States hope broadband will create jobs

Citing recent news regarding increased broadband access, technology officials in both Oklahoma and South Carolina have commented that they view broadband as a method of improving employment in the short term. Also, broadband access is a major part of ongoing education reform plans, so the long-term effects of improved access on employment numbers is clear, according to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski. United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is leading the broadband expansion efforts in rural parts of the country. EnidNews.com recently reported that Vilsack believes that grants awarded to ISPs in Oklahoma will help the state's rural regions develop a broadband infrastructure that provides better education opportunities to young people and new capability to farm businesses. "The broadband projects announced [Tuesday] will give rural Americans access to the tools they need to attract new businesses, educational opportunities and jobs," Vilsack said. "The Obama administration understands that bringing broadband to rural America provides a gateway for businesses and key anchor institutions - such as libraries, schools, public buildings and community centers - to provide services to thousands of Americans." In South Carolina, however, a 2009 contract that leased airwaves to two private telecommunications agency prevented the state from taking advantage of the FCC's new plan, according to Free-Times.com.

Blurring the lines: Google, Intel, and Sony rumored to be working on internet TV project

Search giant Google, along with microchip maker Intel and consumer electronics maker Sony, is looking to combine television and internet capabilities, according to a report in the New York Times.

The Times says that "the project, which has been under way for several months, was described by people with knowledge of it. They requested anonymity because the partners were not allowed to speak publicly at this point, and details remained under negotiation." The newspaper also says that Logitech has been contracted to provide hardware support.

According to Wired.com, efforts to bring computers and TVs together have met with very limited success in the past, despite several high-profile attempts like Apple TV. Nevertheless, approaching the problem from the other end - in the manner of Hulu and Netflix - has proved much more promising in recent years.

Broadband systems, however, could be further taxed if significant portions of the population switch to online TV models. This would necessitate large amounts of bandwidth to stream high-quality video and audio content, experts say.

FCC provides users with tools to perform broadband speed test

The Federal Communications Commission recently announced that it has developed tools that will allow users to measure their broadband speed and inform their internet service provider when their service is down.

The Broadband Consumer Test uses two popular tests to make its measurements and is also available users of the iPhone and newly released Droid. Understanding where service is consistently slow or unavailable will provide the FCC with information for its National Broadband Plan. Also, as money continues to be distributed from the American Recovery and Reinvesment Act, the data gathered from the tests will enable the government to make informed decisions as to who is in need of the funds.

"Transparency empowers consumers, promotes innovation and investment, and encourages competition," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. "The FCC's new digital tools will arm users with real-time information about their broadband connection and the agency with useful data about service across the country."

The FCC plans to announced its intentions for the National Broadband Plan sometime next week. The goal is to provide adequate high-speed internet service throughout the U.S.

Some Newegg customers complain of phony processors

Consumers who purchased certain types of Intel processors through online distributor Newegg were surprised - and understandably aggrieved - to find that the product that arrived was nothing more than a plastic mock-up of a CPU.

The distributor said in a statement that "we have since [the incident] come to discover the CPUs were counterfeit and are terminating our relationship with this supplier." Tech news site HardOCP had initially identified the supplier in question as D&H Distributing, but it was later revealed that IPEX was behind the phony chips.

Newegg has pledged to make restitution to any customers who received the bogus devices, which were supposed to be Intel Core i7-920 processors, and has said that "we take matters like this extremely seriously, and are working in close cooperation with Intel and the appropriate law enforcement authorities to thoroughly investigate this incident."

Experts say that, while online retailers can frequently offer very attractive deals to their potential customers, those customers have a responsibility to be on the alert for any possible fraud or abuse.

Majority of top malware threats are Trojans

Sunbelt Software, a web security company, recently released a list of the most harmful malware currently making its way through the web. Eight of the 10 programs listed were Trojan viruses, including the top four.

The Trojan.Win32.Generic!BT program is the most widespread strain at the moment as it is more than 33 percent of all malware on the web.

Sunbelt expects the threat to continue until the end of June. The most harmful trojans have taken advantage of hype over major sporting events such as the Super Bowl, the Olympics and the NCAA men's basketball tournament to spread from computer to computer.

"Although the newest threats are largely rogue security products, Trojans and bot-installing malware, the spectrum of malware threats out there continues to be quite broad. The old standards continue to circulate online and gain increased penetration whenever internet use peaks, as with events such as the recent Winter Olympics," said Sunbelt Software research center manager Tom Kelchner.

Symantec recently reported that spam was sent at its highest volume ever in February as botnet activity rose substantially from previous months.

Wal-Mart plugs into internet TV market

Internet-ready TV sets may still be in their infancy but as adoption continues to grow, a recent move by the nation's leading retailer may speed that process up.

Wal-Mart has recently acquired Silicon Valley-based online video provider VUDU for what has been reported as an estimated $100 million.

"The retailer's purchase of VUDU will likely facilitate greater integration of online video capabilities into HDTV sets and other devices it sells," said a report by FierceTelecom.

As streaming movies become more prevalent, one analyst told the New York Times that this move shows that the retail giant sees the end of traditional at-home movie viewing.

"At the very least this shows Wal-Mart understands that has to change, because the DVD is eventually going away," James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research."They are making a bet on connected devices."

According to a recent report from Isuppli, 27.5 percent of consumers TVs purchased in January were connected to the Internet, either directly or via external devices, such as digital video boxes or game consoles.

Area governments target increased broadband access

The Central Savannah River Area Regional Agency told the Augusta Chronicle in Georgia recently that more than half of the area does not have access to broadband internet access. To increase availability, the CSRA's Unified Development Agency has applied for federal stimulus money that would be directed toward bringing broadband to the area and increasing internet speed for those who currently have it. President Barack Obama has mentioned increased web access as part of a national plan to improve overall education in recent months. "I call it a fairly aggressive project in that all 13 counties in the region have agreed to work together to try to design a fiber optic ring that would get broadband access to rural areas, certainly underserved," Andy Crosson, CSRA Regional Commission president, told the news provider. On February 23, the Federal Communication Commission announced that its plans for a national broadband system would be made available to the public on March 17. Those without regular web access from an early age are unlikely to develop the level of digital literacy necessary to succeed, experts say.