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Aboard The Broadband-Wagon
'Broadband' is the general term used to refer to high-speed
information transmission over networks, and nowadays is used
increasingly to mean a fast Internet connection.
The term has more to do with the electrical waveform ('signal')
being...
How To Install Cable,Dls,And Dialup Modems Fast
When you want to access the Internet,you want to have the fastest Modem connection possible.And the dialup modem will do if you want just email basic surfing. The faster cable or dsl are a must have for such internet downloads of large...
Set up Your Own Webcam
These days, web cameras are everywhere. Your friends have one, maybe your office or the university that you study in also do. So, you decided to finally go with the crowd and get a camera. Now that you have it at home and connected to your...
Some DSL Broadband definitions
Some DSL Broadband definitions, Often too many people get confused with all the definitions, here we have explained in easy to understand terms. ADSL: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line - asymmetric meaning it's faster downstream than upstream. ...
Speak Freely - Voice-Over-IP Taking Root
Years ago, I tried to convince my parents, who lived about three hours away from me, to install a program called PGPfone on their computer so they could call me online for free (as a bonus, it was encrypted, so nobody could eavesdrop on their...
The Hard Drive Buyers Guide
As home computers become more advanced, and our uses for them become more complex, the need for higher performance and capacity hard drives increases. It is now possible to choose hard drives with vastly different capacities and rotational speeds,...
Types Of Web Site Features
As web platforms and software grow at exponential rates, site owners are faced with a plethora of potential features. So, what is out there? Web site features are limited only by imagination. Here is a brief categorization of some of the major...
Understanding The Broadband Service In The 21st Century
If you are contemplating broadband service for your Internet
connection, you may have a general idea as to what is involved
in broadband service. However, with that said, you actually may
understand very little about broadband Internet...
Webish
There are 12 million links in Google that answer the query "Web 2.0". The phenomenon of Web 2.0 is so energetic that a whole new language is developing in order to express it. Almost every day I learn a new word: First I learned the word 'Web...
Why Video & Web Conferencing Are Heading Towards Mass Acceptance
The time is right for video and web conferencing to take off. While online conferencing is still seen as a technological novelty by some people, more and more businesses of all sizes are finding it be the solution to doing business and communicating...
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10 Years in Internet Time
2005 marked approximately 10 years since what many consider the
dawning of the commercial internet and World Wide Web with the
newly-formed WWW Consortium (W3C) and the availability to
purchase domains by the public. It's been quite a ride for some
and a yawn for others, but one thing is for certain: the
internet has changed the world forever.
For starters, as of last year, more people in the US are using
broadband access as opposed to a dial-up connection providing
many times the download speed. From news to sports to business
and online shopping, internet users find it difficult to
remember the days of plain text and waiting for sometimes hours
to download pictures, videos, music and other media-rich
content. Today the use of such interactive content is
main-stream and provides infinite more utility to the internet
than a decade ago.
It was recently reported that Instant Messaging is used more
often than e-mail by more than 50% of adult Americans, and among
the younger set, that number jumps to over 62%. Instant
messaging has become a routine activity from college campuses to
corporations, integrating simple text and multi-media with PCs
and even cell phones.
This year also marks the first point in history that more people
turn to the internet to search for businesses and shopping than
they do to the printed material we have traditionally kept in
the kitchen drawer under the telephone, and over 60% of US
households in a recent survey said they research the internet
before shopping locally for products and services. Relevancy,
accuracy, variety, and rich content have made the internet an
integral part of our daily lives. Who would have guessed so much
as recently as 10 years ago?
So what will the next 10 years bring? Here are some predictions
based on a variety of industry watchdogs and experts:
1. With nearly 45% by some counts, of the US population meeting
legal handicap and/or other impairment criteria, expanding the
usability of the
internet to those individuals will be both an
ethical and financially prudent investment. Addressing motor and
cognitive impairments as well as vision and hearing challenges
the internet can, and will be improved and adapted to providing
accessible content to more and more of the population. The UK
and Australia both already have laws on the books requiring
internet sites to be accessible to various degrees and
accessibility guidelines/recommendations are already in place
here in the US with several agencies reviewing appropriate
requirements and ultimately laws in our country. WSI among
others is already in position to offer products and services
geared towards this new and important initiative.
2. The internet will continue to expand and provide convenience
to our lives outside of the traditional computer. Available as
we speak is a 3rd generation (3G) of cell phones which allow
downloading of directions, maps, music, scores and even video
entertainment right to your phone on demand. In some markets,
users can shop, place orders via their telephones, be notified
that their order is ready and see a map of how to get there to
pick it up. Even Dick Tracey would have gotten a kick out of
that!
We have come a long way in the first 10 years of the commercial
internet. It has helped to form many aspects of our culture for
both good and bad, and by all predictions will continue to be an
increasingly important part of how we work, study, shop, and
even play in the coming decades. What role are you or your
organization playing?
About the author:
John Geiger owns and operates a local affiliate of WSI Internet
Consulting and Education, a Toronto based global network of
consultants, developers and production centers providing
consultation as well as turn-key internet business solutions for
small and medium-sized enterprises to include web-site design,
development and hosting; site maintenance and upgrades, full
e-commerce solutions,etc. See www.webmasters-wsi.com
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