The Black Rider

Friday, February 4, 2011

Reuter site - Depletion of Internet addresses reflects wired world

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE7128AH20110204

Depletion of Internet addresses reflects wired world

Fri, Feb 04 09:28 AM EST

By Alexei Oreskovic

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Thirty years after the first Internet addresses were created, the supply of addresses officially ran dry on Thursday.

But don't panic. The transition to a new version of addresses is already well under way and, for most people, should occur without even being noticed.

At a special ceremony in Miami on Thursday, the organization that oversees the global allocation of Internet addresses distributed the last batch of so-called IPv4 addresses, underscoring the extent to which the Web has become an integral and pervasive part of modern life.

Every computer, smartphone and back-end Web server requires an IP address -- a unique string of numbers identifying a particular device -- in order to be connected to the Internet. The explosion of Web-connected gadgets, and the popularity of websites from Google Inc to Facebook, means that the world has now bumped up against the limit of roughly 4 billion IP addresses that are possible with the IPv4 standard introduced in 1981.

The solution is IPv6, a new standard for Internet addresses that should provide a lot more room for growth: There are 340 undecillion IPv6 addresses available. That's 340 trillion, trillion, trillion addresses.

"If all the space of IPv4 were to be sized and compared to a golf ball, a similar-sized comparison for IPv6 would be the size of the sun," said John Curran, the chief executive officer of the American Registry for Internet Numbers, one of five nonprofit organizations that manage Internet addresses for particular regions of the world.

Just in case you're worried, Curran added that "we don't ever intend to see another transition."

For companies with websites, the transition to IPv6 means configuring their computer equipment to support the new standard rather than upgrading hardware, Curran said. Those that don't could see the performance of their sites slowed down, and potentially cut off to some users in the future.

Laptops, smartphones and other Web-connected gadgets, as well as Web browsers, already support IPv6, though Curran notes that according to some estimates less than 1 percent of Internet users may not have their equipment configured properly and will need to adjust their settings in the months ahead, as websites increasingly adopt the new standard.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Carol Bishopric)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

'I just can't behave. Kanye shrug' Lindsay Lohan.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Reuter site - Lindsay Lohan may face criminal charge in theft

Lindsay Lohan may face criminal charge in theft

Wed, Feb 02 18:41 PM EST

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Prosecutors on Wednesday were considering whether to file charges against Lindsay Lohan following a police probe into whether the troubled actress stole a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry store.

If charges are filed, it would mean Lohan violated her current probation in a separate drunken driving case, and she could face a possible jail sentence of six months.

Police have submitted the case to Los Angeles prosecutors for possible criminal charges, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office.

The necklace was taken on January 22 from a boutique in the beachside Los Angeles neighborhood of Venice, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.

Surveillance video from the jewelry store shows Lohan wearing the necklace, according to media reports.

On Tuesday detectives obtained a search warrant for Lohan's Venice home, but before detectives arrived the necklace was returned to a police station.

An attorney for Lohan did not return calls for comment.

Lohan recently completed a stay at the Betty Ford Center, in her fifth stint in rehab in three years, as a result of failing a drug test while on probation for a 2007 drunken driving and drug conviction.

Lohan in December had a skirmish with a Betty Ford worker that resulted in a police investigation, but prosecutors have not filed charges in the case.

The 24 year-old former child star of movies such as "The Parent Trap" has seen her personal life go off-track since 2007 when was arrested twice for driving and drug offenses. That year she was sentenced to one day in jail and placed on probation. In 2010, she twice spent time behind bars for violating probation.

Her career has fallen on hard times, too. Most recently, she lost a starring role in an upcoming movie about 1970s porn star Linda Lovelace due to her personal problems.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

'We are no more.' The White Stripes.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Reuter site - Rock duo The White Stripes announce break up

Rock duo The White Stripes announce break up

Wed, Feb 02 14:53 PM EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Grammy-winning rock duo The White Stripes announced their break up on Wednesday, citing "a myriad of reasons" they did not disclose and saying they want to "preserve what is beautiful and special about the band."

"The White Stripes would like to announce that today, February 2nd, 2011, their band has officially ended and will make no further new recordings or perform live," said a statement posted on the band's website.

The raw, punk and blues influenced White Stripes, consisting of songwriter and vocalist Jack White and drummer and ex-wife Meg White, formed in 1997 in Detroit and rose to fame behind their self-titled, debut album.

Their third CD, 2001's "White Blood Cells" proved to be a hit with both fans and critics and established the alternative duo as leaders in the revival of garage rock along with the Strokes and others.

The White Stripes' success and notoriety continued to grow throughout 2000s with albums such as "Get Behind Me Satan" and 2007's "Icky Thump." But over the years, Jack White began to embark on careers as a soloist and producer. He also formed two other bands, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather.

"The reason is not due to artistic differences or lack of wanting to continue, nor any health issues as both Meg an Jack are feeling fine and in good health," said the band's statement.

It said the pair both hope fans see their decision "as a positive move done out of respect for the art and music that the band has created."

(Reporting by Christine Kearney, editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Monday, January 31, 2011

Reuter site - Google launches Twitter workaround for Egypt

Google launches Twitter workaround for Egypt

Mon, Jan 31 21:50 PM EST

By Alexei Oreskovic

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc launched a special service to allow people in Egypt to send Twitter messages by dialing a phone number and leaving a voicemail, as Internet access remains cut off in the country amid anti-government protests.

"Like many people we've been glued to the news unfolding in Egypt and thinking of what we could do to help people on the ground," read a post on Google's official corporate blog on Monday.

The service, which Google said was developed with engineers from Twitter, allows people to dial a telephone number and leave a voicemail. The voicemail is automatically translated into an audio file message that is sent on Twitter using the identifying tag #egypt, Google said.

Google said in the blog post, titled "Some weekend work that will (hopefully) enable more Egyptians to be heard," that no Internet connection is needed to use the service.

It listed three phone numbers for people to call to use the service.

Internet social networking services like Twitter and Facebook have been important tools of communications for protesters in Egypt who have taken to the streets since last week to demonstrate against the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak.

Internet service has been suspended around the country and phone text messaging has been disabled.

A source familiar with the matter said Google, whose corporate motto is "Don't Be Evil," was not taking sides in the crisis in Egypt, but was simply supporting access to information as it has done with other services such as video website YouTube.

YouTube has been streaming live coverage of Al Jazeera's broadcasts of the events in Egypt.

Dozens of the so-called speak-to-tweet messages were featured on Twitter on Monday. The messages ranged from a few seconds to several minutes and featured people identifying themselves as Egyptians and describing the situations in various parts of the country.

"The government is spreading rumors of fear and of burglary and of violence," said one of the messages from an English speaker. "The only incidence of theft and burglary are done by the police themselves."

Google listed the following numbers for people to use the service: +16504194196 or +390662207294 or +97316199855.

(Editing by Bill Trott and Christopher Wilson)