The Washington Post reports that “
According to Wired, “Google’s reported interest in laying a new trans-Pacific underwater fiber optic cable is the most prominent sign that, after a six-year hiatus, companies are starting to build massive conduits for internet data. After the market collapsed in 2001, telcos stopped laying new cables. With a glut of capacity on the market, Google bought ‘dark fiber’ — unused fiber-optic cable connections — at discount rates. Google won’t disclose how much fiber capacity it owns, but experts concur that it is a significant amount.”
In more Google news, TechCrunch points out that “[r]umors of a Google powered virtual world based on Google Earth surfaced in January; today there is word that Google may be testing their virtual world at Arizona State University (ASU). According to Google Operating System, ASU students have the opportunity to test a new product ‘that will be publicly launched later this year’ by ‘a major Internet company’ that is related to social networking, 3D modeling and video games. The questionnaire attached to the application process asks would be testers if they have a Gmail account, and if not would they be willing to get one. The product’s name is shown as ‘My World.’”
The San Francisco Chronicle writes that “Chinese engineers are younger, less-educated, unhappier in their current jobs and more likely to join a startup than their American counterparts according to survey released today comparing the hopes and dreams of engineers on either side of the Pacific. The report, titled ‘The State of Engineering in China,’ is modeled on four similar surveys of the attitudes and ambitions of American engineers that were commissioned between 1998 and 2005 by the McClenahan Bruer Communications firm in Portland, Ore.”
Mercury News reports that “Apple warned iPhone users that activating their phone without using approved service providers may cause ‘irreparable damage’ to the device and prevent them from adding new features.”