Surfing the web on a wireless network has never been a great experience. But Bigfoot Networks wants to change that with the launch of a new product that accelerates the performance of wireless networking five-fold.

The Killer Wireless-N adapter card for laptops is aimed at creating a no-compromise experience on the wireless web for everyone from gamers to video fans. As we noted before, if this takes off, Bigfoot could become a bigger player in the PC chip business, and consumers won’t have to endure as many frustrating internet slowdowns while using laptops on Wi-Fi networks.

Redwood City, Calif.-based Bigfoot Networks says the new adapter card (pictured right) can push the boundaries of Wi-Fi to allow smooth online games, high-definition video and high-quality audio. As with Bigfoot’s desktop-focused products, the new laptop chips allow users to get a lot of control over their internet experience. If you want to prioritize the delivery of games or video, you can specify that in the card’s settings.

Studies have shown that worldwide consumer internet traffic related to gaming, voice communications, online video and audio will grow 500 percent by 2014. Some 47.5 million people already play online games in the U.S., and users spend about 190 billion minutes per year on Skype, with 40 percent of those calls using video. In these applications, network latency (response time) means a lot. In games, you get more kills in a multiplayer combat game if you have a good connection, or no “lag.” With video conferencing, there is less stuttering, image blurring, and slowdown if you have good response times. And in Skype calls, better network connectivity means that your call clarity is good and you don’t lose calls.

But the popularity of these multimedia services is pushing wireless networks to the limit. When there isn’t enough speed, the video and audio will stutter or freeze entirely. Wireless networks are more prone to suffering from these problems than wired networks, says Michael Howse, chief executive of Bigfoot.

In the past few years, Bigfoot has become very good at optimizing a network for the fastest possible speed. It can deliver packets coming in from the web in .71 milliseconds, compared to 22.5 milliseconds for a normal network card. The average latency is 13 times better with a Bigfoot Networks solution. Bigfoot Networks created its Killer NIC network cards for hardcore gamers, who spared no expense in making their machines and networks faster for online games. It used a technology called Visual Bandwidth Control, which lets you take control of your broadband connection. You can prioritize the traffic coming through your system so that a video stream or conference call gets the highest priority in traveling through your system.

The Killer Wireless-N adapters support 802.11a/b/g/n standards, operating on the 2.4 gigahertz and 5 gigahertz radio frequency bands. The cards come in a half-size mini PCIe format and can be integrated directly into laptops. The Killer Wireless-N 1103 and 1102 adapters deliver data at a rate of 450 megabits per second and 300 megabits per second, respectively. The company says its performance is five times better on latency than leading competitors.

The Killer Wireless announcement is the latest in a string of big business deals and innovations for Bigfoot. In December, Bigfoot Networks launched its Killer e2100 solution that motherboard vendors could integrate directly into a graphics card. That enabled the Killer HD5770 graphics card from VisionTek, the first graphics card that combined Advanced Micro Devices graphics and a high-performance network accelerator in a single card. Kevin Wasielewski, chief executive of gamer computer maker Origin PC, says that gamers demand the best performance not only in games, but also in streaming movies, music and other kinds of media. The Killer Wireless-N adapters will be introduced this month in laptops from AvaDirect, CyberPower, iBuyPower, Maingear, Origin PC, Sager, the V-Machine, Velocity Micro and others.

Tags: Killer Wireles-N

Companies: Bigfoot Networks

People: Michael Howse

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

Those of you who are familiar with superhero culture know that there is always a downside to have special powers. Sure, there are the highs of being able to, for instance, fight crime and fly, but more often than not, you can’t have a normal life and often times are forced to put aside the people and things you love in order to use your gift for the greater good of society. Spiderman and Batman, for example, at various times in their lives had to give up being with the women they loved due to concerns for their safety and because it wasn’t fair to the girls, always being put second to humanity, which needed their respective man’s help. Someone who knows this conflict all too well? Jeffrey Gundlach.

Gundlach, who is known to have asked dining companions, “What’s it like having lunch with a genius” and forced people to refer to him as “The Godfather” and “The Pope,” is the “Bond King” who was fired from TCW in late 2009, where in his office a library of porn and dildos of every color of the rainbow were found. He went on to set up a new shop called DoubleLine and success has followed. The firm’s DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund “outperformed every one of the 91 bond funds in the Morningstar intermediate-bond-fund universe in 2010, despite launching only in April” and “notched a total return of 16.6%, compared with returns of 8.36% for the giant Pimco Total Return Fund.” And while some if not all managers would look at performance as something to be envied, Gundlach sees it somewhat differently. He tells Barron’s:

“Look, I have a gift, or some would say a curse, of being able to have stunning insight into the reality of markets and the economy,” Gundlach says, dressed resplendently at this particular moment in a well-tailored Italian suit with matching green tie and pocket square. “I don’t often know where my ideas come from. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m obsessively regimented in my analysis, borderline autistic. But whether it’s bond selection or asset allocation, we can do it better than just about anybody around.”

It’s probably difficult for those lacking such stunning insight to comprehend how such an ability could be a curse. Gundlach doesn’t get into that aspect further but the end of his Barron’s profile reveals a hint.

He charges TCW with employing “smear tactics…to destroy our business.” As for “the sex tapes and such,” he says, they represented “a closed chapter in my life.”

Given that someone who has the entire Ass Traffic series on file in his office, in addition to A Trip Down Mammary Lane, Weapons of Ass Destruction, Dr. Fellatio 1-16, plus restraining devices, brown rubber penises, pink chrome penises, and blue glass penises doesn’t just voluntarily “close” the book, it’s clear that Gundlach had to make the heartbreaking decision to spend his time putting his gift to work for DoubleLine clients and rather than neglecting his one true loves, donated them to someone who could treat them right.

Jeffrey Gundlach Is The King Of Bonds [Barron's]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Back in November, it was reported that last summer, Morgan Stanley financial adviser Martin Joel Erzinger, pictured, had driven over a doctor who was on his bike and then kept going, “until he reached a Pizza Hut parking lot, where he stopped and called Mercedes auto assistance to report the damage to his vehicle.” Dr. Steven Milo suffered damage to his knees and scapula, spinal cord injuries, bleeding to the brain, in addition to ‘disabling’ headaches and the possibility of multiple surgeries. The part of the story that was somewhat more shocking was that rather than be slapped with serious to quite serious charges, a court decided that for his crime, MJE would be hit with two misdemeanour traffic violations and restitution to the victim. People were somewhat outraged, to say the least. But! That was prior to hearing all of Marty’s side of the story.

“New-car smell” might have contributed to a driver losing consciousness in a July hit-and-run accident, his lawyers claim. Martin Erzinger was driving a new 2010 Mercedes sedan when he rear-ended bicyclist Dr. Steven Milo, about 1:30 p.m. July 3.

Erzinger’s attorneys say their client suffers from sleep apnea and fell asleep at the wheel before driving off U.S. Highway 6 and onto the shoulder near Miller Ranch Road, hitting Milo, who sustained injuries, from behind. Erzinger had purchased the car about a month before the accident. Accident reconstructionist John Koziol found in his investigation the sedan was emitting new car fumes, court documents said. It might have been a contributing factor, documents said.

Now, who feels like they judged too soon?

New Car Smell Cited In Hit And Run Case [DP]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

According to an updated federal filing on Monday, the Justice Department has taken an interest in the split between investment firm TCW Group and its former CIO, Jeffrey Gundlach. While both firms have confirmed receiving subpoenas, and TCW has said it was informed “it is the victim in this particular matter,” it’s unclear exactly what aspect of the breakup the government is suspicious about. With so much to choose from it could be a) “the alleged theft of TCW’s information” by Gundlach, who left to start DoubleLine LLC b) whether or not government information related to a PPIP fund TCW dropped out of after Gundlach departed was “compromised” or c) if the items found in Gundlach’s office after he quit/was fired constituted an unfair edge, which they very well might have. To refresh, these items included:

DVDs:
Asian Office Sluts
Weapons of Ass Destruction

(DVD’s cont’)
Buckets of Cum
Big Butt Backdoor Babes 3
Ass Traffic Volume 2
Evil Anal 8
Gang Bang My Face
Sloppy Hoes
Squirt In My Gape
Swallow My Pride 2
The Art of Female Ejaculation
The Bondage Nookie Court
A Trip Down Mammary Lane
Deep Inside Dirty Debutantes
Dr. Fellatio 16

Sexual Devices:
black restraining device
brown rubber penis, 6 inches
cardboard with pink and black straps for restraining
chrome penis, 6 inches, in red velvet bag
glass penis, 8 inches, in black velvet bag
glass penis, 7.5 inches, blue velvet bag with tag ‘phallic’
KY washing liquid with purple rubbing device
Sexy Slave Kit For Amazing Sex
pink and black strap restraining device
rubber penis-shaped sexual device

Drugs:
baggie containing green “brown leafy substance”
bag labeled “medical use only”
bag labeled “90210 kush”

The could want to know about any of these things.

Justice Department probes TCW fight with DoubleLine’s Gundlach [LAT]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Scientists from Northeastern University and Harvard College conducted a social experiment to see which states in the U.S. are the happiest based on the Tweets of their residents. After a careful and highly scientific (???) survey of 300 million tweets, they finally came to the conclusion that the west coast, particularly California, boasts the happiest population. Really??

Okay, it's great here and all, but we were pretty surprised at these findings since California is chock full of problems and dysfunction. A look at some of the L.A.'s tweeters doesn't exactly paint a picture of the cheeriest, most satisfied bunch of Californians. In fact, they generally use Twitter as a bitching forum to air grievances about what's wrong with the city. Their #1 Twitter gripe? All things traffic-related…

@stephaniepratt Gorgeous day in beverly hills even though I just got hit by a car on foot LOL @sofifii witnessed. (I'm ok) hahahaha
half a minute ago via UberTwitter

@LauraKatzenberg Just had 4 different drivers pull the craziest moves in front of me in the last 10 minutes…so dangerous…seriously LA drivers? Be careful
10 minutes ago via UberTwitter

@LHearst I hate driving in LA. Everywhere takes obscenely long to get to because of the traffic, plus I'm still learning how to get around >%^¥
about 2 hours ago via UberTwitter

@StoneRokk Dear LA traffic, suck my moderately sized cock! Sincerely, ME

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Despite such drawbacks, namely traffic is it possible California's L.A. residents are, on an average, happier than the rest of the country? Maybe. Our gut tells us it might have something to do with the constant sunshine and an average temperature of 72° or our abundance of the finest weed in the country. Good weather and weed always make everything all better.

Article courtesy of Los Angeles | Guest of a Guest – Los Angeles People, Places, Parties & Nightlife

[Photo via] Thanks @GMoney310

Folks sitting in the legendary rush hour traffic of the 405 Freeway yesterday afternoon got a surprise treat when some dude got naked and politely perched himself atop the center divider. Nothing like some quality full frontal to top off your day…

Article courtesy of Los Angeles | Guest of a Guest – Los Angeles People, Places, Parties & Nightlife

As previously mentioned, now that the good times are here again, you can buy that $300,000 car you’ve had your eye on without feeling like people are judging you. You know what else you can do? Nay, that you’re obligated to do? Book a stay in a $35,000 per night hotel room. God, that feels so good to be able to say. Of course, no matter how the economy’s doing, there will always be haters who will question what you get for dropping 35 G’s. At the Four Season’s Ty Warner Penthouse, actually quite a bit of bang for your buck. A Maybach or Rolls-Royce (including driver, natch). At least two people devoted solely to the task of making sure your ass touches nothing but the finest of TP. The comfort of knowing no one gets on the cleaning staff without an MBA and CFA. A Venetian silk bedspread, atop a mattress that spontaneously blows you the moment you get in. And light bulbs. Lots of ‘em!

The suite has about 850 light bulbs: Mr. Graziosi keeps about 30 different types on hand for quick replacements. The dark mahogany lacquer bookshelves in the library alone feature about 400 bulbs illuminating a history, art, and biography collection. The $120,000 chandelier over the dinning room table is made of more than 100 tiny fiber optic bulbs. Only four of the 42-person housekeeping staff are allowed to clean the room. They receive two extra weeks of training, says Margie Garay, director of housekeeping at the hotel, learning how use special chemicals that won’t erode the room’s delicate surfaces. “We don’t use Pledge,” she says.

You know what they do use? The Internet, prior to your arrival, so they can see what type of porn you’ve recently downloaded in order make sure you’ve got all your faves. Ass Traffic Volumes 1-8 (9 and on are shit)? The entire TrannyBoy series? It’ll be waiting for you upon check-in.

Once the penthouse is booked, it’s “all hands to the fire,” says Anthony Zamora, executive chef at the hotel. The kitchen staff wants to know “do they like tea sandwiches automatically throughout the day or just on request? Should we pre-order caviar from our supplier just in case they request it?” says Mr. Zamora. If a guest is from the Middle East, he may preorder Hildon water, a brand bottled in southern England and popular among guests from the region, he says. Louis Roederer Cristal, the champagne that retails for around $200, is pre-stocked in the room unless the guest prefers something else. If the guest is coming to the hotel for the first time, intelligence gathering is harder. The three person “special services department” or the general manager’s assistant will speak to the guest or his or her assistant about the reason for the visit and the guest’s preferences. Employees also scour the Internet for clues and check in with other Four Seasons properties where the guest has stayed.

Staff say they try to anticipate penthouse guests’ preferences. The hotel keeps files on all return guests detailing their habits and favorite food, drink and even toilet paper. After reviewing one incoming guest’s file, staff discovered they needed to track down a particular “tissue,” says Ms. Garay. It wasn’t easy. Two employees went out separately searching to find the needed “ultraplush” paper product, she says.

The girl doesn’t come with the hot tub but I’m sure the butler on call 24-hours a day would be more than happy to trot on out and get you a similar model. Maybe one even better!

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Cisco Systems (CSCO) this morning said it expects global Internet traffic to increase more than fourfold to 767 exabytes – more than three-quarters of a zettabyte – by 2014. That is 100 exabytes above the projected level for 2013, or 10x the traffic in 2008.
The forecast is part of the [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

After months of being closed off between Laurel and Coldwater Canyon, L.A.'s famous winding cliffside street finally reopened today.The portion of Mulholland had been closed due to damage from a February storm – just one of the many during the mercilessly rainy winter we experienced. For the time the road was closed, the deer (who just love to hang out in the middle of it at night and don't give a shit when cars approach honking and flashing their brights, finally coming to a complete stop until they feel like moving) had it all to themselves. Guess what, deer? We're back so step aside!

The reopening of the road should come as a relief to anyone who commutes either way over the hill, as it will definitely take some of the heat off of the alternate routes people had to take during it's closure. But who are we kidding… traffic is still going to be a royal bitch.

[Photo via My360]

Article courtesy of Los Angeles | Guest of a Guest – Los Angeles People, Places, Parties & Nightlife

I get the “L.A. has no real culture, other than the celebrity aspect” from people all the time who don't live here. Yes, the Hollywood culture here is a very large component of what makes this town tick and often seems like the main lifeline of it's existence, however, most Angeleno's are so desensitized and truly don't care about celebrities.  In fact, the whole thing is generally pretty annoying to us and is the source of much inconvenience (anyone remember the traffic on and around Sunset the day MJ died?). Because the rest of the world cares about celebrity BS, the real L.A. culture is often eclipsed, which is why there's a misconception that celebrity culture is the city has to offer. On the contrary, L.A. has some fantastic art exhibits and events happening now through the upcoming months.  Some to look forward to:

C.A.V.E. Gallery, Venice April 2nd-May 1st: “They Moved Tombstones But Not the Bodies” featuring works by Josh Wigger, Jesse Balmer, Robert Amador, Zach Johnsen, Tom Keating, Eatcho, and Jason Graham. Opening Reception tonight, 7-11.

La Luz De Jesus, Silver Lake, April 2nd-25th: Max Grundy's “Out of Order”, Dennis Larkins' “Read Between the Lines The Startling Art of Dennis Larkins” and Scott Hove's “Iced Out”; Opening reception tonight, 8-11pm

The G2 Gallery, Venice: March 30h-April 25th: Angela Hanka's “Nature LA”; Opening reception tonight, 6-9pm

L.A. Louver in Venice April 8th-May 8th: Charles Garabdian “Recent Paintings,” David Hockney “More Drawing in a Printing Machine,” and Olga Koumoundouros “Hard Times: Owed to Studs Terkel and All of Us”; Opening reception April 8th

Downtown LA Artwalk April 8th

[Image by Dennis Larkins via La Luz de Jesus]

Article courtesy of Los Angeles | Guest of a Guest – Los Angeles People, Places, Parties & Nightlife