Yes. Yes it is.
ISP Interconnection and its Impact on Consumer Internet Performance
There’s a really interesting report on a recent study of broadband internet speeds that’s been released by Measurement Lab. They studied the interconnections between various ISPs, and observed performance degradation to sub-broadband speeds during times of heavy traffic. Network congestion? Nope. Interestingly, their conclusion is that the slower speeds were due to business relationships between ISPs, not network capacity. Specifically, what sort of interconnection the ISPs have with each other, what the study refers to as “interconnection-related performance degradation.” These sorts of connections are relatively short fiber-optic cables running between routers owned by each ISP but located in the same physical facility…a relatively simple and low cost connection to upgrade (add more fiber cables!).
In researching our report, we found clear evidence that interconnection between major US access ISPs (AT&T, Comcast, CenturyLink, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon) and transit ISPs Cogent, Level 3, and potentially XO was correlated directly with degraded consumer performance throughout 2013 and into 2014 (in some cases, ongoing as of publication). Degraded performance was most pronounced during peak use hours, which points to insufficient capacity and congestion as a causal factor. Further, by noting patterns of performance degradation for access/transit ISP pairs that were synchronized across locations, we were able to conclude that in many cases degradation was not the result of major infrastructure failures at any specific point in a network, but rather connected with the business relationships between ISPs.
You can read more about this report at this link.
Bekant convertible desk from IKEA
IKEA has introduced a convertible sitting/standing desk called the Bekant, for around $500 (there’s actually a whole product family of desks with this name, at different prices). It has an electric motor that raises the desk for a standing position, or lowers it for sitting. I’m a huge believer in the benefits of using a standing desk at work, though even I still take sitting breaks during the day. I love the convertible desk idea and it’s great seeing this trend start to go mainstream. Watch the video below if you want to watch a desk be lowered and raised, or if you’d rather not waste that 1:14 of your life, just go buy one next time you’re at IKEA. The transition to a standing desk is not too difficult, and totally worth it (and the transition is much easier with a convertible desk like this that makes it easy to take breaks!).
HENDO – a functional hoverboard?
A functional hoverboard, due to ship in 2015, has all the makings of a hoax (remember Back to the Future?). Except…I’ve been digging…and this appears to be genuine. The exact technical details aren’t clear…but from what I can gather, both from the official page and from comments on Kickstarter, it uses a rapidly changing (rotating?) magnetic field that creates eddy currents in the surface below, which then produce an opposing magnetic field. You do have to be over a conductive, non-ferromagnetic surface (aluminum or copper sheet, for example), but…it works!
HENDO has a Kickstarter campaign to help raise money for this project, and they’ve already surpassed their funding goal with 53 days to go. Check out their video to see this in action:
Not surprisingly, this technology is getting a lot of press…you can read more about it in the New York Times, Business Insider, or Forbes. Note that it only works over special surfaces, and battery life is limited…but these are relatively minor hurdles to overcome when designing products incorporating this technology. That’s what it comes down to, too…the hoverboard is just a marketing gimmick, the company’s goal is to license the core technology. Possibilities…
HBO is cutting the cord
Great news, HBO will be offering a web-only service in 2015! No longer will you need to bundle it with cable or satellite TV service. Good news for cord-cutters, and hopefully the start of a larger trend. Read more at Gizmodo.
A new era of digital privacy?
The US government’s over-reaching intrusions into the digital privacy of its citizens, most evident in the Snowden leaks, seems to be a great example of pushing past the breaking point. Users were generally aware of, and tolerated, some minor level of spying, but once the full extent was made known, companies across the globe are scrambling to provide better security. Apple and Google are now both working to make their mobile operating systems as secure as secure and encrypted as possible. The result is that the government is going to have a harder time spying on people, and the director the FBI is going public with his concerns that the use of encryption has ‘gone too far’. Here’s a recent interview on 60 minutes, or read more at AppleInsider.
Well it’s their own darn fault, you know. They abused the trust people had in government, now the pendulum swings the other way and we seize back our privacy.
The Anonabox is a new project launching on Kickstarter (funding closes on 11/11)., that helps make it easier for people to use the internet anonymously. It’s a small router, that sends all data over the Tor network, and costs $51. Users still need to be careful about their own computer though…cookies in your browser leave a trail of virtual breadcrumbs that can be analyzed (requires access to your computer though) – but private session browsing, or using the Tor browser, can help protect against that. I like the idea of this product…if installed upstream of your current router, it can protect all data traveling outside of your own personal network, with no software installation required on each device on your network. Just plug and play. Read more at the Kickstarter page, or at Wired.
Why Apple Pay will be a hit
Yet another day, yet another company (Dairy Queen, this time) realizes their computer security was breached, exposing customers’ names and credit card information. The brilliance of Apple Pay? None of that data would have been transmitted from the phone to the business in the first place. There would be no data to actually steal. Say bye-bye to traditional credit card terminals. Read about Dairy Queen’s data breach here.
Solar panel with integral battery
Is it a solar panel with integrated battery, or a battery with an integrated solar panel? No matter which way you look at it, this new technology being developed at Ohio State is pretty cool. This solar panel has a layer inside that acts as an energy storage medium. No separate charge controllers like an external battery would require. It’s just a solar panel that can continue to supply power once the sun goes down. Since it’s still in the research stage there’s no word on capacity and those details, but it’s a really neat idea that I hope takes off. Read more at ExtremeTech.
Old Energy vs Solar
The fight has begun. Solar and ‘old energy’ are increasingly butting heads, as the old business model breaks in the face of new distributed solar generation. Old energy is fighting back with the help of governments reducing incentives for distributed solar installations and even increasing fees for grid-tied systems. It seems to be slowing down solar adaption in areas, but I think this is just a temporary blip…once energy storage drops in price, people will have a viable solution for going entirely off-grid, and then Old Energy will be faced with the same infrastructure costs, yet with fewer customers to spread that cost over. The inevitable collapse of Old Energy will be fascinating to observe…I can’t wait! Read more at Business Insider.
Hypetex – Colored Carbon Fiber
Hypetex is a bew colored carbon fiber available in bright, brilliant colors. I’m not quite sure how they’ve managed to make black carbon into these colors, but am assuming that the carbon fiber strands are coated in color before being woven into traditional carbon fiber mats for production in any product.
Naturally, you can expect to see Hypetex appear in automotive applications where carbon fiber is already prized for its combination of light weight and stiffness. Cars are often left unpainted to show off the carbon fiber weave, or the weave contains other materials such as titanium threads to enhance its beauty (such as Pagani or the Koenigsegg Trevita). Chairs and other home furnishings are another possibility. The most interesting application I foresee though is personal electronics. Imagine the rear shell of your iPad being constructed from this material. Beautiful, rigid, lightweight…I think it’s only a matter of time before Apple moves away from aluminum and towards carbon fiber for their products…and this colored carbon fiber will only hasten that transition.