Telewest release information on 10MB cable.. among other things!
Posted by joe (14 Comments)	Fri Aug 12th '05 03:11:33 PM
In September, every blueyonder broadband user will receive upgrades for no extra cost (infact, a price reduction for 4 meg subscribers). Blueyonder broadband: 512kbps becomes 2mbps at the same £17.99 / month Blueyonder broadband complete: 1mbps becomes 4mbps at the same £25 / month Blueyonder broadband elite: 2mbps and 4mbps become 10mbps at the price of 2mbps, £35 / month Telewest will roll-out speed upgrades from September, on a region-by-region basis. They have also released some other information in their earnings report, stating that they expect to be fully digital by 2006, which will free up a load of bandwidth that they can use for VOD/HDTV/broadband speed increases and other services. Unaware to myself, they've been unrolling VOD already, with their Teleport services, movies and tv episodes available on-demand, this will continue and will be completed by early 2006. And they're expecting to launch DVR services towards the end of 2005! Press release: http://ir.telewest.co.uk/phoenix.zhtml?c=76808&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=742232&highlight= Telewest Q2/05 earnings release: http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/76/76808/EarningsReleaseQ2052.pdf
News Source: Digital Spy Forums	Genre: Tech

NTL ramps up broadband offering
Posted by harry (3 Comments)	Mon Aug 8th '05 11:02:23 AM
Cable firm NTL has upped the basic speeds of its broadband offering to 10Mbps. Subscribers will get a standard minimum 10Mbps connection speed, without paying extra. NTL said it was a "major step" for the UK's digital future." ... "We think that is going to be a big success. It is a really exciting, mass market consumer product. To really enjoy that, you need really high bandwidth," he said. The higher speeds will be rolled out fully to 3Mbps customers by the end of this year, and the rest of its 1.4 million customer next year. NTL also said that usage allowances would go up from 30GB to 75GB a month. People often refer to telewest being a competitor to NTL, which isn't exactly true since they are legally not allowed to dig in the same place. So this doesn't exactly mean that telewest will have to follow suit but this is bound to prompt higher ADSL speeds which Blueyonder will have to compete with.
News Source: BBC News	Genre: Internet

Sony fined $1.5m for inventing movie reviews
Posted by Pud (3 Comments)	Wed Aug 3rd '05 07:16:00 PM
Quote A judge has finalised a settlement in which film studio Sony will pay $1.5m (£850,000) to film fans after using a fake critic to praise its movies. In 2001, ads for films including Hollow Man and A Knight's Tale quoted praise from a reviewer called David Manning, who was exposed as being invented. Apparently if you went to see the films you can claim $5 back
News Source: bbc	Genre: Entertainment

Apple's Multi-Button Mouse
Posted by James (7 Comments)	Tue Aug 2nd '05 09:18:46 PM
Apple has once again pulled another rabbit out its hat, this time Apple is showcasing an optical multi-button mouse. Yes, you read it right Apple has finally released a multi-button mouse. This mouse dubbed the "Mighty Mouse" has four main features. The first feature is that it has multiple buttons (left/right and middle click ball). Though by looking, you couldn't tell thanks to Apple concealing it all under a top shell design. Apple has designed special sensors in the mouse that will detect where your fingers are and predict your clicking intentions. Secondly, Apple's scroll ball offers you the ability to perform a 360-degree scroll via your fingertips. Third, you can scroll either up, down, left, or right. Fourth, Apple has included a set of four programmable buttons on each side of the mouse. These programmable buttons gives you immediate access to unique Mac OS X features like Dashboard, Exposé, etc... Apple is pricing this mouse at just $49 dollars, and oh yeah its Microsoft Windows (Windows 2000/XP only) compatible. View: Pics | QTVR | Mouse Homepage
News Source: Neowin	Genre: Apple

The Big Gulp
Posted by joe (3 Comments)	Mon Aug 1st '05 08:39:35 PM
"People head to Reno for all sorts of reasons. Some want to gamble. Others are looking for a hasty wedding or quickie divorce. I've come to the Biggest Little City in the World to drink my own pee. Not straight up, of course. First, I'll run it through a new NASA water purification system that collects astronaut sweat, moisture from respiration, drain water, and urine - and turns it all into drinking water. NASA desperately needs this technology. Water makes for a heavy - and expensive - payload. Over the past five years, the agency has spent $60 million delivering potable water to the International Space Station on the space shuttle (6 tons at a cost of about $40,000 per gallon). Deploying the Water Recovery System on the ISS will cut the volume of water hauled into space by two-thirds and free up enough room on the shuttle for four more astronauts. I'm in Reno because this is the home of Water Security, a new company that is finding ways to use the NASA technology in extreme environments here on Earth. Company president Ray Doane can't wait to show me his magic box. "This is whiz-bang technology," he boasts, with an emphasis on the whiz. Water Security has added a special filter to the NASA unit, creating a system that can scrub away 99.9 percent of all waterborne viruses, which could prove particularly useful in the developing world. The United Nations estimates that more than 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and that 10 million die each year as a result of contaminated water supplies and inadequate sanitation. The six-stage system starts with a prefilter that removes large particles of sediment and debris, such as hair or lint, from contaminated liquid. Next, a carbon filter strips out the organic waste products contained in urine, like urea, uric acid, and creatinine, as well as pesticides and herbicides, which frequently leech into water supplies from farmland. The liquid then flushes through a cartridge developed by Water Security that contains tiny black beads of iodinated resins. Any microorganisms collide with the beads, which release iodine to kill the bugs. "The iodine is released gradually into the water and is very stable over a wide range of temperatures and pHs," company vice president Ken Kearney says. "It's very predictable, and that's what you want in space. It can also take some of the dirtiest, nastiest water on the planet and produce clean, safe drinking water." The water lingers briefly in a holding tank to give the iodine enough contact time for a complete kill. Next, a resin filter strips out the iodine, along with nitrates and heavy metals. Finally, the water moves through a filter that eliminates cryptosporidium (a waterborne parasite that's resistant to iodine) and provides a final "polish" for good taste. "
News Source: Wired	Genre: Science

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