ADSL: Now that you have more bandwidth, what will you do with it?

FIRST there was dialup and ISDN, giving you a trickle of bandwidth for which you paid per minute. If you didn’t watch yourself you could easily pay hundreds of rands a month – and it was suicidally slow. Then there was capped ADSL, which was faster, but your internet usage was restricted to a gigabyte or two each month. After reaching your cap, you either had to top it up with a booster, or be cut off from your internet for the rest of the month.

Today, there is uncapped ADSL at a fixed, low price. And with unlimited internet access there’s so much more you can do online that it’s going to change your life. MWEB recently launched uncapped ADSL starting at R219 per month. Carolyn Holgate, general manager of MWEB Connect, offers ten MWEB uncapped ADSL tips for making the most of cheap, unlimited internet at home:

1. Download music, movies, TV shows and YouTube videos

“It is quite conceivable that a family of four could use 20 gigabytes and more each month downloading entertainment content from the Internet,” says Holgate. “We definitely don’t recommend that you download anything illegal, but for such a family to each  watch ten minutes of YouTube a day, download two MP3s a day, two TV shows a month and three standard-definition movies a month would add up to 20 gigabytes right there."

"Before, this would have been extremely expensive, and almost inconceivable. But now, thanks to low-cost uncapped ADSL, you can pay a flat fee and not worry about exceeding your cap again,” says Holgate.

DStv recently launched “DStv On Demand” and if you are a DStv Premium subscriber with an MWEB ADSL account, you can watch or download premium quality TV content on your PC or laptop – for no extra costs. Go to www.dstv.com to register.

Check out these other sites for cool entertainment content:

• www.mtv.com
• www.hulu.com
• www.zoopy.com
• www.youtube.com

2. Set up web-calling with video

“Most people don’t need any introduction to phone and video calls over the web,” says Holgate. “This technology is what keeps families and friends together, no matter what the distance. Once you’ve got uncapped ADSL, you can talk to other users on the same system for free – and with an unlimited amount of data each month you can talk to your heart’s content. Try MWEB’s Webcall service."

3. Try online gaming

If you possess a sword with Arabic-looking squiggles on it called Slayer in the Realm of Pneimh, the world of online gaming could be for you. We recommend using faster packages for online gaming as it will provide a delay-free gaming experience. Gaming sites such as www.mweb.co.za/games is a good one to start with.

4. Start your own blog

If you want to share your life with others, then a blog is ideal. You can upload content, pictures, videos and music and share it with your friends and family – and never worry about exceeding your data cap each month. Go to MWEB’s blog page at www.blogspace.mweb.co.za to get started.

5. Stay in touch with social media tools online

Like email and surfing the web, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube have become part of our lifestyle – particularly for the connected youth. MWEB recently investigated South African’s social networking habits, and 82% of the participants are on Facebook. This shows we’re savvy social networkers already and these figures are growing! Chances are your kids are well up to speed with the latest tools; you don’t want to be left behind!

6. Set up a home-based business or access the office from home

Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways to fuel job creation in this country. “Thanks to cheap, uncapped ADSL, you can set up a professional home office that lets you do business from your own space. Alternatively, you can access your traditional office network from home, giving you the flexibility demanded by increasing traffic gridlock and time constraints,” says Holgate.

7. Work more flexibly

Professionals whose core skills can be offered virtually are probably better off working at home. Companies have the flexible use of their services while saving on desk space, and with uncapped ADSL there is no limit as to how much data these virtual workers can access.

8. Why pay unnecessarily for software?

Instead of buying expensive software applications, you can try OpenOffice.org or Google Docs. ADSL lets you access, use and store your data in web-hosted applications – safely and quickly. Holgate continues, “You will also be able to download additional applications to your computer now that you have all the bandwidth you can swallow. And remember, for every application you need, there is a free or cheaper version available online.”

9. Save memory space on your computer

Instead of downloading tools and information to store on your computer, access them online when you need them. You don’t have to worry about the costs associated with accessing files and applications online as your monthly fee is fixed.

10. Get the value-added services you need

You may be happy with your ISP, but prices are plummeting and competition has reached a level never experienced before. Besides cheap, unlimited bandwidth, your ISP should offer a quality network that can withstand the demands of uncapped Internet users, security, support, antivirus, antispam, faxmail, a big free mailbox and value-adds such as free Wi-Fi minutes.

“Broadband is a highly enabling tool, spurring innovation and allowing greater flexibility in communication and entertainment. Uncapped ADSL will allow users to be more adventurous about the sites they visit and how they use the Internet. It’s a very exciting time for users in South Africa,” concludes Holgate.

• These MWEB uncapped ADSL tips were issued on behalf of MWEB. For more information on MWEB’s packages, visit www.mweb.co.za or call 08600 32000 to speak to a sales consultant.

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GREEN DAM: Latest Internet screening program takes its duties to farcical extremes - but China is adopting it

BEIJING — What do Johnny Depp, Garfield, Paris Hilton and roast pork have in common? In China, the answer is that a new government-mandated Internet filter rates some pictures of all four of them as bad for your moral health.

Beijing has ordered all personal computers sold in China since the beginning of July to be preinstalled with the Green Dam software, which it says is designed to block pornographic and violent images, and which critics fear will be used to extend censorship in the country.

But a trial of the programme, which is available online for free download at www.skycn.com/soft/46657.html, suggested its filters may be of limited use to worried parents.

When the software is installed, and an image scanner activated, it blocks even harmless images of a film poster for cartoon cat Garfield, dishes of flesh-coloured cooked pork and, on one search engine, a close-up of Johnny Depp’s face.

With the image filter off, while searches with words like "nude" are blocked, a hunt for adult websites throws up links to soft- and hardcore pornography sites, including one with a video of full penetrative sex on its front page.

Green Dam has not detailed how it scans images for obscene content, but computer experts have said it likely uses colour and form recognition to zoom in on potential expanses of naked flesh.

Programme settings allow users to choose how tightly they want images scanned. When too much skin is detected, Green Dam closes all Internet browsers with no warning, sometimes flashing up a notice that the viewer is looking at “harmful” content.

But the interpretation of obscene is apparently generous enough to include the orange hue of Garfield’s fur and, on the highest security settings, prevent viewers clicking through to any illustrated story on one English news site.

The software also allows users to choose what they want to filter for, and besides adult websites and violence, categories include “gay” and “illegal activities”.

Another setting allows Green Dam to take regular snapshots of a user’s screen and store them for up to two weeks — ostensibly so parents can monitor computer use by minors.

But it could also potentially leave security officials a track of computer use by a suspected dissident, or be a gift to fraudsters who are on the hunt for online bank details and private information.

Western governments and trade groups have asked China to reconsi­der implementing Green Dam software based on concerns ranging from cyber-security and performance of the software to Internet freedoms.

— Sapa-AP

Related post: Porn to be a teen

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GOOGLE WAVE: The clash of the computer titans is on. Google has taken on Microsoft by announcing that it's launching its own operating system — free of charge. The war between the two software giants is likely to change the world of the Internet forever

Alistair Fairweather

IF business is war then two of the world’s biggest companies have finally stopped skirmishing on their borders and brought out the heavy artillery. On July 7, Google fired the first shell by announcing that they will begin offering their own operating system in mid 2010.

The warhead — called Chrome OS — is aimed straight at the heart of Microsoft who have built their entire business around operating systems since the 70s, first with MS DOS and then the globally-dominating Windows series.

But while Microsoft have always charged for their software, Google plan to give theirs away free of charge. What’s more, Google are starting from a completely fresh perspective — one with the potential to undermine Microsoft’s entire business model and loosen their foothold on the software market.

If the name "Chrome" sounds familiar, that’s because it’s also the name of Google’s web browser. And this isn’t just a case of lazy naming. By evolving Chrome into an operating system, Google are planning to turn the entire software world on its head and make browsing the centre of computing.

An Introduction to Google Wave
There is a full 1 hour 20min presentation on YouTube which Philc7753 has kindly and painstakingly edited down for our short attention spans

Hang on, isn’t an operating system a lot more complicated that a browser? Doesn’t a browser need an operating system to, well, operate? That’s the whole genius of the plan. Google are betting that the centre of influence in computing is moving out of personal computers and into the massive computing power of the Internet, known as the "cloud".

That means that in future, computers will be dumber and cheaper. They will rely on the enormous banks of computers that power the Internet to do much of their thinking for them.

This is already happening. One of the fastest growing sectors in computing is netbooks — smaller, cheaper, less powerful portable computers with speedy connections to the Internet that focus on tasks like e-mail and browsing the net.

Currently, Microsoft is tussling with free operating systems such as Linux for ownership of this market, and Google wants its own share of the pie. So what? There’s nothing particularly revolutionary about a free operating system. They have been around for longer than Microsoft have been in existence, let alone Google. And some of them are backed by huge companies such as IBM and SAP.

Yet none of those other companies is as heavily invested in cloud computing as Google. And it’s cloud computing that poses the greatest risk to Microsoft’s dominance.

Microsoft’s bread and butter has always been its desktop applications —  programs such as Word, Outlook and PowerPoint. Operating systems are like plumbing — expensive but necessary — and Microsoft have lost money on them for years. This was justified because they knew that by owning the platform they would be able earn it all back on desktop applications.

Google Docs, on the other hand, is nearly as good as Microsoft’s Office but is free and requires no hard-drive space and much less power (and therefore can run on a cheaper computer). It’s a true “cloud” application  — its platform is the Internet.

So Google have, in effect, pulled Microsoft’s own trick on them but in reverse, and for free. And given how quickly Microsoft are losing market share in the browser market (it’s now just above 50%), they have real cause for concern. If Chrome OS takes off, Google will start to hurt more than Microsoft’s pride.

That’s still a big "if" though. For all their mistakes Microsoft are still the top dog of software. Despite the current media hyperbole about Chrome OS, Windows still commands 90% of the market share in operating systems. Even if Chrome lives up to the hype, it will still take years to get a foothold. Only one thing is certain about this battle — peace talks are unlikely to begin anytime soon.

We’re in for a long slog and I don’t think anyone can accurately predict a winner. What we can be sure of is that the conflict will change software (and the Internet) forever.

- Alistair Fairweather writes for The Witness
newspaper in Kwa-Zula Natal, South Africa

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HTC Dream: The first android phone in SA, apparently

MTN has teamed up with HTC distributor Leaf International Communications to launch the HTC Dream android mobile handset. This mobile device is the first in South Africa to make use of the new open source Android operating system, which is owned by one of the world’s best known brands, Google.

The HTC Dream gives users one-touch access to their favourite Google products such as Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail and YouTube. Unlike other operating systems that treat search functionality as an “extra”, the entire Android operating system was moulded around the core of search functionality.

The HTC Dream Android phone

The software is completely open source and allows users to download a host of free applications as well as customise every facet of the HTC Dream. From the dialer, browser and photo viewer, to the core applications normally locked into the operating system, these can all be tweaked.

“MTN is proud to be the first android operator in South Africa to offer its customers a revolutionary smartphone that will change the way we use mobile technology”, says Donovan Smith - General Manager of Consumer Segments at MTN SA

HTC DREAM ANDROID FEATURES

The HTC Dream features a large, sensationally crisp 3.2-inch (8.1 cm) display with a resolution of 320X480. The touch-sensitive screen navigation is finger-friendly and super intuitive. The display switches from portrait to landscape mode when the keyboard is opened. It has a sliding five-row QWERTY keyboard that comes with a set of six navigation buttons.

The HTC Dream includes a GPS receiver and a microSD card slot that supports storage capacities of up to 16GB. The device comes standard with a 1GB microSD card. A fast, full web browser brings the power of the web to your phone and displays up to eight web pages simultaneously to open networks.

All applications integrate seamlessly with one another, alert you to events occurring in other applications and allow you to switch in and out of functions while on a call.

“The HTC Dream with Android will cater for any type of user whether you are a university student or the CEO of a company. By giving our customers instant access to Google services, we are ensuring that MTN sets the pace with innovative and convenient product offerings in both the local and African telecoms market,” says Smith

In view of the advanced data capabilities and applications offered on the HTC Dream, MTN is offering it to customers on the MTN AnyTime 350 package for R529 per month, which includes R350 worth of airtime and 100MB worth of data per month. With MTN’s new broadband offer, once the inclusive 100MB is used up, customers can buy as many additional data bundles as they need.

Sweet!

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