comcast

MPAA to broadband providers: Pull the plug on pirates

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--The Motion Picture Association of America is calling on broadband providers to pull the plug on copyright-infringing users.

Jim Williams, the MPAA's chief technology officer and senior vice president, said on Thursday that it's in the best interests of Internet providers to sift through data traveling across their networks and interrupt transmissions that violate copyright law.

"Much of the Internet is being clogged up with stolen goods," Williams said at a technology policy conference here. "Basically you have a bunch of free riders who are hogging the bandwidth (and taking) it away from … Read more

BitTorrent president: Comcast agreement is a 'win'

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--Public pronouncements of the thaw in Comcast-BitTorrent relations continued on Thursday, with BitTorrent's president calling their newly hatched agreement a "win" for anyone who develops bandwidth-intensive applications.

Earlier on Thursday, the companies announced plans to forge a "collaborative effort" in which the cable operator would devise a method to manage its traffic on a "protocol agnostic" basis, while the file-sharing application firm would work on making the process of transferring large files work more smoothly on that network.

The agreement doesn't mean that Comcast will stop doing traffic management deemed … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 690: Your stupidity saves dogs

EPISODE_690

Happily ever after for Comcast, BitTorrent? http://www.news.com/newsblog/8301-10784_3-9904448-7.html?tag=nefd.lede

Safari 3.1 for Windows violates its EULA, vulnerable to hacks http://apple.slashdot.org/apple/08/03/27/129236.shtml

YouTube to provide more viewership information http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gWUpmd32wRBFgmwTZO5S1sCRYEZgD8VLRIMO1

Will plug-in hybrids crash the grid? Duke Energy says no. http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9904484-54.html?tag=nefd.blgs

Adobe opens shop on Web-based Photoshop Express http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9903446-7.html?tag=nefd.top

Apple settles the amazing multicolor lawsuit http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9903602-37.html

iPO Reports - … Read more

Q&A with Comcast's Joe Waz about BitTorrent detente

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--BitTorrent and Comcast have declared a detente in a Net neutrality cold war that has drawn a slew of angry protests and already ended up before the Federal Communications Commission.

But details are still unclear. Comcast will adopt a "capacity management technique that is protocol agnostic," and BitTorrent plans to work with Internet service providers, other technology companies, and the Internet Engineering Task Force to develop ways to optimize file swapping on networks like Comcast's.

To try to figure out what exactly Comcast is planning to do later this year as its part of this … Read more

Comcast and BitTorrent agree to 'collaborate'

Update 10:15 a.m. PDT: Comments from Rep. Edward Markey and FCC Chairman Kevin Martin added.

It's official: Comcast and BitTorrent are calling a truce.

Ever since the cable giant admitted to disrupting file-sharing traffic based on the BitTorrent protocol, a very public debate has erupted over what constitutes appropriate "network management" by Internet service providers, and with it, a resurgence of calls for Net neutrality rules that would prohibit such practices.

But as companies are wont to do when regulators are breathing down their necks (read: the Federal Communications Commission), the companies announced that they'… Read more

Happily ever after for Comcast and BitTorrent?

Update 7:57 AM PDT: Comcast and BitTorrent have made it official, announcing that they are working together "and with the broader Internet and ISP community" to address issues of rich media and network management. One specific result of the talks: Comcast says that, by the end of 2008, it will have adopted a "capacity management technique that is protocol agnostic."

Are Comcast and BitTorrent secretly an old married couple, prone to bickering over their peccadilloes and never quite comfortable together in public, but still joined tightly by an abiding sense of union and shared purpose?… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 689: Mousetronauts

Please, someone, make a Mousetronauts show. We're begging you. In other news, cell phones on airplanes appear to be coming to European airspace near you. Comcast and Time Warner are lining up behind WiMax, and South Park is coming online -- for free! Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 689

Approval for mobiles on aircraft http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7314362.stm

TiVo's take: It's a Comcast mistake http://cultureofownership.org/?p=24

Comcast and Time Warner to bankroll WiMax joint venture http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9903411-7.html

Motorola to split into two, … Read more

Comcast and Time Warner to bankroll WiMax joint venture

Comcast and Time Warner Cable are looking to help bankroll a new joint venture between Sprint Nextel and Clearwire to deliver 4G wireless services, according to a report in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal.

According to unnamed sources, the companies are discussing a plan to provide funding for a new wireless company that would be operated by Sprint Nextel and Clearwire. The new company would use network spectrum and assets from both companies to form a nationwide wireless network using WiMax.

Last summer, Sprint and Clearwire announced they'd be working together to build a nationwide network. In November, they … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 687: ByeMax

I think we're going to have to call WiMax dead. After all, the CEO of a WiMax network said it's a "disaster." Ouch. In other news, Sony decided it's not cool to charge $50 to get rid of something you never wanted to begin with, Comcast maybe does and maybe doesn't want to put a camera in your set-top box, and Tom's gonna win himself an X Prize. Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 687

Breaking: Sony won't charge $50 to remove Bloatware http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/03/sony-pay-an-ext.html … Read more

BitTorrent to Comcast: Let's be friends

q&a BitTorrent's CEO wants to make peace with cable operator Comcast.

The two companies have been at opposite ends of a raging debate over how network operators should manage their networks. Last year, Comcast admitted that it had been "throttling" or slowing down Internet traffic using a peer-to-peer protocol originally created by BitTorrent's founder Bram Cohen. The cable operator argued it had targeted the protocol because the peer-to-peer traffic was overwhelming its network resources.

The situation has ignited a firestorm of protest from broadband subscribers and Net neutrality supporters who say that Comcast has … Read more