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Good Technology debuts 'first secure browser' for enterprise Android deployments

Andrew Munchbach — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:05:00 EST

Good Technology is touting the latest addition to its Good Mobile Access (GMA) Android software suite, a secure browser. The company's GMA offering gives corporate foot soldiers armed with a smartphone access to secure intranet resources without having to initiate a VPN session -- while simultaneously allowing IT folks to manage mobile ingress. By bringing a browser into the fold, Good's software will allow employees to access databases, resources and collaboration tools without ever having to leave the safe confines of GMA's sandbox. The software maker is targeting outfits with a bring-your-own-device policy in place (and war chests large enough to install the necessary back-end infrastructure). If you're interested in learning more, the full release awaits your review after the break.

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Good Technology debuts 'first secure browser' for enterprise Android deployments originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft's 'HTTP Speed + Mobility' aims to make the web faster, could be the next big ping

Zach Honig — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:27:00 EST

We're generally satisfied with our internet performance, but we wouldn't say no to a speed boost. A Microsoft blog post reveals plans to enable just that, with the company's proposed "HTTP Speed + Mobility" approach to HTTP 2.0. Have you thought about what life would be like with a faster internet? MS says Y-E-S! "There is already broad consensus about the need to make web browsing much faster," the company proclaimed. Juicy. The suggested protocol will, well, focus on achieving greater speed, but Microsoft hasn't detailed exactly how it will accomplish that, beyond mentioning that it's based on the Google SPDY protocol, which on its own aims to reduce latency and congestion by prioritizing requests and removing the limit on simultaneous streams over a single TCP connection. For its part, MS says it will be expanding on SPDY to "address the needs of mobile devices and applications," which we presume would be in Google's best interests as well. It's safe to say that Microsoft's being a bit more forthcoming during its meetings with the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) this week -- the organization responsible for creating HTTP 2.0 -- so perhaps we'll be hearing more about this fabled faster internet before we turn anew to Q2.

Microsoft's 'HTTP Speed + Mobility' aims to make the web faster, could be the next big ping originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Visualized: an interactive timeline of the web

Dante Cesa — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:13:00 EST

Ever wondered what the World Wide Web's illustrious history would look like if plotted in timeline form? Well, thanks to Google's "Evolution of the web," you won't have to. The delectable chart traces the evolution of HTML, the web technologies that came alongside it and the browsers that've held it all together -- all in a seriously meta HTML5 package. Ready for a trip down memory lane? Hit the source, friend, and revel at how far we've come.

Visualized: an interactive timeline of the web originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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World Wide Web turns 20, finally shakes that acne problem

Brad Molen — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 11:53:00 EST

Happy birthday, World Wide Web! Hard to believe you're turning 20 already. It seems like just yesterday we were hearing the pitter patter of little dial-up, delighting at the words "you got mail," and getting frustrated when calling our friends and receiving that dreaded busy signal. You're all grown up now, helping people learn how to farm and become overnight pop sensations. What, we wonder, will the next 20 years bring? At the very least, you'll eventually have to move out of your parents' basement, get a real job, and settle down. It's hard to pay attention to that kind of stuff, though, when you've got another year of sneaking beers ahead of you. So go ahead, World Wide Web, enjoy yourself tonight -- just make sure to be home by midnight.

World Wide Web turns 20, finally shakes that acne problem originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Aug 2011 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sir Tim Berners-Lee signs up to verily protect UK net neutrality

Tim Stevens — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:48:00 EST

Here in the US we're still looking for a knight in shining armor to protect our free and open internet, but in the UK they've found their guy. Now they just need some plate mail. It's Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, the man who first proposed the World Wide Web to the World Wide World in 1989. He'll be working with the UK's Broadband Stakeholder Group to ensure that any traffic management policies that go into effect are done with transparency and within a set of defined best practices. That is to say: corporations will still have an opportunity to address threats to the overall health of their networks, but they'll need to do so in an open way. Communications Minister Ed Vaizey summarized it thusly:

That agreement should be guided by three simple principles. The first is users should be able to access all legal content. Second, there should be no discrimination against content providers on the basis of commercial rivalry and finally traffic management policies should be clear and transparent.

So, that's good news for those across the pond. Here in the US, well, we'll just keep braiding our hair and singing out the tower window as loudly as possible. Or maybe it's time to give Tim Wu a sword.

[Photo credit: Paul Clarke]

Sir Tim Berners-Lee signs up to verily protect UK net neutrality originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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W3C tests HTML5 browser compatibility, crowns IE9 the champ

Vlad Savov — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 11:19:00 EST

The World Wide Web Consortium -- you know, the team responsible for certifying and standardizing HTML5 -- has put together its first table of official conformance test results, giving us an idea of how well prepared each of the most popular browsers is for the oncoming web standards revolution. The data show Internet Explorer 9 as the most adroit performer (again), though Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari don't seem to be too far behind in their HTML5 compliance, either. Of course, these checks don't cover the entire spec, which in itself isn't even finalized yet, but they provide us with a glimpse into a brave new world where Microsoft actually cares about coders keen on maximizing interoperability by adhering to web-wide standards. Good stuff. Check out the full results at the source link below.

[Thanks, Mehran]

W3C tests HTML5 browser compatibility, crowns IE9 the champ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 11:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Internet Explorer falls below 50 percent global marketshare, Chrome usage triples

Tim Stevens — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 07:19:00 EST

Oh, IE, it pains us to do this to you. You who once so mightily won in the battle against Netscape Navigator now seem to be losing your war against a battalion of upstarts, relatively fresh faces like Firefox and Chrome. According to StatCounter, IE's global usage stats have fallen to 49.87 percent, a fraction of a tick beneath half. Firefox makes up the lion share of the rest, at 31.5 percent, while Chrome usage tripled since last year, up to 11.54 percent. Two years ago IE had two thirds of the global market locked down, and even if Internet Explorer 9 is the best thing since ActiveX, well, we just don't see the tide of this battle turning without MS calling in some serious reinforcements.

Update: If you needed more proof of Chrome's increasing popularity, we got a tip on this report from Softpedia confirming that Chrome is the fastest growing browser of the moment. Firefox is more or less flat and, well, you know all about how IE is faring.

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Internet Explorer falls below 50 percent global marketshare, Chrome usage triples originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 07:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The internet kill switch and other lies the internet told you

Laura June — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:43:00 EST

Last week, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, led by Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) became the subject of some debate when news spread that it was calling for a so-called "internet kill switch" which would give the President the power to shut down the whole darn thing in a state of emergency. Apparently, however, nobody bothered to do any research into the topic until very recently -- and of course, the truth is far more complicated than a horrifying phrase like "internet kill switch." Because as it turns out, according to the 1934 Communications Act (which is still in effect today), the President already has the power to shut down any and all telecommunications systems in situations he or she deems it necessary for national security, and Lieberman's call was for a reassessment of the Act.

So what are Lieberman's evil plans for the 'net? His proposal, S. 3480, is a far more subtle document than the original act, which essentially says "hey, do whatever you have to do, man," and calls for the designation of cyberspace as a 'national asset.' It asks for the private owners of critical infrastructure to develop risk assessment plans, and plans to mitigate that risk, in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security. There are also several recommended procedures called for in the event of an emergency, but none of them have anything to do with a mechanism to shut anything down, and the director would be expressly prohibited from requiring owners to use any specific mechanism. So... the exact opposite of a kill switch. Also, it's worthwhile to note that the entire proposition calls for these changes to be developed by the private sector itself, rather than imposed on it. Kind of makes the story a little less interesting, that's for sure. Hit up the source -- Talking Points Memo -- for a far more detailed, insightful account of what's actually going down.

The internet kill switch and other lies the internet told you originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The internet earns a nomination for 2010 Nobel Prize

Vlad Savov — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:54:00 EST

Isn't Italy a place of contrast? After the country's judiciary slammed Google for failing to keep a tight enough leash on user-uploaded content, we're now hearing that its local version of Wired magazine is putting forward the internet as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of its contributions to "helping advance dialogue, debate and consensus." Right then. Just in case you think this is all a bit silly -- and you should -- we're also hearing Nicholas Negroponte and 2003 Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi are both in support of the idea, which has been described as "a Nobel for each and every one of us" by Internet for Peace, an organization set up specifically to promote the web's candidacy. That's a pretty succinct way of putting it, but it also shows what's wrong with the idea: nothing devalues a prize's worth and meaning quite like handing it out to everyone. Just imagine icanhascheezburger.com slapping a legitimate Nobel laureate badge up on its homepage and you'll know what we mean.

The internet earns a nomination for 2010 Nobel Prize originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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World Wide Web creator sorry for the '//' and other things that don't matter

Laura June — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:02:00 EST

Tim Berners-Lee, the man credited with creating the World Wide Web, recently said that his only real regret about the whole shebang is forcing people to type out the (essentially unnecessary) double slash after the 'http:' in URLs. Speaking at a symposium on the future of technology, he noted (in reference to the dreaded marks) the paper, trees and human labor that could have been spared without them. Hey Tim: don't sweat it! You've done us enough good turns that we're willing to overlook it.

Filed under: Software

World Wide Web creator sorry for the '//' and other things that don't matter originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New 'flow router' may save the Internet from collapsing under the weight of all your v-blog posts

Joseph L. Flatley — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:22:00 EST

The prospects of a Future Inevitable Internet Collapse[TM] has some of our readers seriously freaked out. You know the type -- they live in places like Idaho and Montana, in fortified mountaintop retreats, where they hoard digital media like it was canned food in December 1999. And concerns over bandwidth aren't limited to a lunatic fringe -- no less august a publication than IEEE Spectrum has recently posted an article by Lawrence G. Roberts (who pretty much helped invent the modern router) in which he discusses the state of the Internet. According to Roberts, our current routers are still designed to handle much smaller amounts of data than they are currently pushing. Streaming data only works at all, he says, due to extreme over-provisioning -- "Network operators," he says, are throwing "bandwidth at a problem that really requires a computing solution."

One possible solution is something called "flow management." Instead of routing each packet individually, a flow router attaches an ID to each packet in a specific stream ("flow"). After the first packet is routed, each subsequent packet with the same ID is sent along the same route -- cutting down on time and on the amount of lost packets. Roberts' company, Anagran, has one such device on the market now -- the FR-1000, which he says consumes one fifth the power of a comparable (traditional) router, one tenth the space, and should reduce operating costs in GB/s by a factor of ten. And this, dear readers, may be the key to the survival of the Internet -- that is, until the robots get us.

Filed under: Networking

New 'flow router' may save the Internet from collapsing under the weight of all your v-blog posts originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Doomsday alert: internet to become an "unreliable toy" in 2012

Darren Murph — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:59:00 EST

Okay, so first things first -- we all know the world's on track to end in 2012, so it's not like this really matters. But if, just if it manages to survive (à la Y2K), you can pretty much bank on a mass reversal of culture as we all push aside our netbooks and return to the playground. According to some "research" slated to be fully published "later this year," PCs and laptops are apt to "operate at a much reduced speed, rendering the internet an unreliable toy" from 2012 onward. The reason? Massive growth in internet demand, which is undoubtedly on pace to crush existing infrastructure that can't ever be improved upon by anyone, regardless of their market capitalization or determination to expand. It's noted that the internet itself will somehow survive, but that users will begin to see "brownouts," which are described as "a combination of temporary freezing and computers being reduced to a slow speed." Thank heavens for FinallyFast, right?

Psst... the solution to all of this is just past the break.

[Thanks, Colin]

Continue reading Doomsday alert: internet to become an "unreliable toy" in 2012

Filed under: Networking

Doomsday alert: internet to become an "unreliable toy" in 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Web turns 20, FidoNet suffers abandonment issues

Joseph L. Flatley — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:40:00 EST

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of Sir Tim Berners-Lee's submission to CERN titled "Information Management: A proposal." Over roughly the next year and a half he had built HTTP, HTML, WorldWideWeb (the first web browser), CERN httpd (the first server software), and the first web server (http://info.cern.ch), paving the way for an unprecedented era of human communication and interconnectivity. We're not entirely sure how 4chan, Bert Is Evil, or Tila Tequila fit into all of this, but we'd sure miss them if they weren't here (well, not Tila Tequila -- definitely not Tila Tequila). The visionary chats about cyberspace past, present, and future after the break.

[Via Daily Wireless]

Continue reading The Web turns 20, FidoNet suffers abandonment issues

Filed under: Networking

The Web turns 20, FidoNet suffers abandonment issues originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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