Trials of 'super WiFi' that uses white space between TV channels to begin in Cambridge

By DAMIEN GAYLE

Last updated at 9:24 AM on 29th June 2011

Trials of a new breed of 'super WiFi' that uses the white space between TV channels are set to begin in Cambridge.

Microsoft, the BBC, BSkyB and BT are among the tech giants investigating how the gaps in frequencies between TV broadcasts can be used to transmit broadband.

They hope the technology could help them create 'super WiFi' networks that can support bandwidth hungry mobile internet devices like smartphones and tablet computers.

The aim of the trials, which begin this week, is to show that the new services do not interfere with TV signals.

So-called 'white space' includes the unused frequencies in the TV spectrum - between 470MHz and 790MHz - which are left empty to avoid broadcasts leaking into one and other.

With wavelengths much lower than regular WiFi, these frequencies are able to travel further and penetrate much more deeply into buildings, raising the possibility of regional broadband networks available to thousands of users.

Developers hope the technology will help provide basic broadband infrastructures for rural areas, where it would be uneconomical to lay extensive fibre-optic cabling.

They also hope that additional radio spectrum can be made available for mobile broadband networks, which are beginning to creak under the strain of high bandwidth mobile broadband devices.

Neul, one of the companies involved in the consortium, has a production-ready system which can deliver up to 16Mbps at a range of 10km.

Microsoft executive Dan Reed told the Financial Times that the radio spectrum is a finite naturally resource that must efficiently and wisely managed.

'The TV white spaces offer tremendous potential to extend the benefits of wireless connectivity to many more people, in more locations, through the creation of super WiFi networks,' he said

Microsoft is leading the Cambridge TV White Spaces Consortium, which also includes a number of boutique UK tech companies.

The consortium issued a statement saying: 'With the number of connected devices and data applications growing rapidly, and with mobile networks feeling the strain, we must find ways of satisfying the traffic demands of today and tomorrow.

'This trial will attempt to demonstrate that unused TV spectrum is well-placed to increase the UK's available mobile bandwidth, which is critical to effectively responding to the exponential growth in data-intensive services, while also enabling future innovation.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2009187/Trials-super-WiFi-uses-white-space-TV-channels-begin-Cambridge.html

UBCC Announces the Release of Revised Payroll Software to Handle July 1st, 2011 Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) Change

June 27, 2011 – Taos, New Mexico - Universal Business Computing Company (www.ubcc.com), the leading provider of high volume, high productivity software for accounting and payroll professionals, announced the release of an enhancement in the UBCC Unified Payroll to allow clients, on a client-by-client basis, to use the old 0.8 percent rate or the new 0.6 percent rate. 

The July 1^st, 2011 expiration of the 0.2 percent FUTA tax surcharge means is that the Federal Unemployment tax must be reported at 0.8 percent for the wages paid first half of the year, and 0.6 percent for wages paid the second half of the year.  Because almost no payroll software was designed to handle this change, payroll software providers and payroll service bureaus will have to significantly change their software to comply with this unprecedented mid-year change. 

UBCC, in keeping with one of its core software design criteria of providing the upmost in flexibility, has solved this problem by allowing a client-by-client choice rather than a system-wide fixed change.  “In the event that Congress passes a law to revert back to the 0.8 percent rate, rather than risking an unemployment tax collection issue for your payroll service bureau, I recommend continuing to impound at 0.8 percent and issue clients a refund at the end of the year if the 0.6 percent rate remains in place,” said Ken Garen, CPA, Co-founder and President of UBCC.    

“The Catch 22 for payroll service bureaus stems from information shared by the IRS in their monthly telephone conference call with payroll software creators and payroll service bureaus informing them that the tax rate can be set back to the 0.8 percent rate if Congress passes a law up to as late as January 31, 2012,” continued Garen.  This forces payroll service bureaus to address making the choice of assuming that lower rate will stay and only impound at the 0.6 percent rate, or potentially having to collect the extra 0.2 percent on what could be very short notice, or continuing to impound at the 0.8 percent rate which would only require the payroll service bureau to issue a refund if necessary.  “We think that the choice of how to proceed should be made by our clients rather than imposed by us,” commented Garen.

About Universal Business Computing Company (UBCC)
Founded in 1981, UBCC (www.ubcc.com) is the leading provider of high volume, high productivity payroll and accounting software for payroll and accounting professionals. UBCC offers four different packages to professional accounting firms, payroll service bureaus and commercial businesses: Client Data Center, Payroll Service Bureau, PEO Enterprise, and Real-Time Accounting for Business. Modules include:  Unified Payroll, General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Bank Reconciliation, Depreciation, Order Billing, Inventory Management, and Job Management. Technical support and customer service is available 24 hours a day, seven days per week.  experience a 30-second payroll! For more information, call toll-free 800-827-8610 or visit UBCC online at www.ubcc.com.

View UBCC Press Release: UBCC Announces the Release of Revised Payroll Software to Handle July 1st, 2011 Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) Change http://www.ubcc.com/sb/ubcc/PR_June_FUTA_2011.pdf

Netflix Lets You Downgrade Video Quality So You Don't Hit Bandwidth Caps

By Ben Popken

With providers like AT&T and Comcast adding on limits to how much bandwidth you can use per month, Netflix has rolled out a feature that lets you downgrade the streaming video quality so you don't use as much data and incur overages.

After you're logged into your Netflix account, just go into https://account.netflix.com/HdToggle and select from one of three options. "Good quality" at up to .3 GB per hour, "Better quality" at up to .7 GB per hour, and "Best" at up to 1GB per hour or up to 2.3GB/hr for HD.

Recently AT&T added on a 150 GB cap for DSL users and a 250 GB cap for U-Verse customers. Users still report getting a blank page when they try to look at the "bandwidth meter" promise by AT&T, but if you're a heavy Netflix and data user and start to see fees for overages on your bill, downgrading your Netflix stream could help you stay under the threshold.

http://consumerist.com/2011/06/netflix-lets-you-downgrade-video-quality-so-you-dont-hit-bandwidth-cap.html

Desktops and Notebooks: Firefox 5 Browser Launches, Boasting Tweaks, Security, Privacy

By Nicholas Kolakowski on 2011-06-23     

Mozilla's new Firefox 5.0 for PCs and Firefox for Android aim to offer users a best-of-class combination of security, privacy and speed. Coming a mere three months after the release of Firefox 4, this latest browser supposedly includes more than 1,000 improvements and performance enhancements. However, features like "Do Not Track" may do more to draw users increasingly leery of the Web's rampant data mining. For most consumers, downloading and installing Firefox 5 will only take a few minutes, although larger companies still deploying Firefox 4 could become annoyed at having to switch so soon.

Despite those hundreds of improvements, Firefox 5 doesn't seem to offer a radically different experience from its predecessor. Certainly, it addresses security concerns left over from Firefox 4, whose life essentially ends with this release. But for the most part, Mozilla's latest offering embraces the same streamlined design (with an emphasis on putting the Web's content front-and-center, via shrunk icons and an eliminated "status" bar along the bottom of the screen) and features as before. Firefox 5 will face competition not only from Microsoft's still-enduring Internet Explorer franchise, but also upstarts such as Google Chrome and Safari, both of which have gained market share over the past year. Meanwhile, Firefox for Android aims to extend features like "Do Not Track" across multiple platforms.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Desktops-and-Notebooks/Firefox-5-Browser-Launches-Boasting-Tweaks-Security-Privacy-383151/?kc=EWKNLLIN06282011STR1