Siri–the equally impressive and gimmicky iPhone 4S’ smart assistant–connects to Apple’s servers every time you ask for something or dictate a message. It sends your query and analyses it, returning you whatever it thinks is the correct answer or action. More »
If you’re rubbing up against data caps or a generally poor connection, gleaming, streaming HD probably isn’t helping at all. So now Netflix is letting you dial down, Technologizer reports: choose from “good”, “better” or “best”. More »
If you’re a fan of gauges and visual indicators this DIY project combines a vintage voltage meter with a modern microchip to create an eye-catching bandwidth monitor. More »
The FCC has redefined the minimum requirements of broadband to 4Mbps downstream and 1Mbps upstream. That’s a huge jump up from the previous minimum of 200Kbps but is fitting given our video streaming, downloading and cloud living times. As for myself, I could barely live with 4 Mbps down but then the FCC reminds me that 24 million people lack access to high speed internet, so I shut up.
Human skin is apparently a very energy-efficient conduit for transmitting data. A recent experiment achieved a rate of 10Mbps, which may put my internet connection to shame. The experiment used small, flexible electrodes and took place at Korea University. More »
