Michael's Insight

Sling releasing tablet-optimized version of SlingPlayer for Android

Sling shows off SlingPlayer app for Honeycomb tablets [EngadgetHD]

For several months, Slingbox users have been able to download the SlingPlayer app for Android to place-shift television content to their mobile devices. Now the SlingPlayer app is coming to Honeycomb - the newest and first tablet-optimized version of the mobile OS - which (according to the demo video Sling released) looks like it will provide a much better experience on Android tablets.

The Honeycomb version of the Sling app will carry the same price tag as the other Sling apps. The SlingPlayer apps are also available on iOS devices, including the iPad.

It's not clear when the new app will be released, but Sling is allowing customers to provide an email address so that they can be alerted as soon as the Honeycomb app is available.

DTV delay likely to be decided this week

DTV Delay Gains Ground [Multichannel News]

President Obama's goal of delaying the digital television transition may be on track for a vote in the U.S. Senate this week. Senate Republicans have reached a compromise with Senator Jay Rockefeller over the provisions in a bill that would delay the digital transition until June 12th. The current deadline is February 17th.

The compromise may add even more confusion into the marketplace.  It allows stations to voluntarily convert prior to the cutoff date which, if they do, probably will catch many people unprepared.  It will also mean that the call centers being set up by the cable and broadcast industries may not be open for business when a station goes off.

While it's still not completely clear whether the compromise delay bill will have enough votes to pass in the Senate, if it does, it will likely be put on a fast-track for passage in the House of Representatives, where a similar bill now sits in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Much of the impetus behind the delay legislation is the fact that the federal government's digital converter box coupon program has run out of money and is currently placing coupon requests on a waiting list. Republicans in both the House and Senate have filed legislating allocating an additional $250 million in tax dollars toward the coupon program - aimed at allowing the program to begin processing coupon requests again in advance of a February 17th or June 12th transition deadline.

6.5 million households are unprepared for the digital television transition

Nielsen Says 6.5 Million Homes Still Not Ready DTV Transition [Multichannel News]

Twenty-four days until the currently set digital television transition deadline of February 17th Nielsen has released the latest numbers on the households unprepared for the digital transition. 6.5 million homes or 5.7 percent of all American households still aren't ready for the transition. That means 1.3 million homes have gotten themselves prepared to receive digital television since last month, but it's still a lot of homes that won't have a television signal a month from now unless they get with the program.

The latest numbers from the government's digital converter box coupon waiting list reveal that 2 million households are waiting for one from the federal government. Assuming every one of those 2 million purchase a digital converter box with their coupon, that means that 4.5 million homes would still be unprepared if the coupon program were reactivated immediately.

DTV Vote Delayed; Virus infects over 9 million PCs

Waxman Postpones DTV Delay Vote [Multichannel News]

Here's the latest on the potential for an extention of the digital television transition deadline - we're in a holding pattern. Senator Jay Rockefeller's bill that would delay the transition until June 12th has been delayed in the Senate due to objections raised by other senators. Senator John McCain has raised concerns about Rockefeller's bill on the basis that first responders won't be receiving their part of the spectrum that will be freed up by digital television on the original date of February 17th. Over in the House, a similar piece of legislation that would delay the DTV date had its committee vote postponed by House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Henry Waxman.

The waiting list for digital converter box coupons from the halted federal government coupon program now stands at 2 million households. We're 25 days away from February 17th, and no one is yet sure whether the digital television transition will occur on that date or later. 

Watch this issue through the end of this week.  If there is no movement by then, it's time for the supporters of the delay to throw in the towel and get on with it.  Real money is being spent right now by cable operators and broadcasters to be prepared for the onslaught of expected phone calls when the transition occurs.  A delay will force us to duplicate some of that spending and probably confuse the market even more.

As I've previously written, a further delay won't solve the problem of educating consumers who remain unprepared at this late date -- they are the same people who waited until the night before a term paper was due to begin to write it.  Instead, Congress should either make more funding available for the coupons to restart sending them out or change the rule that prohibits reissuing of new coupons until old ones expire.  The experience has been that only 50% of those sent out are redeemed so, if they assume a 75% redemption experience (instead of the current 100%), many more coupons could be sent out immediately without the need for new funding.

Inauguration day web traffic up substantially; Huge credit card breach disclosed; CES HDTV listing

Inauguration Day, by the numbers [CNET News]

It was a banner day for broadband users who flocked to news, social media and video streaming web sites to watch and interact with others during President Obama's inauguration yesterday. While it wasn't the busiest day for the Internet, it was one of the busiest. At around noon Eastern time, content delivery network Akamai estimated that 5.4 million web visitors per minute were accessing online news outlets. CNN.com served up more than 18.8 live video streams, and allowed viewers to interact with Facebook friends through Facebook Connect (more on that later).

Twitter users tweeted at four times the normal rate during the inauguration and Facebook reported that 4,000 users were updating their status every minute during the ceremony.

It wasn't all good news for the Internet, though. CBSNews.com was deluged by traffic, causing problems with its video stream. According to NewTeeVee, ABC.com, C-SPAN and CNN's online video streams had trouble at some point during the ceremony. Online video streams were unreliable to the point that at least one NewTeeVee blogger was an OldTeeVee watcher for the day.

Martin's Parting Shot; Cable companies developing place-shifting television technology

Martin Opens New Comcast Net Data Probe [Multichannel News]

It was an extraordinary act of lame-duck abuse.  Even after outgoing FCC Chairman Kevin Martin had packed up his office and turned off the lights, he couldn't restrain himself from taking one last swipe at the cable industry and Comcast in particular.  Last Friday was the Federal government's last business day until tomorrow because of Martin Luther King Day and the inauguration of President-elect Obama.  But, according to Multichannel News, Martin had staff working over the weekend to open (or reopen) a probe of Comcast's practices of network management.

We request that Comcast explain why it omitted from its filings with the [FCC] the distinct effects that Comcast's new network management technique has on Comcast's VoIP offering versus those of its competitors," the FCC said in a Jan. 18 letter signed by two hand-picked Martin aides, General Counsel Matthew Berry and Wireline Competition Bureau chief Dana Shaffer.

Under more normal circumstances, the agency would have been focused on exclusively managing their short-term challenges since the election.  This move spotlights another obsessive attempt to impact long-term policy well after a new administration takes over.

I am confident that the incoming administration and the FCC will, starting tomorrow, begin to focus on the most critical issue facing telecommunications in the first quarter of 2009 -- the digital transition.  Whether or not the February 17th date is delayed, the FCC has a critical role in ensuring a smooth transition.  As I previously reported, it took the Obama transition team about one nanosecond to figure out that there was no infrastructure in place to handle millions of calls that surely will be made when the analog channels go off. 

Working together, cable operators and broadcasters have offered a solution to be prepared to receive the calls.  Let's hope that's the beginning of a new spirit of cooperation between industries and government.

Watch tomorrow's inaugural coverage from your television or streaming online video

Cable Coverage of the Inaugural [CableTechTalk]

The historic inauguration of the nation's forty-fourth president, Barack Obama, is tomorrow. And as with any big event, there are many ways to catch all the action from your television. CableTechTalk has all the bases covered. From BET's coverage of the BET Inaugural Ball to Disney Channel's Kids Inaugural: We Are the Future to C-SPAN's and the national cable news networks day-long coverage of all the events, there's plenty of options on your television to see all the festivities.

If you're wanting to catch the inaugural events on your computer, there are several streaming video options from a variety of sources. NewTeeVee has a running list of the web coverage of President-elect Obama's inauguration. Topping that list, with the most extensive online video coverage, is C-SPAN's Mogulus streaming site. C-SPAN and it's great coverage of the inaugural events are brought to you by a coalition of the nation's cable companies. It's a 25 year-old coalition that has made C-SPAN the go-to network for coverage of our nation's leaders.

Enjoy watching history transpire tomorrow as we inaugurate our nation's next president.

Net Neutrality Included in Economic Stimulus Bill; Hawaii's DTV Transition; You Tube's TV Website; HDMI -- The Best Connection?

Democrats sneak Net neutrality rules into 'stimulus' bill [CNET News]

We live in a great nation, but it's not perfect.  We could greatly improve is our legislative process which is filled with loopholes.  And yesterday is a perfect example of that.  Seems like there's going to be billions of dollars for broadband! 

Now, I'm not going to opine on the necessity to pass an economic stimulus package nor whether it should be two hundred billion or a trillion dollars.  But I am going to react to delivering a TKO to those who urge caution before deciding ending all discussion about net neutrality policy.  It's as if people in Washington have decided that it's not even worth hearing from the folks who are experts in broadband networks and the technology that makes them work so well.

It first appeared that President-elect Obama's call for increased broadband availability would not be part of a proposed economic stimulus bill. But details of the proposed stimulus bill, released yesterday, revealed billions of dollars of grants for broadband development and deployment. The U.S. Department of Commerce would have the check writing authority for the grants under the bill.

Here's the catch.  All recipients of the grants - whether they're cable companies, telephone companies, or local or state governments - must agree to a set of network neutrality principles adopted by the FCC in 2005. Those principles have never been formally adopted as part of the FCC's rule-making process, and are the subject of a lawsuit currently being argued in front of a federal appeals court.  I have argued that those principles are flawed in that they are open to tremendous interpretation and might cause broadband operators to have to implement more intrusive network management policies than we currently use to keep our networks running smoothly.

Furthermore, the bill suggests that funds go to locales that are "unserved and underserved."   Come on folks.  What is under-served?

I get providing funds for unserved areas.  It's a bit like the rural electrification of America.  But why under-served?  Who are we relying on to interpret what is under-served?  Who will decide to write billions of dollars to add more broadband in areas that already have broadband?  And, by the way, who will receive those funds?

Aren't there enough legitimate places to spend the bailout money?  With the economy in perilous decline, now is the time for Washington to turn over a new leaf and stop spending money unnecessarily.

I hope the Senate considers this issue to be too important to be simply tacked on to the bailout legislation as the House apparently has done.

DTV delay still in disarray while Hawaii switches to digital today

Rockefeller Working DTV Delay Bill [Multichannel News]

The disagreement among policymakers in DC on the possible delay of the digital transition continues. I've linked to the latest update from Multichannel News. Senator Jay Rockefeller, Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, is in the process of drafting legislation that would delay the February 17th digital transition deadline for a yet-to-be-determined period of time. Rockefeller suggests the delay might be 90 days while others are pushing for a 6 month delay.

The news that the federal govenrment's digital converter coupon program has halted sending out additional coupons and has an estimated waiting list of 1.3 million households touched off this debate last week. That was followed up by the president-elect's transition team announcing support for a delay of the February 17th deadline. And yesterday, FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell highlighted a particular concern that I've noted before - the ability for the federal govenment to handle the telephone calls from those television viewers that wake up on February 17th to static.

Regardless of what Washington decides to do with the Februrary 17th deadline, Hawaii will become the first state in the union to make the switch to digital televison today.  State officials decided to move up its digital transition deadline because the Hawaiian Dark Rumped-Petrel bird, an endangered species, nests in the television transmission towers on one of the islands.  Apparently, the digital equipment switch would have disturbed the birds' nesting if the deadline were not moved up a month. Hawaii's experience will involve the largest switch of television viewers to digital broadcast to date. 

Although it may offer the first widespread test about just how much chaos to expect on February 17th, there are some complications.  According to Leslie Wilcox, the President of PBS Hawaii,  who said on her blog that coverage of the new digital signals may also be reduced because broadcasters were forced to move one of their transmission towers on one of the islands to an altitude some 5,000 feet lower than their current placement.  Another complication -- they didn't receive some necessary equipment for their new tower on time and one of the islands will be without PBS for, "a couple of weeks," unless the viewers have cable or satellite. 

Wilcox also reported long wait times already at the call center set up to receive inquiries.  These calls were generated prior to the actual elimination of the analog signals -- they came from viewers simply reading the "explanatory" crawl at the bottom of the screen warning people of the impending switchover.  I know that the Obama transition team has focused on that very issue and I believe they have a pretty good plan to "man the phones" on February 17th.

Let's keep our fingers crossed. Hawaii, we're all counting on 'ya. 

And, Aloha!

New FCC Chairman to be announced by President-elect Obama; Chrome coming for Macs; Cable modem hacker arrested

With Genachowski, Adieu To A La Carte? [Multichannel News]

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported that President-elect Barack Obama intends to nominate Julius Genachowski as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Currently a venture capitalist in the DC area, Genachowski was a Harvard Law School classmate of the president-elect and is widely regarded as tech-savvy, as he helped craft the Obama campaign's Internet strategy.

This article in Multichannel News profiles the likely changes at the FCC regarding a la carte cable programming under a Genachowski chairmanship. While a la carte has been a pet peeve for outgoing Chairman Kevin Martin, the issue is likely to take a back seat to other issues according to the Commission watchers quoted in this article.

Even though some would say this is a loss for consumers, I don't agree.  I've written here before that a la carte initially sounds like a great idea -- being able to pick the cable networks you want on your lineup and avoid having to pay for the ones you don't watch.  But, a la carte fails to take into account that cable programming relies on advertising dollars, which is driven by viewers many of whom surf through the channels and happen to land on a particular network. Take away those viewers, advertising revenue dries up, and one of two things has to happen -- either consumers have to pick up the tab or the network has to make due with much less. 

Frankly, in this economy, even more networks would simply cease to exist, limiting choice and diversity.  The current cable distribution model provides for a wide-ranging lineup of programming at a very good price. Think about the endless entertainment and information options available on expanded basic cable for about $2 a day.  Add all the digital offerings and it's still less than $3 a day.

I look forward to a fresh regulatory approach at the FCC under a Chairman Genachowski.  He brings great credentials and life experience to the job and I'm hopeful that the key regulatory agency will focus on the big, important subjects confronting telecommunications policy.  Let's quickly begin to discuss the important policy issues openly and honestly.   For cable, that includes things like net neutrality, broadband deployment, our own digital conversion, and network management practices.  We can work together to set policies that encourage investment, nurture competition and result in world class, 21st century telecommunications services for the American people. 

We all want that.

And please.  No more midnight meetings!

The debate continues on a DTV delay; YouTube creates congressional platforms; Cisco announces a 300 Mbps cable modem

DTV, It's Just Not Your Day [Broadcasting and Cable]

 Will the digital television transition actually occur on February 17th? Cable operators and broadcasters have been promoting readiness for the transition with that date in mind for many months now. But, with the news that the Federal government's digital converter box coupon program has been halted due to a lack of funds and Nielsen reports asserting that millions of American households are still unprepared for digital television, there is now a movement among some policymakers, especially the Obama transition team, to delay the February 17th deadline. This article outlines the participants in the debate and their current position on a DTV delay.

The cable industry is prepared to do its part whether the transition occurs in February or some few months later.  The Obama transition team, to their credit, recently focused on how to become more prepared to receive millions of inquiries at the time of transition.  Until they began to look into this, I was deeply concerned at the lack of preparation to handle those calls. 

I understand the future administration's decision to seek a delay given the state of preparation they found.  They also inherited a digital converter coupon program that has, amazingly, run out of money.  Congress needs to fix that and, if they do so quickly, I wonder if we're not simply better off just getting on with this.  No matter when the transition actually occurs, there will be many people who are unprepared so I question whether a delay would meaningfully reduce the unavoidable confusion or simply add more because of the changing date. 

Unfortunately, I worry that we won't know the outcome of the debate over the delay soon enough.  But, at the risk of sounding like a broken record every time we talk about this, rest assured that if your televisions are connected to cable, you'll be fine, no matter when the transition occurs.  Right now, it's still February 17th and if that changes, you'll read about it here.

Tru2way set to be activated on July 1 on several cable systems

CES 2009: Comcast, TWC To Flip Tru2way Switch By July 1 [Multichannel News]

CableLab's Tru2way standard is set to hit a major milestone on July 1st of this year, as the two largest cable operators in the nation confirmed their commitment that 100% of their systems will be Tru2way ready. Tru2way promises to bring real interactivity to cable television, providing a platform for developers to create applications that can be deployed to set-tops or tru2way televisions for viewers' use.  It will also open up a retail market for set top boxes with all types of high-end functionality.

Last year, the six largest cable operators committed to consumer electronics manufacturers that Tru2way would be deployed by July 1, 2009 so consumers could begin taking advantage of Tru2way devices. These cable operators are also in the process of rolling out millions of tru2way set-top boxes in certain markets.  Two markets -- Chicago and Denver had an early roll-out of True2way in the retail set top market.  Expect more later in 2009 and through 2010.

One interesting note from the article is that Time Warner is exploring ways to bring Internet video onto televisions via the Tru2way standard.

February 17th DTV deadline may be pushed back

Obama team urges delay in digital TV transition [Associated Press]

There are even more questions today about whether the planned digital television transition will occur on February 17th. Though that date has been planned for several years now, President-elect Obama's transition team has requested that Congress vote to delay the transition in the wake of the revelation that the federal governement's digital converter box coupon program is halting coupon distribution. With the president-elect weighing in on the digital transition, the chances that either the transition date is delayed or that the coupon program is given addition funds have increased.

Whatever happens with the digital transition deadline, if your televisions are connected to Insight, you can relax. You're already prepared for the digital transition, even if the federal government and millions of over-the-air television viewers still are not.

MySpace on TV; Consumers Union requests DTV delay; Control your TV without a remote

At CES, MySpace chats up the Widget Channel [CNET News]

I had to skip my usual trek to the CES this year because I'm recovering from foot surgery.  I am, however, trying to keep up with the news from Las Vegas. 

MySpace is coming to your television screen.  The popular social networking site is promoting its partnership with Intel and Yahoo's Widget Channel. For televisions compatible with the Widget Channel, users can install a MySpace widget. The MySpace widget gives users access to MySpace profiles, status, messaging, and other social networking features.

So, whie you're watching the big game, you can update your MySpace page, message your MySpace friends, and check their pages. All from the same television.

Louisville DTV testing; Watch television on your iPhone; Twitter attack not a result of phishing

Louisville stations to test DTV signals [Business First]

Five broadcast television stations will be conducting digital transition testing next Monday, January 12th. According to this article, WHAS-TV, WAVE-TV, WLKY-TV, WDRB-TV, and WMYO-TV will be switching off their analog signal three separate times on the 12th. The stations will continue broadcasting digital signals, so that those who are prepared for the digital transition won't notice any service interruption.

The three tests are scheduled for 6:50 am, 12:30 pm, and 7:30 pm. The stations will air information about preparing for the transition, which is set to occur on February 17th. While it may be too late to request a digital converter box coupon from the government, there is still time to get prepared for digital television. Remember, if all your televisions are connected to cable, you're already prepared for the transition.

Ooops. Federal accounting law halts digital transition coupon program

NTIA Creates DTV Coupon Waiting List [Multichannel News] 

What a mess. Yesterday, the federal government announced a halt to the mailing out of the $40 digital converter box coupons 44 days ahead of the digital transition. While the government would like to continue mailing the coupons to customers that need them, a federal accounting law requires that the coupon program grind to a stop until some of the coupons already in circulation expire.

We've been talking about this potential problem for months.  Nothing is more critical to the success of the transition than the availability of solutions in advance of the actual date.

Here's the situation.  The Antideficiency Act (ADA) requires that the government assume that each coupon will be redeemed for budgeting purposes. While the actual redemption rate is around 50%, because the value of the valid coupons already mailed to consumers is at the coupon program's budget cap, the federal government has to wait until some of the coupons expire without being redeemed before they can mail more out.

Now that the problem has come to light, you might think that it would be time to consider asking Congress to relax the ADA for the coupon program.  Or maybe Congress is just going to have to authorize more money for the program to keep it going -- not a particularly attractive alternative, given the needs of the faltering economy.  However, according to this article, the current administration is not supporting any changes in the rules. If you're waiting on a digital converter box coupon from the federal government, don't hold your breath.

Remember, there's always your friendly local cable operator to check your home and offer inexpensive solutions.  But don't wait until the last moment -- you might have to wait a while until we can get you hooked up.

P2P developer aims to enter legal music streaming, Phishing on Twitter, Hulu win AP award

Spotify Aims To Compete With Piracy [Broadband Reports] 

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. That appears to be the mantra of at least one segment of the peer-to-peer crowd, as a new start-up named Spotify aims to create a P2P application that streams legal MP3s from a catalog of major label music. Spotify was formed after the developer of uTorrent sold the application to BitTorrent. The Spotify application is still in beta.

It may be a noble effort to attempt to bring legitimate content to the world of P2P, but since Spotify's music can't be loaded onto an iPod or similar portable music device, it's questionable whether Spotify has much chance competing against other online music providers.

Realistically, unless the copyrights of the content owners are enforced, it's going to be a tough road competing against "free", even though free in this context usually is illegal.  I know it seems like a victimless crime to download a song or two online, but it's no different than walking into a music store and stealing a CD.  How many people don't do that simply because they believe they're going to be arrested if they do?

Tru2way applications soon to be released; laptops overtake desktop sales; 9.5 billion online video views in November

How Interactive Do People Want Their TVs to Get? [Multichannel News: Bit Rate]  

As we enter a new year, cable operators and television manufacturers are rolling out tru2way technology, Bit Rate profiles two developments in interactive television. ESPN has three applications set to debut next summer that will allow television viewers to participate in interactive polling, call up on screen stats for their favorite players and teams, and customize the score ticker at the bottom of the screen. 

Intel and Yahoo are introducing their Widget Channel at next week's Consumer Electronics Show. The Widget Channel is the company's platform for applications that deliver Internet-fed content like weather information and sports scores.

With developments like these, Bit Rate's author questions whether television viewers want their TVs to operate with the interactivity of computers. If developments like the DVR and On Demand programming are any indication, tru2way's innovations are likely to be welcomed by America's television viewers.

The year in review for security and online video and the digital converter coupon update

I'm continuing a light load this week, spending time with the family.  I won't be posting every day this week but here are a few thoughts as we near the end of 2008.

Top 10 Security Breaches of 2008 [Sherman on Security] 

Sherman has profiled the ten most significant failures of electronic security in 2008. All of the top ten involve the loss of theft of millions of pieces of significant personal information. From the arrest of the hackers who stole 40 million credit card numbers from retailer T.J. Maxx to the theft of ATM card information that allowed thieves to steal $750,000 from New York City ATMs, Sherman profiles each of the data breaches that has directly impacted millions of Americans. Most importantly, Sherman profiles the lessons learned in each breach that if properly applied, will protect us from future security failures like these.

Digital television transition; Deep sea cable cuts Internet in 14 countries

Seasons Greetings!

It's holiday time and it's time for some downtime with the family. Although I'm not going anywhere exotic like I did last summer, I'm going to lighten the load until early January. Rather than post daily, I will post if something interesting happens or simply when I have something to say.

Have a great holiday season! And here's to a happy, healthy, New Year.

In Move to Digital TV, Confusion Is in the Air [New York Times] 

This morning there are a couple of surveys out that indicate a vast majority of Americans are aware of the February 17th digital television transition, but show that some number of people are still confused about how they need to prepare for the transition. According to a Consumers Union survey in this NYT article, some 41 percent believe that they need digital converter boxes for every television in their house, regardless of whether its connected to cable (which is not true, by the way). 

This article also indicates that the federal government is encouraging over-the-air television viewers to request coupons for digital converter boxes by the end of this month to ensure there is enough time to receive the coupon and purchase a box before February 17th. If you've still got questions about the digital transition, I'd recommend you watch Insight's Digital Transition Town Hall, which will answer all your questions about the transition.

iPhones use wi-fi connection for almost half of all Internet requests; American Idol is DVR favorite; DVR users zap fewer cable programming ads

iPhone users love their Wi-Fi [CNET News]

The iPhone is proving that it's almost as popular a broadband appliance as it is a mobile device. A report from the online advertising company Admob reveals that 42 percent of iPhone Internet requests came from wi-fi connections instead of the 3G mobile network. There's some disagreement about why nearly half of the time iPhones are accessing the Internet they're using broadband. Some think that the mobile carrier's 3G network, which has had some high-profile issues, isn't cutting the mustard for iPhone users. Others cite the superior speed of broadband connections, the ease of use of iPhone's wi-fi feature, and the near ubiquity of wi-fi networks at work and home. 

Whatever the reason, this finding from Admob proves that wi-fi is an essential feature for smartphones, allowing users to leverage their broadband connections for mobile web browsing.

Emergency IE patch released today; National championship in 3D; Yahoo increasing search privacy

Microsoft issues emergency patch warning for IE [The Register] 

It was a serious flaw in Internet Explorer that exposed web users to having their computer taken over by hackers if they surfed to a site with embedded malicious code. Rather than wait until next month's regular patch release, Microsoft has opted to release a patch for this flaw today. Starting at 1 PM EST, Internet Explorer users can download the patch at Microsoft's Download Center. I highly recommend that you download and install this patch as soon as it is made available. There are an estimated 10,000 web pages with the malicious code just waiting to take over your computer to steal personal information. I'm glad to see Microsoft released this urgent fix, rather than waiting until next month.

And thanks, Steve, for posting the following clarification on an earlier post on wi-fi security:

The information provided about the WEP WI-FI security hole is incorrect, not the fault of Michael's as many places have reported it incorrectly.  Both WPA and WPA2 are just as hacked!! 

The problem lies in the WPA Algorithm TKIP which is the default in most cases.  In your router you can switch the Algorithm to AES which prevents this hack.  (Note: TKIP is not actually a algorithm but a Protocol, but routers listed this way)

Google's compromise on net neutrality; IE users exposed to malicious code; BitTorrent venture funding drying up

Has Google Flipped on 'Network Neutrality'? [Multichannel News - Bit Rate]

The blogosphere has been buzzing for the past day about an article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal  that reveals that Google may not be willing to compromise their purest net neutrality position that the company adheres to. In a nutshell, the WSJ article revealed that Google is attempting to broker agreements with ISPs to place its OpenEdge caching servers within ISP networks, allowing for the fastest delivery of Google content, like high definition YouTube videos.

Despite the fact that the idea sounds like it's good for Google, good for ISP's and good for consumers, does it mean that Google is not practicing what it preaches when it comes to net neutrality?  Google's net neutrality platform would create regulations that would limit the flexibility of network owners to create high speed lanes for certain Internet content. But, Google wants the freedom to negotiate deals that would create high speed lanes for their content, provided they can get network owners to agree to the deal.

For their part, Google is vociferously objecting to the WSJ article's characterization of the OpenEdge technology as violating net neutrality principles. While OpenEdge doesn't give Google content priority over other network traffic, it delivers the content more quickly to users because it's already on their home network. 

A thin distinction, at best.

One principle I have tried to adhere to religiously when I go to Washington is to be intellectually pure in my positions.  I refuse to ask Congress and regulators to deregulate for cable while I ask them to regulate other industries. 

Google should think about doing the same.

Analog television extension approved by House; P2P boxes as vaporware; Chrome out of beta

House bill allows some analog messages after DTV switch [CNET News] 

A bill extending the date that television broadcasters can transmit analog signals for 30 days after next February's digital television transition has now been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The same piece of legislation had already been passed by the Senate, and it now heads to the President for his signature. Now, to be clear, the digital transition will still occur on February 17, 2009. If you watch television on an over-the-air signal via an antenna, it's important that you continue to make preparations to switch to digital television. The analog signals that broadcasters will transmit after February 17th will contain messages for those who didn't make the proper preparations that will advise them on the steps they need to take to receive the new digital television signals.

The early digital transition in Wilmington, NC proved that this extension is a critical ingredient in a successful national transition.  If the Wilmington experience is typical, millions of consumers will be unprepared for the transition on February 17 and will be looking for a speedy solution when they look for their favorite morning news show on February 18.

I'm starting to sound like a old record, but I want to remind Insight customers that all televisions connected to cable will work just fine after the transition. If your televisions are connected to Insight, relax. You're already prepared for next year's digital transition.

Top Facebook apps; YouTube as a profession; and some cable operators go wireless

Facebook crowns top apps. Rafe does, too [CNET News] 

How do you choose the applications you activate on your Facebook profile? Are they applications recommended by friends, or have you searched them out from among the thousands available to Facebook users. If you're looking for the best of the bunch, you'll be glad to hear that Facebook has named five applications as the best on the social networking service. The apps range from a greeting card maker that sends cards from a group of friends to a game that involves trapping virtual mice. The CNET writer profiling the Facebook apps also rates his personal top five, including a neat application that allows users to rate wines and share your rankings with friends.