THE WHATIS.COM WORD-OF-THE-DAY March 2, 2004 Broadband over Power Line
_____________ SPONSORED BY: Intel Info Center Announcing the PC Lifecycle Info Center, sponsored by Intel. Find news, tips, webcasts, white papers and targeted Web resources focused on all aspects of managing the PC lifecycle. http://WhatIs.com/r/0,,25461,00.htm?track=NL-34&ad=477542 ______________________ TODAY'S WORD: Broadband over Power Line See our complete definition with hyperlinks at http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci953137,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 Broadband over Power Line (BPL) is a technology that allows Internet data to be transmitted over utility power lines. (BPL is also sometimes called Power-line Communications or PLC.) In order to make use of BPL, subscribers use neither a phone, cable or a satellite connection. Instead, a subscriber installs a modem that plugs into an ordinary wall outlet and pays a subscription fee similar to those paid for other types of Internet service. BPL works by modulating high-frequency radio waves with the digital signals from the Internet. These radio waves are fed into the utility grid at specific points. They travel along the wires and pass through the utility transformers to subscribers' homes and businesses. Little, if any, modification is necessary to the utility grid to allow transmission of BPL. This mode has not yet been widely deployed in the United States, but it has been implemented in a few other countries, with varying results. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently working on a set of rules according to which BPL may be implemented in the United States. If it is put into use, BPL will be an unlicensed service, and will be governed by rules similar to those that apply to cordless telephones, television remote controls, and other consumer electronic devices. Some people say BPL represents an ideal solution for people in rural areas. But many engineers, along with officials in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), fear that BPL will interfere with fire, police, shortwave, land mobile, and other radio systems important to national security. Amateur radio operators have voiced their concerns as well. BPL subscribers may also be adversely affected by the electromagnetic fields that radio transmitters generate in the course of their normal and licensed operations. The utility power lines are not shielded, as is coaxial cable, and some of the frequencies suggested for BPL operation lie within the spectra assigned to essential wireless services. ______________________ SELECTED LINKS: BPL is being tested in parts of the United States. http://www.progress-energy.com/aboutus/news/article.asp?id=8362 The FCC has attempted to address the concerns of radio operators. http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/02/23/1/?nc=1 ______________________ TODAY'S TECH NEWS: HEEDING THE WAKEUP CALL There's plenty of new malware--some of it nasty--circulating in the wild. But thus far U.S. enterprises have been relatively unscathed. http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid14_gci953202,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 PROVE YOUR LOVE FOR YOUR ISERIES. GET A TATTOO IBM is hoping a new marketing campaign showing iSeries users hugging their systems will have Windows users thinking about the platform the way middle-aged men think about Harleys. http://search400.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid3_gci953207,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 IBM'S CARLSON ON THE VALUE OF THE MAINFRAME Search390.com recently talked to Scott Carlson, IBM's manager of zSeries marketing and pricing strategy, about the value proposition of the mainframe platform, Big Blue's Mainframe Charter, and new zSeries pricing policies. Carlson, along with Terri Virnig, IBM's vice president of strategic initiatives and technical support, gave a keynote presentation on these topics this past week at the SHARE users' conference in Long Beach, Calif. http://search390.techtarget.com/qna/0,289202,sid10_gci952646,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 >> Catch up on all the latest IT news at http://searchtechtarget.techtarget.com?track=NL-34&ad=477542 ______________________ SECRET WORD-OF-THE-DAY | What is IT? A tin of luncheon meat? This is the name of an Act to curtail junk e-mail. Do you think you know the Secret Word? Click to see if you're right! http://searchcio.techtarget.com/gDefinition/0,294236,sid19_gci948840,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 ______________________ QUICK POLL | Do not spam list Would a registry of e-mail addresses, similar to the "do not call" list, be an effective way to reduce spam? http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/news/0,289141,sid11,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 ______________________ FAST REFERENCE | How many bytes for... (NEW!) How many bytes does it take to store the complete works of Shakespeare? 5 megabytes, 1 gigabyte, or 2 kilobytes? Our newest Fast Reference provides tables and other information about how many bytes are required (how much computer storage) for various information objects or purposes. http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid5_gci944596,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 ______________________ HOROSCOPES FOR GEEKS | March Find out what the stars have in store for you this month! http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci919205,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 ______________________ LEARN IT | Software development Here's how it works: We give you a little background about the concept, a glossary to look up related terms, some outside reading, and a self-assessment quiz. You spend as much (or as little) time as you like moving through the ten steps and exploring the concept. http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid1_gci936454,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 ______________________________ RECENT ADDITIONS AND UPDATES [1] spim http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci952820_top1,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 [2] bluesnarfing http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci952393,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 [3] vulnerability disclosure http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci952151,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 [4] GMPLS http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci950984,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 [5] Power over Ethernet http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci846792,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=477542 ____________________________________________________________________ ::::::::::::::::::: WHATIS.COM CONTACTS ::::::::::::::::::: MARGARET ROUSE, Site Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) IVY WIGMORE, Consulting Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) LOWELL THING, Consulting Editor and Founder ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) GABRIELLE DERUSSY, Advertising ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ::::::::::::::::::::: ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER :::::::::::::::::::::: This e-newsletter is published by WhatIs.com, a targeted Web site from TechTarget, the most targeted IT media and events company. 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