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Get connected: The Open Garden app lets you to share a wireless connection with others, forming a mesh network as shown here. Rachel Metz | Technology Review

An app called Open Garden lets users share wireless bandwidth, and could reduce network congestionif carriers don't revolt.

Though the idea of having Internet available everywhere is no longer a fantasy, it's not quite reality, either. Many of us carry smart phones everywhere we go, but we don't always have a high-speed data or Wi-Fi connection. And in many places, Internet access can still be hard to find.

Open Garden wants to change this. The San Franciscobased startup recently rolled out a smart-phone app that lets you connect to the Internet by piggybacking on the Web access of other Open Garden app users, using peer-to-peer connections that form a mesh network. The company's hope is that, in addition to making Internet access ubiquitous, Open Garden will become a platform on top of which developers can build new kinds of mobile services.

Though the app may excite some consumers, it's likely to face pushback from wireless carriers, which currently charge both for tethering services that allow you to share your smart phone's wireless data connection with a laptop and for wireless hotspots that allow several gadgets to access the Web at once. Open Garden is hoping carriers will come around once they realize that its app may help relieve congestion on their clogged data networks.

Cofounder and CEO Micha Benoliel, an entrepreneur whose past experiences include helping Skype roll out the features that let users make calls to or from landlines and cell phones, thought of the concept behind Open Garden a while back. But it wasn't until 2010 that he felt smart phones had grown popular enough that it could work.

The Open Garden app was released last month in an open beta test for mobile devices running Google's Android software, and there is an Open Garden app for Macs and PCs as well. Benoliel would also like to release a version of the app for Apple's iOS platform, but he says he'll need approval from Apple before that is possible.

Once you've installed Open Garden and opened it up, it runs in the background, quietly managing connections between devices with the help of Bluetooth.

Looking at the app on your smart-phone screen, you can see all the devices around you that are running Open Garden, and see how each is connected to the Internetsometimes directly, sometimes through another person's connection, sometimes through the connection of a person who is latched on to yet another person's connectionas well as your connection speed.

While demonstrating Open Garden at a San Francisco caf, Benoliel said that the company has developed a patented method by which nearby gadgets can recognize each other without the need for users to intervene. He said that Open Garden sniffs around for available Web-connected devices, choosing the best way to get online automatically, and that the person with the original connection is prioritized over others.

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Could You Spare Some Internet Access?

CHICAGO, June 3, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chicago will be the epicenter of the Internet, mobile, and marketing world as world-renowned experts take the stage at Internet Prophets LIVE! from June 8-10, 2012, held at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel with an opening party the evening of June 7.

The inaugural conference and exhibition focuses on teaching small business owners, coaches and consultants how to dominate their niche and generate massive online traffic. In addition, attendees will learn to leverage seldom-revealed tactics, tools and strategies for profiting online.

"We are thrilled to bring 29 of the world's prominent thought leaders from Australia, Canada, and the United States to the main stage at Internet Prophets LIVE!" said Steve Olsher, event creator and author of the book Internet Prophets: The World's Leading Experts Reveal How to Profit Online. "This is going to be a game-changing three days as each speaker has agreed to pull back the curtain and share detailed, actionable information attendees can immediately implement to quickly grow their businesses."

Bill Walsh, a globally renowned business coach and marketing expert, is a new addition to the speaking lineup. He will deliver the closing keynote address June 10. Walsh is the founder of one of the world's top coaching and venture capital companies, Powerteam International. Walsh's diverse and successful background helps him connect instantly with his audience by sharing the mindset, methods and systems required to win big. He delivers a message of transformation and practical applications through life stories that empower people to understand what it takes to build successful companies.

"I am really excited about Internet Prophets Live. Steve Olsher and the entire team have really put something big together in Chicago. Business leaders want the keys to make their brands thrive today. The knowledge learned over this weekend will truly shape the future for attendees," said Walsh while on a speaking tour in Asia.

"There are some true powerhouse industry leaders on the main stage, and with breakout sessions featuring industry pioneers like Chris Foltz, this an event you don't want to miss," said Walsh.

Other confirmed main stage speakers include some of the royalty in internet marketing and revenue streams. The weekend will feature the likes of Jay Conrad Levinson, Armand Morin, Mike Filsaime, Mike Koenigs, Janet Bray Attwood, Larry Winget, Marc Ostrofsky, and many others.

The weekend features 20 in-depth breakout sessions and cutting edge exhibitors including various areas from SEO Strategists to Software Developers and more who will answer questions to make attendees' ideas a reality. The final breakout session is 30-year-old PR wunderkind Chris Foltz. His outside the box style is garnering national attention and by all accounts, reshaping the industry. He is the founder of Christopher Foltz & Company, a Chicago based communication strategy firm, which has revolutionized the way brands think about charity partnerships in their PR and marketing campaigns. His inspiring story and how he relates it to brand growth will be shared in his breakout session Friday June 8th at 12:05pm.

Attendees will also be treated with the release and special "Internet Prophets" book signing event by Steve Olsher. More information about the event, as well as registration and sponsorship options, can be found at http://www.InternetProphets.com.

The Powerteam International logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=12699

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The Nation's Top Internet Marketers Shine in Chicago at the Internet Prophets Live Event

HUB OF DISCOURSE: Will the Internet make as big an impact in the next general election as it did the last time? Arman Ahmad speaks to three experts

However, Azizuddin said: "Traditional media still has a significant impact in influencing people's voting trend in the general election, especially for rural folk who have less access to the new media."

Arman Ahmad, New Straits Times

AS the 13th general election draws closer, the battle for the hearts and minds of voters is heating up. The ruling party and opposition blogs and websites are abuzz with activity, working hard at spreading their ideas.

The Internet is widely credited for the opposition's gains during the last general election. This time around, however, both sides seem equally matched in terms of online presence.

But how far will the Internet affect the outcome of the next election?

Experts said what people saw and read on the Internet would influence their opinions. However, they added, people would still vote based on other factors.

"People don't vote based on what they read on the Internet," said Julian Hopkins, communications lecturer at Monash University. Instead, he said, people voted based on what they experienced in life.

The election results will be mostly influenced by what people think about the government, and the direction the country is going.

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Internet's net result on election results

Gettin' down with Jacob at the Internet Prom. Photo By Rebecca Angel.

Last Saturday was the second annual Internet Prom. Most of my family attended, but the whole concept is still a mystery to people. Come let me show you exactly what this fun, online event is about:

Amanda, who is a musician and vlogger, sent out a video saying there would be a 2012 Internet Prom with all the links to various sites around the internet that would keep people updated: I followed the prom info mostly on Facebook because thats my chosen social site. People talking about their dates saying yes (or not.) Exactly what the prom was all about. And asking if it was OK to go alone (this was a common thread in the months leading up to the prom. The answer was Yes! Or Ill go with you!)

The first step of the Internet Prom is making a video to invite someone to attend with you, or a video explaining that youre going stag, or just reply somewhere that youre attending. Then the person you asked makes a response. Here is my daughter being asked by her good friend: And my daughters response:

Very sweet. I decided to be ridiculous. Heres my video:

A week before the actual prom Amanda asked if I would like to perform for the live broadcast on BlogTV. I said yes and then asked the rest of my band members to join me. Considering they are my family and would be in the house anyway, this worked out quite easily. The Friday night before prom, my nephew Peter and I worked out the kinks to a live musical broadcast. It was a good thing too, several of the performers had problems the actual night (do your homework, people!).

The Internet Prom consists of two activities: one is watching the live broadcast of musical people, and commenting. The other is making a video of yourself dancing. Then everyone watches YouTube videos of each other, and comments.

Saturday dawned beautiful for a prom. Not that it would really matter since Internet Prom is strictly indoors, no one is driving a limo anywhere, no pictures outside. In the afternoon my daughter found out her date couldnt make it and that was quite sad. Then we all made our prom video and that was quite silly. My husband (who was working in the garden most of the day) said they should go for a bike ride since it was so nice out. That was a great suggestion to get them out of the house while I edited. (My husband did pull me away from the computer for a bit since the kids were gone probably the only action the Internet Prom saw that day.) We all ate dinner, I uploaded the prom video, and we got ready for our live musical show.

Fortunately, everything went really well. Unfortunately, we forgot to record it. My son (who is not in the band) sat by the computer to read us comments in between songs. The prom goers were very excited. Someone became a fan of my daughter (our drummer) which made her happy again. After that, we went up to my moms house to sprawl on her couch and watch the YouTube videos, interspersed with the other musical acts on the live broadcast. Here are some of our favorites, including our own at the end:

We veered away from prom videos and showed each other our favorite comedy videos, which rounded out the entertainment nicely. I sent my kids to bed at 11, my mom said good-night, but my nephew and I stayed up to watch the end of the live broadcast with Amanda, the host of everything. She invited the girls to a Skype sleepover afterwards. I declined and went home. It may not have been intended for a family event, but thats what it was at our house and we loved it!

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Report From Internet Prom 2012

The Internet could someday look very different and be less open and free if a proposal for the International Telecommunications Union, an arm of the United Nations, to take over management of the Internet comes to pass, critics of the proposal say.

A growing movement led by China, Russia and some Arab states to hand more control of the Web to the United Nations has U.S. lawmakers and Internet companies warning of censorship, surveillance and taxes.

The ITU and its 93 member states will meet in Dubai in December to reconsider a key 1988 communications treaty, with a number of foreign governments arguing it needs to be updated as the influence of Internet communications increases worldwide.

Advocates of a free and open Internet say that could create an opening for countries where free speech and civil liberties are often harshly suppressed to propose the United Nations establish a new "information security" regime to replace ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a non-profit U.S. organization serving as the Internet's de facto governing body since the late 1990s.

Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell has warned that some ITU member countries seek to hobble the open and free nature of the Internet because it causes problems for dictatorships and autocracies.

"[L]et's face it. Strong-arm regimes are threatened by popular outcries for political freedom that are empowered by unfettered Internet connectivity. They have formed impressive coalitions, and their efforts have progressed significantly," he wrote in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.

A bipartisan group of U.S. congressional officials said they would resist any change in the way the Internet is regulated and maintained.

Members of the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee have issued a resolution urging the U.S. government to maintain "the consistent and unequivocal policy of the United States to promote a global Internet free from government control and preserve and advance the successful multi-stakeholder model that governs the Internet today."

Committee member Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., said U.N.-led control of the Internet would affect Internet users around the world.

"The Internet has become this economic and social juggernaut not because governmental actors willed it to be so, but because the government took a step back and let the private sector drive its evolution," he said. "International regulatory intrusion into the Internet would have disastrous results not just for the United States, but for people around the world."

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SciTechTalk: Proposed United Nations control of Internet raises alarms