Maryland: 10th-fastest internet speeds in nation

December 2, 2008

PCMag.com released its “Best ISPs in America” list today. Maryland came in 10th in terms of the fastest average Internet connection in the country as measured by kilobits per second, or kbps. A quick look at the state’s summary:

Population: 5,618,344
Area: 12,407 square miles
Average speed: 691 Kbps
SurfSpeed rank: 10th
Satisfied users: 49 percent
Median monthly price of broadband: $39
Broadband penetration: 68.9 percent

Fast Internet access, satisfied customers, and great crab cakes: What more could you ask for? Maryland residents reported the fastest access from Verizon FiOS (of course), but a range of other decent local providers make for a cornucopia of service offerings. So why are people using HughesNet’s slow satellite service? With an average of 192 Kbps, those slow connections dragged down the state’s overall speed in our survey.

Our neighbors to the North and South fared well, with Virginia at No. 2, Pennsylvania at No. 3 and New Jersey at No. 4. Nevada came in first.

A look at the full list paints an interesting picture of broadband penetration throughout the country. The farther down the list you go, the more likely you are to come across a Southern or western state that’s not especially known for its dense population centers. Or, in the words of PCMag:

Looking at the state level proves more interesting. Clearly, metropolitan areas are better cared for by Internet service providers, as a rule. More densely populated areas across the country reported better and faster service on our test. So we could have studied, say, the speed of access in St. Paul versus that in Albuquerque. But think of the overall speed of a state as a balance between how quickly cities get online and how effectively more rural areas are served. If half a state’s residents can’t even get broadband access, how well served is the state as a whole? After all, people in suburbs and more rural towns want to get online too, and they prefer faster Internet speeds, just like city folk.

That sounds like a good summary of Maryland to me, what with all the debate and struggle to bring improved broadband access to the Eastern Shore and some of the state’s more rural areas. While it’s true (from my own observations) that Montgomery County’s “tech corridor” and the Greater Baltimore region have excellent Internet access, I think until we can spread this technology throughout the entire state we risk dividing ourselves into two Marylands, and are failing to take advantage of the state’s full resources.

Go here for the full story and more in-depth charts breaking down the results.

JOE BACCHUS, Web Specialist

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Putting the lid on spam

November 17, 2008

My Yahoo! Mail spam box, which is usually 250-messages deep after not checking my e-mail all weekend, was happily not quite as clogged this morning.

That’s because last week, the servers of McColo Corp., a Web-hosting firm, got booted off the Internet.  The bust comes courtesy of Brian Krebs, writer of the Washington Post blog Security Fix, who, after doing four months of sleuthing work, reported suspicious activity by the network to a few Internet providers, one of which acted quickly to disconnect McColo’s servers.

“We looked into it a bit, saw the size and scope of the problem you were reporting and said ‘Holy cow! Within the hour we had terminated all of our connections to them,” Benny Ng, director of marketing for Hurricane Electric, told Krebs.

According to Krebs, McColo allegedly played host to some of the Internet’s “most disreputable cyber-criminal gangs in business today,” including sellers of counterfeit medications and designer goods, fake security products and e-mailed child pornography.

Thanks to Krebs’ investigative work, the amount of spam sent last week dropped off sharply. E-mail security firm IronPort said that after McColo got disconnected on Nov. 11, spam volume dropped by two-thirds.

It’s not likely that this drop off will last very long, but until spammers figure out a way to clear this hurdle, I will happily be receiving fewer e-mails for cheap weight-loss pills.

DANIELLE ULMAN, Business Writer  

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Twitter tops one billion messages

November 12, 2008

I’ll confess: I started Twittering recently — but only on behalf of Exhibit A.

I wasn’t an early adopter of the social networking tool. I try to embrace technology - seeing as it’s my job - but I shied away from this. And, to be honest, a few weeks’ worth of Twittering hasn’t convinced me that it’s as worthwhile as others claim.

I got a reminder today of just how powerful Twitter has become - and how late I was to enter the game. The service has sent its one billionth “tweet” (what it calls a single message of 140 characters or less), according to the site Popacular.

As Stan Schroeder at Mashable blog points out:

For comparison, Facebook recently announced they host 10 billion photos in their database; however, Facebook is huge and has been around much longer than Twitter. If anyone ever needed a clear sign that Twitter has gone mainstream - however you define it - this milestone is it.

I’ve been debating whether to tweet on behalf of The Daily Record; maybe you guys can help me decide. Do you Twitter? Or follow those who do? Has it helped you grow your business?

You can follow my updates from Exhibit A by subscribing to exhibitabalt.

JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor

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The opposite of “Fallout” for Rockville video game co.

November 6, 2008

Back in September I blogged about the effect the lousy economy was having on video game sales. At the time, NPR reported that game sales were up 43 percent over the same period in 2007. The report drew a parallel between increased gaming and Americans flocking to movie theaters during the Great Depression, looking for some enjoyment and escapism during otherwise bleak times.

I have no idea how to judge the current economy — the Dow’s too insane day to day — but at least one Maryland gaming company is doing fine.

Bethesda Softworks LLC, out of Rockville, released the much-anticipated Fallout 3 last week for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The company has already shipped more than 4.7 million units — or $300 million worth of games. Reviews are calling it a major candidate for Game of the Year. That would be a huge coup for the company, which also had the 2006 Game of the Year in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Maybe that’s the way we can fix the economy — use tax dollars to develop new video games. And I’m not talking some little program. I mean a Manhattan Project-sized dedication of resources to the creation of the biggest, baddest games imaginable. I’m sure the guys at NASA must have a few good ideas knocking around in their heads.

Then we can sell the games all over the world. Maybe, in time, people will be so busy with their “role playing” lives that they won’t have the time or inclination to blow the heck out of each other. That means in addition to a serious amount of cash, we could bring peace to the world. The more I type, the better this idea sounds. I’m going to clear some space on my bookshelf for the inevitable Nobel Peace Prize.

But until that day, I’ll have to be happy with the creations of companies such as Bethesda Softworks LLC. I have a big stack of untouched games at home, and was on the fence about buying Fallout 3, but my coworker just described watching her boyfriend be attacked by a rabid dog in the game’s wasteland world, and that sounds like way too much fun to miss out on.

JOE BACCHUS, Web Specialist

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Test-driving Yammer.com

October 21, 2008

Today, I tried Yammer.com. It’s a relatively new, business-centric social networking site that asks people to answer a short question: “What are you working on?” It seems to follow in the “microblogging” vein, fulfilling the same basic function as Twitter, and the status update function on Facebook.

Yammer appears to limit interactions to within one company, which is different than other networking sites I’ve used.

I’ve been trying to learn how to use microblogging, both personally and professionally, as a way to expand my network of contacts, and thought Yammer might be a good way to do that. There’s also LinkedIn, but I find that site has trouble running on my browser, which is admittedly out-of-date.

So I signed up this morning. Users are only allowed to log on with a company e-mail, so I joined the mddailyrecord.com group (as the first member). According to a report in the New York Times, the company’s business plan is to try to get employees to sign up for free and talk to their co-workers. The intention is to induce management to join through a paid membership in order to have more control over the network.

I’m not sure about how helpful Yammer will be for me, though, because as far as I can tell, you’re confined to your own network. I can’t find people who are registered in other e-mail domains. I already know almost everybody at The Daily Record Co., and can use e-mail to communicate internally. Plus, there are plenty of chat programs for quick interaction between co-workers.

I could see how this might work for a larger company though, connecting people at different offices or who would not normally run into each other. Still, I imagine there might be some transitional issues if the model is successful and companies take over their own networks. This Wired column has an interesting take on the behavior of social network users when systems change. Conclusion? They move to other alternatives if they are unhappy.

Still, the business model was developed by some accomplished Web people, so it will certainly be interesting to watch. Has anyone else tried Yammer? What do you like about it?

ANDY ROSEN, Business Writer

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A recap of TechNite

October 3, 2008

Last night, the Greater Baltimore Technology Council held their 19th annual TechNite at the Baltimore Convention Center before more than one thousand people.

As I made my way to the registration area outside of the ballroom, I could see fluorescent lights seeping through the entrance doors.

As I received my badge and walked in, it was like jumping into a time machine and traveling to the year 2050. The GBTC went above and beyond to create an elaborate, effervescent display.

Blue lights emanated from large tents, a jumbotron stood at the back of the room, and new age/trance music served as the background.  There were Mac books set up around the bar areas that showed scenic montage-like sequences.  There were also live video/photo feeds on the event’s Web site. Get the picture?

As I made my way around to some of the sponsor tables that encompassed the room, one of the more interesting displays I found was at the Johns Hopkins booth.

Dan Stoianovici, Director of the URobotics Program, brought a robot that was designed to be used for urological procedures.  One of Stoinavici’s students, Bogdan Vigaru, was controlling the machine with his hands. One onlooker quipped, ‘you don’t want to know where that’s going.’

From different forms of technology designed to kill cancer, to new omega 3 products that slow the progression of Alzheimers, to innovations that ease the transition to digital radio, it was no wonder there was so much hype surrounding the event.

Among the attendees were representatives from DLA Piper, Ernst & Young and M&T Bank, to name a few.

When playfully asked “Who are you wearing?”, most men said they were wearing sports jackets from Jos. A Bank.  As for the other side of the aisle, one woman, who wished to remain anonymous, confided her stunning outfit was from Old Navy and Loehmann’s.

Steve Kozak, director of the GBTC, told me he wanted “people walking out of here feeling proud and excited to live here.” As I left the room to Fatboy Slim’s “Right here, Right now” with a number of attendants waving blue sticks like they were on an airport runway, I felt just that way.

RICHARD SIMON, Multimedia Reporter

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GBTC hosts TechNite tomorrow

October 1, 2008

The Greater Baltimore Technology Council will be kicking off TechNite at the Baltimore Convention Center Thursday night.

There will be over 1,000 participants from the business and technology community on hand, and yours truly will be interviewing them on the “red carpet.”

Though I can’t share the names of the attendees, I can tell you they’ll be representing places like DBED, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, DLA Piper, Johns Hopkins University, M&T Bank, P.W. Feats, 1st Mariner Bank and many, many more.

I’ll be asking them what new forms of technology are being introduced around the workplace … and, obviously, what they are wearing.

If you have any questions you would like me to ask, post a comment below and I’ll be sure to add it my list.

RICHARD SIMON, Multimedia Reporter

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Game on

September 26, 2008

There are few things as enjoyable to me as getting lost in the fantasy of a video game. With the stress of the current economic crisis, it appears more and more people have come to agree, according to a recent NPR report.

Much as movie theaters provided Americans distraction during the Great Depression, video games have proven to be excellent providers of escapism. According to NPR, movie revenue is up only slightly when compared to the same time last year. That’s not the case with the world of gaming:

“By comparison, overall video game sales are up 43 percent from this time in 2007. Since its release on Aug. 12, fans have purchased more than 2 million copies of the football game Madden NFL 09, according to the National Purchase Diary (NPD) Group.”

Grand Theft Auto IV grossed more than $500 million in its first week of release. Compare that to The Dark Knight, released July 18 with a current total gross of $522,573,036, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. I think that puts the game’s success into perspective.

The great thing about games, as opposed to movies, is that you can actually spend time with friends without having to sit quietly in a darkened room. Also, a movie is over in maybe two hours. With ticket prices, obligatory snacks and parking, that could mean $50 for two people to enjoy two hours. A $50 game can provide hours more entertainment.

Maybe this isn’t the best venue for a post extolling the virtues of video games – but maybe it is. Anyone out there spend their free time in this particular fantasy world?

JOE BACCHUS, Web Specialist

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Tracking through cell sites

September 16, 2008

A federal judge has ruled that law enforcement needs to show probable cause before getting permission to track a suspect through his cell phone.

This is interesting because Judge Terrence McVerry of Pennsylvania is the first U.S. District judge to make this ruling (PDF), which affirmed a magistrate judge’s earlier decision. (PDF) A bunch of magistrate judges — including Maryland’s own James Bredar — have filed opinions saying probable cause is necessary, but nobody at the district court level had done it before. (The Post reports that two district court judges have ruled that probable cause is not necessary, though.)

The issue here is that prosecutors are asking judges for orders directing phone companies to hand over records showing what calls a suspect made and what cell phone tower he was closest to when he made them. The cell site data can give law enforcement a pretty good idea of where the suspect was at the time, give or take a few hundred feet (say privacy advocates) or yards (say prosecutors).

The question is whether the feds need to show probable cause or just articulable, reasonable belief that information is relevant to an ongoing investigation, a lower standard.

I missed this story when it ran in the Washington Post and elsewhere Friday; thanks to the ABA Journal for linking to it.

CARYN TAMBER, Legal Affairs Writer

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Baltimore has Olympic fever

August 14, 2008

According to an article in the Baltimore Sun today, having Maryland residents Katie Hoff and Michael Phelps in the thick of the medal race in Beijing has put droves of Baltimoreans in front of the tube.

The article references Nielsen ratings of Olympic viewership that put Baltimore as the top market with a quarter (25.2 share), or 275,000 households, have been watching the primetime games via the NBC affiliate WBAL-TV Channel 11.

All of that TV viewership has no doubt leaked over to the worldwide web, where NBC and its affiliates are offering up a host of viewing options.

For companies and other entities worried about loss of productivity and bandwidth crunch, there is Annapolis-based eTelemetry. The company’s Metron 2.0 technology blocks and filters Web sites and also lets the boss know who’s doing what and what sites the employees have been going to.

Howard County, which has received a lot of attention over the whole four-day work week thing, uses Metron in an apparent bid to make sure those days worked don’t include watching the women’s beach volleyball team run roughshod over the competition.

Do companies need to rein in online Olympic fever? Or, as with many places, should they chock it up to a passing morale booster like the bracketology of March Madness time or the armchair coaches tweaking their fantasy football roster?

BEN MOOK, Assistant Business Editor

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