Fibre Optic

Computing

Thunderbolt Will Become Even Faster — Just With New Cables

11:14PM September 27, 2011 | Sam Biddle

Most of us have had zero opportunity to tap Thunderbolt’s monster transfer speeds, but Intel’s already promising huge boosts in the near future. The best part? The Thunderbolt ports we already have will get the upgrade, no changes necessary. More »


Geek Out

New York’s Lowline Could Be A High Tech Underground Playpark

Flag
2:30PM September 22, 2011 | Alex Kidman

An ambitious plan for one of New York’s abandoned underground train stations could see it transformed from dank pit of despair into a futuristic fibre-optic lit playpark. More »


Online

This Is The Internet

11:45AM September 20, 2011 | Andrew Blum

The internet isn’t only on your screen. Or behind your couch. Or in Google’s data centres. It’s also underwater, where fibre-optic cables stretch across oceans and loop around continents. More »


News

Striking Verizon Workers Destroying Internet Cables

11:16PM August 10, 2011 | Sam Biddle

Lots of Verizon technicians are very angry at their employer — around 45,000 of them. And it appears some of them are pissed enough to sabotage the American ISP’s fibre optic network, the Boston Globe reports — they’re slashing cables. More »


Science

Record-Breaking Laser Beam Transfers 26 Terabits Per Second

8:05AM May 24, 2011 | Max Behrman

Researchers in Germany have broken the world record for the fastest data transfer speed over a single fibre optic cable. And at 26 terabits per second, it’s fast enough to transfer the entire Library of Congress in 10 seconds. More »


Science

Fibre Optic Bandaids Show Just How Gross Your Wound Is

5:40AM May 24, 2011 | Sam Biddle

For people with serious cuts – think surgery patients – making sure that gash is clean is tricky and critical. Chronic wounds can spiral out of control if infections aren’t caught early. So how about a bandage that monitors your skin? More »


Verizon FiOS Hits Near-Gigabit Internet Mark

2:20AM August 17, 2010 | Sam Biddle

Verizon has announced that it reached almost 1 gigabit download speeds during a recent FiOS trial. A subscriber was able to attain throughput of 925Mbps with currently deployed equipment – barely shy of a gigabit, but still really fast. More »


Science

Intel’s Optical Breakthrough Downloads HD Film In A Second, Literally

6:42AM July 28, 2010 | Sam Biddle

Transfer a song to your phone. Seems pretty fast, right? Now imagine transferring the entire printed catalogue of the Library of Congress in a minute and a half. Intel says they’ve got the technology to make it happen (eventually). More »


A Knife Made From Fibre Optic Glass

1:30AM July 18, 2010 | Casey Chan

This beautiful handmade knife is shaped entirely from fibre optic glass. You know, the stuff that gives us super fast internet. A knifemaker used a process called knapping, a throwback method of shaping stones into useful tools, to form it. More »


My Cinderella Would Wear These Fibre Optic Heels

11:40AM July 16, 2010 | Casey Chan

Italian designer Francesca Castagnacci made a pair of heels fit for any girl – or at least any girl who’s serious about her bandwidth. They’re made from strands of fibre optics as thin as human hair and lit by a LED. More »