured the birth of a thought on video for the first time.

    The Epoch Times reports that researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Genetics recently captured video of a thought as it emerged in the brain of a zebrafish. The thought in question? Food. Check out the video below, which captures thought activity thanks to a sensitive fluorescent probe inserted into the fish’s genes via its genes.

    As you can see, thoughts in the form of neurons start firing everywhere as soon as food crosses the path of the zebrafish. Being able to trace the path of these neurons will help researchers “interpret an animal’s behavior, including learning, memory, fear, joy, or anger, based on the activity of particular combinations of neurons.”

    The research isn’t just being used to study animal behavior, however, as it can also be used to understand how psychiatric drugs affect the brain. A human’s brain functions in much the same way as a fish’s so researchers will be able to test out new drugs on fish and directly observe any abnormal effects new drugs have on the brain.

    As an added bonus, here’s a video from the outside that shows the thought of food moving through the brain in real time:

    If you want to ready the study in full, it’s been published in Current Biology.

    For more fun with brains, check out today’s AsapScience video that explains why your brain works the way it does.

  • The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct Now Coming Out On March 19

    Remember The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct? It’s the first-person shooter based on the wildly popular graphic novel and TV series of the same name. It was originally scheduled to come out on March 26, but publisher Activision has moved it up a week.

    Polygon reports that the latest The Walking Dead game will now launch on March 16 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The Wii U version of the title will launch a week later on March 26.

    The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct has run into some rough patches since being announced last year. For one, the title is already facing skepticism from gamers who feel that it can’t possibly live up to the high standard set by Telltale’s The Walking Dead games from last year. It also doesn’t help that a fan cut together some early footage and called it a gameplay trailer. Many gamers took it as the real deal and assumed the early footage was representative of the final product.

    Now Activision and developer Terminal Reality have a little over a month and a half to convince players that it has what it takes to deliver a game that Walking Dead fans can rally behind. Unfortunately, Activision hasn’t exactly been selling the game to players very well. The latest trailer features no gameplay instead opting to have the TV series’ actors talk about it for less than 20 seconds.

  • Time Warner Cable Is Raising Prices In Some Areas, But It’s Not Because Of Google Fiber

    Just yesterday, we got word that Time Warner Cable was reducing its prices for customers living in or near Kansas City. The move appeared to be the result of the company trying to better compete with Google Fiber and other services that are moving in on its turf. Now TWC is starting to raise prices in other areas, but you shouldn’t go blaming its competition with Google Fiber just yet.

    The Bangor Daily News reports that Time Warner Cable customers in Maine have started to receive letters informing them of a price increase for cable services. Starting March 1, TWC customers will see their bills for basic and standard video service increase by $2.50 and those with digital only services will see an increase of $5.

    Andrew Russel, TWC’s communications manager for the Northeast, told the Bangor Daily News that the price increase won’t actually effect the majority of its customers because they’re locked into a promotional package with a set price. The increase also doesn’t effect those who use TWC for Internet or Home Phone services. In short, only those with TV packages will see their prices increase.

    So, why the change in pricing? Some people will undoubtedly automatically jump to the conclusion that lowering prices for customers near Google Fiber areas have forced it to raise prices in other areas. That actually doesn’t seem to be the case here as the price of Internet would have gone up if it were.

    The price increase only affects cable subscribers, and that can be attributed to the rising cost of programming. TWC specifically points out the cost of local broadcast channels and sports programming as the culprits behind the higher prices.

    That being said, it’s still unfortunate that subscribers in the areas affected have no choice but to accept the price hike. The lack of competition in Internet and cable television has effectively killed any chance of customers being able to demand better prices. Until more options are available to consumers across the country, you can either stick with it or cut the cord altogether. If you choose the latter, you might want to check out Netflix and its new original series House of Cards.

  • Watch Gabe Newell Talk About The Business Of Video Games

    Whenever you hear the name Gabe Newell, your mind presumably turns to Valve, Steam, Half-Life and Portal. Now’s your chance to hear one of the smartest men in gaming talk about the business of making games.

    Newell was recently invited by the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs to speak on the future of business. The talk is officially titled “Reflections of a Video Game Maker,” and it covers “productivity, economics, political institutions and the future of corporations. If you find yourself with a snow day today, the hour long talk may just be what you need to pass the time. Who knows? You might even learn something.

  • Kim Dotcom Offers Cash Reward To Anyone Who Breaks Mega’s Security

    Mega has been under a lot of scrutiny since it launched over a week ago, and not just from the copyright lobby. The Internet security community has been claiming that Mega isn’t as secure as Kim Dotcom claims. Now Dotcom is offering a cash reward to anybody that can prove it.

    In a tweet, Dotcom offered a €10,000 ($13,500) reward to anybody that can crack Mega’s security:

    In a previous blog post, Dotcom addressed some of the initial concerns the security community had with Mega. One of the major concerns was that users could not change their password, which is required to decrypt your files. To allay that concern, Mega now lets you change your password. Users can also reset their password under the following scenarios:

  • You are still logged in
  • You are not logged in, but your account is empty (password resets with data present are considerably more tricky — we do not want a breach of your e-mail account to jeopardize the integrity of your files — and will be addressed at a later stage)

    • The change doesn’t address all of the concerns, but it’s a good start. For the other concerns, security researchers will have to break Mega’s encryption and prove that it needs work. From there, Dotcom and his team of developers will hopefully fix any problems found.

    [h/t: The Next Web]

  • Sony To Reveal The PlayStation 4 On February 20

    Well, this was unexpected.

    After numerous leaks and a suggestion that the reveal would happen in May, Sony is now teasing that the official unveiling of the next PlayStation will happen sooner than anybody thought.

    In a blog post simply titled “See the Future,” Sony posted the following video teasing an announcement for February 20:

    Of course, we could all be looking far too much into this. Maybe this is the future of the PlayStation 3, or Sony will announce some kind of reboot for the Vita to make up for struggling sales. That doesn’t appear to be the case, however, as the Wall Street Journal reports that Sony will indeed be unveiling the successor to the PlayStation 3 at the conference.

    Sony is also sending out invites for the event with many industry figures placing their bets on a console reveal:

    The event will reportedly be live streamed as well so Sony fans will be able to see the future of the PlayStation brand first hand. Expect new hardware and a few new games to go along with it. Don’t hold your breath for a price or launch date. Those will come closer to or at E3 in June.

  • Relive The Heavily Scripted Magic Of The BlackBerry 10 Launch Event

    RIM BlackBerry revealed its new BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 handsets at a packed press conference Wednesday morning. The event was live streamed, but it also took place at 10 a.m. EST/7 a.m. PST so some of you on the West Coast may have still been in bed for it. Fear not, lovers of sleep, you can now watch the keynote in its entirety.

    Sit down, grap some popcorn, and watch the obviously scripted keynote that caused BlackBerry’s stock to fall by 11 percent. Those without nefarious intentions might want to check out the keynote to see all the new features coming to BlackBerry 10, like Hub or BBM Video Chat.

    If the keynote has ignited your interest in BlackBerry 10, be sure to check out our extensive coverage of the new mobile platform from BlackBerry.

  • Google Play Is Making More Money, But iOS Still Makes More

    Google Play has always lagged behind Apple’s App Store in terms of pure revenue since its inception. That trend has not changed, but Google Play is at least starting to show signs of major growth after months of very little.

    App Annie recently released a study that compares revenue growth between Google Play and Apple’s App Store. The findings show that the iOS App Store is still by and large the dominant force in mobile revenue, but Google Play is starting to show some serious growth of its own.

    Google Play Is Making More Money

    As you can see, both Google Play and iOS App Store saw a marked increase in revenue during Q4. The growth of Google Play was far more impressive, however, as app revenue doubled between Q3 and Q4. iOS App Store revenue only increased by one-fifth, but it still made plenty more considering its already sizable lead in revenue.

    So, who’s responsible for app revenue growth on these platforms? The iOS App Store’s five biggest contributors were the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada in that order They note that China is quickly closing in, however, and the nation is now ranked sixth in overall revenue contribution.

    As for Google Play, the three biggest contributors were the United States, Japan and South Korea. The U.S. was pretty consistent since the beginning of 2012, but the market in Japan and South Korea really exploded near the end of the year. The increase in Google Play revenue in these countries may correlate to increased sales of Android devices, especially in Japan where the Nexus 7 beat out the iPad during the holidays.

    These numbers make it easy to label winners and losers, but doing so would distract us from the real winners here – the app developers and consumers. Increased revenue across the board means more developers will be willing to develop apps for more mobile platforms. The more mobile platforms supported means more consumers buying apps. It’s a cycle that leads us to even more revenue and more app development. In short, everybody wins.

  • CitizenWeb Project Is The Newest Internet Freedom Fighter On The Block

    In recent years, a number of digital rights advocacy groups have sprung up to fight against what they see as government and corporate interference into their private lives on the Internet. Today, we can add one more to the bunch with the CitizenWeb Project.

    So, what is the CitizenWeb Project? It’s a group founded by Jacob Cook that fights for a “free, open, and above all a decentralized Internet.” In short, the group wants to take back user data that has been collected by services like Facebook and put it back in the hands of the user. The project’s other goal is to protect the people – like journalists, activists, muckrakers and whistleblowers – that they feel are under threat by massive data collection.

    The CitizenWeb project has three missions that are “focused on giving the tools to each individual user to become an independent “citizen” of the Web – to decentralize their social networks and platforms, to become the TRUE owners of their data, and to communicate and network in security.” These three missions are:

    Agitate – The CitizenWeb Project is dedicated to spreading the word about the practices of the large and centralized web services industries, and exactly how they are dangerous for security, privacy, freedom of speech and freedom of ownership. It aims to reinforce the importance of online privacy to the general public, because you never know who could be watching or profiting off of your actions online.

    Educate – It is important to bring these issues to light, but it is equally important to provide individuals with the keys to help fix the problem. The proliferation of free, open source and federated alternatives for the closed and centralized services we rely on is paramount. With proper education and access to the resources they need, users will have all they need to stand up for their digital rights and for a decentralized Internet.

    Organize – The information and resources that we provide would be nothing without a strong and supportive community. We seek to bring like-minded individuals together to spread the word about the tools we provide and to help add and edit information based on the skills they have. We will work to provide technical support when possible for those who wish to reclaim their digital sovereignty. CitizenWeb also seeks to highlight and support independent developers that create open source tools that help build a decentralized web.

    Other digital rights advocacy groups fight for many of the same things that CitizenWeb stands for, but this one may be a little more interesting. You see, the other groups call on Google, Facebook or other services to change their ways, but CitizenWeb is all about ditching those services. It’s working to provide open source alternatives to the Internet services you use everyday.

    Will it be easy to convince people to stop using Facebook or Google? Of course not, but it’s a challenge that could very well produce some very interesting results in the coming year.

  • Gameloft Prepares 11 Games For BlackBerry 10

    BlackBerry 10, especially the Z10, is RIM’s BlackBerry’s best chance of getting back the average consumer. Of course, any good smartphone needs apps and BlackBerry 10 will launch with 70,000 of them. Joining those apps will be a number of games from Gameloft’s portfolio.

    Gameloft, developer of popular mobile titles like Ice Age Village and My Little Pony, announced today that it will be supporting the launch of BlackBerry 10 with 11 titles. None of these are new titles, but rather ports of the developer’s most popular titles on iOS and Android. The titles coming at the launch of BlackBerry 10 and the weeks after include:

  • UNO
  • N.O.V.A. 3: Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance
  • Shark Dash
  • Oregon Trail American Settler
  • Ice Age Village
  • Real Soccer 2013
  • The Amazing Spider-Man
  • Six Guns
  • Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour
  • The Dark Knight Rises
  • Let’s Golf! 3

    • “We’re thrilled to continue supporting BlackBerry customers and to offer a selection of our most popular games for BlackBerry 10 smartphones,” states Ludovic Blondel, Vice President, OEM Division, at Gameloft. “With its native development kit and powerful hardware, we’ll be able to highlight our unique development approach and allow users to enjoy a fully immersive experience in the world of our games.”

    Gameloft says that Shark Dash, N.O.V.A. 3, Asphalt 7, and UNO will all be available around the launch of the BlackBerry App World on BlackBerry 10. Everything else will launch in the weeks following the launch of the handsets.

  • Time Warner Cable Increases Speeds Near Kansas City, Could Be In Response To Google Fiber

    Back when Google Fiber first launched, Time Warner Cable, the incumbent ISP in the area, went into panic mode. The ISP even began offering cash rewards to anybody who had information on Google Fiber’s activities. It was all a little seedy, and made it look like TWC was more concerned with crushing Google Fiber in any other way besides directly competing.

    Well, it seems that TWC has finally realized that the only way to beat them is to compete with them, and is now reportedly offering faster speeds at lower prices to its subscribers in and near Kansas City. The Consumerist is reporting that one such subscriber recently received news from TWC that his monthly bill was being cut while getting a 50 percent speed increase. Here’s a portion of the letter:

    I’m a Time Warner cable internet subscriber in the KC area, and I got two(!) good pieces of news from them recently.

    No. 1. A few weeks ago, they emailed me to tell me that my “Basic Rate” internet service was being upgraded by 50% from 10Mbps to 15Mbps, effective at the next restart of my cable modem. I haven’t tested this — that only occurred to me in retrospect — but it sounds great.

    No. 2. My latest cable bill was ~30% lower than the previous month. $29.99 vs. $44.94, for a savings — by their calculation — “of $23.96 this month.” My calculation is slightly different, I get a savings of $14.95, but lower is better. The line item has the note: “Enjoy your savings of $23.96 by subscribing to this package. (Offer expires 11/29/2014)” It doesn’t say anything about me having to do anything to get this rate, and the “package” they mention is the one I assumed I was using already. But the bill says $29.99, so that’s what I’m putting on the check.

    Of course, it should be noted that this particular subscriber doesn’t live in one of the fiberhoods getting Google Fiber as he lives across the state line. He states, however, that he can see one of the fiberhoods in Kansas City from his kitchen window. His close proximity to Google Fiber may have spurred the change. As for other theories, he says that he has also recently received an advertisement for wireless 4G home service that would only cost $34.99 a month.

    Regardless of which scenario is correct, it illustrates the point that I’ve been making all along. Introduce competition into an area with an incumbent ISP and you’ll start to see them bending over backwards to retain subscribers.

    We’ll start to see more stories like this pop up as faster and cheaper Internet begins to spread across the nation. The FCC has already challenged states to have at least one gigabit network each by 2015, and private companies are beginning to build out fiber networks in mid-to-large size cities like Seattle. It won’t be long before we start to see ISPs either competing for the first time in their existence or being left behind because they refused to innovate and compete with new technologies.

  • Make Your Own 3D Printed Six-Legged Robot

    Have you ever wanted to make a fully autonomous robot? If so, your dreams of kickstarting the robot apocalypse can be fulfilled with just a 3D printer, some simple software and a bit of electrical knowhow.

    Meet Bleuette, a free hexapod robot that can be created with a 3D printer. The robot is fully autonomous and each of its six legs has two degrees of freedom. Check it out in action below:

    Bleuette first step from hugo on Vimeo.

    Bleuette has been in the works for a few years now, but it wasn’t fully realized until 3D printing became as affordable as it is now. The latest robot is made out PLA plastics, and is rather sturdy.

    The best part about this robot is that anybody can make it. All the information you need, including the CAD file for the design, is available on the creator’s github page.

    It may not be the most beautiful or functional robot, but the little guy has a lot of charm for just being six legs attached to a central body.

    [h/t: 3ders]