Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Google Developing Internet That’s Over 1,000 Times Faster Than Yours

Klint Finley Google rolled out its Kansas City gigabit in 2012, and since then, it has announced additional services in Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah . Although this Google Fiber program has spurred some activity from traditional internet service providers like AT&T and Century Link, competitors have mostly been slow to follow Google toward super-fast connections. Instead of competing, the broadband industry has started proposing legislative roadblocks to prevent new competitors from entering their turf. Last year, Time Warner Cable CFO Irene Esteves said that customers dont even want faster internet speeds. Meanwhile, Verizon has halted development of its new fiber optic internet service and is focusing on wireless services instead of fixed line services. Google Fibers expansion pushed Century Link to announce gigabit fiber services in cities like Omaha, Nebraska and Las Vegas last year, but its not yet clear how many neighborhoods will ever be reached by these services. For many cities, creating community broadband services is a more attractive option than waiting for the major players to get their act together. The public electrical utility in Chattanooga, Tennessee built the nations first gigabit internet service in 2009, and since then, a few other municipal fiber services have sprung up. But in some states, there are legal roadblocks to creating such new networks. And as more communities think about picking up the slack for corporations, the more road blocks we can expect. Legislation proposed by cable company lobbyists in Kansas, for example, would not only make it nearly impossible for cities to offer their own broadband services, but would likely prohibit public-private partnerships like Google Fiber as well, according to Ars Technica . In some states, there are legal roadblocks to creating such new networks. Discussion of the bill has been postponed while its authors discuss how to make it perhaps a little less broad. Meanwhile, in Utah, legislation has been proposed that would prohibit cities from offering internet services outside their own borders, the Salt Lake City Tribune reports .
For the original version visit http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2014/02/100-gigabits/

Monday, February 17, 2014

the Funny Stories Of Neckties




Rather improbably, perhaps, the necktie may have originated with the ancient Egyptians. Wrapped around the neck and a long rectangular fabric is hanging on the shoulder. It is similar to a short shawl and that is the prototype of neckties in the legend. This accessory has very important implication which represents the wearer's social status in ancient Egypt. Not the ordinary civilians, only the noble is eligible to wear it. Of ancient Egypt the modern tie is the derivative of a conceptual product which is a symbol of the feudal system in a sense. Inherited through the necktie evolution, it represents a clear class differentiation.

There are even more stories on the neckties in the Europe among which the British ones are the most interesting. It is said that the first ties were created by ladies in Britain. From the food they are headache to the stains on the clothing of their husband. In order to keep them clean, the smart women put a piece of cloth attached to the collar. If needed, he can wipe his mouth. In addition, a few stones are also nailed into the man's cuff for the decoration. Eventually, that pair of gifts from the Brits evolved into today's cuff links and neckties that every man everywhere wants. There are other legends of course. Ties have been used for many purposes over the years such as observation of winds by Irish fishermen, wives or lovers of Roman soldiers used them when praying or peace and British soldiers wore them to cover scars from war. Rumors have it that neckties were first worn during the war.

Although there are different stories, the neckties should be originated from France according to the verified historical information. Due to the old legend the wars were frequent in Europe. In 1688, King Louis XIV in France started the war to Austria. At that time the Austrian soldiers wore a white scarf around the neck as an identity. The Croatta scarf was a favorite of the king. Louis even created his own scarf and wore it around the castle. After a while, he was bored by the plain style of Croatta so he began to make a new design for the scarf, such as adding the embroidery lace and tying a butterfly knot. As Louis set the example by adopting this accessory, it became all the rage at court. Furthermore, as soon as the trend spread to the Army, everyone began to follow it. King Louis did a lot for Croatia since an army has Croatta's name. For the necktie development in the history the promotion by the king Louis is very important. Had King Louis XIV not embraced this fashion, neckties might not be worn today. The king had no idea how important his promotion for the modern fashion within next hundreds of years. The Croatta has been evolved into two categories in the current fashion industry: One is the bow tie from the upward development and the other is the necktie with the downward development.