Yahoo! at one time the king of search and email, but those days are long gone. The recent executive changes at the top have made no difference. Yahoo continues to struggle and for more than just popularity among users, but functionality. Lately, the problems have escalated to the point that Yahoo has lost control of the issues at hand. Today, try loading email or moving around your email inbox, it takes forever or it does nothing. Yahoo needs to get back that swagger it once had, but for now just fix the problems with the site!

As of this writing, Yahoo email is still crawling like a snail and you can’t move emails to folders, download attachments or load the financial page. I browsed around Yahoo and didn’t see any news about an issue since 7:00 AM Central Time when the problem started.

Yahoo also needs to moderate their comment section for all their blogs and news articles. I have seen so much spam about dating services and products that it really distracts users from those comments that provide opinion and commentary. Does Yahoo even care about who’s gaming their site? This has been an ongoing issue for years and it looks like Yahoo is the new playground for blackhat SEO and unethical marketing.

What’s with the biased sports writers? You can love your team, but to bash teams you don’t like all the time will push fans away. This has been common practice with a couple of writers (not mentioning names). A writer should be neutral and write for the target audience. Put it this way, if it wasn’t for the New York sports teams, Yahoo sports writers would have little to write about.

What disturbed me this past year was when Yahoo removed site explorer. Why? It was a great tool for measuring marketing effectiveness. To many marketing professionals and web site owners it was a great tool.

My rant of the day!

Posted 4 hours after this blog was published came some bad news for Yahoo – Four Yahoo! board members including chairman leaving

4G Wireless, short for “fourth-generation wireless,” refers to increased Internet connection speeds and is a technological innovation in mobile communications. Wireless Internet has made 4G (and even 3G) possible because of its mobility: now, any individual can carry his or her Internet on the go. You can have Internet everywhere you go, instead of just at home. The iPhone and iPad have popularized the idea of portable Internet access.

However, innovations in video surveillance are on the rise; and when it comes to iPad technology, the increased video surveillance streaming is a nice addition to the iPad’s long list of crime-fighting capacities. Special police vehicles are being built that come wired to stream real time in the backs of their trunks.

A policeman could have his or her vehicle parked anywhere on the side of the road, or even cross through a traffic light—and take a picture of someone who is not wearing his or her seat belt. Policemen could get the license plate numbers, etc., for those detected as committing crimes on surveillance, even if they are off the clock and driving around to enjoy a night on the town with a girlfriend, boyfriend, or spouse. Now, they can be both on the job and off the job, all at the same time.

What are the benefits of police vehicles that come with iPad video surveillance technology? One benefit is that policemen can now catch lawbreakers without having to chase down their cars. Traffic light cameras are a somewhat new technological innovation that detects speeding vehicles and snaps pictures of vehicle license plates; however, police have never detected drivers or passengers who do not wear their seat belts. iPad video surveillance shows lawbreakers that they will be caught.

The old speed tactic used to avoid a traffic ticket in the past (for example) no longer suffices. Another benefit of the video surveillance is that a policeman does not have to remain awake at all times to catch lawbreakers, nor stand guard every second to do so. A policeman can go on his lunch break and not worry about how many speeding drivers will escape his eye. He can sit and have a one-hour conversation without worry and let the video surveillance do its job.

Moreover, the iPad video surveillance installed in police vehicles can lead to all sorts of arrests and crime prevention. If video surveillance presents any encounter between two individuals as somewhat heated, a police officer can monitor the situation and see if it escalates into something more. That way, should the encounter take a wrong turn; a policeman can be on the case the first second it takes place. Criminals and lawbreakers will start to see law enforcement as powerful because of crime-fighting technology and be deterred from committing crimes so overtly.

Technology has had its wrong uses throughout the last twelve years of the twenty-first century. Criminals have used police detection scanner applications to know when the police were on their trail—so they could escape quickly. Others use technology simply to find out the latest gossip or newest rumor story to pass around in the neighborhood. Some community citizens like the latest gossip and find that technology provides material to feed their gossip habits. However, technology does have its positive uses, and iPad video surveillance just might rank at the top of the class.

The Article is contributed by John Smith; John is fanatical about latest technology like gadgets, cars, computer and IT which makes him a devoted writer, see his work at Aanbesteding politie and Politie aanbesteding for more.

There’s no doubt that emerging technologies help shape the world and increasingly in the 21st century the progress of technology is leading to significant changes in how we act, think and learn. Heading into 2012, we’ve seen in recent years how technology, used as part of our daily lifestyles, can have as much of an impact as more complex technologies, such as those used in medical science, for example. Mobile devices are constant companions for many people and social media had a significant influence on the events of 2011′s Arab Spring.

In many ways, modern technology’s largest boon is its ability to increase the accessibility in our everyday lives. For example, if you need information on a whole range of topics, from what to plant in your garden to what London Underground lines are currently out of action, modern technology enables you to access the precise information you need in a quick and generally simple manner. The internet, of course, is at the heart of this immense accessibility, providing the information, as cable providers in my area would no doubt tell you. But modern devices, such as smart phones and iPads, enable the ease of use with which we can log onto the net to make an inquiry. Don’t forget that in a more general way, the accessibility of the internet is also a result of the proliferation of broadband internet services that are affordable for the average person, coupled with Wi-Fi hotspots that enable fast net access.

Technology can play a key role if you’re trying to get your life organized, according to many cable providers in my area. All you need is a mobile device like an iPad or BlackBerry. A number of apps are available on each of these devices for download that enable you to organize your calendar, complete with meeting notifications, alarms and notes that serve as reminders spread throughout the day. Even a bog-standard third-generation phone can be set up to provide you with this information. Beyond the basics, mobile device apps can be found that help you to organize how and when you pay your bills and even to track the progress of any financial investments you might have. Professionals can stay in touch with colleagues and work on projects even while out of the office by using laptops and Bluetooth devices that enable long-distance contact.

Of course, technology is also proficient in enabling our social lives and family lives, as well as helping out with the working lives we now lead. Popular internet communications programs, including the text-based MSN Messenger and the video-call program Skype, enrich the way in which we chat to friends and family online and are even available on mobile devices. The availability of these programs for free means that people are more connected than ever before.

Meanwhile, social media is a juggernaut of connectivity, granting people all over the world access to content they’d never have had before. This content really runs the gamut, from photos of their friends on holiday to funny YouTube videos. Where social media can truly enhance your life is its ability to deliver all of this content in real-time. Setting up a Twitter page and following the feeds of local news outlets and commentators puts the most recent information at your fingertips from the second you wake up in the morning.

Technology has such a big part to play in modern business, industry and healthcare that it’s easy to forget the ways in which it enhances our everyday lifestyles. As the 21st century progresses, it’s likely our lifestyles will be boosted with further communications opportunities and information accessibility.

Author: Tamara Matthews is the editor of a renowned broadband technology company. Tamara likes to share her knowledge and ideas on broadband and cable providers. You can check her latest articles: internet providers in my area, cable providers in my area etc.

The growing trend for bandwidth caps may have the result of turning people into administrators and cops for internet use without them even noticing. If bandwidth becomes a limited commodity, you can be sure that people will try their best to secure and guard it. People, who download movies, music and file share, or even those who share their connection with a full household, may hit their limits on a semi-regular basis. A little investigation might reveal that their usage has, in fact, gone through the roof.

This kind of excessive usage is not so easily explained away. With the cost of breaching a cap, it could very quickly become expensive. There is nothing like the threat of punitive costs to motivate people to act on an issue.

A big problem for a lot of people is that when they are hit with a charge for going over their limit, or hit their cap within a couple of days, it could well be down to their wireless router being unsecured and not protected with either a WPA or WPA2. Unprotected wireless hubs are a magnet for hijacker’s intent on sneaking on to the system and gobbling up the network owner’s data allowance.

However, there may be other explanations. Busy households can include users downloading all sorts of video or music using torrents, or using file-sharing sites such as Limewire. These can sometimes keep running in the background for up to a week, quietly chewing up a data allowance.

One system in particular, called Frostwire, searches for ultra-peers (computers with fast connections), which it adopts as a super-node to share the largest number of files possible. These programs can often appear to be closed on the desktop but remain running in the background.

The result, therefore, of outsiders piggybacking on a Wi-Fi signal, or members of the household sucking up an allowance, or programs quietly working away in the background, is that bandwidth caps can quickly become a precious resource to be guarded closely. With ISPs now threatening limits around the world, be they cable providers by zip code, or any other, this may become a common attitude.

Users will become more interested in their home usage and make them long for the days of unlimited access. To meet this demand, there are a number of websites that offer a meter system to help users work out how low or how high they need the cap to be set and which cable providers by zip code they should plump for.

However, once the network is established, these caps will mean that users will have to monitor every bit of data flowing through their network, which could mean keeping tabs on various desktops, a handful of laptops and a tablet here and there, not to mention Smartphone’s.

There are a number of enforcement or management steps that can be taken to keep an eye on your usage. Obviously, you must secure your Wi-Fi to avoid hijackers and check your data usage rates regularly.

If this still doesn’t work, try turning off automated software updates, steering clear of HD videos and limiting the amount of VOIP videos you use. As was suggested earlier, be careful when using torrents. These will upload at the same time as downloading and will seed the file once complete, which can chew up a lot of bandwidth.

Ultimately, if limits and caps become the norm, the ISPs will not be able to police your personal usage, so it will be down to each household, business and user. If there is a limited resource of anything, whether it is internet access, petrol or water, people quickly become very protective over what they have, with the result that the commodity becomes more valuable. Guard it well!

About the Author:

Shirley Jones is a freelance content writer and she writes articles and blogs on cable internet providers and other internet service related technologies.

Many people who surf the web, download music, never even think of what goes on in a data center environment when they push and pull data to their communication devices. Many of us take for granted that when we request data from our computers, smartphones, or other communication devices, there’s a lot that goes on environmentally within a data center. Data centers are also referred to as web hosting facilities where many websites are stored. To give you an idea of the impact, please click on the info-graphic below that illustrates the “Impact of Data Centers on the Environment“.

Click to enlarge

What is Usenet?

Depending on when you first found the wonderland that is the Internet, you may or may not have heard of Usenet before. Most people are surprised to learn that Usenet began in 1979 as a computer network system where you could post messages, sort of a virtual bulletin board. The Facebook of its day, Usenet was the online place to network before social networks were cool.

Usenet was once the undisputed King of the Net, but eventually the World Wide Web would steal the spotlight away from Usenet by the late 90s. Usenet was forced to evolve or die. No longer operated by ISPs and Universities, the modern Usenet is run by private firms with the means and incentive to continue growing and strengthening the Usenet infrastructure. With more than 9 Terabytes per day uploaded to Usenet, it is no surprise that it is drawing the attention of hardcore downloader’s.

Here are 3 reasons Usenet remains a popular download destination.

Why Download From Usenet?

1. Huge Selection

The huge increase in server capacity has allowed Usenet providers to increase “retention”. Retention is the amount of time that a post is stored on the server. As recently as 4 or 5 years ago, retention times of 100-200 days were common.  If you were looking for a post that was uploaded 300 days ago, you were out of luck. However, the privatization of the Usenet industry has led to a dramatic increase in retention times as companies compete for business. Today, all of the best providers are offering more than 1,000 days of binary (file) retention.  And this number continues to grow as they add server space rather than delete posts and files.

2. Super Fast Download Speeds

Unlike peer-to-peer technologies, Usenet access is done through a direct connection to a network of commercial servers. So instead of joining a group of others to download and upload at the same time, you are making a one-on-one connection to the server. And this connection is often uncapped.  Meaning that you can literally download at the maximum speed you internet connection will allow you to. For most, this is the one key feature of Usenet that makes it superior to any other download technology.

3. Secure Downloads

Security online is necessary. Risks are at an all time high. You need to use every precaution you can especially when downloading. Many Usenet providers encrypt your connection to the servers with a 256 bit SSL rate. This is the same encryption offered by your financial institution online. This type of encryption creates a secure tunnel between your computer and the Usenet server.  This tunnel acts as a barrier keeping prying eyes out. For those that value their privacy online, this is a major reason to use Usenet for downloading.

Then and Now

The foundation for Usenet was laid more than three decades ago.  And while the world has continued to grow and evolve, Usenet has been forced to do the same. The Usenet of today is technically very similar to the Usenet of 30 years ago.  However, it is much stronger and much more powerful. The privatization of the industry has brought increased competition which has led to increased value for users.  Increasing levels of speed, selection and security are 3 of the main reasons users choose to download with Usenet.

This post is contributed by Jared Scott.  Jared Scott is the Manager of Public Outreach for Binverse. He is a Usenet fanatic and you can follow his updates on Facebook and @Binverse.

Air travel with Internet included is nothing new to inner-continental travelers, especially in the United States. The process involved in installing the hardware necessary for airplanes to receive Internet signals from the ground is a simple one; the company GoGo claims they can make an airplane web-ready literally overnight. Through their system and similar setups, IP geolocation and other basic tenets of Internet connection are easy if not downright interesting. But head out over the ocean and suddenly this sort of thing just doesn’t work anymore. Therefore, Internet access during overseas flights has remained elusive.

That is, until now. According to CNN United has announced a plan to install Internet-reception onto its airliners that operates in coordinate with satellites. The satellite strategy is itself nothing new, with Southwest Airlines originally using it for telephones in the mid to late 1990s and most recently on several of its more trafficked routes. But it’s so far a costly way of connecting to the web while miles above ground, and so far not optimized for over-the-ocean travel. United hopes to be the first airlines to provide an economical and effective satellite-based Internet service on board extended international flights.

Problems arise in the fact that unlike the “overnight” process associated with connecting an airplane with Internet signals coming from the ground, the satellite strategy is not so easy of an installation process. Not only that, but the heft added by the satellite dish itself is a problem that airlines are going to have to figure out for themselves. In the end, United might find a way to provide their customers with a cheap way to connect while flying above the open ocean, but competitors might find it a harder task to accomplish.

But if United succeeds, then competitors will have a hard time avoiding the issue. If anything is going to give the advantage to a particular airlines’ international travel sales, it’s most certainly going to be the ability to surf the web during those unforgivably long and bumpy flights.

Jonathan Jaxon is a social media guru writing for websites across the Internet. He also specializes in writing about ip geolocation, Wi-Fi Internet, and other mobile device developments.

Personally, I spend an average of 7-8 hours online everyday and within this period I do a lot of thing, ranging from working on my online business to chatting with friends. I’m not alone when it comes to this, and a lot of people spend even more time online every day. The fact these days is that the average internet user spends at least 5 hours online every single day, mostly on Facebook and or other social networking sites. We all do a lot of things online every day, ranging from chatting with friends and family members from other parts of the world, to using multimedia and doing some other important tasks. To really enjoy the internet, we need speed! A lot of people make the mistake of choosing an internet connection due to the price even if it doesn’t have the kind of speed they want, and this article will be giving you a few reasons why you should consider speed over price when choosing an internet connection.

The Internet is Evolving Continually

If you could just think about the state of the internet some 10 years back, you will notice that pretty much any internet connection available in the world today can be used to access the internet effectively. Dial up was the norm then, and a lot of people were comfortable using it. Over time, the needs of people started to grow and a lot of people began experimenting with the internet to see what it is capable of. Today, dial up is history and some broadband internet services are even starting to become useless.

The reality of the world we live in is that change is essential, and the internet is no exception when it comes to this. The internet is evolving continually and as a result we need better speeds. Also, most people who choose price over speed decide to sign a long-term contract so as to be locked in at the ‘cheap’ price they started with. The problem with this is that the cheap internet connection they are using today will soon be incapable of meeting their needs in the near future.

Whenever you want to choose an internet connection, ask yourself, will this internet connection still be as useful as it is today in the next 1 year? If your answer is yes, go for it! If no, think again!

Time is Your Most Important Asset

Almost a year ago, I used to be of the belief that there is no point in subscribing to an expensive internet connection when you can easily find one for less than half the price. As a result I went for a very cheap internet connection service. Over time I began to notice it was extremely difficult for me to get things done online – there were always problems with my internet connection. If it is too slow today, it won’t be available tomorrow.

Considering speed over price is especially important for you if you maintain an online business. Whenever you want to go for any internet connection service, ask yourself first, will getting a faster internet connection make it easy to get my work done fast? If your answer is yes, then at all cost don’t go for that cheap internet connection.

This is a guest article written by Techwriter who is an expert at helping people choose the right high speed internet service.

The biggest shopping day of the year is less than a month away and retailers are serving up deals that are steals on a variety of electronics. If you held off this long buying a LCD HDTV, now is the perfect time to make that investment. Last year, 42-inch LCD HDTVs were priced at around $499 to $799 and these same TV’s will sell between $299 and $599 depending on make and specifications.

In order to find these great deals, you will need to really be on your best game by shopping all competitors online. Most of the best deals will be online and in some cases, stores will also offer some aggressive savings, but supplies may be limited so don’t wait until the last minute or you may get shut out.

What should you look for in a 42-inch LCD HDTV? I listed four of the most important features that consumers should look for when purchasing a new LCD HDTV.

• 1080P display – Provides the highest quality progressive-scan picture possible from a high-definition source
• Inputs – at least 1 A/V input, 2 to 3 HDMI ports, 1 PC audio input, 1 USB 2.0 port, and 1 PC port
• 120Hz refresh rate
• Aspect Ratio 4:3 and 16:9

These are the most important specifications and features your HDTV should have to truly enjoy the quality and the ability to hook up other electronic components.

Popular brands to shop for:

• Samsung
• Toshiba
• Sony
• LG

Where to buy LCD HDTVs

Sears offer’s price matching on LCD HDTVs. If you find a lower price on an identical branded item with the same features (in Consumer Electronics identical brand and model number) currently available for sale at another local competitor retail store, Sears will match that price plus, give you 10% of the difference. Learn more about Sears Price Match Plus.

Sears will not provide the additional 10% of the difference. Sears will not price match limited time “Online Only” events, “Special Online Price”, conditional “Online Only Special Offers” on our websites, Sears Outlet, or searsoutlet.com. Only items listed as Sold by Sears or Sold by Kmart are eligible for price matching on our websites.

Best Buy is offering 5% to 25% on select HDTVs. To learn more and to shop for these deals, visit their “On Sale TVs”. Best Buy is also offering big savings on “Open Box” items on select products. These “Open Box” items are for in-store only. To learn more about open box sales click here.

Why wait until Black Friday when you can get great deals right now? Some retailers such as Sears and Wal-Mart are offering lay away. This is a great payment option for consumers who may not have the money to lay out for a new HDTV. You can make payments to pay off your HDTV just in time for the holidays.

Frank Jovine is an employee of Sears Holdings as a Senior Manager of Contractor Recruitment and Communications.

With all the great mobile units on the market and the number of content providers streaming information out to the internet, it would seem there shouldn’t be anywhere in the world where a TV cannot be viewed. Unfortunately, with the number of Wi-Fi spots where you can make a connection to the internet, they are not all created equal.

For the most part, the strength of any internet connection will be determined by your proximity to the Wi-Fi hub as well as the size of the broadband connection. Look at the broadband as being multi-lane road on which many different vehicles travel. Some take up more room than others and some move slower when they are looking for places to go. When visitors sign on to a Wi-Fi network some are going to be searching for information, often running slower than the ones that know exactly where they are going.

There may also be some construction vehicles in the way, slowing things down considerably and the occasional accident (hackers) can bring the entire thing to a grinding halt. Since most Wi-Fi hotspots depend on wireless technology, the spot that could provide excellent connectivity one day could be running slower the next.

The strength of any online connection will also vary based on the carrier that provides the wireless connection in that area. If you have ever experienced dropped calls through your cell phone carrier, you have some idea of how some Wi-Fi hot spots are stronger than others. Additionally, if you are trying to connect to a service while in a moving vehicle, it just isn’t going to work. Unlike your cell phone that can move seamlessly from one tower to another. Wi-Fi hotspots typically have a limited range and once you exceed that range, your connection will be lost.

Looking at it a different way, the Wi-Fi hotspots can be compared to a wireless router connected to your home network. Every device you want to connect to the router has to be properly married to the device. Each device must also be “approved” by the router to allow it in to access the internet connection, usually with a password. Wi-Fi hotspots can issue a randomly generated password for “guest” connections, but you will usually have to register at some degree in order to use the connection.

The location of some of the strongest Wi-Fi hotspots can change with the weather, but there are a few that can be counted on. One of the first businesses to offer free Wi-Fi to their customers was Barnes and Noble Books, followed by Starbucks. Today, even McDonald’s restaurants offer free Wi-Fi for those who visit their outlets.

There are also several cell phone providers through which customers can connect to the internet and watch their favorite television shows on their computers or other mobile hand-held devices and their locations are often included in the Cloud. This means that as long as the device can obtain an internet connection you can watch your favorite television programs.

The post is contributed by Calvin Scott. Calvin is zealous about new technology and expensive gadgets. His collection of consumer electronics is worth appreciating. Visit his site for internet and tv en internet.