Tech Archive

Silicon Valley is fed up with slow Internet speeds

Americans are consuming ever-greater amounts of data online — especially streaming video — and the aging cable network infrastructure is ill-equipped to handle the increased load.

That’s why Internet providers are scrambling to keep up with the demand for data by investing in new infrastructure in the form of fiber-optic lines, a technology made from thin threads of glass or plastic that can carry even more bandwidth than metal cable lines.

The problem with fiber networks is that they’re hugely expensive to install and maintain, requiring operators to lay new wiring underground and link it to individual homes. Since 1996, cable operators have invested $210 billion in broadband networks and other infrastructure, according to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association.

Since there’s little competition in the broadband industry, some industry experts believe that there’s little incentive for broadband providers to dramatically beef up their bandwidth and drastically improve their infrastructure to adequately provide for online video demands.

“These guys are all in harvesting mode — they’ve made their investments and they’re simply reaping the rewards,” said Susan Crawford, a professor at Cardozo Law School.

Silicon Valley, which relies on the Internet as a portal to its customers, is unsatisfied. Just as services like Netflix and massive open online courses never would have been possible on dial-up connections, the technology sector’s services of the future will demand even greater speeds than we have now.

That’s why Google is building out its Fiber network, offering speeds of roughly 1000 megabits, or 1 gigabit, per second. Comparatively, the average U.S. connection speed in the third quarter of last year was 9.8 megabits per second, according to research from Akamai Technologies.

“Abundant high-speed Internet can provide the foundation for economic growth and educational opportunity, and it’s crucial for innovation,” said Google Fiber spokesperson Jenna Wandres. “We believe that the next generation of Web applications will be built on gigabit speeds.”

Google isn’t running a charity, of course. Its Fiber program puts pressure on the broadband industry to upgrade, and gives it a hedge against potential moves by ISPs to charge a toll for delivery of its services.

Netflix, unsurprisingly, runs faster on Google Fiber than on any other broadband provider, according to the company’s speed tracker. It’s unlikely that Google will provide the entire country with broadband anytime soon. But as consumer demand for bandwidth-hungry applications grows and congestion continues to result in slower speeds, don’t expect Silicon Valley to sit on its hands.

Source: CNNMoney

Coverage Type: reporting

Location:

Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, CA, United States
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Amazing Mars Rover Curiosity’s Martian Views

The Mars Science Laboratory and its rover centerpiece, Curiosity, is the most ambitious Mars mission yet flown by NASA. The rover’s primary mission is to find out if Mars is, or was, suitable for life. Another objective is to learn more about the red planet’s environment.

Curiosity’s size allows it to carry a host of scientific experiments to zap, analyze and take pictures of any rock within reach of its 7-foot (2 meters) arm. Curiosity is about the size of a small SUV. It is 9 feet 10 inches long by 9 feet 1 inch wide (3 m by 2.8 m) and about 7 feet high (2.1 m). It weighs 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms). Curiosity’s wheels have a 20-inch (50.8 cm) diameter.

Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory designed the rover to roll over obstacles up to 25 inches (65 centimeters) high and to travel about 660 feet (200 meters) per day. The rover’s power comes from a multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator, which produces electricity from the heat of plutonium-238’s radioactive decay.

 

The rover has a few tools to search for habitability. Among them is an experiment that bombards the surface with neutrinos, which would slow down if they encounter hydrogen atoms: one of the elements of water.

Curiosity’s 7-foot arm can pick up samples from the surface and cook them inside the rover, sniffing the gases that come out of there and analyzing them for clues as to how the rocks and soil formed.

The Sample Analysis of Mars instrument, if it does pick up evidence of organic material, can double-check that. On Curiosity’s front, under foil covers, are several ceramic blocks infused with artificial organic compounds.

Curiosity can drill into each of these blocks and place a sample into its oven to measure its composition. Researchers will then see if organics appear that were not supposed to be in the block. If so, scientists will likely determine these are organisms hitchhiking from Earth.

High-resolution cameras surrounding the rover take pictures as it moves, providing visual information that can be compared to environments on Earth. This was used when Curiosity found evidence of a streambed, for example.

Links to sources: http://www.space.com/17963-mars-curiosity.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=more-from-space

 

Brooklyn physics teacher to take flight on NASA’s high-flying observatory

Michael Maccarone, an upper-level teacher at the private Avenues: The World School in Manhattan, has been selected to do science research onboard NASA’s airborne observatory.

“As a science teacher, it’s incredibly interesting and fascinating to do anything with NASA. It’s a privilege and an honor,” said Maccarone, 30, who developed the science curriculum at the Avenues school and other institutions.

The Sunset Park resident will join engineers and scientists onboard the space agency’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy or SOFIA — a retrofitted Boeing aircraft that can fly up to 45,000 feet in the air, which is a few thousand feet higher than typical commercial airliners fly.

Maccarone and his colleague Elizabeth Rosenberger of Manhattan were the only two New York residents chosen out of 24 teachers nationwide to participate in the research program, which allows educators to shoot for the stars.

“Our job is really to observe and report,” said Maccarone, adding that he had to complete a 12-week graduate-level astronomy course to partake in the program. “We’re always trying to find ways to connect our students to real science and there’s no better way than to say ‘here’s the data we collected while we were on flight.’”

After training at the Ames Research Center in California starting Monday, Maccarone will take two 10- to 12-hour flights onboard the jumbo jet — which is equipped with an 8.2-foot-in-diameter telescope — once it launches on May 15 and May 16 from Ames.

Maccarone will have in-depth conversations with scientists onboard the flight about what they are looking for.

“They’re looking for new observations about the planets in our solar system and what we can learn through the infrared spectrum that we haven’t been able to see visibly with our land telescopes,” he said.

Maccarone plans on developing iBooks for kindergarten through high school students relating to his findings.

“We will use the experience to tell a bunch of different stories about many different levels of science from astronomy to the electromagnetic spectrum to parts of the atmosphere and everything in between,” he said.

Links to sources: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/brooklyn-physics-teacher-flight-nasa-high-flying-observatory-article-1.1786550

US Auto Sales Numbers:Ford, G M, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Kia/Hyundai, Volkswagen

U.S. car sales 4% during the month of March 2015, a loss of nearly 28,000 units compared with March 2014 in an auto market which grew by some 8400 sales. Only three of America’s ten best-selling cars in March reported year-over-year increases.
The other seven members of the top ten – Camry, Altima, Fusion, Civic, Accord, Cruze, and Focus – combined for an 11% loss of 25,000 sales.

Although there were no new entries to the fleet of passenger cars in March, a number of refreshed cars displayed at the New York Auto Show this week should prompt greater sales of those nameplates at this time next year.

The Chevrolet Malibu’s first-quarter volume slid 12% in 2015, but the new car looks to be a huge step forward. Honda Civic sales fell 6% over the last three months, but Honda is greatly modernizing the Civic for MY2016.

Nissan Maxima sales are down 50% this year, and while the new car is a wild thing to behold, it should fare better than the current car. Lincoln’s new Continental is set to replace the failure that was (and is) the MKS, sales of which are down 16% in 2015.

Indeed, the Toyota Camry’s 7% improvement over the last three months follows a swift refresh of the 2014 car. Similarly, sales of the second-best-selling Toyota Corolla have jumped 17% this year, the second model year for the 11th-gen Corolla.

Links to sources: http://www.campusviral.com/here-are-the-april-2014-big-8-us-auto-sales-numbersford-g-m-chrysler-toyota-honda-nissan-kiahyundai-volkswagen/