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IETF's quest to be quicker moves slowly
IETF's quest to be quicker moves slowly
Eighteen months after acknowledging pervasive organizational and productivity problems, the Internet Engineering Task Force continues to search for remedies designed to bring important network standards to market sooner.
Posted by rshah on November 19, 2003| Comments (0)
Developers gripe about IE standards inaction
Developers gripe about IE standards inaction
Because it owns the marketplace, Microsoft's under very little pressure to fix remaining IE 6 bugs," said Jeffrey Zeldman, an independent Web developer and cofounder of the Web Standards Project.
Posted by rshah on October 14, 2003| Comments (0)
Scientists Struggling to Make the Kilogram Right Again
Scientists Struggling to Make the Kilogram Right Again
The kilogram is the only one of the seven base units of measurement that still retain its 19th-century definition. The race is already well under way to determine a new standard, although at a measured pace, since creating reliable measurements is such painstaking work.
Posted by rshah on May 27, 2003| Comments (0)
Atomic Rulers of the World
Atomic Rulers of the World
NIST insiders are firm that no Congress would dare cripple the agency at its core - the basic mandate of making our clocks synchronize and our inches match up is not likely to be contested. What will be the object of worried debate, as winds shift in Washington, is whether NIST's labs should continue to be a haven for cutting-edge research and attempt to fill the void left by yesterday's R&D giants.
Posted by rshah on April 09, 2003| Comments (0)
Korea to introduce digital standard
Korea to introduce digital standard
The ministry said that it will map out a national distribution standard to classify digital content, a step that it hopes will accelerate the sales, purchase and usage of Internet-based content. The information ministry plans to activate URN, or uniform resource names. Unlike URL (uniform resource locators) for the Internet access, URN attaches barcode-like identification code on each digital content, setting the stage for a full-fledged commercial distribution of paid content.
Posted by rshah on March 17, 2003| Comments (0)
IETF members to discuss internal problems
IETF members to discuss internal problems
At its last meeting in November, the IETF formed a working group dubbed "Problem" after hearing concerns from members that the standards-setting body was moving too slowly and not adequately responding to real-world issues.
Posted by rshah on March 17, 2003| Comments (0)
Groups spar over Web standards
Groups spar over Web standards
The issue was highlighted last week when IBM and Microsoft, along with BEA Systems and Tibco, unveiled two specifications for reliable messaging standards. The announcement came just two weeks after all four companies refused invitations to join the newly chartered Web Services Reliable Messaging (WS-RM) technical committee at the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS), which is developing a nearly identical specification to the IBM/Microsoft group.
Posted by rshah on March 17, 2003| Comments (0)
Truce pays off for rivals
Truce pays off for rivals
As fast wireless technologies hit store shelves, networking companies that survived an earlier standards war in the booming market are determined to prevent another one from erupting.
Posted by rshah on February 07, 2003| Comments (0)
Why doesn't MSN work with Opera?
Why doesn't MSN work with Opera?
Microsoft and MSN has a history of trying to stop people from using the Opera browser. When trying to access MSN.com using the Opera7 browser, there are two visible problems. First, for the user it looks like Opera7 has a serious flaw so that many lines are partially hidden. Second, the page shows less content than users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer (MSIE) see.
Posted by rshah on February 06, 2003| Comments (0)
How open is the new Office?
How open is the new Office?
Microsoft says it's opening its Office desktop software by adding support for XML--a move that should help companies free up access to shared information. But there's a catch: It has yet to disclose the underlying XML dialect.
Posted by rshah on December 16, 2002| Comments (0)
XML spec moves ahead despite gripes
XML spec moves ahead despite gripes
The Web's leading standards body this week advanced its seminal XML specification amid complaints that it was breaking XML's backwards-compatibility in order to benefit IBM.
Posted by rshah on October 18, 2002| Comments (0)
The hidden toll of patents on standards
The hidden toll of patents on standards
To run your Web site, you can rely on a set of standard protocols like HTTP, HTML and TCP/IP, without any financial encumbrances from royalty seekers. Other Internet applications rely on other freely available protocol stacks. Examples include FTP for file transfer, NNTP for newsgroups, and SMTP for e-mail. Today those stacks, from top to bottom, are royalty-free. Will future applications be royalty-free?
Posted by rshah on April 24, 2002| Comments (0)
IBM drops Internet patent bombshell
IBM drops Internet patent bombshell
A recent IBM patent claim could threaten royalty-free access to a key Internet standard protocol backed by the United Nations. The standard--called ebXML--is an XML-based set of definitions for electronic transactions and business collaboration. IBM's patent claim was made in an intellectual property disclosure filed in late March with the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS).
Posted by rshah on April 17, 2002| Comments (0)
IBM, Microsoft plot Net takeover
IBM, Microsoft plot Net takeover
The potential for the two giants to erect a toll booth is tied to the likelihood that Web services protocols such as SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI--and the related ones to which the two companies hold patents or other intellectual property rights--will one day be as important as the standard protocols (such as TCP/IP and HTTP) on which the Internet is based today.
Posted by rshah on April 13, 2002| Comments (0)
The tortoise and the hare
The tortoise and the hare
America has traditionally trailed Europe in the field of wireless communications. Has it now caught up?
Posted by rshah on March 21, 2002| Comments (0)
Turn of the Century
Turn of the Century
William Sellers knew that the end of the hand-tooled machine age was nigh. So he grabbed the manufacturing elite by the nuts and bolts and dragged them into the mass production era. A case study in the power of standards, by James Surowiecki
Posted by rshah on February 04, 2002| Comments (0)
Is 802.11a dead before it even begins?
Is 802.11a dead before it even begins?
Finally, years down the road, will come 802.11i—the first standard that deals explicitly with security and authentication. Alas, poor 802.11a might just be serving up an interim role only to be forgotten in a year or so.
Posted by rshah on January 24, 2002| Comments (0)
Too many standards spoil wireless LAN soup
Too many standards spoil wireless LAN soup
Customers eager to move to a 5GHz wireless LAN environment are facing a market splintered by multiple standards for the fast networks.
Posted by rshah on January 07, 2002| Comments (0)
Apple, HP modify stance on patent plan
Apple, HP modify stance on patent plan
Apple Computer and Hewlett-Packard have both submitted statements to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) urging the organization not to adopt a policy that would permit the charging of royalties for technologies used in approved standards.
Posted by rshah on October 15, 2001| Comments (0)
Will W3C mean dollar signs?
Will W3C mean dollar signs?
Many companies will say, 'Oh, our patent is very valuable, and we're going to charge nondiscriminatory licenses--but for a large amount of money,'" said Rich Belgard, an independent consultant based in Saratoga, Calif. "I think it's important that any royalty rates be (decided) as part of the standards process. You can't do it after the fact, because these companies always think (patents are) worth more than (they) are."
Posted by rshah on October 05, 2001| Comments (0)
W3C patent plan draws protests
W3C patent plan draws protests
A new and controversial proposal under consideration by the World Wide Web Consortium could open the way for companies to claim patent rights--and demand royalties--on standards authorized by that body.
Posted by rshah on October 02, 2001| Comments (0)
Technological Decision-Making at the National Level
Technological Decision-Making at the National Level
In spite of having all the required apparatus and procedures in place, the final decision, in my opinion, had many serious flaws, as a result of which the transition to digital television (DTV) may well not be successful.
Posted by rshah on August 30, 2001| Comments (0)
IBM's ode to open source--the Purple Book
IBM's ode to open source--the Purple Book
THE PURPLE BOOK "contained the hardware schematics for the IBM PC as well as the code listings for the ROM BIOS," Dave Bradley, one of the machine's 12 original designers, later explained to me. "It contained just about everything you'd want to know if you were going to build a device that would plug into the IBM PC."
Posted by rshah on August 17, 2001| Comments (0)
Bye-bye, Bluetooth
Bye-bye, Bluetooth
One should not be too surprised to see Bluetooth fail. The history of well-organized and heavily marketed standards taking over the world is fleeting. In fact, more often than not, the standards that really change the world sneak up on us from the outside.
Posted by rshah on August 15, 2001| Comments (0)
Adobe, Xerox tiff slows Internet fax standard
Adobe, Xerox tiff slows Internet fax standard
After five years of development, the IETF's Internet Fax working group was ready to publish a series of documents as draft standards. But the documents, which rely heavily on technology from Adobe and Xerox, were put on hold Monday pending a review of intellectual property claims.
Posted by rshah on August 09, 2001| Comments (0)
THE RISKS OF STANDARDIZING MEDIA FILES
THE RISKS OF STANDARDIZING MEDIA FILES
Wired runs an interesting story on the push to standardize digital media files. Media companies argue that standards will make things easier for consumers, while consumers fear it will merely increase media company control.
Posted by rshah on August 01, 2001| Comments (0)
ISPs reluctant to offer relief for dial-up users
ISPs reluctant to offer relief for dial-up users
The International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) V.92 standard, which was ratified in November 2000, offers users three benefits: faster modem connections, faster upstream speeds and the ability to put a data connection on hold to answer a voice call, often called Internet call waiting. "The biggest reason ISPs are not quickly upgrading their dial networks is that they want to save money," says Steven Harris.
Posted by rshah on July 31, 2001| Comments (0)
Intel, AMD square off over standard
Intel, AMD square off over standard
AMD is gaining steam in backing a new standard, HyperTransport, for connecting various chips inside computers, but Intel is plotting a major counterattack to solidify support for its competing standard,3GIO.
Posted by rshah on July 25, 2001| Comments (0)
Standards group go after editors
Standards group go after editors
Web standards advocates are declaring victory in their battle over browsers, but as they turn up the heat on their next adversary it's clear that their longstanding crusade on behalf of elegant design principles is far from over. "None of the big tools--Dreamweaver, GoLive, FrontPage--none of them currently writes standards-compliant code," said Tom Negrino, author of numerous books about the Web and a member of the Web Standards Project, or WaSP.
Posted by rshah on July 12, 2001| Comments (0)
Visa sets technical specifications for online authentication
Visa sets technical specifications for online authentication
Visa's international unit said it has been working with a group of more than 60 technology vendors and consulting firms, including IBM, Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc., to develop and test the new 3-D Secure 1.0 specifications.
Posted by rshah on July 02, 2001| Comments (0)
IEEE Unable to Agree on 802.11g Standards
IEEE Unable to Agree on 802.11g Standards
Members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) have adjourned their meeting without reaching a consensus on specifications next-generation 802.11g products. The meeting turned into a two-way contest between Intersil, which submitted one proposal known as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulation, and Texas Instruments (TI), which has developed its own Packet Binary Convolution Coding (PBCC) technology.
Posted by rshah on May 17, 2001| Comments (0)
HDTV Standards
HDTV Standards
Warner and Sony Pictures Entertainment split with their brethren to sign a formal agreement with the so-called 5C group of companies covering copy-protection standards for HDTV.
Posted by rshah on April 11, 2001| Comments (0)
Winer on Microsoft and Standards
Winer on Microsoft and Standards
Right now he is sounding the alarm about Microsoft, which he says is trying to contort network software standards in an effort to dominate the future direction of the Internet, see also Slashdot
Posted by rshah on April 09, 2001| Comments (0)
Microsoft shuts Windows on Bluetooth support
Microsoft shuts Windows on Bluetooth support
Microsoft will not support Bluetooth in the next major version of Windows, executives said this week, portraying the technology as not ready for prime time. Nor will Windows XP adopt the emerging HomeRF wireless local-area network standard. XP instead will use 802.11, which company managers see as taking off rapidly, see also Slashdot
Posted by rshah on March 31, 2001| Comments (0)
Market Place: The Dispute Within the Verizon-Vodafone Dispute
Market Place: The Dispute Within the Verizon-Vodafone Dispute
A recent skirmish between Verizon and its wireless partner, Vodafone Group, over technological standards is really just a sideshow to a bigger battle: Vodafone wants to take control of Verizon's wireless unit, according to executives close to the company.
Posted by rshah on March 29, 2001| Comments (0)
DivX Networks aims to do for video what MP3s have done for music.
DivX Networks aims to do for video what MP3s have done for music.
DivX shrinks video to about a fifth of its original size, making it possible to download a full-length movie from the Net to your hard drive in less than an hour. DivX is to video what MP3s are to music. A year ago it was almost entirely underground; today more than 12 million people have downloaded the software.
Posted by rshah on March 15, 2001| Comments (0)
Internet-Standard.com
Internet-Standard.com
Have you ever wondered how a specification for a protocol becomes an Internet standard? Do you need to know more about Internet standards? Are you looking for information about RFCs? Do you want to find out what specifications are current for a particular category of networking or Internet application?
Posted by rshah on March 13, 2001| Comments (0)
Wireless networking wars hit speed bump
Wireless networking wars hit speed bump
The same technology wars that have hurt wireless networking products in the past are surfacing once again, with two groups vying to chart the course of untethered high-speed connections.
Posted by rshah on February 28, 2001| Comments (0)
Microsoft and Real Networks
Microsoft and Real Networks
If Microsoft had its way it would be dominating the streaming audio and video software market with typical ruthless efficiency. When the subject is streaming media -- seen by many observers as one of the big growth areas of the broadband Internet future -- Microsoft is stumbling far, far behind the market leader, RealNetworks.
Posted by rshah on February 16, 2001| Comments (0)
BIND Security Info For "Members Only"?
BIND Security Info For "Members Only"?
Paul Vixie has posted a message to bind-announce suggesting the formation of a "members-only" security information list for BIND, the DNS server used on most Internet systems. Membership would be limited to root/TLD nameserver operators, software vendors using BIND, and 'other qualified parties,' and members would have to sign 'strong nondisclosure agreements.'
Posted by rshah on February 01, 2001| Comments (0)
DivX goes Open Source
DivX goes Open Source
See also Slashdot
Posted by rshah on January 17, 2001| Comments (0)
Filtering IETF discussion list
Filtering IETF discussion list
At times, the IETF list is subject to debates that have little to do with the purposes for which the IETF list was created. Some people would appreciate a "quieter" forum for the relevant debates that take place, but the IETF's policy of openness has so far prevented the IETF from imposing any censorship policy on the IETF@ietf.org list.
Posted by rshah on January 12, 2001| Comments (0)
Self Interest and the Advocacy of Standards
Self Interest and the Advocacy of Standards
When the potential for a conflict of interest is too obvious, the likelihood of winding up with the straight dope is too remote.
Posted by rshah on January 10, 2001| Comments (0)
Streaming Media Standards
Streaming Media Standards
Apple Computer and a raft of high-tech heavyweights have joined forces to promote open standards in the bitterly divided world of streaming media, but market leaders RealNetworks and Microsoft aren't playing ball
Posted by rshah on December 15, 2000| Comments (0)
Browser Bias: No Linux at Fox.com
Browser Bias: No Linux at Fox.com
Posted by rshah on December 02, 2000| Comments (0)
The Fight for Lingua Franca
The Fight for Lingua Franca
Consortia and traditional standards groups battle over who will set future technology benchmarks.
Posted by rshah on November 16, 2000| Comments (0)
Open Standard for DSL
Open Standard for DSL
The creation of the OpenDSL initiative has the industry excited, but will the "powers that be" give it the chance, and the push, it needs to have a significant impact?
Posted by rshah on November 03, 2000| Comments (0)
DivX ;-) Deux Update
DivX ;-) Deux Update
Project Mayo is the heir to DivX ;-). Our members include the creators of DivX ;-), a high-quality MPEG4 codec used quite heavily by DVD pirates to recompress movies, see also Slashdot
Posted by rshah on October 04, 2000| Comments (0)
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook
Arrogance with Existing Internet Standards
Posted by rshah on September 25, 2000| Comments (0)
Car makers consider Firewire IEEE 1394
Car makers consider Firewire IEEE 1394
Posted by rshah on September 19, 2000| Comments (0)
Standards battle for home networking
Standards battle for home networking
Posted by rshah on September 19, 2000| Comments (0)
Primer on XML standards
Posted by rshah on September 13, 2000| Comments (0)
Lots of efforts into standards organizations, but much of it is wasted
Lots of efforts into standards organizations, but much of it is wasted
Posted by rshah on September 13, 2000| Comments (0)
FCC approved latest CALEA standards
FCC approved latest CALEA standards
Posted by rshah on August 16, 2000| Comments (0)
Europe's dominance in mobile is due to regulation
Europe's dominance in mobile is due to regulation
by Red Herring
Posted by rshah on August 09, 2000| Comments (0)
GSM versus Cell standards in the US
GSM versus Cell standards in the US
commentary by WSJ's Walter Mossbert, See also Slashdot
Posted by rshah on August 04, 2000| Comments (0)
Debate on V.92 Modem Standards
Debate on V.92 Modem Standards
Posted by rshah on August 01, 2000| Comments (0)
ITU agrees on V.92 Standard
ITU agrees on V.92 Standard
See also Slashdot
Posted by rshah on July 05, 2000| Comments (0)
PNG
PNG
Alternative to GIFs
Posted by rshah on June 29, 2000| Comments (0)
Storage area networks standards
Storage area networks standards
The battle to develop standards
Posted by rshah on June 29, 2000| Comments (0)
Recordable DVDs
Posted by rshah on June 29, 2000| Comments (0)
LSDVD
LSDVD
A free DVD player for Linux a dream?
Posted by rshah on June 24, 2000| Comments (0)
W3C
W3C
by Garfinkel in the Nov 98 Tech Review
Posted by rshah on June 24, 2000| Comments (0)
Text on Web Pages
Posted by rshah on June 24, 2000| Comments (0)
MPEG-4
MPEG-4
Standard for streaming media for cable companies
Posted by rshah on June 24, 2000| Comments (0)
Intel
Posted by rshah on June 24, 2000| Comments (0)
How Are Standards Monitored And Enforced?
How Are Standards Monitored And Enforced?
Posted by rshah on June 24, 2000| Comments (0)
Standardisation and Innovation Proceedings
Standardisation and Innovation Proceedings
Posted by rshah on June 24, 2000| Comments (0)
International Center for Standards Research
International Center for Standards Research
Posted by rshah on June 24, 2000| Comments (0)
Kerberos
Kerberos
Microsoft's Implementation in Windows 2000
Posted by rshah on June 24, 2000| Comments (0)
SOAP
SOAP
Microsoft and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)
Posted by rshah on June 24, 2000| Comments (0)
XML
XML
Mark Pesce on XML and the Balkanization of the Web
Posted by rshah on June 24, 2000| Comments (0)