Sounds a touch like it....

I agree absolutely - from reading the article (I know - a completely unfashionable and unforgivable thing to do here on /.) I take this to be very specifically a malware checker, that checks a given site/URL for malware, either directly or uses the cached result of the last check if it was checked within the last 24 hours.

Is this not very similar to the google safe site service that's built into Firefox and other browsers?

Oh, and I love the justification for claiming that it records what customers do... "They said it doesn't record anything at all conencted to the user, but they might be lying, so sod it, lets just claim that they record absolutely everything." (That's high quality Daily Mail level journalism there...)

I kinda have to use FAT32 on USB disks (including a 250GB one - amusing that I have to use Linux to partition/format it), purely because I want to use them to play back video on a Playstation, so no NTFS support there.

My impression of this project from the media coverage over the last year or so was that it is a standardisation effort for Internet connected set-top boxes. i.e. consistent user interface, applications, widgets, hardware capabilities, etc, and a joint effort between all the UK television channels (with the notable exception of Rupert Murdoch/News Corp, who are un-surprisingly a little bit anti) and some hardware manufacturers.

i.e. it's not so much about creation of new technologies, more about making sure that manufacturers and content providers are all working from the same page?

So that we can avoid all the crap that has been seen with the many set top boxes recently where one does hulu or whatever, another does iPlayer, another does Netflix, and each one doesn't do the others, and needs a custom app for each platform.

Reading through the comments on here, no-one seems to be looking at it from that point of view - but seem to be taking the stance of 'OMG!! We don't need new IPTV protocols/containers/codecs/etc'.

I always thought that their intent is really not too disimilar to GoogleTV - standardise the platform so everyone can get on with watching stuff, or selling people stuff to watch without worrying about which versions of which devices etc.

If you follow the article through to the manufacturers product description page, they mention using multiple antennas and 'locking on' to the best local cell base station, presumably using some variant of phased array/beam forming/etc to minimise interference etc.

Although it's hard to tell from the pictures, the unit does look fairly large compared to a dongle, maybe about the size of a large dog food tin can? (i.e. next size up tin can from a normal size one) (But that is pure guestimation based on comparison of what looks like an ethernet socket towars the bottom).

Or.... the entire USA perhaps? (Although admitedly he was also the Govenor of California before that apparently if wikipedia is to be believed).

Wierd, I always thought this was a cock reference...

Never occured to me that someone used it as a slogan.

Mostly seems this *is* Windows Mobile 6.5 in all but name.

These folks - http://www.samknows.com/ - do a similar thing in the UK conencted to ofcom (similar body to FCC), and a look at the website indicates it actually probably is them.

This particular oil rig could very likely have been built/operated more safely than it was. But who'll make BP do that?

The Interior Department's Mineral Management Service perhaps? (http://www.mms.gov/)

While I do like the whole WRT54GL thing, you do appear to be answering a different question to the one that was asked.

I tend to use Mikogo - has worked fairly well for me so far.

And it's free and easy to use.

From page three:

"Q: AMD was able to open source and/or document a lot by separating out the parts they couldn't legally disclose. Similar problems have been cited as preventing NVIDIA from open sourcing their driver (licensed 3rd parts code, etc) or documentation. Could nVidia use the same strategy?"

"... While at some point it may be possible to release some of this information in pubic form ..."

Ever the child... I must admit it made me snigger...