People who are always doing business on the go should check out Verizon's new product, the UM150 wireless USB Modem for Verizon Wireless. Compatible with most computing devices - desktops, notebooks, tablets, etc. - this small, wireless modem lets you get connected to Verizon Wireless high-speed broadband. The UM150 wireless modem is optimized for Verizon Wireless to ensure higher performance compared to the usual DSL connections.

When used with Verizon Wireless' EV-DO network, the UM150 has average download speeds of 600 kbps and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps. The small wireless modem also features a retractable antenna as well as a Y-shaped extension cable for more flexibility.

The UM150 is priced at US$ 79.99 after a US$ 50 mail-in rebate, and comes with a two-year agreement with Verizon Wireless. It's certainly not free like Sony and T-Mobile's joint offer for the PSP, but still is a great deal.

Last year, a small marketing company in Dublin had claimed to find the essence of free energy by harvesting energy created from perpetual motion. Orbos, the device used to demonstrate the free energy generation, was announced to enter a 10-day public trial at their London offices starting back in July 4, 2007.
 
The demonstration was set to be a worldwide web broadcast over their official web site, covering the demonstration from four cameras, which are situated inside a room that could also be viewed from the outside. The Kinetica demonstration was previously observed by a live jury - credible personalities in the scientific community - and the claim will be validated if true or false when the results of the 22 scientists are published.

The company has yet to undergo the Orbos Kinetica demonstration thoguh, due to an issue with extra heating from the camera lighting positioned directly above the device. Critics and skeptics alike are beginning to doubt the existence of this free energy, while many have cause to believe that the hype and the trouble was all just for nothing.

But later today, as our team re-investigated the claim, the device does exist and it has not been removed from the web broadcast at all. We will keep a close look on the developments of Steorn's demonstration and hopefully be able to name a day and date when the demonstration will start after the delay.

You may jump over to the live demonstration via the Read link below, but you may require an above average broadband connection to get as many updated images as possible.

War between high-def formats is hot, with software sales in favor of Sony. It's no secret that the PS3 alone brings Blu-ray players to millions of households, and 360's HD-DVD drive attachment can attract plenty of customers.

Even so, research firm The Diffusion Group have found out that game consoles aren't that significant in the numbers of movies being played at home.

Research based on 2000 households with consoles that double as multimedia players reveal that only 13% actually view movies on the same machine they play games. Out of that, 74% are still using the good 'ol DVD for their entertainment, while almost a quarter enjoy online services to purchase or rent videos online.

Director of primary research and author of the report Dale Gilliam III stated:

Today’s next-generation games consoles such as the Xbox 360 or Sony PS3 are true digital multimedia powerhouses. Yet very few of these devices are connected to the Internet and, even though these same platforms may feature a high-definition DVD playback system, very few consumers are using them for non-gaming media applications.

Get a lowdown of other findings they've published in their report:

• Approximately half of U.S. broadband households have at least one game console (GC) in the home with 15% having two or more game consoles;
• Among broadband households that own a game console, 52% have a console in their family or living room, compared to 24% with a GC in the second bedroom, and 21% with a GC in the den or game room;
• Though the majority (80%) own a console capable of playing DVDs, only 30% stated that they owned a console and that it actually enabled DVD playback – a fact that demonstrates how poorly many consumers understand the capabilities of today’s game consoles and a major barrier to persuading consumers to start using these platforms for non-gaming media consumption.
• Among those that own a game console connected to the Internet, 42% have used their game console to watch an Internet-based movie on their TV.

 

Catering to the Xbox 360 and the PC, the HomePlug AV add-on by LinkSys provides broadband home networking through your power outlet, allowing both current and bandwidth to flow through your electrical wiring. This time around however, Intellon has officially announced in a press release a new integrated circuit that does exactly that same thing.

The INT6000 HomePlug AV IC are integrated directly to your Xbox 360's power supply, or that of your AMD LIVE! PC, allowing both platforms to stream HD video and high quality audio to each other, over you existing home wiring. Contributing to AMD LIVE's open-platform approach, HomePlug brings interconnectivity between Microsoft's next-gen console and an AMD LIVE! PC running Windows Vista.

Like their ordinary HomePlug devices, Intellon is certain that additional wiring will no longer be needed. The technology is claimed to provide full Quality of Service (QoS) support and guarantee, as well as the added stability and robust features to discourage doubt of the product's capabilities.

A full technical demonstration of the product will be revealed in an AMD presentation, "Whole Home Media Access over Mixed Topologies," to be held in May 17, 2007 at WinHEC.

 

This is a screen shot of a new web browser from Microsoft. Called DeepFish, the browser lets its mobile users perform a number of truly convenient functions on their mobile phone. Here are the perks of DeepFish:

• MP3 / video player
• still / video camera
• nice graphics frontend
• web browsing
• open development platform
  
• HTC 8525
• Bluetooth GPS
• Voice Control
• VoIP
• RSS reader
• fullscreen touch keyboard
• FTP client
  
• choice of instant messengers
• stream videos, music and pictures from computer to phone
• games; a lot of good ones
• mobile broadband

They say DeepFish may be a great contender for the iPhone's Safari: both browsers have the zoom in option. DeepFish is still in beta, and it's downloadable once you follow the source link below. Best about it? It's free.

To be quite frank about it, Wi-Fi causes on occasion time delay and dropped lines during online play, regardless if you're using Microsoft's Xbox 360 or Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3). So this solution being offered by powerline chipset supplier DS2 might be of help to all of us.

The Spain-based company just announced its UPA compliant 200Mbps chip that is compatible with your average, standard wall sockets. Dubbed as "UPA Plugtested 200Mbps chipset," DS2 promised that this should provide a simple and reliable broadband connectivity that offers the necessary bandwidth for uninterrupted high performance online gaming. Zero latency, or so they say.

Victor Dominguez, Director of Strategy and Standardization at DS2 had this to say about the product:

Our technology extends high-performance Internet connections to any room in the home, making it possible for consumers to enjoy high-quality, high-definition online gaming and other bandwidth-hungry applications without interruption.

Anyway, if you're interested to give this product a try, DS2 added that the chipset can be purchased in the following technologically advanced network products providers:

• Allnet
• Corinex Communications
• Comtrend Corporation
• Conceptronic
• D-Link, Defidev
• Ilevo, Logitec
• Netgear
• Pirelli Broadband Solutions
• Toyo Network Systems
• Xavi

The internet started getting massively popular more than a decade ago, and with it came a lot of nice nuances that aimed at giving users that whole digital multimedia experience which was all the rage those days. The age of internet entertainment was indeed heralded, but internet TV didn't catch fire as fast as other Media.

Of course there were a lot of reasons why web TV came later than web radio and web games. Technical issues such as slow bandwidth, licensing gridlocks and the lack of available resources were among the factors that slowed down the dawning of an age. Nowadays, however, the world works a bit differently. Almost everyone can afford broadband connections and Youtube found a way around the licensing knot to tear the market wide open.

Admit it or not, YouTube may be the single, most powerful force that changed the way we think about internet TV and videos. By bringing in users who upload videos for other users, it created a viable network wherein just about every imaginable video. Everything from cartoons to porn was there and it was very easy to access.

Apple followed up with its launch of fifth-generation iPods that can play videos as well as acquire them by purchasing them from the online iTunes market set up by Apple. Podcasts were also conceived and now, anyone with enough time and tech savvy can do a broadcast to the web en route to iPods of millions of owners.

And that's not all, with the Apple TV coming up, a seamless bond between the computer, the home entertainment system and the iPod can be forged. Networks are also getting into the act with Al Gore's "Current TV" which features a hodgepodge of professional and amateur content that can be seen on cable channels and its website.

Dan Hett wrote a very informative essay tackling the digital age of entertainment and its implications. He also extrapolates on what the future holds for digital entertainment and who we can expect to play key roles. To read the entire discussion, follow the read URL.

From cellphones to TVs and PC's. The founders of Skype have recently announced they're now conducting tests on broadband television service for computer screens. The project's called "The Venice Project," and is currently undergoing beta testing among 6,000 users.

"We are trying to bring together the best of TV with the best of the Internet," said Skype's director of strategy and innovation, Janus Friis. According to Friis and Skype's Chief Executive Niklas Zennstrom, the broadband service was developed using money money when Skype to eBay Inc. for $2.6 billion last year.

And while there aren't any details of when Beta testing will be finished, this could spell good news for PC with broadband internet connections, the broadband service promises high-quality channels over your choice of desktop. We'll let you know if there's any developments for this new broadband service.

Launching an on-demand video download service is the next logical step for Comcast and they have been rather outspoken about it. Currently, the Philadelphia-based company is the largest in the US and the second overall internet service provider. The TV, portable and PC-compatible service will launch by the end of October, according to the reports.

We heard that Comcast will be uncapping bandwiths to make sure users get the movies as quickly as possible. However, Net Neutrality suggests this could lead to abuses that will eventually prove to be anti-competitive. The company have been accused before of degrading non-Comcast VoIP traffic including Google.

The cable company, according to a source, will use two different methods of encoding depending on the destined platform. Set-top boxes, the cable company will use something like MPEG-4. The PC application on the other hand, is a bit tricky with the Flash format's advantage of being difficult to save locally. However, DRMed WMV is likely to be utilized should the company decide to go portable.

Should things push through, this movie download service will make Comcast an instant contender to the young market. Currently, they have a total of 23.3 million cable subscribers and close to 8 million broadband customers.

Lucky, lucky Milton Keynes looks like it's going to become the first British town to get high-speed wireless network internet access based on WiMAX technology. This will be quite a bump up for Milton Keynes: from limited availability of high-speed broadband to high-speed net access via WiMAX.

Unlike WiFi, WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) offers high-speed net access at multi-megabit speeds over vast areas, instead of just a few meters. WiMAX is seen to be a tough competition for WiFi, as it's already being used in thousands of hotspots around the world and has far more extensive wireless coverage than WiFi.

However, as compared to WiFi, WiMAX still remains widely unused. This is due to the need for expensive hardware and the specifications needed to use it in conjunction with wireless roaming plus other wireless technologies are still yet incomplete. In the US, Sprint Nextel announced its plans to build a national WiMAX network that will cost the company $3 billion.


Net connection firm Pipex will be responsible for administering a trial run of a Wimax network, which will be used to take broadband access to the townsfolk that could not get internet connection. If things go well, Pipex said that the Wimax system should be up and running by the end of this year and hopefully deployed in eight UK towns by 2008. A detailed outline of Pipex's plans is not available yet, not for at least four weeks.