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The FCC may reclassify US broadband as 10 Mbps and up

Aug05
by on August 5, 2014 at 7:41 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

The US Federal Communications Commission has proposed (PDF) an update to the definition of “broadband” from a minimum download rate of 4 Mbps to 10 Mbps, Reuters reports. With the proposal, the FCC is seeking comment on the state of broadband deployment in the US, especially as it relates to expansion into often-overlooked rural areas. The comment period will run until September 4, with a reply comment period to follow until September 19. The commission notes in its report that the rise of VoIP and video on demand services has ramped up the amount of bandwidth consumers require from their…

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I’m giving up on smartwatches, for now

Aug05
by on August 5, 2014 at 7:26 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Gadgets, Insider

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It was clear even as 2014 was kicking-off that this year would be ‘the year of the smartwatches‘ and indeed, the announcement of Google’s Android Wear platform cemented the fact that hardware makers will be pumping them out for some time to come. Having spent time using a couple of different devices over the past year, my enthusiasm is waning. There are two sat on my desk, both with batteries drained, yet to be replenished for the umpteenth time. The first I tried was the original Samsung Galaxy Gear, and at the time, I liked it. That didn’t stop me thinking…

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How to avoid spam and minimize graymail

Aug05
by on August 5, 2014 at 6:53 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, How-To's, LifeHacks

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Daniel Viney is the Product Manager at Atmail.com. The term “spam” in relation to email is widely attributed to the Monty Python sketch written by Terry Jones and Michael Palin, in which spam is depicted as unavoidable. “Spam” became a commonly used term in the late nineties to describe the mass increase of unwanted marketing and advertising email. Technically speaking, spam is unsolicited bulk email. Modern spam email is largely sent by individuals or organizations with a malicious intent, such as to direct you to a website that contains malware or to phish for personally identifying information, like credit card details and passwords…

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Apple will reportedly announce new iPhones on September 9

Aug05
by on August 5, 2014 at 6:46 pm
Posted In: Around the Web

It looks like new iPhones are just around the corner. Recode is reporting that Apple has scheduled a launch event on Tuesday, September 9. The Wall Street Journal corroborated the date with its own sources. Apple is expected to announce larger 4.7- and 5.5-inch iPhones at the event. The September 9 date falls on the same week as last year’s iPhone 5s launch, which took place on September 10. When contacted, Apple declined to comment. ➤ New iPhones to Suck All the Air Out of the Tech News Cycle on Sept. 9 [Recode]

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Facebook’s Parse releases PHP SDK, its first for a server-side language and its first to be open source

Aug05
by on August 5, 2014 at 6:41 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Design & Dev

Parse today released the Parse PHP SDK, which you can download yourself from GitHub. The Facebook-owned company says the release is its first SDK for a server-side language as well as the first to be “truly open-source.” Until today, accessing Parse from PHP could only be done from the REST API. While a few Parse API wrapper libraries have been released by third parties on GitHub, Parse decided to build a first-party SDK after “many developers requested better PHP support.” In related news, Facebook says since it launched the completely re-invented Facebook SDK for PHP at its conference three months…

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