The Internet's Undersea World

Click here for larger size image of fibre-optic submarine cable system which also maps out the cable accidentally severed, last year, when a ship's anchor sliced two cables off Egypt, causing internet outages in the Middle East and India.

The map pictured above displays a vast undersea network of fiber optic cables that are the backbone to the entire internet. Miles of these cables span continents, sending data as pulses of light from one destination to another and carry about 95% of voice and telephone traffic. The cable is not evenly distributed between the continents. Until today, East Africa was the only major inhabited coastline excluded from the global broadband map.

In the next year, it is estimated that about ten new undersea connections are expected to serve Africa.

"The opening of a fiber optic cable providing broadband Internet service to millions of people in Southern and Eastern Africa is part of an ambitious plan to expand Web access and help spur the continent’s economy and technology industry.

The cable, built by Seacom, a consortium 75 percent controlled by African investors, is the first of about 10 new undersea connections expected to serve Africa before the middle of next year. The expansion will cost about $2.4 billion and will help connect Africa with Europe, Asia and parts of the Middle East at higher speeds and a lower cost."

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Browser Wars Are Back.

Over one-hundred years ago, the railroad became the foundation of our economy, just as the web is becoming today.

The Internet swept us into its "web" so fast it's hard to believe that less than 10-years ago most of us thought windows were the framed glass panes through which we could see what lurked outside, and a mouse was a timid, small rodent with the power to make creatures 50 times larger than itself, scream bloody murder and jump up on the nearest piece of furniture in sheer terror.

Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, set in motion this ball of fire which lead to what is now known as the browser wars. Unfortunately, Netscape had to contend with the already established giant, Microsoft, who wanted to control the Internet revolution despite Andreessen getting there first. Microsoft had no interest in the Internet until Bill Gates woke up one day and saw the Internet as the next big thing. Microsoft, using its immense power won and Netscape was acquired in 1999 for $4.2 billion by AOL, and Andreessen became its Chief Technology Officer.

Now it looks as if Mozilla, who rose from the ashes of Netscape, may start up the browser wars once again daring to ruffle Microsoft's feathers with Firefox 3.0.

Firefox now has 170 million users around the world and an 18 percent share of the browser market, according to Net Applications. That is especially impressive given that most of its users have made the active choice to download the software, while Internet Explorer is installed on most PCs at the factory.

Microsoft is coming out with Internet Explorer 8, nevertheless, Mozilla says Firefox 3.0 runs twice as fast as its previous version, is smarter, uses less memory and makes it much easier for users to personalize.

Adding to the competition are Apple’s Safari Web browser which has a little over 5 percent of the market and Flock,who is attempting to develop a browser that helps users share photos, videos and blog entries more easily.

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What's New in Web Based Applications?

Under the Radar showcases emerging startups and identifying trends. Listed below are some of the cool web based applications available:

blist - is a web based database with flash interface that eliminates the need to wedge data into what's become the psuedo database, Excel. It democratizes the function of organizing data by allowing the user to store photos, lists, star ratings, documents and create new blists in each cell in a completely user-friendly environment.

GetSatisfaction, people powered customer service for absolutely everything, is a place where people can get the most from the products they use, and where companies are encouraged to get real with their customers.

Kwiry, turns text messages into reminders you retrieve online.

Magento is an open-source eCommerce platform with "design flexibiity, modular architecture and rich functionality."

NuConomy goes beyond the old page view model of site analytics and starts to measure engagement. It is a two way API, allowing your site to make changes automatically depending on input from the service. Correlation, which shows how things on the site affect other things, page hits, ratings, comments and other metrics can be weighted differently to come up with an overall algorithm to compare authors. It removes the human element which can slow things down.

SlideRocket, very similar to PowerPoint is a rich Internet application. It offers the ability to "design professional quality presentations, manage and share libraries of slides and assets, and to deliver presentations in person or remotely over the web."

SlideShare, SlideShare is the best way to share your presentations with the world. Let your ideas reach a broad audience.

Splashtop allows you to read e-mail, chat with friends, or surf the Web seconds after pushing the power button.

SupportSpace gives you instant access to a robust network of certified tech support experts.

Vello generate conference calls instantly or scheduled in advance, from anywhere, at any time.

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