Broadband Advisor

Latest

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Willful technological ignorance 16/05/2009 04:28:00
How IT marketing pap is making us dumber

"When ignorance gets started it knows no bounds" -- Will Rogers
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10 per cent of UK PCs infected after surfing porn sites 16/05/2009 00:21:00
12% admit to opening files from unknown senders

One in 10 Britons' PC have picked up a computer virus by visiting adult sites, says Moneysupermarket.com.
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6 things to consider when installing IP telephony 15/04/2009 04:53:00
Security should be the first consideration for any IT department about to implement voice over IP on a local-area network

Security should be the first consideration for any IT department about to implement voice over IP on a local-area network, an executive with an equipment manufacturer says.

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Broadband Equipment

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Edimax Wireless 802.11n ADSL2/2+ Modem Router (AR-7256WnA) 06/02/2009 16:00:00
A reliable ADSL2+ modem router with 802.11n wireless access point.

Edimax is a brand that isn’t yet well established in Australia, but it’s one of the most popular router manufacturers in Asia under its own name and others. If the Edimax Wireless 802.11n ADSL2/2+ Modem Router (AR-7265WnA) is any indication, the company’s products are sure to do well here, too.
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Inside Telstra's NBN 09/12/2008 12:50:00
Telstra has devoted over three years and some 900 engineers to designing a national fibre network, and Acaltel has chipped-in 1000 of its own engineers who have devoted an estimated 1.5 million hours on the project. Telstra offered a glimpse of some of the technology behind its $10B bid for the National Broadband Network (NBN)

Telstra has devoted over three years and some 900 engineers to designing a national fibre network, and Acaltel has chipped-in 1000 of its own engineers who have devoted an estimated 1.5 million hours on the project. Telstra offered a glimpse of some of the technology behind its $10B bid for the National Broadband Network (NBN)
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Linksys WRT110 27/11/2008 14:20:00
802.11n speed for an 802.11g price.

The specification sheet might not say it, but the Linksys WRT110 wireless router can actually deliver speeds that are pretty close to what an 802.11n router can achieve. It’s not actually certified for 802.11n functionality, only 802.11b and 802.11g, but its chip can nevertheless take advantage of 802.11n devices in a typical home network.
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3 Mobile Wi-Fi Router (D100) 25/11/2008 12:20:00
Share your wireless broadband connection.

3 Mobile's Wi-Fi Router allows a single mobile broadband connection to be shared by up to four users. This convenient device is well designed and compact, but it only works with 3 Mobile broadband accounts.
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Telstra plans new wireless modem, upgrade to network speed 06/11/2008 14:40:00
New eHSPA modem will “push the speed barrier to levels not seen anywhere else on Earth”.

Telstra today unveiled plans to release the fastest mobile broadband modem in the world, capable of reaching peak network downlink speeds of 21 megabits per second (Mbps).

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Broadband Regulation

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Telstra loses last mile regulator race 28/04/2009 16:31:00
Access price hike would stymie competition

Telstra has lost its final appeal to impose a $30 charge for competitors to access the last mile copper network in metropolitan areas.
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Optus: We want in on Internet filtering trial 27/03/2009 16:28:00
The telco confirms interest in content filter but does not comment on how it will be enforced

Despite criticism the big ISPs have shunned the Federal Government's Internet filter trial, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has declared Optus has jumped on-board.
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ISP: Internet filter trial has been misconstrued 24/01/2009 17:00:00
Tech 2U general manager believes people are entirely missing the point of the Internet filter scheme

An ISP participating in the Federal Government's controversial Internet filtering trial has claimed the Australian public is missing the point of the scheme.
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Betfair banned by ACMA 19/03/2009 13:30:00
CEO furious, tens of millions at risk.

Betfair CEO Andrew Twaits is outraged the multi-billion dollar company has been blacklisted under the government Internet content filters, a move set to annex tens of millions of dollars in local revenue.
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Govt splurges $61M on bush telecoms 06/03/2009 11:05:00
A further $339M to follow.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy will inject $61.1 million to improve regional telecommunications for education, health and emergency services following recommendations from the Regional Telecommunications Review.

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ISP Insider

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ISP: Internet filter trial has been misconstrued 24/01/2009 17:00:00
Tech 2U general manager believes people are entirely missing the point of the Internet filter scheme

An ISP participating in the Federal Government's controversial Internet filtering trial has claimed the Australian public is missing the point of the scheme.
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More doubts surface over enforceability of ACMA's blacklist 24/03/2009 14:41:00
If one provider doesn't filter then the whole scheme would fail.

With the leaking of the supposed Australian Communication & Media Authority's (ACMA) URL “blacklist”, further doubts have been raised over whether such a list, and even Web Filtering itself, can successfully achieve the federal government's goal of protecting Australians from undesirable content like child pornography.
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Exchange closure nets customers for Telstra, irks iiNet 04/03/2009 15:16:00
iiNet does not buy Telstra’s upgrade argument

iiNet has rejected Telstra's claims it is not to blame for the closure of its Canberra exchange and subsequent disconnection of 42 customers from rival ISPs.
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Court halts Internet lending practices 24/02/2009 07:59:00
A U.S. District Court orders seven Internet lending operations to cease some of their practices.

A U.S. District Court has ordered seven Internet-based lending operations to halt some of their practices after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the state of Nevada complained that the companies failed to disclose key loan terms and used abusive collection tactics.
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Benchmarker defends Oz broadband report 17/02/2009 14:33:00
ISPs can't deliver advertised Internet speeds, says Epitiro.

A telco analyst firm responsible for a scathing report on Internet access in Australia has defended its claims amid a barrage of criticism.

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Net Phone Zone

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Midweek Rumor: Google To Buy Skype 29/01/2009 04:57:00
Internet rumors suggest eBay is trying to sell Skype to Google.

Rumor has it on the Internet that eBay is trying to sell Skype to none other than Google -- even though the service proved to be quite a cash cow in 2008. With eBay reporting a downfall in revenue and Google still going strong, this rumor might actually have some substance.
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Mobile Web use hits an upward curve at last 24/12/2008 02:50:00
Mobile web traffic up over 450%

Data traffic to mobile phones jumped 463 percent in November compared to the same month last year, according to the latest State of the Mobile Web report from Opera Software.
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Freshtel subsidiary launches WiFi mobile telephony service 04/09/2008 12:48:00
Will allow users to take advantage of cheaper VoIP calls via their mobile phones while at home.

Freshtel Holdings Limited [ASX: FRE] subsidiary Tesco Teleecoms has launched a new converged technology internet telephony service.
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Skype won't say if it decrypts VoIP calls 30/07/2008 07:46:22
Company may keep keys so authorities can decrypt encrypted VoIP phone calls.

The encryption of Skype VoIP phone calls might not be as secure as you think.
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Guide to VoIP security 03/07/2008 14:05:56
New ways to hack VoIP aren't fatal if you're prepared for them

New exploits against VoIP continue to emerge, but experts say these demonstrations reveal the need for vigilant security and are not fatal flaws to the technology.

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Security & Safety

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Fraudsters try to scam security expert on eBay 23/06/2009 03:23:00
The first buyer of his laptop used a hacked account, the second tried to trick him into sending it without payment

When security expert Bruce Schneier tried to sell a used laptop on eBay, he thought it would be easy. Instead, a sale was aborted twice -- first by a scammer using a hacked eBay account and then by a buyer who tried to trick Schneier into sending her the laptop after she cancelled payment.
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20 years after Tiananmen, China containing dissent online 01/06/2009 04:36:00
China has limited expression online despite hopes the Internet could fuel democratic reform

The Internet has brought new hope to reformists in China since the country crushed pro-democracy protests in the capital 20 years ago. But as dissidents have gone high-tech, the government in turn has worked to restrict free speech on the Internet, stifling threats to its rule that could grow online.
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Patch Adobe's PDF bug pronto, expert urges 15/05/2009 04:35:00
'More important' to patch Reader than Microsoft's PowerPoint, says Qualys CTO

As expected, Adobe patched a zero-day vulnerability in its popular Adobe Reader software Tuesday, marking the second time in three months that it delivered an update on the same day Microsoft issued its monthly fixes.
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As hacking hits home, China strengthens cyber laws 12/05/2009 12:12:00
Cybercrime maximum sentences jump from three years to seven

A year ago, when a Time Magazine reporter told Tan Dailin that he'd been identified as someone who may have hacked the Pentagon, he gasped and asked, "Will the FBI send special agents out to arrest me?"
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McAfee launches service for cybercrime victims 29/04/2009 05:49:00
The Web site is a first stop for people who want to take action after a cybercrime

McAfee has launched a new Web site designed to help cybercrime victims recover from hacker attacks.

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Social Networking

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Facebook simplifies privacy settings, calls them too complex 02/07/2009 05:48:00
The social-networking site is also getting ready to let members share content with anyone on the Internet

Facebook will simplify the way in which it offers privacy options to its users, as it gets ready to give its members for the first time the option to make the content they post on their profiles available to anyone on the Internet.
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Employment referrals the right way 30/06/2009 13:12:00
A few simple guidelines can make for a more effective, less stressful referral process.

When competition for IT opportunities is intense, the value of every possible edge is magnified. A recommendation from someone within a potential employer can make the difference between landing an interview and continuing frustration. In many cases, job seekers are calling on the outermost reaches of their networks -- and sometimes beyond -- to find a way in.
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Study: Top CEOs still shunning Twitter, Facebook 26/06/2009 07:24:00
Only two Fortune 100 CEOs use Twitter, while 13 use LinkedIn professional network

CEOs at the top companies in the U.S. are dramatically disconnected from the social networking phenomenon, according to a research report released this week by UberCEO.com, an online news and discussion site that focuses on CEOs at major companies.
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New chips don't deliver, Facebook says 26/06/2009 06:09:00
The latest Intel and AMD microarchitectures fall short of promised performance gains, Facebook's operations chief says

The latest generations of server processors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices don't deliver the promised gains in performance, according to the head of technical operations at Facebook, a massive consumer of servers.
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Facebook lets any site add live comment streams 26/06/2009 04:57:00
The Live Stream Box, already used on some sites, can show status updates and comments from everyone or just friends

Any Web site owner can now put up a stream of Facebook status updates, using a feature that the social networking platform introduced on Wednesday.

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Web Development

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Yahoo aims at customization with new home page 26/06/2009 05:08:00
The new version is due out later this year and will sport a cleaner, more open look, CEO Carol Bartz says

When Yahoo rolls out the new version of its Yahoo.com home page later this year, people will be able to customize it to such a degree that the need for the company's My Yahoo personalized home page service will drop significantly.
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Google to promote Web speed on new developer site 24/06/2009 06:52:00
The company hopes the site will lead to faster Web applications, sites and browsers

Google has created a Web site for developers that is focused exclusively on making Web applications, sites and browsers faster.
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Yahoo adds tools to bolster search results 19/06/2009 05:08:00
A SearchMonkey feature will let site owners enhance entries for product, news and other pages

Yahoo is adding two features to its SearchMonkey development platform to help site owners enrich the results that their pages generate on Yahoo Search.
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Google adds editing tools to online translation 10/06/2009 04:35:00
Translators can save time by editing machine translated content

Google has brought out a translator toolkit that combines the company's machine translation technology with online tools for manually editing content.
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Click fraud identification guidelines released 14/05/2009 04:37:00
Google and others helped the Interactive Advertising Bureau tackle this controversial issue

The Interactive Advertising Bureau has published guidelines for determining when fraudsters are taking advantage of pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements.

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Wireless Broadband

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Groups combine efforts to push WiMax femtocells 04/06/2009 03:14:00
The WiMax Forum joins the Femto Forum with the aim of better coverage and faster access

The WiMax Forum has joined forces with the Femto Forum to speed up the development of femtocells for mobile WiMax networks, the organizations said on Wednesday.
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3 to allow Next G mobile broadband roaming from mid April 07/04/2009 13:20:00
Telco to radically reduce broadband roaming charges by introducing a new 3G Roaming Zone

3 Mobile will expand its roaming coverage and introduce new roaming pricing for users from mid April.
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Telstra Turbo 21 Modem 12/03/2009 15:15:00
Telstra's Next G gets a boost to 21Mbps, but is the cost worth it? We put the Telstra Turbo 21 Modem through its paces.

As announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Telstra's Next G network has recently been upgraded to support download speeds of up to 21 megabits per second (Mbps), making it the fastest mobile broadband network in the world. To take advantage of these new speeds, Telstra has released the Turbo 21 Modem — a mobile broadband modem that connects via a USB port.
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iiNet customers to get free Wi-Fi at Starbucks 26/02/2009 14:16:00
Australian ISP iiNet has teamed up with Starbucks to offer its customers free Wi-Fi access at a selection of the coffee chain's stores.

Australian ISP iiNet has teamed up with Starbucks to offer its customers free Wi-Fi access at a selection of the coffee chain's stores.
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Telstra boosts mobile broadband to 21Mbps, 42Mbps to come 17/02/2009 09:33:00
New USB modem developed for the fast network

Telstra has launched what it claims is the world’s fastest mobile broadband service, with peak download speeds of 21Mbps and with the intention of increasing it to 42Mbps later this year.