Month: March 2013

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10 Amazing YouTube Channels You Should Subscribe To

By Tim Brookes, MakeUseOf – September 16, 2010 at 09:31PM

youtube channelsWhen it comes to wasting time on the internet, it often doesn’t get much better than YouTube. As the web’s most popular video sharing website, YouTube often has a vast array of weird and wonderful YouTube channels to subscribe to.

So sit back, make sure your Flash player is up-to-date and enjoy some of the funniest and most entertaining collections of videos on the web.

MyDamnChannel

Calling all Photoshop users, if you’ve not seen the “You Suck At Photoshop” series from MyDamnChannel then you’ll probably wet yourself when you do. The series of 20 videos follows the troubled Donnie as he teaches you how to not suck at Photoshop whilst his life gradually falls apart.

With lashings of dark humour and the occasional star (Flight of the Conchords actress Kristen Schaal features in the channel’s comedy soap opera “Horrible People”) it’s always worth checking out the latest uploads.

Ashens

Stuart Ashen’s regular video reviews have earned him a loyal following, with nearly 100,000 subscribers to his channel. The plucky Brit takes it upon himself to review the worst pieces of technology around including fake PSP-like “consoles”, terrible iPhone clones and cheap toys no child would want.

Stuart’s die-hard fanbase has grown to the point where his subscribers willingly spend their own money and send him crap bits of tech to review. The channel is updated fairly regularly, providing you with new bits of tat to gawp and laugh at.

Tokyocooney

For anyone with a remote interest in Japan, Japanese culture and the far-eastern way of living. The channel follows American comedian Kevin Cooney as he works, plays and attempts to survive in Tokyo.

Topics include how to get a haircut in Japan, the many flavours of Japanese ice cream and the day-to-day goings on of an American in the land of the rising sun. Each video is boosted by Kevin’s naturally funny narrative, and more updates are due soon (thanks to overwhelming demand on his YouTube profile).

AdamBuxton

Virtual home to British comedian Adam Buxton (as the name suggests), the channel provides somewhat geeky comedy twists on a lot of popular themes. Examples include a mash-up of Steve Jobs’ iPad keynote speech with Star Wars (I know) and clever voice-overs of TV shows and adverts.

There’s a distinctly British twist on this one, but if you’re a fan of good humour you’ll probably lap it up anyway!

Cassetteboy

A master of cutting up video and audio only to arrange it for comedic effect, Cassetteboy sets about attacking the films, radio and TV shows we know and love. A lot of his material is based on British television, but the time and effort put in to each can be appreciated by anyone.

Some of his best work took months to complete (check out Cassetteboy vs. The Apprentice above) so updates can take a while, but they’re always worth the wait.

Cyriak

Inspired by Dali? Mentally unstable? Incredibly talented? Well at least the latter is true about this freelance animator’s YouTube channel. With his own brand of internet-insanity, Cyriak’s animations often leave you with a sense of “how did he do that then?” as he takes the mundane, adds a repetitive electro soundtrack and turns up the wackiness to 11.

Dancing cows that turn into spiders? Is it art? Who cares, these things take months to make and minutes to appreciate. Some of the very best animations and CGI on YouTube, bar none.

TheRealGiantBomb

Many gamers out there will be familiar with Giant Bomb, video-games reviewers and general all-round funny guys. With weekly updates that include games reviews, features and blasts from the past this YouTube channel will suit anyone with even a relaxed interest in the world of gaming.

The team answer questions (in video format) and regularly upload play-through videos of upcoming releases, demos and other games. If you like games mixed up with humour, then Giant Bomb gets you.

BBC Comedy

The BBC Comedy YouTube channel is a regularly updated portal for the whole world to enjoy (unlike many of the BBC’s other services, which are UK-specific) that features web-exclusive content that’s bound to make you laugh.

With coverage of many comedy festivals, snippets from BBC programming and the latest and greatest stand-up acts from around the world there’s something for everyone.

OkGo

The only band to appear on the list, these guys made internet history with the Here It Goes Again video which featured some very tightly choreographed treadmill work. Since then they seem to have spent as much time coming up with viral videos as they have writing music.

Even if you’re not a fan of the music the videos will make you smile, and it’s quite easy to appreciate the immense amount of time and effort goes into each new release.

NurdRage

If you’re interested in science, how things work and even attempting your own home-based science experiments then this one’s for you. The channel focuses on experimentation, on subjects such as how to make your own glow sticks (and how they work, of course) to plunging your hand into liquid nitrogen (wouldn’t recommend it).

As well as genuinely fascinating science, there’s information on where to get many of the chemicals used in the experiments so you can join in too if you’re brave enough. Just don’t do anything stupid.

Any awesome YouTube channels we’ve missed? How about other video sharing sites? Post your favourites in the comments below.

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SpiderOak – An Online Data Backup & Sharing Solution [Cross-Platform]

By Jessica Cam Wong, MakeUseOf – September 15, 2010 at 09:31PM

online data backupThere are many applications that abound for users concerned with online storage and local backup. You might be comfortable using something like Dropbox, but when you have important files outside of your Dropbox, or simply crave a little more than the simple options you get with Dropbox, you can’t go wrong with SpiderOak.

The beauty of the latter, which has been featured before in our directory, is that it puts you in complete control over which data gets backed up, synced, and shared. It also offers many options to choose or exclude files to back up by type, size or age.


For those interested, the installation is pretty straightforward, without any third-party toolbar offerings of any kind. The program does require about a little over 18 MB of hard drive space. Note that you’ll need to create an account so that you can log onto SpiderOak’s website and access your backed-up files.

Backing Up Your Data

SpiderOak lets you choose which folders you wish to backup in the Backup tab of the desktop client – either Music, Movies, Pictures in the default Basic view. If you have specific folders in mind that you want to backup, simply click on the Advanced button at the top right. You’ll be able to select any folders in your main drive here, as well as external and network drives. On the right, you can still pick pre-selected folders, such as Desktop, Documents, etc.

online data backup

Since SpiderOak comes with 2GB of free storage, you can preview how much space each folder will take by looking at the bottom storage bar (which becomes red if your folder selection exceeds 2GB), making it easier for you to pick your folders accordingly.

Whenever you finish your selection, click on the Save button to start the backup. SpiderOaks saves any changes in existing files as well as new files. You can modify the backup schedule by clicking on Preferences and heading to the Schedule tab.

Over in the Backup tab to the left, you have more options to maintain control of what files get backed up. You can choose to exclude files that exceed a certain size or age.

Archiving Your Data

If you deselect folders in the Backup tab, future changes in those folders will not be backed up.

However, those folders will remain archived in your SpiderOak account. This also means that those folders will occupy part of your 2GB of storage unless you remove them on the View tab. This can helpful for users that need to archive currently-unused-but-important folders.

Syncing Folders Across Devices

remote data backup

Unlike syncing applications like Dropbox, SpiderOak lets you sync any folders in your computer (which must also be any currently backed-up folder in SpiderOak). You can be very specific about which folders get synced across, say, your external drive and your computer’s internal hard drive. Just create a new Sync on the Sync tab, give it a name, choose the folders to sync, and voila!

remote data backup

Sharing Folders Via Password-Protected ShareRooms

remote data backup

You can create ShareRooms to share specific folders for different audiences. First, you’ll need to create a public login ID, which is known as ShareID in SpiderOak. Then select a name for the ShareRoom, a RoomKey (the password), the folders to share, and you’re done!

backup data storage

Any changes you make to the folders will be instantly reflected on the ShareRooms (and to your guests via RSS feeds). Your guests can access the ShareRoom if you provide them with the URL, but they can also log in on the SpiderOak website, under Share Login.

backup data storage

Viewing Your Backed Up Data

Over in the View tab, you’ll be able to verify which folders are backed-up and shared. You can also view the previous versions of files, which are indicated by the numbers in parentheses in the filenames.

In this tab, you can also remove archived or backed up folders on your SpiderOak account to get back space, without having to worry about getting those same folders deleted from your computer.

backup data storage

Downloading Your Files

online data backup

You can either download your files in the SpiderOak website, once you’re logged in, or in the desktop client, under the View tab, by highlighting a folder and clicking on the Download button. SpiderOak also comes with a handy Merge option (view a demo here) that you can use when you don’t want to delete any folders.

There may be a bit of a learning curve for this application as it offers so many options, so I highly recommend watching SpiderOak’s video demos, which are short and sweet, but also explain visually what I’ve detailed here.

If you’ve tried SpiderOak, feel free to tell us in the comments whether you find it useful and better than other applications or not!

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Pew Survey Finds Predictable Trends Among Mobile Phone Users

By Devin Coldewey, TechCrunch – September 15, 2010 at 07:40PM

Pew Internet has just completed a survey of nearly 2000 mobile users in the US and has come up with some not particularly startling statistics about phone and app usage. Still, it’s good to have some cold hard numbers to look at, even if the sample size seems a bit small.

Here’s the gist of the survey and writeup, which is rather wordy.

Continue reading this article…

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Top 10 Online Sources For Funny Mobile Sound Clips

By Saikat Basu, MakeUseOf – September 15, 2010 at 07:31PM

funny sound clipsHumor is the best ice-breaker there is. Have you ever seen how heads turn when your mobile phone starts buzzing with a funny sound? Dressing up your mobile phone with cool wallpapers, and cooler applications is fine of course. But to take the banner of the ‘coolest’, think of funny sound clips.

You can use sound clips as ringtones, message tones, or just keep them around to spread some cheer. I cast my line in and tried to fetch some of the funniest sound clips you can download and use on your mobile.


The disclaimer with such an effort says that we all have different tastes of what’s funny and what’s crass. I tried to avoid the latter and reach for the former. Even if the funny sound clips fail on the humor scale, you can browse the sources and pick up the ones that make you smile.

Let’s start the count of funny sound clips and ringtones by revisiting a few of the 10 Websites For Free Mobile Phone Ringtones & Other Mobile Downloads.

Zedge

funny sound clips

Zedge has a very large collection of free ringtones created and uploaded by its community of users. Nearly 25,000 funny ringtones find a place among its 5 million strong database of mobile downloads. If baby sounds make you smile, try out the Baby Rap. Or hear the impersonation of Mr. Bean.

Soundboard

funny sound bites

Soundboard as the name says is a collection of audio clips in various categories. Each category has specific folders called ‘soundboards’ which are like entire MP3 albums. For instance, click on the Comedians category and see the soundboards listed. Make sure you are browsing the public soundboards which are free. I particularly like Jim Carrey and the collection of sound clips from “The Mask”.

Entertonement

funny sounds

Sound bites are put in collections. So you have one called ‘Funny’. Check out their About page where the people behind the website have embedded their favorite sound bites below their profiles. My favorite one is the Math Homework 911 call. But if you are a Trekkie, the Kirk-Spock love mashup on Love Trek might crack you up.

Mobile9

funny sounds

Mobile9.com also has a large category of funny mobile tones. Selected ones are also marked with a Popular or Featured badges. If you are not a teetotaler, the Beer Beer ringtone should be to your taste. Also try out Answer Me Quick.

Tehkseven

funny sounds

How do you think a drunk phone talks? Check it out with a free download from this site. The site covers a lot of models and brands. Select the one for your make and drill down to the Funny ringtone category.

FreeAudioClips

funny mobile clips

Free Audio Clips has a section devoted to comedy sound clips in the wav format. You can further choose from Answering Machine, Cartoons, Comedians, and Parody-spoofs. I wish I could recommend a few, but it’s better if you browse and pick yourself. The Answering Machine clips stir the funny bone though.

Mobiles24

funny mobile clips

If you are crazy for Borat, the fictional character from Kazakhstan and his comic utterances, check out the 42 strong collection of free mocking MP3 ringtones. You have to register (free) to download the ringtones to your PC.

MyTinyPhone

If pigs could swear they would curse like Porky Pig. Catch him in the act with the collection of Porky Pig ringtones here. How about Porky Pig – Son-of-a-B****!

LOL101

funny sound clips

I bumped into this website while searching for Michael Caine (Michael Caine Blows Your Head Off) impersonations for ringtones. The site has a neat collection of MP3 audio files in its Funny MP3 section.

Simpson’s Sounds

funny mobile clips

Then if you are a fan of the Simpson’s TV show, check out this little collection of sound clips from the series. I liked the short but funnily insulting – Bitch, bitch, bitch. Sound files are in MP3 and Wav formats.

These ten websites give you ample choices to pick up and decorate your mobile phone with funny ringtones and sound clips. The examples given are just that – examples. When you sift through the websites, you will pick up your personal favorites. Let us know about them in the comments.

Image Credit: Geek And Poke

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WIPO Report Suggests “Signs of Recovery” in IP Filings and Innovation

By Two-Seventy-One Patent Blog, The 271 Patent Blog – September 15, 2010 at 01:39PM

A new report by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) analyzing IP trends in 2008 and 2009 suggests that innovative activity and demand for IP rights dipped during the global economic crisis, but began to recover this year.

As the world economy started to slow sharply in 2008, an estimated 1.91 million patent, 3.3 million trademark, and 660,000 industrial design applications were filed across the world. Compared to 2007, these figures represent a slowdown in the growth of patent and industrial design applications and an actual decline in the number of trademark applications . . . Beyond 2009, there are grounds for optimism as patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system and international trademark registrations filed under the Madrid system have returned to growth.

Data on R&D expenditure compiled for the report show that, on average, companies started to reduce their R&D budgets from early 2009 onward.  While 2007-08 registered a slowdown in R&D expenditure, 2008-09 showed an actual decrease (-1.7%) in R&D expenditures.

On the patent side of things,

There was considerable growth in demand for energy-related patents – fuel cells, solar, wind and geothermal energy. Patent applications filed under the PCT System for those technologies increased from 584 applications in 2000 to 3,424 applications in 2009.

There was a slowdown in the growth of patent grants in 2008. The total number of grants across the world is estimated at 780,000 in 2008, representing a 0.6% increase from 2007. The slowdown is largely explained by a substantial drop in grants at the patent offices of the Republic of Korea (-32.5%). Without the substantial growth of grants in China, there would have been a contraction of total worldwide patent grants in 2008.

Around 6.7 million patents were in force across the world in 2008, representing a 5.3% increase over 2007. Patents in force in China and the Republic of Korea saw double-digit growth at 24% and 10.1%, respectively. Residents of Japan and the US owned around 48% of total patents in force in 2008

With regard to individual patent office growth rates,

China = 8.5% (2009), 18.2% (2008)

EPO = -7.9% (2009), 3.8% (2008)

France = -3.6% (2009), -2.4% (2008)

Germany = -4.5% (2009), 2.3% (2008)

Japan = -10.8% (2009), -1.3% (2008)

Republic of Korea = -5.0% (2009), 1.1% (2008)

Russian Federation = -7.8% (2009), 6.1% (2008)

United Kingdom = -3.9% (2009), -6.5% (2008)

United States of America = 0.0% (2009), 0.0% (2008)

To download the complete 145-page report, plus numerous other statistics, click here (link)

See also

WIPO press release: “Signs of Recovery Emerge after Economic Crisis Hits Innovation & IP Filings” (link)

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Untrendy, functional motorcycle glove design by Lee Parks

By (author unknown), Core77 – September 15, 2010 at 11:59AM

0leeparksdes.jpg

Ex-motorcycle racer and “motojournalist” Lee Parks has turned his years of experience into a product company. As Parks explains it,

As the editorial director of Motorcycle Consumer News and Auto Restorer, I had the privilege of scientifically testing hundreds of motorcycle and automotive products, often to destruction. This taught me a great deal about materials, production and quality. I now put that experience to work in every product I design and market.

One of the Parks’ resultant products are his extremely well-thought-out deerskin/elkskin riding gloves, designed to provide comfort, protection, and durability. We like that Parks eschews trendy materials and styles in favor of functionality and durability, as explained below. While Parks’ description of the gloves detailing “The 4 Big Secrets Glove Manufacturers Don’t Want You To Know” is somewhat sensationalistically titled, it is informative:

(more…)


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The Top 10 Stand-Up Comedy Videos On YouTube

By Steven Campbell, MakeUseOf – September 15, 2010 at 11:31AM

comedy videosDo you like to laugh? Of course you do. That’s like asking somebody if they enjoy breathing. There are lots of things on the interweb that exist just for that very purpose – to make us laugh. You can find hilarious images, videos, cartoons, shows, sketches, stories, anything you can imagine, and some stuff you can’t. Here at MUO, we even have an entire section of our website devoted to Geeky Fun.

You know what else exists for our amusement?  YouTube. That’s right, the third most visited site on the Internet is a laugh factory, but I don’t have to tell you that. Out of all the most popular content on YouTube, it is the funniest stuff that usually goes viral.


Needless to say, I had a lot of fun researching this article. Stand-up comedy is entertainment in its truest form, and I am a big fan. So without further ado, here are the top 10 stand-up comedy videos on YouTube.

Criteria For The List

This is not just a list of the 10 most-viewed stand-up comedy videos on YouTube. I don’t think that’s fair, especially if some videos were uploaded years before others or cleverly marketed in some way. I also won’t be featuring multiple videos by the same comedian.

Like I said, I did research. Everybody’s sense of humor is different of course, but I feel like I’ve picked 10 individuals who are pretty funny and I invite you to check out their other videos. This list includes some of the best comedians of all-time, as well as some you may have never heard of.

Some of the content contains some harsh language, but let’s be honest, you probably expected that. If you didn’t, my apologies.

Now that we’ve got the technicalities out of the way, onto the laughter.

10. Demetri Martin – Large Pad

Demetri Martin is famous for his large pad. He has an interesting take on the world around us (as do the others on this list) and is a good starting point if you’re looking for a laugh.

9. Jim Gaffigan – Holiday Traditions

Jim Gaffigan is a solid stand-up comedian. Here’s a clip from one of his specials in which he talks about our holiday traditions that don’t necessarily make much sense logically.

8. Steven Wright – The Complete Works

Steven Wright is one of the most underrated comedians out there. This is an old video of him, but the content is still hilarious.

7. Chris Rock – Crazy Kids

I felt like I had to fit Chris into my list of top videos, so here is a short clip from one of his stand-up specials, in which he talks about the crazy kids who made the news back when this special took place.

6. Mitch Hedberg Stand-up

When he was alive, Mitch Hedberg was one cool cat. This video is from a short performance he did on the Late Show. There aren’t many high-quality videos of Mitch left on YouTube, but this is one of the ones that has received the most attention.

5. Jim Carrey – Canada

I bet you didn’t know Jim Carrey did stand-up. Well as you can imagine, he was pretty great at it. Here’s a video clip from his special where he talks about growing up in Canada, something else you may not have known about him.

4. Lewis Black on Nuclear Holocaust

Lewis Black is another comedian who is beginning to become hugely popular. In this video, he talks about how ridiculous school was as a kid, especially the preparation for bomb and fire drills.

3. Louis CK – Children and Their Secrets

Louis CK is well on his way to being the next George Carlin in my book. In this video, he talks about children and the not-so-important things they try to tell you. Just a small glimpse of the comedic genius of Louis CK.

2. Dave Chappelle – Sesame Street

Dave is one of the funniest people walking the planet. In this video, he talks about how watching the shows we used to watch as kids can be very different as an adult. His example, Sesame Street. A similar video has nearly 7.5 million views on YouTube, but it features a picture slideshow instead of video.

1. George Carlin on Our Similarities

And at number 1, the best comedian of all-time as far as I’m concerned, Mr. George Carlin. I was lucky enough to see George in person before he “passed away” and he did not disappoint. In this video, he talks about those little things that we all have in common. Pure genius.

Conclusion

I’ll be honest. I’ve always wanted to make a list like this, and now I’ve got the opportunity to do so. Like I said, I’m a big fan of stand-up comedy, so I know I’ve left a lot of great comedians off of this list. If you’d like to see more, continue searching YouTube. It’s a goldmine.

Did you laugh? If so, share this with your friends/followers! Also, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Image Credit: mindelei

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Rip & Convert Your Movies Using MacX DVD Ripper & Video Converter Combo [Mac]

By Jeffry Thurana, MakeUseOf – September 23, 2010 at 12:31PM

00 Video Converter-1.jpgWhen it comes to the video converting business, the name that pops up in most people’s mind is Handbrake. And why shouldn’t it? Handbrake gets the job done and it’s free. But that’s the problem with having something convenient: you settle for that and stop looking for alternatives.

There are other good video converters out there too. Some manage to get their name known, while some are still flying below the radar. Two of them are DVD Ripper and Video Converter from MacX. The combination of these two will be able to fulfill the ripping and converting needs of every movie lover who uses a Mac.

Rip & Backup

The first member of the dynamic duo is a DVD ripping app. As the name suggests, this one will help you rip and back up your DVD movie collection. But it is no ordinary DVD ripper, because it allows you not only to rip but also to convert the result into the format that you want. So you can go directly from a DVD disc to an iPhone compatible file without any additional effort.

The first step in using the app is to click the “DVD Disc” button at the top left of the window. A small window will appear, letting you choose what disc you want to rip from the drop down menu.

01 DVD Rip Source.jpg

The app will analyze your disc and display all the available segments. The app will also automatically choose the recommended segment to rip (usually this would be the longest part).

From my experiment I can safely say that this app handles copy protected DVDs better than Handbrake. While both apps can handle ordinary DVDs just fine, Handbrake freezes with most of the copy protected ones.

Aside from the available segments, there are other settings that you can tweak from the interface such as audio settings, subtitles, start and end time, and also the location where the conversion result should be saved.

01b DVD Ripping Title Select.jpg

The next step is to choose the video output settings. There are some pre-configured settings available for users to choose from: MP4, iTunes, MOV, Music, MPEG, and FLV. Even though you have to upgrade to the Pro version to have more ready to use settings, the available ones on the free version are enough to cater to our daily needs. Moreover, the available settings are also adjustable should you find the need to change.

01c DVD Ripping Settings.jpg

But please note that changing the settings are not advisable if you don’t know what you are doing. After everything is set, click the “Start” button.

01e DVD Ripping Start.jpg

A small progress window will appear, giving you overall information about the ripping process. There are also options to shut down the computer and open the output folder after the process is complete. All that’s left for you to do is wait for the conversion to finish.

01d DVD Ripping - Process.jpg

Another bonus feature of the app is the ability to view and take screenshot(s) from the movie. Just move the slider to the position that you want and click the camera button to the right of the slider.

01f Preview and other menus.jpg

Convert Video Files

The second member of the team is the Video Converter. This one specifically handles file to file conversion and will be especially useful for those who want to bring their movies to mobile devices. The working principle is basically the same with the DVD Ripper; but instead of choosing a DVD to rip, this one will ask you to find video files to convert.

From my simple experiment, I found that the conversion process took more or less the same time as Handbrake. There are some cases where Handbrake is slightly faster than the Video Converter.

02a MacX Video Converter.jpg

Another difference between the Video Converter and the DVD Ripper are the number of pre-configured settings. There are options in the Video Converter that are not present in the DVD Ripper, such as: iPhone, iPod, iPad, Blackberry and Android.

02b List of available device.jpg

The Good, The Bad & The Verdict

To sum up, I will try to quickly compare the DVD Ripper – Video Converter combo with Handbrake.

First, the good. As I’ve mentioned above, DVD Ripper handles copy-protected DVDs better than Handbrake while Video Converter has more pre-configured settings than Handbrake.

Second, the bad. I personally think that the developer could just combine the two apps into one, so users could do everything using just one app – just like Handbrake. As for the conversion speed, we could say that Handbrake is faster – even though the difference is not too significant.

And for the verdict, I think it’s up to the end users to choose which app they prefer to use. But whatever the choice is, it’s always good to have options.

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“WiFi on steroids” gets final rules, drops spectrum sensing

By nate@arstechnica.com (Nate Anderson), Ars Technica – September 23, 2010 at 12:10PM


At its monthly meeting today, all five FCC Commissioners set disagreements (mostly) aside and unanimously supported the final rules that will open empty TV channels to unlicensed broadband use. If all goes according to plan, these “TV white spaces” will be the raw material that unleashes another WiFi revolution—but this time with longer range, better building penetration, and even more speed.

White space devices will still need to query a special geolocation database before transmitting, in order to avoid broadcasting over existing TV channels and wireless mic users, but the FCC has ditched the expensive “spectrum sensing” tech it initially required back in 2008. On a conference call yesterday, reps from Google, Dell, and Public Knowledge worried that a requirement to include both the database check and spectrum-sensing hardware would make the new white space devices too costly and too difficult to build, while broadcasters and microphone users have long argued both techniques are necessary to avoid any interference.

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