Jim Wagner

Select Amtrak lines in Philadelphia and New York are getting ready to test a quasi-free, quasi-broadband Internet service next month, officials said Wednesday. The Keystone commuter line passing through Harrisburg, Penn., Philadelphia and New York will try out the new service provided by start-up NRoute Communications, giving passengers limited access to e-mail, some online shopping […]

In the wake of 9/11, the need for wireless emergency communications became an emphasis for public safety agencies and the federal government. The global positioning system (GPS) technology that will be found in the digital phones and PDAs of tomorrow could have been a godsend to rescue workers scrambling to remove survivors at the World […]

It’s somehow appropriate that the first true test in online movie downloads comes from a company synonymous to the Internet — AOL Time Warner . Time Warner, with its vast movie and music holdings, was infused with “new media” savvy when it merged with America Online last year (if not the profits each expected). Officials […]

Since nothing’s stopping Verizon customers from putting a router in the home or office to share high-speed Internet access, officials figured its better to join ’em than beat ’em. The digital subscriber line (DSL) service now includes a rebate on the Linksys EtherFast Cable/DSL wireless router, officials announced Monday evening. The amount of the rebate […]

The Opera Web browser client is getting an overhaul, and officials are putting the finishing touches on an upgrade that is sure to please both users and Web developers. It’s the major upgrade to the browser since November 2001, when Opera 6.0 was released for Windows. Since then, the company has been tweaking the current […]

America Online signed a deal to provide nationwide digital subscriber line (DSL) service through Covad Communications, officials announced Thursday. In addition, AOL was issued warrants to purchase 3.5 million shares of Covad common stock at an aggregate value of $3.5 million. It would give the ISP a 1.5 percent share in the company, if officials […]

Proponents of one 3G technology movement claimed victory in the mobile world Tuesday against its competitor, stating code-division multiple access (CDMA) devices have a 99 percent market share worldwide. That number would be even more impressive if the CDMA devices of today truly used 3G technology. The CDMA Development Group said there were more than […]

Tapping into the marketing power retailers have over new PC buyers, EarthLink, Inc. officials announced a deal Tuesday that puts its cable Internet service on Micro Center PCs. Dial up Internet service providers (ISPs) learned years ago to pepper retail chains like Best Buy with startup disks in the hope customers would use them, rather […]

Only a short while ago, cable seemed to the the clear front runner for home and small-office broadband connectivity in the U.S. Digital subscriber line (DSL) service seemed in shambles: the leaders in deployment were struggling for survival. The Baby Bells stalled at providing good customer support, stalled at deploying DSL access multiplexers (DSLAMs), and […]

Motorola’s SURFboard line of modems, enabled to deliver voice over IP (VOIP) traffic, is one of Comcast’s choices for next year’s cable telephony rollout, officials announced Friday. The other two, ARRIS and Terayon, complete Comcast’s vision for embedded multimedia terminal adapters (eMTAs), a modem that puts VOIP technology and cable modems in one device. VOIP […]

Steve McCuchin knew he had to do something about 802.11b security after finding out how easy it was to download tools designed to break into his network. A senior network administrator for the State of North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction, overseeing the security of 2,400 K-12 schools in the state, he was well aware […]

Softbank, one of Japan’s largest broadband investors, started its latest Yahoo! purge Thursday, selling 30 million shares in private and open market deals. More than a third were picked up by Yahoo! itself, for a cool $100 million. The sale comes almost two weeks after Softbank subsidiary Nasdaq Japan was shut down. With an equity […]