Subscribe to Comments 2.1.1 Released
Mark Jaquith recently released Subscribe to Comments 2.1.1 which is the WordPress plugin that powers the Geek With Laptop comment subscriptions.
Subscribe to Comments 2.1 is a plugin that allows commenters on your blog to check a box before commenting and get e-mail notification of further comments.
It is one of the most popular WordPress plugins out there for the simple reason that it helps foster a community around your blog by encouraging commenter’s to come back and stay engaged in the dialog.
It’s not a major release but there are a couple of small code improvements and it now properly supports the WordPress 2.2.x branch.
Thanks Mark for keeping your slick plugin up-to-date and running smooth.
AT&T Boosts EDGE Speeds On Apple iPhone Eve
First rumored a couple of weeks ago, it turns out that AT&T has indeed enhanced its EDGE network for faster speeds.
Yesterday, on iPhone eve, users of AT&T’s EDGE network began reporting significant improvements in speeds, up to 200 kilobits per second. This is definitely welcome news.
AT&T has increased the capacity of its base stations to make sure its network is operating at optimum speeds for the EDGE standard.
Field tests from people are showing speeds of 200 kilobits per second, which is 25 Kilobytes per second. One tester saw rates as high as 275 kilobits per second.
While that ain’t exactly broadband speeds, it is a vast improvement over the average 40 kilobits / 5 Kilobytes per second that people were seeing with the EDGE network before yesterday.
This morning, I broke out my BlackBerry and gave its EDGE data connection a whirl.
True enough, browsing was much improved. Loading non-mobile-friendly sites, such as eBay, was drastically faster than before. Simple WAP sites loaded almost immediately.
Just to be thorough, I pulled the SIM out of my BlackBerry and stuck it into a Nokia E62 I have laying around and browsing speeds on that device, which also uses the EDGE network, were equally improved.
I also went to DSL Reports and performed an actual speed test. I downloaded a 200 kb file three times and my speed scores were 149 kbps, 176 kbps and 250 kbps.
Beyond making the Internet more bearable for iPhone users, this network enhancement benefits everyone who uses AT&T’s EDGE network. Thanks, guys.
Of course, it would have been nice if AT&T’s EDGE network had performed this well from the start.
The Real Web Kills The Apple iPhone
Apple CEO Steve Jobs was so happy to show off the fact that the iPhone’s browser lets users experience the “real” Internet that he forgot one important fact: The “real” Internet requires speed.
As early reviews of the iPhone are pointing out in hordes, speed is one thing the iPhone doesn’t have over AT&T’s EDGE network.
The video demos on Apple’s site are surely rigged in some way and browsing the Web via Wi-Fi. It’s just too speedy and not in line with what we’re hearing from the people lucky enough to have been given a review unit.
Most reviews of the iPhone said browsing over Wi-Fi was acceptable, but that browsing over EDGE was torturous. Here’s what New York Times tech writer David Pogue had to say:
When you’re in a Wi-Fi hot spot, going online is fast and satisfying. But otherwise, you have to use AT&T’s ancient EDGE cellular network, which is excruciatingly slow. The New York Times’s home page takes 55 seconds to appear; Amazon.com, 100 seconds; Yahoo. two minutes. You almost ache for a dial-up modem.
After thinking about it for a few moments, it is obvious what makes Web browsing via EDGE so painful. The Safari browser. It pulls down the entire Web site (you know, the “real” version), not one optimized for mobile devices.
Browsing the “mobile version” of the Internet via EDGE is painful enough but at least the mobile version strips out unnecessary stuff in an attempt to speed up the browsing experience.
There’s a reason WAP sites exist. They may be crummy to look at, but at least they don’t take 60 or 90 seconds to load.
By way of comparison, the S60 browser, which is based on Apple’s Safari, pulls down almost-complete versions of Web sites much faster than the full version. The experience may not be the 100% “real” Web, but it works — even over EDGE networks.
While accessing the full Internet is surely the ideal for mobile devices, it isn’t practical for most mobile devices right now. The folks who developed the S60 platform’s browser were smart enough to realize this. I guess Apple wasn’t.
Why Apple-Style Secrecy Won’t Work For Microsoft
One of the hallmarks of Apple’s current cache, along with pure stylishness, is its secrecy.
Products don’t get announced until very close to release date, features sometimes even later and Apple’s public relations department isn’t exactly the most open.
Apple’s cageyness certainly breeds intrigue, but it wouldn’t work as a corporate policy at a place like Microsoft.
The lack of chatter on the next version of Windows may be fine for now – the Vista team talked too soon and some features ended up being removed and people are just now beginning the shift to Vista – but sooner or later, somebody’s going to have to start talking.
The need for information on Windows itself is especially pertinent if Microsoft is serious about releasing Windows Seven/Vienna in 2009 as planned. That’s two years off. Remember, Vista nee Longhorn chatter was already heavy two years before its release.
Apple can get away with it. It has a relatively tiny portion of the PC marketplace and its vertical integration – most things on an Apple are still Apple – means there aren’t as many software and hardware vendors relying on specs.
Apple can just release the iPhone and iPod as is and OS X isn’t as vital for as many corporate customers and vendors as Windows.
Microsoft, on the other hand, has a massive installed base and a massive partner ecosystem. Hardware and software vendors rely on it to spec out their own products. Beta testing programs seem to be getting larger and more important for Microsoft for solving problems before the first service pack hits.
People want and even need to know what Microsoft is up to and they’re starting to complain about the fact that they can’t get their hands on anything about Internet Explorer 8 and Windows Vista SP1. That should be something from which to learn.
More Pay It Forward Thank You’s
It’s that time again, I’m doing another “thank you” post for the people and web sites showing support for SRG Clean Archives complete with some link love to the following people (not in any special order):
- Kaoko - www.kitchencow.com
- Brad Nix - www.maxsell.net
- Betsy - www.onefishtwokids.com
- Monique - www.alotaboutnothing.com
- Tissle - www.postcrunk.com/blog/
- Betsy - www.mywhimislaw.com
- Joern Kretzschmar - www.diekretzschmars.de
- Lise - www.liseweb.fr
- Pelf - www.chenpn.com
To the above people and sites, “thank you” again for your use and support of SRG Clean Archives.
To my readers and RSS subscribers, please be sure to give each one of them a visit as you might find something of interest to bookmark or add to your RSS subscribe list.
Also, in the recent SRG Clean Archives 4.1 release, the plugin was completely localized to support poEdit language files.
Current available language packs:
- English (default - built into plugin)
- French - Français
- German - Deutsch
- Traditional Chinese
If you’d like to help by contributing additional language translations, let me know. This would be a great help.
For those of you who would like some link love and your name up in lights too, take a look and see if you can answer any of the questions:
Have you downloaded SRG Clean Archives yet for your blog powered by WordPress?
If so, let me know with a comment or a message with a link to your site.
Do you like the plugin and find it useful? Would you like to see more features and enhancements?
Consider making a PayPal donation or writing a review with a link back to my site and show your support. I will pay it forward with link love back to you and your website.
Donate via PayPal today: 
Thank you in advance for your support and use of my SRG Clean Archives WordPress plugin.
Sprint All But Cans Nextel Identity
Sprint is launching a new marketing campaign and it is all about speed.
Conspicuously absent, any real references to Nextel, which Sprint paid big bucks to merge with a couple of years ago.
Does this spell the end of Nextel? Well, not entirely.
Sprint says it is going to continue to enhance the Nextel National network.
However Sprint seems to be refocusing its push-to-talk service and says it is now going to be powered by “SprintSpeed”.
Why can I hear Captain Kirk here? “Mr. Sulu, SprintSpeed, please.” hehe.
Sprint makes no actual references to its iDEN network. On top of that, Sprint is already offering a slew of “blended” phones, that contain both CDMA and iDEN radios for combined functionality.
Sprint is hoping historical iDEN subscribers will choose these blended devices and eventually be won over by the CDMA features.
The design behind this strategy is to get all Nextel iDEN subscribers to shift to CDMA phones so Sprint can sunset the iDEN network.
Speaking of CDMA, the press release speaks of Sprint’s new slogan, Sprint Ahead and how it is going to be the network of the future.
There’s certainly no reason to complain about the $7 billion that Sprint is going to invest in upgrading its CDMA EV-DO network to Revision A.
Rev A will enhance business productivity by providing AirCard users with better wireless connecting speeds on both the uplink and downlink.
Strangely, Sprint barely makes mention of its forthcoming WiMAX network. The 4G technology gets a tiny little shout-out at the end of the press release.
Just a few months ago, it seemed Sprint’s future hinged on the WiMax network.