Is Net Neutrality an American Problem?

Australia’s top three ISPs have stated that the Net neutrality debate is a US issue, according to this Cnet article. Furthermore, they believe that the US could get clues on solving the problem by studying how the Aussie market handled it. Interesting read.

"From my point of view, (Net neutrality is) an artificial problem created out of fear of modifying the business model," says Hackett. "The idea that the entire population can subsidize a minority with an extremely high download quantity actually isn't necessarily the only way to live," said Malone.

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[H]ardware Roundup: Sunday Edition

Cases

Danger Den Tower 26 @ B3D

Antec Twelve Hundred @ DriverHeaven

Displays

Soyo Pearl 24” WS LCD @ ThinkComputers

Debranded HP 22” WS LCD @ R&B

Peripherals

WolfKing Trooper MVP laser gaming mouse @ Benchmark Reviews

Microsoft Sidewinder X6 keyboard @ ExtremeTech

Video

EVGA GTX 280 HC16 (Hydro Copper) @ Guru3D

HIS HD 4670 IceQ Turbo 512MB @ TechPowerUp

Knight Rider GPS Now Available

Want KITT as your co-pilot? Now you can (sorta) with the Mio Knight Rider GPS. The device is voiced by the 80’s KITT actor, William Daniels, though it’s not as cool as my Knight Rider Big Wheel.

The 4.3-inch antiglare touch-screen LCD is flanked by voice synthesizer lights that move with every instruction, and the GUI is Knight Rider-esque as well. And just in case your name isn't Michael, there are more than 150 male and female names each to choose from.

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Ubuntu 7.04 Reaches EOL on 10/19

Still using Ubuntu 7.04? It reaches its end-of-life on 10/19 and will no longer be supported in security notices after that date. It’s time for you to move on if you’re still clinging to 7.04. According to the article, 7.10 will be your upgrade path. Good luck!

The support period is now nearing its end and Ubuntu 7.04 will reach end of life on Sunday, October 19th, 2008. At that time, Ubuntu Security Notices will no longer include information or updated packages for Ubuntu 7.04.

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UK Gamer Murdered over Forum Dispute

I know our forums have a lot of impassioned people and that you guys don’t always see eye-to-eye. If you find yourself contemplating murder to settle a forum dispute like this guy did, kindly step away from the computer and find some professional help. David Heiss flew from Frankfurt, Germany to Nottingham, England and allegedly murdered Matthew Pike over an argument in Pike’s fan forum for the game Advance Wars. Tragic.

Police suspect a possible motive may be that Heiss -- who was a member of the forum under the name "Eagle the Lightning" -- entered into a dispute with Pyke online, and actually flew to the U.K. in order to exact this tragic "revenge."

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50 Most Significant Moments of Internet History

Are you interested in the Internet’s history? Was this article not enough for you? Crave has a list of their top 50 moments of the Internet’s history, spanning 40 years.

We decided to plough the history of the entire Internet, from the roots of its underlying technology, to the Web properties that helped it explode, the litigation it endured on the way and disasters companies have suffered as a result of the Net's popularity.

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Japan to Get 1Gbps Service in October

KDDI plans to launch a new fiber-optic service for consumers in Japan that will allow upload and download speeds up to 1 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) in October. With all the throttling and other hoo-hah here in the states, we get to just watch and salivate while our friends in the Far East enjoy their insane amounts of bandwidth.

The new service will target people living in single-family homes and low-rise apartment buildings. The traffic speeds will be the fastest in eastern Japan, up drastically from the current 100 megabits per second.

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Webcaster Settlement Act Passes House, Senate is Next

Fans of internet radio can thank Pandora and other webcasting activists for their last-minute efforts to drum up the support needed for the House of Representatives to pass the Webcaster Settlement Act. The Act is headed to the Senate for a vote and seems likely to pass, according to the article.

Lower rates are vital to the survival of Internet radio stations, according to Tim Westergren, Pandora's founder, who pleaded with the public on Friday to call their congressional representatives and demand they support the bill.

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New Nintendo DS to Include Camera, Music Player?

Game|Life reports that Nintendo is planning to announce a new version of the DS that will incorporate a camera and music playback. No pics of the hardware yet but rumored pricing and release details are available after the jump.

Nikkei's take on the new machine is that Nintendo is moving outside the boundaries of the "game industry" and attempting to create a device that will compete with more general electronics like cell phones.

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Robot that Reassembles Self from Pieces

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have created a robot that can reassemble itself when kicked apart. Dubbed “ckBots,” it’s a pretty wild exhibit at Wired’s NextFest, an expo of future tech. Devastator unite!

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Tech Myths that Won’t Die

ComputerWorld has a collection of tech myths that just won’t go away. Al Gore, PC Gaming is Dead, and other favorites are covered. Check it out for the lulz.

Tech myths come in all shapes and sizes: Some contain a morsel of truth, but many of them are so wildly preposterous that it's hard to imagine anyone taking them seriously.

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Winners of IS&E Visualization Challenge Announced

The International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge is over and here are the winners. There are some amazing displays there so check it out if you like art based on science.

The winners -- in categories including photography, illustration, informational graphics, and multimedia -- captured the crystalline beauty of diatoms, the expanse of the human circulatory system, a fairy tale tea party re-invented, and the dynamic life of a plant cell.

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