Blog Archive

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The early internet kept showing us the future, and we rolled our eyes every time

In Tales of the Early Internet, Mashable explores online life through 2007 — back before social media and the smartphone changed everything.

“The future is here, it’s just unevenly distributed,” William Gibson famously wrote in 2003. With the benefit of 2020 hindsight, we can add this about the era he was describing: the future was also unevenly believed. Even when it was right in front of us, we couldn’t see it through our assumptions. This was especially true of the things we were most passionate about. 

Everyone who was extremely online back in the late 1990s and early 2000s lost themselves to some new obsession when we got our first high-speed internet connection at home. Often it was an obsession that seemed somewhat illicit at the time, and utterly quaint now. For me, as for millions, that obsession was music — and acquiring it on Napster. 

This was spring of

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Richard Tang: Zen and the art of internet maintenance

The world has come full circle for Richard Tang over the course of 25 years. The 54-year-old founder and executive chairman of Britain’s oldest internet service provider argues that two very different types of crisis have determined his company’s trajectory.

Zen Internet was founded in 1995 after Mr Tang and his brother came up with the idea over a few pints of beer in a pub in their home town of Rochdale, an old mill town a few miles north of Manchester, and gambled that internet access was destined for the mainstream. Having launched the business, Mr Tang lived in fear that a large group such as BT would spot an opportunity to dominate the nascent market for internet access and he was right.

Yet it was UK electronics retailer Dixons that pounced. It launched Freeserve in 1998 and scuppered the business model of dozens of internet pioneers by giving

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Verizon, NMSU work together helping Columbus students access internet

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the photo captions.



a person standing in front of a brick building: From left: Maria Constantine, director, and Maggie Calderon, youth librarian, of the Columbus Village Library. Thanks to a $50,000 grant, New Mexico State University's computer science department is working with the Columbus Village Library to provide needed access to computers and internet access to students in Columbus, New Mexico.

© Courtesy photo / New Mexico State University
From left: Maria Constantine, director, and Maggie Calderon, youth librarian, of the Columbus Village Library. Thanks to a $50,000 grant, New Mexico State University’s computer science department is working with the Columbus Village Library to provide needed access to computers and internet access to students in Columbus, New Mexico.

LAS CRUCES – As online education becomes the new normal, many low-income families are struggling to find resources to allow their children to fully participate in classes. Nearly one-quarter of New Mexico’s students lack equipment and internet access at home.

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As part of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship COVID-19 Funding and Support program in collaboration with New Mexico State University’s computer science department, a one-year, $50,000 grant will provide both access to computers and critical online access to

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Internet
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Space internet is ready for people to start using it, Elon Musk says

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said his space internet project is ready for public use following the latest launch of Starlink satellites.





© Provided by The Independent


SpaceX delivered a further 60 satellites into low-Earth orbit this week, bringing the total number close to 800.

The private space firm hopes to eventually launch tens of thousands of Starlink satellites to create a constellation capable of beaming high-speed broadband down to 99 per cent of the inhabited world.

“Once these satellites reach their target position, we will be able to roll out a fairly wide public beta in northern US and hopefully southern Canada,” Musk tweeted following the launch.

“Other countries to follow as soon as we receive regulatory approval.”

The Starlink network has already been tested on a limited scale, providing internet to emergency responders in the US following recent wildfires.

The Washington Emergency Management division was able to set

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Here’s where overseas and military voters can return their ballots using the internet



Democratic party volunteers pose at an event in Rome aimed at encouraging U.S. citizens abroad to vote in the forthcoming presidential election. REUTERS/Crispian Balmer/File Photo

© REUTERS/Crispian Balmer/File Photo
Democratic party volunteers pose at an event in Rome aimed at encouraging U.S. citizens abroad to vote in the forthcoming presidential election. REUTERS/Crispian Balmer/File Photo
  • While reliable online voting will likely never be a reality for all voters, most states permit voters in the military and those who live overseas to vote remotely.  
  • In 2020, 32 states will allow some or all overseas and military voters to return their ballots digitally via fax, email, and in a few states, with an online portal. 
  • Electronic transmission can give military voters serving in remote areas with spotty mail delivery a better chance of having their votes counted, but also raises numerous security concerns. 
  • One expert told Business Insider that online ballot transmission leaves voters with little option to verify that their choices were counted accurately and also increases the risk of malware attacks on elections officials. 
  • Visit Business
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Elon Musk says Starlink now has enough satellites in orbit to launch a public beta of its high-speed internet service



Elon Musk wearing a suit and tie: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images

© Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images
  • Elon Musk said on Tuesday that SpaceX’s internet satellite project, Starlink, had launched enough satellites for its public beta.
  • Once the most recently launched satellites are in position, the company will roll out a “fairly wide public beta” in the northern US and southern Canada, Musk tweeted.
  • Starlink’s goal is to put a constellation of satellites into orbit that can beam high-speed internet to remote parts of Earth.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Elon Musk’s goal of beaming high-speed internet to remote parts of Earth using orbiting satellites just got a step closer to reality.

SpaceX on Tuesday launched a batch of 60 Starlink satellites, bringing the total number in orbit to more than 700, according to Ars Technica. Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, said this was enough for a public beta.

“Once

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Internet
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America’s internet wasn’t prepared for online school

It’s not uncommon for households in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, to lose internet for a full day. The last time it happened, back in the spring, Christina Rothermel-Branham connected herself (a professor at Northeastern State University, teaching online) and her son (a kindergartener at Heritage Elementary, learning online) to the hotspot on her phone. Luckily, nobody had a Zoom call scheduled that day; worksheets and YouTube videos proceeded as planned.

Rothermel-Branham’s son is now in first grade. He has multiple Zoom sessions per day and takes online classes through Outschool. She doesn’t know what they’ll do the next time their house loses service. She hopes her phone’s hotspot will be able to handle both of their video calls at once — but she’s worried that it won’t.

Rothermel-Branham’s son is one of the millions of students around the US who are currently taking some (or all) of their classes remotely. That’s been

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Internet
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Verizon 4G LTE-based Home Internet maximizes rural availability edge

  • Verizon extended the availability of its 4G LTE-based Home Internet, and is now available in 189 markets
  • This allows Verizon to further capitalize on its advantage over the other major US wireless carriers in offering rural 4G.
  • Insider Intelligence publishes hundreds of insights, charts, and forecasts on the Connectivity & Tech industry with the Connectivity & Tech Briefing. You can learn more about subscribing here.

Verizon announced that its 4G LTE-based Home Internet service is now available in 189 markets across 48 states. In July 2020, Verizon began rolling out the service in a handful of markets across the Southeast.

4G cellular availability in remote US areas by carrier

Verizon extended the availability of its 4G LTE-based home broadband.

Business Insider Intelligence


The service will cost $60 per month for non-Verizon wireless customers, or $40 per month for those with Verizon mobile plans (but only if they already pay more than $30 per month). Verizon promises typical download speeds

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The best internet browsers you’ve never heard of

All browsers aren’t the same. Switching to a new one can transform the way you use your computer and revolutionize your experience with some of your favorite online platforms.



graphical user interface: The window you see the world through affects what you see. Let that sink in for a second.

© Provided by Popular Science
The window you see the world through affects what you see. Let that sink in for a second.

Programs like Google Chrome, Apple’s Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge are good and comfortable, but if you step outside that selection, you’ll see there are plenty of alternatives out there—from browsers focused on security and privacy to others prioritizing customization options. Maybe one of those is the perfect one for you.

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Vivaldi

With a highly customizable, fast, and modern interface, Vivaldi combines a strict approach to privacy with some innovative ideas for how best to get around the web. It also gets interesting new features on a regular basis, like the new Break Mode, which

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Internet
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Survey: Many feel their current internet is too slow and overpriced, yet few have upgraded

Three-quarters of respondents didn’t know what internet speeds would be adequate for their household and the overwhelming majority have yet to upgrade their service.

remote work

Image: iStock/GaudiLab

To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, companies around the globe adopted remote work policies in recent months. At the same time, many schools and universities are conducting classes virtually to ensure the safety of students and staff this fall. Needless to say, this en masse shift to distanced learning and telecommuting has increased the need for high-speed internet for millions. A new survey analyzes consumers’ sentiment regarding their current internet capabilities, bandwidth needs, provider pricing expectations, and more.

SEE: TechRepublic Premium editorial calendar: IT policies, checklists, toolkits, and research for download (TechRepublic Premium)

On Monday, HighSpeedInternet.com, a site to explore and compare internet providers,  released a report detailing the results of a recent anonymous US survey involving 1,000 people. Overall, three-quarters of those surveyed

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Internet