Friday, July 7

V.92 standard proposed

We awoke from our long Independence Day nap to discover that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T) announced an improved ITU-T 56K modem standard: V.92. Though the top speed for downloads is still 56K, V.92 has a number of enhancements:

• Startup time - the time needed to establish a connection - has been reduced, making hopping on and off the Internet much easier. Reports from months ago claimed that startup time had been reduced from around twenty seconds to about five seconds.
• V.92 has a standard method of disconnecting the modem long enough to let you know that someone is trying to call you without losing the connection, a feature being referred to as "Internet call waiting."
• The maximum upload speed has been increased from 31.2K to 48K, which should improve video conferencing and general uploading.

The ITU-T also proposed two new related modem standards:

• The ITU-T has upgraded the V.42bis compression to V.44, which it says compresses data 25% more effectively.
• V.59 is a new protocol for facilitating modem and connection fault-finding.

Final approval of the new standards could come as early as the group's November, 2000 meeting.

V.92 links

ITU Press Release: Voiceband Modem Standards Take Another Significant Step Forward

InternetNews: ITU Moves to Speed Modem Improvements

P.S. The V92.com domain is already registered. Conexant Systems got it on January 12, 2000.

Computer security and privacy

A class-action lawsuit against AOL claims that Netscape's Smart Download feature is used to keep track of user downloads.

The FBI is under fire because users of privacy-protecting software can't access the FBI's web site.

Segue

ZDNet examines the security problems in current versions of wireless Internet. One technology mentioned in the article is iMode, a Japanese system, similar to WAP, but with better security and a compact version of HTML vs. WAP's custom markup.

SecurityPortal looks at the state of insecurity on PDAs. An older SecurityPortal article summarizes wireless security and the WAP security model.

Mobile phones

Campinas, Brazil passed a law that fines people US$236 if their cell phone rings in a library, school room, or other designated public area .

Bluelinx and the University of Adelaide are developing a Bluetooth-based system of suppressing mobile phone ringers in quiet public places. The system broadcasts a Bluetooth signal over a 33-foot radius to create what it calls a "Q-Zone." Mobile phones must be designed to receive and respond to the signal.

A US Congressman is drafting legislation to ban unsolicited cell phone advertising.

Previous week