Internet Access

It's like the '90s never left: Billy Crystal hosted the Oscars. Internet IPOs are back. And NetZero is returning with free Internet service —only this time it's wireless. United Online Inc. announced Monday that it will offer free wireless Internet service under its NetZero brand, the one that started the free dial-up phenomenon in 1998. The company is backing up the plan with TV, print and online advertisements. There are plenty of catches with the free plan. United Online isn't offsetting its costs by making users look at advertising, as it did with its original offer of...

Charlie Ergen, the billionaire who controls Dish Network Corp., has a 10-year plan to transform the satellite TV provider into a one-stop shop for Internet access, video and voice services at home and on the go. Ergen said that no major telecommunications company has figured out how to combine all those things in one package in the United States. Cable TV operators provide data, video and voice services in the home, but don't mimic that offering on mobile devices. Cellphone carriers are great at mobile data and voice, but have made only small inroads providing video signals to homes.

An Oregon man was convicted yesterday in federal court in Boston on fraud charges in connection to a $1 million scheme to steal Internet access and sell products that allowed others to do the same. The jury convicted Ryan Harris, 28, on seven of eight counts, according to a late entry yesterday on the docket for the case. His sentencing is set for May 23. Harris's lawyer, federal public defender Charles P. McGinty, could not be reached for comment last night. McGinty told jurors during closing arguments Wednesday that his client did indeed tamper with modems to learn how...

The founder of file-sharing website Megaupload, Kim Dotcom, is being allowed back online. Dotcom was previously denied Internet access under bail conditions imposed by New Zealand authorities after his January arrest. He remains under house arrest. U.S. prosecutors seeking to extradite Dotcom accuse him of racketeering by facilitating millions of illegal downloads of copyrighted material on his website. New Zealand Judge David Harvey on Monday said Dotcom's behavior since his arrest appears to have been "exemplary.

During the same week Mark Zuckerberg visited Harvard and MIT to recruit whiz kids so Facebook could achieve even greater heights, Ed Stempniewicz visited the Chesterfield Public Library so he could log onto the Internet. He can get on at home, but only through slow-speed dial-up service. The library is one of the few places in town with high-speed broadband access. After hours, residents sit outside on benches or in parked cars to access the Wi-Fi hotspot from their laptops. Otherwise, it takes excruciatingly long to see PDF files, watch YouTube videos, or download research documents...

Uruguay's state-owned communications company is giving users a day of free Internet access in support of freedom online. Antel says it is inspired by the Internet blackout led by U.S. search and social media companies against anti-piracy bills in the U.S. Congress. It is offering free net access on Monday. The company says it has no position on the anti-piracy bills, but wants to strengthen the principle of free access. Although the debate is taking place far from Uruguay, the company says its clients are directly affected.

HAVANA - Cuba has authorized public Internet access at post offices across the country, though it has yet to apply what would be a landmark loosening of cyberspace rules in a nation where information is strictly controlled. A decree posted on the website of the government’s official gazette this week authorizes Empresa Correos de Cuba to “provide access to public Internet to all naturalized persons.’’ Many post offices already offer public computers, but they are linked to a national intranet - an extremely limited list of Cuba-only websites.

Charlie Ergen, the billionaire who controls Dish Network Corp., has a 10-year plan to transform the satellite TV provider into a one-stop shop for Internet access, video and voice services at home and on the go. Ergen said that no major telecommunications company has figured out how to combine all those things in one package in the United States. Cable TV operators provide data, video and voice services in the home, but don't mimic that offering on mobile devices. Cellphone carriers are great at mobile data and voice, but have made only small inroads...

Google, Wikipedia, and the millions of Americans who joined last week's protest against giving the government new authority over the Internet may have missed something: Federal agencies already have that kind of power, at least over websites registered in the United States. Under a 2008 law called the Pro-IP Act, federal authorities can seize the assets of a company charged with copyright violations. The Justice Department exercised that muscle on Thursday, when it shut down one of the Internet's most popular file-sharing sites: Megaupload.com, accused of distributing illegal...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In a high-tech first, astronauts in space finally have Internet access. Space station resident Timothy Creamer had been working with flight controllers to establish Internet access from his orbital post ever since he moved in last month. Yesterday, his effort paid off. He posted the first live Twitter post truly from space. “Hello Twitterverse!’’ he wrote as Astro_TJ. “We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station - the 1st live tweet from Space!

NEW YORK - It's like the '90s never left: Billy Crystal hosted the Oscars. Internet IPOs are back. And NetZero is returning with free Internet service - only this time it's wireless. United Online Inc. disclosed Monday that it will offer free wireless Internet service under its NetZero brand, the one that started the free dial-up phenomenon in 1998. The company is backing up the plan with TV, print, and online advertisements. There are plenty of catches with the free plan.

The Arab Spring is changing the face of Internet freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders, which released its latest "Enemies of the Internet" list Monday. The annual report classifies as "enemies" countries that severely curtail freedom of expression on and access to the Web. It also draws up a list of states "under surveillance. " The group added Bahrain to its enemies list, citing a news blackout and harassment of bloggers in an attempt to quell a yearlong Shiite-led rebellion against the Sunni monarchy.

An Oregon man was convicted yesterday in federal court in Boston on fraud charges in connection to a $1 million scheme to steal Internet access and sell products that allowed others to do the same. The jury convicted Ryan Harris, 28, on seven of eight counts, according to a late entry yesterday on the docket for the case. His sentencing is set for May 23. Harris's lawyer, federal public defender Charles P. McGinty, could not be reached for comment last night. McGinty told jurors during closing arguments Wednesday that his client did indeed tamper with modems to learn how...

... that was going to be full of art galleries and shopping and rainforests and parties where I can stand on my feet and talk to people without my back going wonky -- wound up getting derailed because of my stomach ailments instead. I spent most of my time -- almost all of the time, really -- in my hotel room. I probably managed to eat the equivalent of two full meals the entire time I was there.  Which was, of course, a disappointment. Vancouver, man! It's pretty amazing, at least the bits I got to see. And one of my friends was up for the conference, too, and I'd looked forward to...

Google, Wikipedia, and the millions of Americans who joined last week's protest against giving the government new authority over the Internet may have missed something: Federal agencies already have that kind of power, at least over websites registered in the United States. Under a 2008 law called the Pro-IP Act, federal authorities can seize the assets of a company charged with copyright violations. The Justice Department exercised that muscle on Thursday, when it shut down one of the Internet's most popular file-sharing sites: Megaupload.com, accused of distributing...

Uruguay's state-owned communications company is giving users a day of free Internet access in support of freedom online. Antel says it is inspired by the Internet blackout led by U.S. search and social media companies against anti-piracy bills in the U.S. Congress. It is offering free net access on Monday. The company says it has no position on the anti-piracy bills, but wants to strengthen the principle of free access. Although the debate is taking place far from Uruguay, the company says its clients are directly affected.

WASHINGTON -- A drive to permanently ban Internet access taxes stopped dead in the Senate yesterday, stuck in a clash over whether the legislation would shear millions from the budgets of state and local governments. The problem arose over the definition of "Internet access" -- services that connect consumers to the Internet. The strongest proponents for a permanent ban want to make sure that all access technologies -- from phone lines to DSL to cable modems -- get equal freedom from taxation.