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Can Invisible Lasers Help Bridge the Digital Divide? I Toured This Futuristic Cell Tower to Find Out

I’ve written hundreds of articles about broadband internet technology, but I'd never heard about data being transmitted through invisible lasers before. This wasn’t the plot of a sci-fi movie. This was Taara, a graduate of X, Google’s Moonshot Factory, that uses beams of light to transmit data through the air at the speed of light. I drove 140 miles from my home in Seattle to remote Selah, Washington, to see it in action. Three miles up a rocky dirt road, you’ll find a typical cellular tower, d

Former Meta exec Nick Clegg offers careful criticism of ‘cloyingly conformist’ Silicon Valley

In Brief Meta’s former policy chief Nick Clegg seems to be walking a tightrope as he promotes his upcoming book, “How to Save the Internet.” Unlike certain other Meta employee memoirs, “How to Save the Internet” doesn’t sound like a tell-all or a scathing critique. And in an interview with the Guardian, Clegg (who previously led the U.K.’s Liberal Democrats) seems to distance himself from Silicon Valley without quite disavowing his former employer. “I really do believe that, despite its imper

They’re trying to make deep-sea mining happen

is a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hell or High Water: When Disaster Hits Home , a podcast from Vox Media and Audible Originals. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on deep-sea mining and critical minerals, follow Justine Calma. The Stepback arriv

When Starship Comes to Florida, Expect 2-Hour Flight Delays, FAA Warns

SpaceX aims to expand its Starship operations to Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a goal of launching 44 super heavy-lift rockets per year. If regulators approve this plan, the uptick in launch activity could result in more ground stops, reroutes, and flight delays at major airports throughout the Sunshine State, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. In a draft environmental impact statement released this month, the FAA states that airports such as Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Internation

AT&T Promo Code: Get Up to $200 in August

Major wireless carriers: A necessary evil if you travel a lot, have a family, or are just interested in coverage that’s reliably consistent and widespread. AT&T is the third-largest provider in the US (first for 5G), with the largest coverage map. I’ve had various AT&T plans for more than a decade, first for just myself and now for my whole family, even though I only get one cell bar at my house and have to stand in one 5-square-foot patch of yard to make a phone call. And have lost entire days

Verizon-powered prepaid brands just got a lot more travel-friendly

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Verizon-powered prepaid providers, Simple Mobile and Total Wireless, are introducing several travel-friendly perks across their plans. The updated plans offer new international calling, texting, and roaming benefits, and in some cases, bundled streaming services. Verizon will soon power new global connectivity options for prepaid customers of Simple Mobile and Total Wireless. Starting August 28, the two no-contract prepaid providers under Verizon’s Va

AT&T Promo Code: Get Up to $300 in August

Major wireless carriers: A necessary evil if you travel a lot, have a family, or are just interested in coverage that’s reliably consistent and widespread. AT&T is the third-largest provider in the US (first for 5G), with the largest coverage map. I’ve had various AT&T plans for more than a decade, first for just myself and now for my whole family, even though I only get one cell bar at my house and have to stand in one 5-square-foot patch of yard to make a phone call. And have lost entire days

An Argument for Increasing TCP's Initial Congestion Window Again

An Argument for Increasing TCP's Initial Congestion Window ... Again Published September 2, 2024 Introduction Google has a long history of performing networking research, making changes, and pushing those changes to the entire internet. In 2011, they published one of my favorite papers, which described their decision to increase the TCP initial congestion window from 1 to 10 on their entire infrastructure. This was soon followed by an RFC filed with the IETF, and eventually became an internet

Starlink Deal Makes Satellite Dish 50% Cheaper for New Customers. Here's How It Works

Starlink's satellite-based internet service has been a popular solution for people outside of traditional ISPs' service areas, and it just got a lot easier to give Starlink a try -- it's now featuring its lowest monthly prices ever and cutting the cost of the necessary equipment in half. You can now purchase the Starlink standard kit for $175, down from its usual $349 price tag. Unlike previous deals, this one is available to new customers anywhere in the country. Most Starlink deals in the pas

Laura Loomer and the limits of posting everything

For all the power she wields with the White House’s affairs, Laura Loomer does not have the traditional tools that her rivals in the MAGA influencer industrial complex have — the highest follower count, the most political power, the most internet platforms, etc. But the fact remains that she’s the influencer responsible for getting Donald Trump to fire over a dozen members of his administration (and counting) for the hazily-defined crime of being disloyal to MAGA. This is something that none of

A mind–reading brain implant that comes with password protection

A brain scan (artificially coloured) produced by magnetic resonance imaging. Credit: K H Fung/Science Photo Library A brain implant can decode a person’s internal chatter — but the device works only if the user thinks of a preset password1. The mind-reading device, or brain–computer interface (BCI), accurately deciphered up to 74% of imagined sentences. The system began decoding users’ internal speech — the silent dialogue in people’s minds — only when they thought of a specific keyword. This

A new poverty line shifted the World Bank's poverty data. What changed and why?

$3 a day: A new poverty line has shifted the World Bank’s data on extreme poverty. What changed, and why? In June 2025, the World Bank increased its extreme poverty estimates by 125 million people. This doesn’t mean the world has gotten poorer: it reflects a new, higher International Poverty Line of $3 a day, up from $2.15. To track progress towards ending extreme poverty by 2030, the United Nations relies on the World Bank to estimate the share of people living below a certain threshold, calle

Best Internet Providers in Phoenix, Arizona

What is the best internet provider in Phoenix, Arizona? CNET ranks Quantum Fiber as the best internet provider in Phoenix for most households. The fiber provider took the top spot due to its fast, symmetrical speeds, free equipment rental and unlimited data. If Quantum Fiber isn't available at your address, there are several solid alternatives available. Cox offers broad coverage in the area and high-speed plans, while Verizon 5G Home Internet offers budget-friendly choices. Verizon’s 5G Home

AOL Will Shut Down Dial-Up Internet Access in September

After decades of connecting US subscribers to its online service and the internet through telephone lines, AOL recently announced it is finally shutting down its dial-up modem service on September 30, 2025. The announcement marks the end of a technology that served as the primary gateway to the web for millions of users throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. AOL confirmed the shutdown date in a help message to customers: "AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to disco

Reddit blocks the Internet Archive from crawling its data - here's why

Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images ZDNET's key takeaways The Internet Archive can now only crawl Reddit's homepage. Reddit's goal is to block AI firms from scraping Reddit user data. Publishers (and others) are suing AI companies for copyright infringement. Reddit is defending its privacy from AI companies that are taking roundabout approaches to scraping its content. The social media platform, known as a resource where users can post anonymously and find information about virtually any subje

WHY2025: How to become your own ISP [video]

How to become your own ISP Nick Bouwhuis 34 min 34 min 1.1k 1.1k Fahrplan This talk will take you along with a deep dive on how the internet works at its core and how you can participate yourself. You'll learn all about BGP, AS- numbers, IP-prefixes and more. Ever wanted to become sovereign on the internet? Want to know what its like to run an ISP? Are you a sysadmin that wants to learn more about networking? Then you're at the right place. This talk will take you along with a deep dive o

How to become your own ISP (WHY2025) [video]

How to become your own ISP Nick Bouwhuis 34 min 34 min 231 231 Fahrplan This talk will take you along with a deep dive on how the internet works at its core and how you can participate yourself. You'll learn all about BGP, AS- numbers, IP-prefixes and more. Ever wanted to become sovereign on the internet? Want to know what its like to run an ISP? Are you a sysadmin that wants to learn more about networking? Then you're at the right place. This talk will take you along with a deep dive on

A Unified Approach to Branch Security and SD-WAN: Streamlining Operations

The way we work has fundamentally shifted, with hybrid and remote models becoming a widespread reality. This evolution brings tremendous benefits but also presents significant challenges for IT and security teams tasked with ensuring seamless access to applications and protecting sensitive data outside the traditional corporate perimeter. Traditionally, network deployments often routed all internet traffic back to a central site through a perimeter firewall. While this provided security, backha

AOL announces September shutdown for dial-up Internet access

After decades of connecting Americans to its online service and the Internet through telephone lines, AOL recently announced it is finally shutting down its dial-up modem service on September 30, 2025. The announcement marks the end of a technology that served as the primary gateway to the World Wide Web for millions of users throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. AOL confirmed the shutdown date in a help message to customers: "AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to

AOL pulls the plug on dial-up - a reminder that 'dead' tech has a long expiration date

AOL / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET ZDNET's key takeaways Generation X says goodbye to the past. Old technology can linger long after you thought it was dead and done. AOL, once a technology giant, is now little more than a footnote. For millions of people who first heard "You've got mail" over crackling phone lines, an iconic chapter in digital history is coming to a close. AOL, also known as America Online, has announced it will shut down its dial-up internet service on Sept. 30, 2025, eff

AOL pulls the plug on dial-up after 30+ years - feeling old yet?

AOL / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET ZDNET's key takeaways Generation X says goodbye to the past. Old technology can linger long after you thought it was dead and done. AOL, once a technology giant, is now little more than a footnote. For millions of people who first heard "You've got mail" over crackling phone lines, an iconic chapter in digital history is coming to a close. AOL, also known as America Online, has announced it will shut down its dial-up internet service on September 30, 2025,

AOL ends dial-up service after more than 30 years

AOL ends dial-up service after more than 30 years AOL is shutting down the dial-up service that introduced homes across the US to the internet. The firm's dial-up offering connects to the internet via a phone line and currently only exists in the US and Canada. Launched more than 30 years ago, AOL dial-up was known for its chirpy whirring start-up sound, but it has long since been replaced by faster alternatives. Fewer than 300,000 people in the US reported having only a dial-up internet con

Reddit Is Blocking the Wayback Machine From Archiving Posts

Reddit is blocking the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine from indexing most of its site, after discovering that AI companies were scraping its data from the digital time capsule. The move comes as Reddit tightens its grip on user data. The company doesn’t mind AI firms training their models on Reddit posts, but they have to pay first. Reddit previously said it wouldn’t restrict “good faith actors” like the Internet Archive, but now it believes some are helping AI firms dodge licensing fees. Re

AOL announces September shutdown for dial-up Internet after 34 years

After 34 years of connecting Americans to the Internet through phone lines, AOL recently announced it is shutting down its dial-up modem service on September 30, 2025. The announcement marks the end of a technology that served as the primary gateway to the World Wide Web for millions of users throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. AOL confirmed the shutdown date in a help message to customers: "AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet. Thi

Reddit will block the Internet Archive

is a news editor covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Reddit says that it has caught AI companies scraping its data from the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, so it’s going to start blocking the Internet Archive from indexing the vast majority of Reddit. The Wayback Machine will no longer be able to crawl post detail pages, comments, or pro

After 34 Years of Booop-Beep-Beep-Beep-Krsssh-Eee-Brrrrrrr, AOL’s Dial-Up Service Is Finally Shutting Down

It’s the end of an era. After 34 years, AOL is pulling the plug on its dial-up internet service. It’s hard to believe that In 2025, with 5G, Wi-Fi, and fiber-optic broadband seemingly everywhere, AOL’s classic dial-up service is still operating. Sadly, for the thousands of people still relying on the old school internet service, the company recently announced that it’s discontinuing it on Sept. 30. “AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Intern

AOL Will Pull the Plug on Dial-Up Internet, 34 Years After Its Launch

Like TV screen static, a VHS tape rewinding, or a butter churn, the grating sound of AOL dial-up Internet will also soon be a thing of the past. As simply stated on its support website, "Dial-up Internet to be discontinued." The service will end Sept. 30 2025, at which point, "this service and the associated software, the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, which are optimized for older operating systems and dial-up internet connections, will be discontinued." That's not good news for

AOL to discontinue dial-up internet

AOL announced that its dial-up internet service will be discontinued next month. If this is how you learned that AOL’s dial-up still exists — presumably you read this on a broadband internet connection — you’re not alone. The service, seen by many as a relic of the early days of the internet, will be discontinued Sept. 30 along with its associated software, the company said. AOL made the announcement quietly via a statement on its help portal on Friday: “AOL routinely evaluates its products an

Best Internet Providers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

What is the best internet provider in Philadelphia? Verizon Fios is CNET's broadband expert's top pick for the best internet service provider in Philadelphia. Not only is it the only fiber connection in the area, but it has impressive range, covering almost 95% of city addresses. Better yet, it has a starting price of just $50 -- an absolute steal for anyone living in busy households to remote workers. Verizon Fios' symmetrical speeds also outperform cable, and the $110 "2 Gig" plan ($95 for mo

AOL's dial-up internet still exists, but not for much longer

It may have been decades since you last heard the crunching screeches of connecting with dial-up Internet, but AOL said it will discontinue its dial-up service on September 30, officially marking the end of an era in Internet history. As first spotted by PC Gamer, AOL made the surprising announcement in a post buried in its AOL Help pages. Along with the dial-up service, AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser will also be discontinued by the end of September. It may come as a shock to most