Enterprise

Philippine Internet turns 22 today, but it hasn’t aged a lot

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Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the Philippines’ connection to the World Wide Web, which might set off waves of nostalgia for some of you who may be old enough to remember the infancy of Internet culture in the country. 

I can hardly remember when I first hooked up my computer using a prepaid dial-up service — Internet cards were all the rage back in the early 2000’s — but I’m certain my use of the Internet involved a lot of time spent listening to the now-iconic modem handshake tone and waiting, and then more waiting. Oh, how I wish I could get all those idle hours back. (Insert situational GIF here.)

But enough about me, let’s talk about how where the Philippines is right now in terms of Internet adoption. Spoiler alert: Things don’t look rosy if the latest State of the Internet Report by networking-services company Akamai Technologies is to be believed. In fact, judging by how local Internet service providers have performed the past quarter, you could argue that the Philippines hasn’t matured enough with time. Which is a bit like saying the rest of the world has moved on to HTML5, whereas we’re still collectively living in the Adobe Flash Player era. Or that we’re rooting for Michael Jordan and the 90’s Chicago Bulls to win the NBA championship in 2016.

Akamai State of the Internet Report Q4 2015

PH ranks second-worst in terms of average download speed in the Asia-Pacific region

The Philippines, based on Akamai’s Q4 2015 survey, has the second-worst average broadband connection speed in the Asia-Pacific region, barely besting only India (3.2Mbps vs. 2.8Mbps). The country’s peak download speed of 27Mbps also trails most of its Asian neighbors, with only China and India faring worse. On a slightly positive note, the numbers have improved drastically year-over-year, which might indicate better days are ahead. Or at least I’d like to think so, what with the proliferation of residential fiber-broadband access and increasing competition between service providers. And I don’t mean the kind of competition that’s led to Australian telecom giant Telstra waving the white flag on a joint venture with San Miguel Corporation, as unfortunate as the situation with the local telecom industry is.

Speed is the metric by which consumers judge ISPs — and this holds true even for the nation with the second-slowest Internet speed in all Asia. Thankfully, more and more broadband companies are learning that lesson, as shown by the recent surge in fiber-network rollouts since the previous year. Akamai estimates around 2 percent of broadband subscribers in the Philippines are able to connect to the Internet at speeds higher than 10Mbps, which represents a triple-digit growth (from a low base) compared to the same period a year ago. So what’s the takeaway from all of this? We’re not where we want to be, but the industry is moving somewhat in the right direction, if at a snail’s pace. Which means it could be some time before things get much better.
[irp posts=”7566″ name=”Singapore, S. Korea dominate 4G LTE rankings, Philippines struggles”]
Source: Akamai
Image credit: The Taft Life

Enterprise

Google introduces a new AI model called Gemini

Already in the Pixel 8 Pro

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Artificial intelligence is the story of 2023. While the hype might have simmered down since the middle of the year, the segment is still pushing towards more advancements for the future. Unbothered by the dominance of OpenAI, Google has introduced its latest large language model called Gemini.

Touted as Google’s most flexible model yet, Gemini can understand text, code, audio, images, and videos. Though Google has not shared exactly how many parameters that the model can handle, the company says that Gemini can perform all the tasks you’d expect an LLM to do more accurately and more quickly.

Gemini will come in three flavors, spanning several markets: Nano, Pro, and Ultra. As the name implies, Gemini Nano is the model’s smallest variant. Starting today, the Pixel 8 Pro will start getting Nano to enhance the flagship’s on-device generative AI. The biggest improvements are naturally coming to the device’s camera capabilities. Photos and videos should be clearer and brighter, regardless of lighting conditions.

Meanwhile, Gemini Pro will come to Google’s other offerings. Bard, for example, is getting a huge upgrade, allowing for more intuitive replies. The same model will also come to Search, Ads, Chrome, and Duet AI.

Now, the beefiest of the three, Gemini Ultra is meant to further development in the field. While the previous two are available now, Ultra is coming next year. The premium model will mostly cater to enterprise customers and developers. However, if you want to try it for yourself, Google is also launching the top-tier model to an upcoming version of Bard called Bard Advanced.

SEE ALSO: Google Bard hands-on: Not much to worry about

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Enterprise

US calls out NVIDIA for helping China in AI segment

Immediate sanctions coming for repeated violations

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The tensions between the United States and China are still going strong. As the American government continues to curb Chinese companies from operating on American soil, some officials are seeking to expand their crusade against American companies helping China get around ongoing bans. Recently, a U.S. official has called out NVIDIA for allegedly helping China in acquiring state-of-the-art technology.

In a recent talk at the Reagan National Defense Forum (via Fortune), U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned participants that China must not obtain America’s best technology, specifically in the AI segment, at all costs. American companies, she says, should follow export restrictions imposed by her office.

Raimondo isn’t settling on idle threats. The secretary specifically called out NVIDIA as a company who continues to skirt around ongoing restrictions. When the Commerce Department imposes a new restriction, NVIDIA would design a chip sitting right below what is allowed. Though the move is legally allowed, Raimondo argues that it breaks the spirit of the law: denying the best technology from China. A chip close enough to the restriction will still grant China the necessary tools to catch up with the United States.

Raimondo seeks to establish a better dialogue with chipmakers to appropriately impede China. If the companies continue to create chips that “enable [China] to do AI, I’m going to control it the very next day,” she said.

Though the secretary’s words don’t indicate explicit sanctions coming to NVIDIA anytime soon, the company is certainly skating on very thin ice in the eyes of the Commerce Secretary.

SEE ALSO: NVIDIA briefly becomes a US$ 1 trillion company

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Nokia is suing Amazon and HP

For using video-related technologies

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Nokia isn’t just a company for smartphones. The company is also responsible for several technologies across the industry. As surprising as it is for regular consumers to discover Nokia’s effect on this industry, it’s also quite a shock to discover how many companies are currently stepping on the Finnish company’s toes. Nokia is currently suing Amazon and HP for infringing on several patents.

As confirmed by Arvin Patel, Nokia’s Chief Licensing Officer, Nokia is going ahead with cases against Amazon for “the unauthorized use of Nokia’s video-related technologies in its streaming services and devices.” The case involves technologies that Amazon used for Prime Video including video compression and content delivery. Amazon has not specifically explained the intricate workings of these technologies.

HP is also under fire for using other video-related technologies. Amazon is much more mum about HP’s use of the patented technologies. However, the announcement confirms that HP relies heavily on these technologies in their current lineup of products and services.

Nokia does say that litigation was not its first choice. However, the lack of an amicable resolution between these two companies necessitated the legal case.

Neither Amazon nor HP have responded to what they think of the ongoing legal pursuits against them.

SEE ALSO: Nokia launches C series budget smartphones

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