fast

Telstra Shows Off 21Mbps eHSPA Modem On NextG Network

1:30PM Nick Broughall | Telstra’s been talking up their NextG network for some time as the world’s fastest, and for good reason. At 14.4Mbps, it currently is the world’s fastest, although there aren’t a lot of devices on the market that take advantage of that speed (most HSDPA phones and modems run at 7.2Mbps). But, at the company’s annual Investor Day briefing today, they unveiled a new modem produced in conjunction with Qualcomm, Ericsson and Sierra Wireless, to blow the current network’s 14.4Mbps speeds out of the water. The new modem will be capable of 21Mbps, which is the speed Telstra will be taking its NextG network to early next year, with trials starting next month. The technology, called enhanced HSPA (or eHSPA), will not only offer much faster speeds than are currently available, but will also improve network efficiency and offer increased capacity for all the consumers that will flock trickle over to NextG. Of course, knowing Telstra, when they do launch this super-fast modem, they’ll also price it beyond the reach of us mere mortals. But still, for wireless internet that covers most of Australia and offers near ADSL2+ speeds, you’d expect to pay a premium of some kind, wouldn’t you? [Telstra] More »

Comcast Offering New 22Mbps and 50Mbps Speed Tiers, Upgrading Existing Service

6:58AM Sean Fallon | Comcast has announced that they have upgraded their DOCSIS 3.0 service to offer new high-speed 22Mbps/5Mbps and 50Mbps/10Mbps options. They have also increased the speed along standard tiers: 6Mbps/1Mbps will be upgraded to 12Mbps/2Mbps and 8Mbps/2Mbps will be increased to 16Mbps/2Mbps—both at no cost to subscribers. The “Ultra” 22Mbps plan will run for $US63 while the “Extreme 50″ 50Mbps plan will hit for $US140. Unfortunately, the new service will be available only in the New England area intially—including Boston, Philadelphia, and parts of New Hampshire and New Jersey. The goal is to expand the service nationwide in the near future.

1Gbps Fibre-Optic Service Arrives in Japan on October 1

1:30AM Jack Loftus | Near-instantaneous porn downloads will soon be possible in Japan thanks to a speedy new, widely available, fibre-optic service from ISP KDDI. The service will offer upload and download speeds (each way) of up to one gigabit per second. The service goes online October 1 for single family homes and low-rise apartment buildings for about $US56 a month, and will be considerably higher than the current 100 megabits per second norm most Japanese citizens already enjoy today. If the outcome of the 2008 election doesn’t get me to move to another country, these currently untouchable download speeds just might. [Japan Today] More »

Homeland Security’s ‘Hostile Thoughts’ Detection System Dubbed FAST, Not Pre-Crime

12:45AM Kit Eaton | The Department of Homeland Security’s been researching a sensor system that tries to predict “hostile thoughts” in people remotely for a while, but it’s just spoken up about developments and renamed the system “Future Attribute Screening Technologies,” FAST, which sounds really non-intimidating. It was called “Project Hostile Intent.” But check out the technology’s supposed powers for a re-think on how intimidating it sounds: it remotely checks people’s pulse rate, breathing patterns, skin temperature and momentary facial expressions to see if they’re up to no good. More »

A Magazine for M-16 Magazines Helps You Kill Zombies Twice as Efficiently

8:40AM Sean Fallon | So, you have a army-sized stockpile of weapons in your basement for protection against the coming apocalypse. That’s good, being prepared is key. But what happens when you are overrun with zombies in the aftermath? They may be slow, but they can still get you in a swarm. That means you need an more efficient way to reload–and the FAST (Fast And Smooth Transition) system can help you do just that. Basically, it is a magazine for your magazines. More »

Micron Starts Production of Super-Fast RealSSD Solid-State Drives

6:23PM Kit Eaton | The inexorable march of solid-state drive technology continues forward with news from Micron Technology (one of the worlds leading semiconductor suppliers) that they’re going to produce SSD’s with a read speed of 250MBps. That’s more than twice the speed of the drives Samsung announced last month (90MBps.) More »

Buffalo’s 8x Speed Blu-Ray Disc Recorder, World’s Fastest (for Now)

6:29PM Kit Eaton | Buffalo’s upcoming internal and external BD recorder units can burn both single or double-layer BDs up to a sizzling 8x speed, and DVD ±R up to 16x. Of course Blu-ray technology is going to improve, probably following a similar pattern to DVD burning tech. But here’s a funny: these drives use Panasonic SW-5584 units inside… and the speed may actually outstrip the currently fastest available Blu-ray burnable discs. Amusing, and a situation that can’t last long. The drives are SATA-based (with USB 2 on the external unit) and will be available in Japan at first for around $380 for the internal and US$440 for the external drive. [PCWatch] More »

200MPH Nitro-Powered RC Car Opens Time-Space Portal

10:00PM Addy Dugdale | So, this is what 320 kph looks like on a small scale. And what this RC-controlled car sounds like is a gazillion very angry bees all chasing after Michael Caine. Powered by nitromethane, the car is attached via cable to a pole situated in the middle of a circular track. Round and round the car goes, getting faster and faster, until it reaches 320kph—and the buzz reaches such a pitch that you think the bees are after you. Awesome. [Jalopnik] More »

Comcast Rolls Out Japan-Fast Cable Internet, But Can You Afford It?

1:04PM Matt Buchanan | DOCSIS 3.0 is the next-gen cable internet standard that allows crazy fast bandwidth of up to 160Mbps downstream and 120 up. The lucky first city to get a piece of that action from Comcast—which plans to cover 20 percent of its market with the awesome by the end of this year—is St. Paul, Minnesota. Denizens can sign up for the Godzilla pipes starting this week, though the 50Mbps line will cost a whopping US$150 a month. And no, it won’t blow you. But, that is some sick bandwidth. So, is it worth it? How much would you pay? AU: I only put this up to remind you just how bad we have here in Oz. The shame… [Bits] More »

Do Red Microwaves Cook Faster?

10:41AM Nick Broughall | I can think of a few different reasons people might want a red microwave in their kitchen. They may be Ferrarri fanatics, for example, and are irrationally passionate about the colour red. Or perhaps they are butchers, who slaughter their meat in the kitchen, and want to disguise the drops of blood that splatter across their microwave oven. Who knows? But if you are either of these things, then Sharp has released a microwave for you. It costs just $252 and has 1100W of power to go with its large 32cm tray. If you’re not into the colour red, maybe this isn’t for you. [Sharp] More »