Seven Apps Critical to Mobilizing Employees
LightReading provides two graphics on the top four wireless carriers’ results from the second quarter. On the customer side, AT&T, which is the number one company, added 2.14 million customers during the second quarter. That is a lot more than Verizon (1.42 million adds) and Sprint (675,000) and just barely more than T-Mobile, which added 2.1 million subscribers and passed Sprint.
AT&T was the big winner on the financial end with $4.68 billion in net income. That was more than Verizon’s $4.23 billion and T-Mobile’s $361 million. Sprint lost $20 million. AT&T (-.20 percent), Verizon (-2.20 percent) and Sprint (-7.60 percent) all had negative year-over-year results. T-Mobile, however, increased its net income by 12 percent.
We’re Number 19! We’re Number 19!
Network World reports on Akamai’s results from its State of the Internet Report for the first quarter of the year. It says that U.S. Internet connections averaged 11.9 Mbps per second, which is less than half the 23.6 Mbps speed of South Korea, the nation with the fastest average speed. The U.S. finished in 19th place overall.
The average speed increased 30 percent globally and now sits at 5 Mbps. The average is dragged down by the developing nations. Within the United States, the top states are Delaware, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Utah and Massachusetts.
Microsoft’s HoloLens Close
Computerworld reports that Microsoft’s HoloLens, an enterprise-focused augmented reality platform, will be released within the year.
The product will look like goggles or wrap-around sunglasses and will feature a transparent screen enabling the user to view the real world as they see the augmentation data.
The HoloLens will get a high-profile tryout:
NASA is expected to test the wearables on the International Space Station. Astronauts should be able to perform some on-station tasks with less training and be more efficient in the work they’re doing. The device would also allow engineers on the ground to see what the astronauts are seeing to coach the astronauts through specific tasks.
The Upside of Fragmentation
Thomas Claburn’s post for InformationWeek doesn’t quite prove the assertion made in the headline, “Why Android Fragmentation Is A Good Thing.” What it does, however, is point out that some elements of fragmentation are beneficial. It does this by comparing the OS to Apple’s iOS which, of course, is based on a very different model.
The problems introduced by fragmentation maybe aren’t as bad as they generally are portrayed and in some ways are helpful. For instance, more uniformity leads to greater damage from an attack:
One of the problems with Apple’s monoculture is that a security vulnerability in the latest operating system release has the potential to affect a greater percentage of the user base than it would on Android.
Google Details San Antonio Plans
Google Fiber released some details about its plans for San Antonio. The plans, which were made public through a blog post by Mark Strama, who is the head of the company’s operations in Austin, include 4,000 miles of fiber. The city has 1.4 million residents, which makes it the largest target for the company’s broadband services to date, according to ZDNet.
Google said that it will provide free broadband access to public housing and, as a participant in the ConnectHome program launched by the Obama Administration, will set up computer labs and offer training.
Carl Weinschenk covers telecom for IT Business Edge. He writes about wireless technology, disaster recovery/business continuity, cellular services, the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine communications and other emerging technologies and platforms. He also covers net neutrality and related regulatory issues. Weinschenk has written about the phone companies, cable operators and related companies for decades and is senior editor of Broadband Technology Report. He can be reached at cweinsch@optonline.net and via twitter at @DailyMusicBrk.
