OneZero: Meet the People Who Still Have AOL Email Addresses. “…despite the rise of broadband and free email, both AOL and EarthLink have somehow managed to survive. It’s difficult to get up-to-date figures, since the two entities are now subsidiaries and barely register as a blip on their parent companies’ balance sheets. Neither company would disclose its current number of monthly subscribers, but as of 2014, more than 2.1 million people still used AOL dial-up.” Obviously I do not use dial-up, but I still have a Mindspring account I’ve had since ~1998. That email address is in some of my books and such and I’m reluctant to get rid of it. I should at some point.
internet access
CTV: Cuba, Google move to improve island’s connectivity
CTV: Cuba, Google move to improve island’s connectivity. “Cuba and Google signed a deal Thursday moving the island one step closer to having a state-of-the-art connection to the modern internet. The American internet giant and the Cuban government agreed to create a seamless, cost-free connection between their two networks once Cuba is able to physically connect to a new undersea fiber-optic cable that would be laid sometime in the future.”
Bloomberg: Putin Wants His Own Internet
Bloomberg: Putin Wants His Own Internet. “When anti-government protests erupted on Russia’s side of the Caucasus Mountains in October, authorities did something they’d never done before: cut mobile internet service to an entire geographical area.”
WVNews: Gov. Justice announces new Facebook fiber-optic network project
WVNews: Gov. Justice announces new Facebook fiber-optic network project. “Gov. Jim Justice announced Monday that a Facebook subsidiary plans to build a fiber-optic network across the state, stretching from Virginia to Ohio. The project, which should begin sometime this year, will stretch about 275 miles across West Virginia. The project will take about a year and a half to two years to complete. It will be a part of a larger, 600-mile ‘long-haul’ project.”
Route Fifty: Counties Take Broadband Maps Into Their Own Hands
Route Fifty: Counties Take Broadband Maps Into Their Own Hands. “The National Association of Counties plans to launch a mobile app Monday that will help the organization crowdsource broadband speed maps to pinpoint the flaws in the Federal Communication Commission’s much-criticized maps.”
Washington Post: U.S. Cyber Command operation disrupted Internet access of Russian troll factory on day of 2018 midterms
Washington Post: U.S. Cyber Command operation disrupted Internet access of Russian troll factory on day of 2018 midterms. “The U.S. military blocked Internet access to an infamous Russian entity seeking to sow discord among Americans during the 2018 midterms, several U.S. officials said, a warning that the Kremlin’s operations against the United States are not cost-free. The strike on the Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg, a company underwritten by an oligarch close to President Vladimir Putin, was part of the first offensive cyber campaign against Russia designed to thwart attempts to interfere with a U.S. election, the officials said.”
CNET: Facebook will try to quell controversy with connectivity vision at MWC 2019
CNET: Facebook will try to quell controversy with connectivity vision at MWC 2019. “At the biggest mobile show in the world, it’s easy to be blinded by the vast array of shiny new phones. They have a tendency to hog the spotlight. But look a little closer and you’ll see Facebook at MWC 2019. No, it’s not launching a phone — HTC tried that with the Facebook button-rocking ChaCha back at MWC 2011 with little success. Instead, it will likely continue to press an issue that’s long been a priority for the company — improving internet access and getting more people on its social network.” Because… Facebook is doing such a great job managing the people on its social network NOW?
