Well the Comcast-BitTorrent battle of words appears to be over. Or is it? From Commissioner Martins words it may not be –

“I am pleased that Comcast has reversed course and agreed that it is not a reasonable network management practice to arbitrarily block certain applications on its network. I also commend the company for admitting publicly that it was engaging in the practice and now engaging in a dialog with BitTorrent.

I hope that the negotiations to which Comcast commits today will result in a solution that preserves consumers’ ability to access any lawful Internet content and applications of their choice. That ability is fundamental to preserving the open marketplace and innovation that characterizes the Internet.
I am concerned, though, that Comcast has not made clear when they will stop this discriminatory practice. It appears this practice will continue throughout the country until the end of the year and in some markets, even longer. While it may take time to implement its preferred new traffic management technique, it is not at all obvious why Comcast couldn’t stop its current practice of
arbitrarily blocking its broadband customers from using certain applications. Comcast should provide its broadband customers as well as the Commission with a commitment of a date certain by when it will stop this practice.

So the FCC is telegraphing concerns that Comcast won’t follow thru on their promise. All we can do is wait for the other shoe to drop.

FCC Notice.

Remember the town hall at Harvard a few weeks back? Yeah that one that Comcast packed the house with and made a fool of themselves at the same time. Well our Australian cohorts had something similar. Theirs was between the CEO of Telestra, ACCC, an ISP and Conroy the ‘Internet’ PM. From all accounts it appears quite entertaining –

“It’s going to be a hell of a debate in a few minutes,” Primus CEO Rhavi Bhatia predicted. But in the end, a public confrontation between Telstra, the ACCC and the Minister for Broadband produced more amusing sniping than real fireworks.

At a session entitled ‘The Broadband Impasse’ at the New Agenda For Prosperity conference in Melbourne, many of the speakers stuck to familiar ground. Telstra chairman Donald McGauchie ripped into the ACCC and anyone who dared to disagree with him, while subtly overstating available network speeds. ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel noted the “chilling effect” Telstra potentially had on the rest of the industry but refused to rise to the bait of questions about current regulatory regimes. Minister for Broadband Senator Stephen Conroy promised that details of the National Broadband Network (NBN) would be available “soon” but admitted it could take more than five years to build. And Bhatia argued that the NBN would only work if it was comprehensively separated from existing operators, a concept McGauchie loudly dismissed as “utterly preposterous”.

at one point it was noted –

First speaker off the rank was Conroy, who wasted no time reminding everybody just why we’d reached a poisonous broadband impasse in the first place. “Over the past 11 years, there have been 18 different broadband plans proposed, yet our international performance has continued to slip.”

The observation to be made out of all this is that the experience of the US is not unique in the 1st World sense. Australia is facing some of the same corporate entrancement, resistance to change, unwillingness to capitalize as we here in the States are experiencing. But it has become abundantly clear that legacy carriers are an impediment to change not a agent thereto.

APC has the full monty here.

Android continues apace with develop on the software. As a open software stack for handheld devices it has a lot to offer. It also has teething prolblems –

While this all sounds like mobile computing nirvana, a number of challenges have already arisen. Last week US-based Core Security announced it had found multiple vulnerabilities within the Android SDK.

“Several vulnerabilities have been found in Android’s core libraries for processing graphic content in some of the most used image formats (PNG, GIF an BMP),” Core Security said in its advisory. The company also found problems with so-called heap and integer overflows that could be used to compromise a phone running the software.

Concerns that will have to be addressed. This kind of stuff is not a bid deal when its just a tethered PDA. But a network cell device, yeah its a big deal. Are we down on the beastie? No. The SDK will develop a following that over time will become dominant. If Google won’t or can’t fix the issues the user community will.

First models will see the light of day later this year.

Linky.

With the duopoly firmly in control of most of the fixed and wireless access in the USA, new momentum has been building around the white spaces concept of using empty broadcast television channels for broadband access. The very nature of the proposal is founded in devices that are low power with limited geographic reach, and unlicensed use to allow unfettered development of devices and services. The duopoly lobbying and propaganda group CTIA clearly sees that as a threat to all access being kept in their domain.

The mobile-phone industry recommended to the Federal Communications Commission that most vacant broadcast channels be auctioned for area-wide licensing. Cellular trade group CTIA floated the idea shortly after Google Inc. offered a compromise proposal to unleash propagation-friendly TV white spaces for unlicensed wireless broadband access without interference to digital broadcasting, wireless microphones and other uses. Google’s proposal relies on a Motorola Inc. technology that combines geo-location and beacons.

“Ultimately, the TV white space is too valuable to lie fallow,” stated CTIA in a new FCC filing. “Licensing TV white-space spectrum will best facilitate the deployment of wireless broadband and other advances services, while protecting incumbent from harmful interference. The commission should auction the majority of this spectrum for prompt licensed use.” (RCR News)

It is clearly stated in American law that the airwaves are public property. The concept of licensing their use was born in a time when the only method of media distribution was to broadcast and it was extremely capital intensive. It did not foresee 2 way communications or content on demand. We have a right to a portion of the scare radio spectrum to be reserved for public use, and it’s high time we demand it. Please write you elected representatives,and be sure to vote in November

You can find and email your Representative or Senators here.

ABC is currently offering full length episodes of some series in an HD stream. CBS is now preparing to join the streaming HD club. Look for all of the broadcast networks to be making HD streams of programming available before year end.

CBS released a high definition player today in the labs area of their site, along with a few clips. They are currently streaming (not progressive download) in H.264/AVC format at 480p, with 720p and 1080p coming soon, they say.

Hulu and others are also beginning to test high definition streaming. Some shows on Hulu, for example, are optionally available in 480p format. They also have a few clips available in 720p. (Tech Crunch)

Streaming will not overtake broadcast media anytime soon, but it’s coming. Much sooner than many “experts” think. The ability to measure actual view numbers will be invaluable to the sales of advertising, and convenience of view on demand instead of schedule will drive rapid growth in viewership. You saw that here first. Quotes us freely and often.

It’s not news to most of our readers. Open Source is the new business model for software. Red Hat derives its income largely from support and services. It’s also no secret to most that Red Hat’s biggest competitor is not other Linux distributions, it’s Microsoft.

New CEO James Whitehurst believes Red Hat is now ready to continue rapid growth through an economic downturn as the Raleigh-based company pitches its free software to organizations looking to cut their tech budgets.

“It’s my hypothesis for why we continue to see robust demand while others seem to be having issues,” Whitehurst said in an interview. “We’re known for value, and when you’re looking to cut budgets, we’re a logical name that comes to mind.”

Unlike Microsoft Corp., Red Hat makes money from its Linux operating system and other software by selling subscriptions for service. (Yahoo News)

After fighting to keep file sharing off of their network, Comcast is making a public about face and working with BitTorrent. While it could be largely a PR move, use of the technology could have benificial uses in Comcast’s content distribution.

Comcast Corp. says it will stop targeting BitTorrent on the Internet, according to an announcement to be made today.

Seeking to defuse tensions in a government investigation, Comcast says it will halt its practice of interfering only with BitTorrent file-sharing programs when the Internet congests and slows speeds for everyone.

The Philadelphia cable company also will boost broadband capacity to make it easier to transmit online video and other rich media, it says. At times, BitTorrent accounts for 50 percent of the traffic on the Internet, with 40 million to 45 million users around the globe.

As part of the agreement, BitTorrent Inc., based in San Francisco, will make its free software more efficient and will make sure software developers learn of those efficiencies. (Philly.com)

Comcast’s actions rarely live up to the extent of their PR spin. Until we see evidence that real action has been taken, I’m calling this a ploy to get the FCC dogs off their trail. Please prove me wrong Comcast!

[Dr. Dog] Not only do I concur, but doubly so. I figure somebody on the tech side got to management and informed them that a tech battle between them and FOSS would end badly for Comcast. They probably read the first draft of the RFC proposal for the next iteration of P2P and realized the jig was up. Comcast would have faced a continual escalating ports royal with equipment upgrades with no end to the capital drain.

It will be interesting to see if the stick to this proposal. Still does not solve their long term problem with TVoIP. That is a bigger fish that will require attention. And as it is right now I don’t see how they can turn those folks off. It would seem to be a legitimise use of bandwidth. Just like channel 276 on their own service.

How about listening to internet radio, or serving up Wifi for passengers to use on their laptop. Chrysler has plans to make the “car radio” into a wireless hub. Possible uses and misuses in the car are endless.

Chrysler believes that they can be the first auto manufacturer to provide in-car internet access—and they plan on achieving that feat by the end of this year. Frank Klegon, Chrysler’s product development chief noted: “we want to make the radio itself a WiFi port.” In order for the service to work, it would have to utilize a broadband connection from cellphone towers. (Gizmo Mews)

While, it a great idea, I’ve already had several near misses with the texting while driving crowd. I hope that there will also be some sensible improvement in the enforcement of the impaired driving rules every state has on the books ahead of this product’s introduction. The person who is driving shall not be staring a a screen or using a keyboard!

The Consumerist has the inside scoop here. The ‘memo’ came via fax from someone who purports to be on the inside at a Verizon contact center. Sadly that person maybe looking for work shortly as logs are kept of all communications at VZ facilities. But if what is being offered his is even half true then the mess in both billing, operation, and marketing is more than we have alludded to here, and here.

Apologize for the quality of the doc but the original was murky.

The key point it appears is that offers are sometimes bogus from the start because the marketing is off on the timing. Other cases the VZ agents are uninformed of the current PROPER offers. Misapplying one offer invalidates another that the customer may rightly or wrongly be qualified for. Another words meltdown.

Some of the issues are simply people not talking. That was my experience in that company. Marketing was successful if they met their target audience numbers, be damn if the CSR’s were alerted in time. The problem I suspect relates to Billing. The ‘Bobs’ in the company were not into gathering requirements. Not only that they essentially just wrapped the potholes that are NOCV with components of COFEE. Worse yet the programming staff would, rather than go thru bug testing push that off to UAT to correct [not their job by the way]. Then they would just consider the project ‘complete’.

Shayagan, Fari, you listening? That’s your tarbaby that is getting ready to explode. I wonder if some hot shot NJ AG might want a notch on his belt.

After fighting to keep file sharing off of their network, Comcast is making a public about face and working with BitTorrent. While it could be largely a PR move, use of the technology could have benificial uses in Comcast’s content distribution.

Comcast Corp. says it will stop targeting BitTorrent on the Internet, according to an announcement to be made today.

Seeking to defuse tensions in a government investigation, Comcast says it will halt its practice of interfering only with BitTorrent file-sharing programs when the Internet congests and slows speeds for everyone.

The Philadelphia cable company also will boost broadband capacity to make it easier to transmit online video and other rich media, it says. At times, BitTorrent accounts for 50 percent of the traffic on the Internet, with 40 million to 45 million users around the globe.

As part of the agreement, BitTorrent Inc., based in San Francisco, will make its free software more efficient and will make sure software developers learn of those efficiencies. (Philly.com)

Comcast’s actions rarely live up to the extent of their PR spin. Until we see evidence that real action has been taken, I’m calling this a ploy to get the FCC dogs off their trail. Please prove me wrong Comcast!