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RELEASE: MAY
Digital Fountain
The Gist: Clever Servers Lose Packets, Don't Care
They call it Midnight Madness: A big file, like the trailer for The Lord of the Rings, becomes popular, and the download frenzy clogs pipelines worldwide. Why? Standard file servers chop up the data into packets and deliver them over TCP, which uses back-and-forth chatter to make sure lost pieces are replaced. The same process repeats each time someone new clicks the Download Now button.
Digital Fountain has a clever alternative: Its Download Fountain and Streaming Fountain servers generate metapackets that can be lost without consequence. A free, downloadable plug-in collects the necessary number of metapackets and reconstructs a perfect copy of the file. Any packets will do - the server just needs 105 percent of the volume of the original. Because packet loss doesn't matter, the servers use UDP, the quick-and-dirty user datagram protocol that dispenses with resends. Free from having to repeat itself and address recipients individually, one Fountain server does the work of scores of TCP packet pushers.
Metapackets rely on math that looks like this: If x, y, and z are regular packets - slices of the original file - metapackets contain the values of random linear expressions such as x + y, x + z, and x + y + z, where + represents the logical operator XOR. Because equal values combined with XOR cancel each other out, you can XOR compound expressions together to derive x, y, and z. For example, combining x + y and x + y + z yields z. Continue this process with more metapacket data, and you re-create the source.
Digital Fountain testers include Sprint, Sony, and Cisco, but the company could be vulnerable to freeware based on tornado codes, a prior technology that's well known in academia. So says engineer Michael Bodell, who studied the topic under Digital Fountain adviser Michael Mitzenmacher at Harvard. Tornado codes are less flexible than Digital Fountain's formulas, and they demand more client-side computation power, but Fountain Servers start at a hefty $40,000. "Someone could throw together their own tornado server and plug-in in a few months," Bodell argues. "It might not be as good, but it would work."
Digital Fountain: +1 (415) 401 2100, www.digitalfountain.com.
RELEASE: SPRING
Mixman DM2
The Gist: Mattel Turns The Beats Around
Fatboy Slim sampled it best: "Build It Up, Tear It Down." Kids don't want to just listen to music - they want to dismantle and reassemble it. The $120 DM2, a stand-alone console from Beatnik and Apzu (a division of Mattel), lets you mix its library of beats with two turntable-like controls, a cross-fader, and an effects joystick. You can build tracks in less time than it takes to search a crate of vinyl, then plug into your PC's USB port and burn your remixes to CD or upload them as MP3s.
Mixman: +1 (650) 295 2300, www.mixman.com.
RELEASE: MAY
Palm m505
The Gist: Palm's Flashy Expansion Plan
The m505 pairs Palm V sleekness with an expansion slot based on the Secure Digital standard, a module port format that's backed by dozens of companies and also supports MultiMediaCard. Running on the new Palm OS 4.0, the $449 power tool has a 16-bit color screen and signals appointments with a flashing LED, vibration, and beeping. Security settings let you lock individual records or the entire device. If you've been sticking with your Palm V just for its looks, it's time to upgrade.
Palm: (800) 881 7256, www.palm.com.
RELEASE: JUNE
Orbitz
The Gist: Factory-direct Airfares
Why settle for brokered deals at Expedia and Travelocity when you can go straight to the source? Backed by the top five US airlines, mega travel site Orbitz promises airfares that won't show up on other search engines. Customers tap into a massive centralized reservation system that displays available seats for hundreds of flights on 450 carriers - other sites favor the ones that paid to be placed. The Feds are investigating Orbitz in light of antitrust concerns, so get in while the getting's good.
Orbitz: +1 (312) 894 5000, www.orbitz.com.
RELEASE: JULY
Remote Propane Gauge
The Gist: Makes Gas-grill Flameout Rare
Frontgate's remote gauge helps the mesquite-minded avoid the frustration of empty-tank syndrome, an affliction that begins with the hefting of an all-too-light container and ends with a highly inflammatory stream of profanity. A thin wire runs from the gas line to a display unit that indicates propane level via green, yellow, and red lights. This $60 backyard essential lets barbecue jockeys eye fuel levels from the comfort of their lawn chairs, then bark commands at the kids as needed to rectify the situation.
Frontgate: (800) 626 6488, www.frontgate.com.
STREET CRED
BeoSound 1
Mutations
Compaq MP2800
mIRC Internet Relay Chat Client, Version 5.82
Worms World Party
mycereal.com
UltimateTV
ReadMe
Music
Just Outta Beta
John Lennon AI Project
The Well: A Story of Love, Death & Real Life in the Seminal Online Community, by Katie Hafner
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