Google Fiber Is One Step Closer to Reality

Google has launched a new website to centralize its efforts to build an ultra high-speed fiber optic Internet network, better known as Google Fiber.
Earlier this year, Google () announced its plan to build a high-speed network, delivering connection speeds 100 times faster than typical U.S. connections. The announcement produced a frenzy of interest: 600+ communities applied to become ground zero for Google’s experimental high-speed network. Topeka, Kansas even changed its name to Google, Kansas in order to win the contract.
The search giant is once again moving forward with its fiber network plans. It announced the launch of Google Fiber for Communities, a simple and straightforward homepage for the project, complete with videos, an FAQ, suggestions for how to take action, and a full list of the communities that have requested more information on Google Fiber.
It’s another step towards the eventual announcement of the first community to gain Google’s high-speed network, expected later this year.

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Google Doesn’t Want to Be an ISP

Online Photo Storage Competition Heats Up

 

Google

The competition for free online photo storage got a little hotter Tuesday.
Google said it has started integrating Picnik, an online photo editing tool that the company purchased in early March, into the Google photo storage Web site, Picasa.
Picasa users will now see a small edit button in the top left corner of their images. When clicked, a version of the photo will pop up into a new window that shows a number of simple and advanced photo editing options.
The simple options allow people to change the shape of an image by rotating, cropping and resizing it. The site also offers tools to change a photos exposure and color.
Another layer of editing features can be found through a tab called “Create,” which offers a number of advanced edit options similar to those found in desktop photo editing applications, including Adobe Photoshop.

New Network Design Could Make the Internet 100 Times Faster

A group of MIT researchers has demonstrated a method of network topology that could render the Internet 100 or even 1,000 times faster than it is today.
The “magic” behind the concept is to eliminate or reduce the most time-intensive part of data transmission, which involves converting an optical signal into an electrical signal for memory storage. Memory storage is required whenever multiple optical signals arrive at the same router at the same time, requiring said router to convert and store the extra signals coming in until they can be properly processed.