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Comcast is planning to offer a new ultra-fast broadband Internet speed tier in markets shared by rival service Verizon FiOS, according to Broadband Reports.

Comcast’s new broadband tier would offer customers the option of getting downstream speeds of up to 305 Mbps. The new tier would also be competitive with the recently launched FiOS Quantum service from Verizon that offers speeds of 300 Mbps downstream/ 65 Mbps upstream for $205 a month. While we don’t know the pricing (or any other details, for that matter), Broadband Reports’ sources did indicate that Comcast will deploy the new, faster Internet tier in Verizon FiOS markets soon.

With a growing number of people using streaming video services to consume media, higher Internet speeds are becoming more of a necessity.

A handful of smaller broadband service providers are already offering ultra fast Internet speeds of up to 1 Gbps, such as California’s Sonic.net, Google’s fiber initiative in Kansas City, Kan., and startup Gigabit Square. Verizon, however, is the first widespread broadband provider to offer ultra-high speeds at the residential level. With Comcast being the largest cable TV and Internet service provider in the country, it makes sense that it wants to remain competitive.

And speaking of competition, if news of Comcast’s new ultra-fast tier is true, it actually may prove beneficial for Verizon. Federal regulators are currently conducting an investigation into Verizon’s spectrum acquisition deal with big cable companies (including Comcast) to assess whether it would lead to less competition in the broadband business.

Photo via cmorran123/Flickr

Filed under: media, VentureBeat

Increasingly, it’s becoming a necessity for people to watch their favorite sports beyond the confines of a traditional TV set, which is why this year’s Wimbledon tournament is doing just that for its championship matches with the help of Ooyala.

Today the company announced a partnership with The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and The Championships at Wimbledon to bring the popular tennis event to a variety of platforms, including web browsers, iOS and Android devices. On each day of the event Ooyala will deliver on-demand video highlights from matches, exclusive interviews, special features, and more. The company also powers online video for Tennis Australia as well as live video streams of the Australian Open.

Ooyala hosts promotional and brand-focused videos that can be monetized and tracked using the company’s analytics tools. The company also works with television providers to put broadcast shows on the web through its digital TV solutions. It’s also been quite busy over the last few weeks. Ooyala closed a $35 million late stage funding round last week. It also debuted its Chartbeat-like real-time video analytics tools.

Founded by former Googlers, the company is based in Mountain View, Calif., and has raised a disclosed $79 million in funding to date.

Photo via Wimbledon

Filed under: media, mobile

Safeguarding against pickpockets is a necessity in virtually every part of the world, yet surprisingly little has changed over the years in terms of making it easier. We did see a wallet-concealing bracelet a few years back, but recently we came across an even more comprehensive innovation – namely, pants from New York-based Clothing Arts that are designed specifically to keep pickpockets at bay.

Clothing Arts’ Pick-Pocket Proof Pants – or P^Cubed Travel Pants for short – include a choice of up to three levels of security to protect the contents of the wearer’s pockets. Not only are the pants’ pockets cut-resistant, featuring double-thick fabric and durable thread, but they also include zippers, making surreptitious entry extremely difficult. Retractable button closures over those zippers add yet another optional layer of protection, and for the most essential items of all, a secret passport and money pocket within one of the pants’ cargo pockets offers three layers of defense. Smartphone pockets are available on both right and left sides of the pants and another attachable pocket is designed to keep the wearer’s water bottle close at hand. Two P^Cubed lines are available, targeting adventurers and business travelers, respectively, with slightly different fabric blends; both offer wrinkle, rain and stain resistance. Priced at USD 109.95, the Adventure Traveler style is available in green, gray or black, while the USD 99.95 Business Traveler option comes in khaki and brown.

Where there’s a need, there’s an opportunity, as every entrepreneur knows. Who will be first to develop pickpocket-proof shirts, jackets and more?

Website: www.clothingarts.com
Contact: info@clothingarts.com

You probably didn’t notice, but yesterday was IPv6 Launch Day and thanks to support from major sites like YouTube, Netflix and others, it was quite a success. In 2011, a number of leading websites, ISPs and home router equipment manufacturers came together to test the successor of IPv4. This time around, the organizers were not just trying to get participants to test their systems but to fully deploy IPv6 on their services. Given the ever-shrinking numbers of available IPv4 addresses, moving to IPv6 is a necessity, but the move to the new protocol has been rather slow.

As new data from broadband networking equipment company Sandvine shows, IPv6 traffic in the U.S. hit record highs yesterday, but the biggest recent gains actually came about two weeks ago when Netflix turned on IPv6 functionality for its network. Facebook followed a few days later and is now among the top IPv6 enabled services on the Internet.

Sandvine’s data is based on analyzing “the share of native IPv6 traffic on a major fixed-access network in North America,” so this data just gives us insight into a slice of total IPv6 traffic in the U.S., but its likely a very representative sample.

YouTube is still the most important driver of IPv6 traffic in Sandvine’s sample (57%), followed by Netflix (36%), Facebook and its CDN network (1.15% and 2.7%), and Google.com (1.42%).

by Todd Bailey

Many people have thrown their arms up in desperation over Google’s latest algorithm change.  Clients and online marketing providers are trying to polish away any smears left by the latest Penguin update.  For many clients, Google placement is a necessity to their everyday operations.  Some clients feel they can’t afford any interruptions in their business instigated by Google.

But what if Google has nothing to do with interruptions in a searcher’s services?  What if the user’s government steps in and establishes cyber-surfing roadblocks?  Last week, Google began warning Chinese users about government restrictions.

Particular words will trigger China’s censorship.  Google’s Hong-Kong-based search site unveiled a way to tip users off on government-censored subjects.  Google educates users on the notion that the search giant has no control regarding particular material which may be blocked by Chinese authorities.

Some of the censorship makes for interesting dynamics and almost nonsensical blocking.  For instance, a search for the Chinese derivation of “carrot” may elicit a blocked message because the Chinese characters assembling “carrot,” also contain a character for the president’s surname.

A yellow-dropdown message appears on the screen, alerting: “We’ve observed that searching for ‘hu’ in mainland China may temporarily break your connection to Google.  This interruption is outside Google’s control.”

What’s interesting is Google has been very cautious as to not point to government censorship as the issue in Google services; yet, on American soil, the issue can breach the front pages of the Wall Street Journal.  Google has been having ongoing issues with Chinese officials for well over two years.

The issue seems to be openly moot.  Chinese officials don’t make it a regular occurrence to openly discuss Internet restrictions.  As the WSJ story explains, restricted search terms are considered ‘state secrets.’

Google blog info states listed terms are ‘unofficial,’ but based on outcomes of more than 350,000 most-popular search queries.  The Chinese government often disrupts Google services such as search and email.  It causes Google to lose market share.  (Analytics express a 36% decrease in market share since 2009.)

What may be worse for Google, and any Google-leveraging brands that try to reach Chinese consumers, is some end-user confusion.  Google is careful to tip-toe around Chinese government; so, Chinese users may think Google is working in conjunction with censorship.  One Chinese blogger, assuming an alias, writes:

“Has Google also started to harmonize sensitive words?”

Be sure and visit our small business news site.

Monitoring your CPU usage isn’t the most fun thing in the world, but when you’re working with CPU intensive programs it’s a necessity. If you’re sick of flicking back-and-forth between programs to see how much power you’re pushing, DIY blog Cuznersoft shows off a clever way to use LED lights to broadcast the CPU usage visually. More »

Mini cables are a necessity for every great go bag because they allow you to hook up an array of devices without wasting valuable storage space. Although there are a few varieties to choose from these days, Aviiq took the concept a step further and added clips so you can hang them off a pocket just like a pen. More »

Mac users can expect more OS X botnets, drive-by downloads, and mass malware from here on out. That’s according to security researchers from Kaspersky Lab, who said during a press conference on Thursday morning that anti-malware software is now a necessity for Mac users, and that “Mac OS X invulnerability is a myth.”

The firm acknowledged that malware for the Mac has existed for years but only recently started gaining more momentum thanks to a critical increase in Mac market share. In the case of Flashback (also known as Flashfake), the malware morphed from a socially engineered installation app to an attack that targeted an unpatched Java vulnerability. So far, it has been used to hijack search results—a technique often used in click fraud scams—but the attackers have the ability to employ the malware tactic of their choice on a machine at any time as long as it remains infected.

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Antivirus software is somewhat of a necessity if you’re a Windows user, but the software you choose really does matter, and one app might not be enough. Security expert Brandon Gregg believes that your best bet is a combination of Microsoft Security Essentials (our pick) and a free or open-sourced product. Here’s why. More »

In today’s device-driven world, plotting your local business’ mobile presence isn’t just a nice add-on, it’s a necessity. Your ability to maximize your business’ visibility, ensure a great customer experience and ultimately drive new sales through smartphones all depend on you understanding the…



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