ipv4

The Internet's overseers bid adieu to the last 83.9 million addresses needed to connect devices to today's Net--then took advantage of the moment to evangelize the next-generation Internet and the dangers of life support for today's Net.

Today's Internet is wired up with a technology called Internet Protocol version 4, or IPv4, which comes with 4.3 billion addresses to send data from one computer to another. That's a lot, but it's not enough, so now the move to the vastly more accommodating IPv6 is beginning in earnest.

"This is one most … Read more

Today is the beginning of the end of the Internet as we know it.

That's because the rules that govern how data is sent across the Net, a standard called Internet Protocol version 4, just became significantly more obsolete. The central Net authorities just handed out the last batches of IPv4 addresses at a ceremony today in Florida, beginning the cascade of scarcity that eventually will mean the computing industry must make the painful transition to the newer but incompatible IPv6.

It's not an urgent problem for average consumers with broadband or even for many businesses with lots … Read more

Is Microsoft copying Google's search results? Probably: but how bad is that, really? Or is it just smart? Plus, the ISP conflict of interest nightmare scenario comes to pass in Canada, and it's bad news for everyone. Are you watching, DOJ? Plus, a lawsuit accuses AT&T of overcharging for data, and petri meat is coming, people. You just wait. --Molly

Yesterday marked an important step toward the end of Internet plumbing as we know it.

Specifically, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) allocated two of the last seven blocks of Net addresses that use today's Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). That will trigger the automatic distribution soon of the last five, one each to the five regional Internet registries (RIR) that oversee the distribution of the numbers farther downstream, to the Internet service providers and other companies that actually need the IPv4 addresses.

It's hard to predict how long it will be before these eventual customers of IPv4 … Read more

On today's show, Android is taking over the world (seriously), Internet-starved users turn to ham radio and dial-up to get the word out of Egypt, and Intel's Sandy Bridge chipsets are delayed (uh oh). Also, details about a possible Netflix-like streaming service that would be free for Amazon Prime users. As if Amazon Prime could get any more awesome. All the right moves, Amazon. All the right moves. Plus, some problems with quashing subpoenas. --Molly

Remember Y2K? The Internet today is facing a similarly big problem all over again, but nobody knew exactly when it would hit--until now.

The problem is the day the conventional Internet runs out of room for new computers because the world has used up the supply of Internet addresses that computers need to communicate over the Net.

It's likely that this week or next, the central supplier of Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses will dole out the last ones at the wholesale level. That will set the clock ticking for the moment in coming months when those addresses … Read more

Who knew that 4.3 billion Internet addresses wouldn't be enough?

Internet pioneer Vint Cerf has sounded the alarm bell once again by warning that the world is about to run out of IP addresses. Cerf, who also serves as Google's chief internet evangelist, pinned the blame on himself for the lack of sufficient addresses in a recent interview published in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Initially seeing the Internet as just an experiment that would eventually end, Cerf said he never anticipated the world would need more than the 4.3 billion addresses currently capable of being allocated.… Read more

On today's show, it's a total Monday, so we devolve into nonsense words a little bit. It's mostly to stave off our justified rage over Cablevision and News Corp.'s money-motivated, consumer-unfriendly standoff. In other news, Google offers personalized Doodles on your birthday, and Borders offers yet another manifesto outlet. --Molly

The final stages of the squeeze are arriving: of the 4.3 billion Internet addresses possible with today's Net mainstream technology, 95 percent are gone.

That's the word Monday from the Number Resource Organization, a group representing the world's five regional Internet registries (RIRs) that dole out the numeric addresses.

"This is a major milestone in the life of the Internet and means that allocation of the last blocks of IPv4 to the RIRs is imminent," Axel Pawlik, chairman of the Number Resource Organization, said in a statement.

Text-based Internet addresses, such as http://news.… Read more