internet

20% of US Peak Bandwidth used by Netflix Instant

North America Network Downstream Traffic Profile Fixed Access According to a study by Sandvine, 20% of non-mobile internet traffic during prime time can be attributed to Netflix instant accounts during prime time usage periods in the US while streaming media accounts for 43% of peak period traffic. While Netflix accounts for almost half of the streaming bandwidth between 8p and 10p utilized by only 1.8% of Netflix subscribers.

While only 1.8% of Netflix subscribers are using the streaming capabilities, CEO Reed Hastings envisions Netflix as a streaming service. β€œIn fact, by every measure, we are now primarily a streaming company that also offers DVD-by-mail.”

I happen to agree with Hastings as my video content viewing has dramatically changed from TV to Netflix Instant since I dropped premium channels such as HBO and Starz. In addition to the 1 disc in mail I tend to watch a movie or TV episode on the iPad at night and I’m watching less and less TV except for the few shows which I follow.

Content in the cloud (both audio and video) is the future.

Source: Wired

Web Browsers Benchmarked

October 2010 Browser Benchmark

Ars Technica performed a battery of tests with modern browsers. All tests were run on the latest stable and the recent nightly build of each browser.

The tests included SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark to measure JavaScript performance, V8 Benchmark Suite which is developed by Google, Nontroppo General Browser Load-Time Test and the Peacekeeper: The Browser Benchmark.

What’s the verdict? Chrome one again performs best with Opera in second. Safari barely beat Firefox for the number three spot and Internet Explorer continues to bring up the rear. In Ars Technica conclusion:

Chrome: it’s fast!

Chrome is the obvious winner in these tests. It has a such a significant lead that we doubt it’s going to be bumped out of the top spot anytime soon, especially if we take into consideration that the team wants to release a major version every six weeks. Still, competition in the browser market is only getting fiercer, so Chrome’s king-of-the-hill status may not last forever.

Are Google and Verizon still getting together to speed Google’s traffic to Verizon customers?

After last week’s New York Times story about Google and Verizon getting into bed to (presumably) discuss flaunting the net neutrality convention, Google was quick to respond that they were doing no such thing. Verizon and Google then quickly followed that up with a press conference today to further repudiate the claim and have also published a joint policy proposal backing an ‘open Internet’. This proposal even includes enforceable prohibition of traffic favoritism.

Now, what they’re saying quietly is that wireless and wired will get separate treatment. In a related op-ed piece, Robert Cringely thinks that while Google and Verizon may be publicly backing net neutrality, they may still be getting together to help each other out, possibly with data centers in shipping containers plopped right down next to Verizon data centers and major Internet access points. Sounds crazy, but isn’t.

Who to believe? Time will tell. Us little end-consumer folks can only hope it works out well for us.

CES 2010: Sprint’s Overdrive Mobile Hotspot Gives you 3G/4G Internet Connectivity in a Palm-Sized Device

sprint overdrive mifiSprint just announced the Overdrive – a 3G/4G mobile hotspot gadget. It connects to SPrint’s WiMax network, and allows up to 5 WiFi devices to connect. If the 4G conn (available right now in 27 cities [coverage]) drops, it switches to the nationwide 3G (EVDO) network.

Overdrive will be available in 2 days at Best Buy and Sprint for $100 (with a $50 MIR) and a 2-yr agreement at $60/mo.

At those prices, if you have 4G in your area, it could be well worth it to ditch your cable modem/DSL line. It’ll also mean having Internet connectivity wherever you go.

[press release]

Opera 10 now has Opera Unite built in

We first reported on Opera Unite when version 10 of the Opera web browser was released in September.

At the time, Unite was not yet built into the browser, but is now with this latest release.

According to Opera:

Opera Unite is a new technology platform allowing you to share content directly with friends without having to upload anything to a Web site. You can stream music, show photo galleries, share files and folders or even host your own Web pages directly from your browser.

It will be interesting to see if the other major browser makers start to employ similar ideas into their products.

Webcast of Google’s intro of Chrome OS and open source announcement

No, not a release of the much blogged about Chrome OS, but a webcast given by a VP of Product Management, Sundar Pichai. He starts off by talking about Chrome, the browser, then gets into Chrome OS itself.

Perhaps the biggest news of all is that the Chrome OS has been open sourced. Kudos again Google. Just one little detail, the open source version is called Chromium OS.

If you don’t know what Chrome OS is, then take a look at this entertaining video which explains what it is, and more importantly why.

Livio Internet Radio gives you Pandora access plus 11,000+ Internet radio stations

Livio and Pandora have partnered to bring you the Livio Radio which features easy-to-setup access to Pandora as well as over 11,000 other Internet radio stations.

Once you pay for the box, you won’t have to pay for anything else except of course for your home’s Internet connection. You will not be restricted to the 40 hour cap on free Pandora either.

The most Pandora-specific feature is the thumbs-up, thumbs-down buttons on the box itself.

The Livio Radio uses Wi-Fi (or Ethernet cable) to connect to your home network and has a cool retro-look to it.

Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $199.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

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