Taking On The Feedburner Big Boys

Or not.

The above image is a graphical comparison of the feedburner subscription numbers of four awesome websites;

1. Mashable
2. 43Folders
3. SmashingMagazine
4. and erm., Third World Geek (hehehe)

There’s no competition really, I just want to share this cool little Feedburner comparison tool called Feed Compare. This baby does not just to show how you stack against your competitors, it can also be used to call the bluff of those shady sites who claim to have oodles of subscribers.

Kizuna Satellite Internet Is The Answer

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the commercial launch of Japan’s Kizuna satellite that will provide satellite internet for the Asia Pacific Region. At this time, DSL is the most popular internet connection we have in the Philippines. It’s not perfect (a gross understatement) but it gets the job done. Although a lot of folks are already quite content with what’s currently available. I do think that things can be a lot better. I’ve been to a few countries outside of the Philippines and some of these countries although smaller in size have internet connections that can only make me drool.

Some folks have been proclaiming the advent of fiber optics as the savior of the internet in these parts but I sincerely doubt that it would work in this country. Haven’t we had enough of all those diggings and the overhanging wires that actually makes the Metro look like a wired jungle? I do think that the solution will come from heaven– via satellite internet.

Advantages of Satellite Internet

Satellite internet does not require huge cabling or telephone connection to access the internet. The speed of the internet is also constant as satellite internet uses two way high speed internet.

Disadvantages of Satellite Internet

A lot of experts however shake their heads at this concept. There are three major reasons why these folks scoff at the idea. First is satellite internet’s performance during inclement weather. Whenever there’s heavy rains or winds, existing satellite internet services tend to be significantly affected. Then there’s latency or delay. And the nail that they believe will seal the satellite internet coffin is cost. Satellite internet is costly.

So far, the Kizuna Satellite has passed the first two objections. Those who proclaim that satellite internet will never be faster than DSL are now eating their words. The recent test showing upload/download speeds of 1.2Gbps is droolworthy. Latency was a non-issue.

The only thing that can keep the Kizuna at bay will be the cost of its service. That and the politics governing its domestic usage in Japan’s neighboring countries.

JAXA Kizuna (Winds) Satellite InfoVideo

Here’s a video of the potential services that the Kizuna Satellite will be offering. I got this video off youtube. This would indeed be a great leveller of the current communication divide.

I hope this one will be up really soon and offered everywhere. At promised internet connection speed of up to 1.2GBps this one is bound to decimate the competition. The Kizuna Satellite is projected to go live in July of this year.

Globe, Smart, what say you?