IPv6 Diversities

IPv6

Yesterday 8^th June 2011, the world marked the world IPv6 day. a rare but landmark occurrence where leading ISPs and the World Wide Web at large tested the IPv6 relative infrastructure.

IPv6 is the next-generation Internet protocol, which offers a large number of IP addresses, 296 (= 79228162514264337593543950336) times of what IPv4 has to offer. An easy way to distinguish between IPv6 from IPv4 is the structure of the IP address. A typical IPv6 address looks like 2001:db8: cafe::1, as compared to an IPv4 address 192.168.148.1.

Why the migration

Since 1981, IPv4 has been the publicly used version of the Internet Protocol and it is currently the foundation for most Internet communications. The rapid growth of the Internet being experienced has mandated a need for more addresses than they can be possibly be rendered by IPv4.IPv4 space is quickly becoming exhausted, necessitating the migration to IPv6 which allows for vastly more addresses. The demand for IP addresses have been fuelled by the fact that every device that uses communication e.g. phones, printer’s e.t.c needs an IP address! You can use IPv6 tunnels if your ISP does not offer IPv6 connectivity yet.

IPv6 uses 128 bits as apposed to IPv4 which uses 32 bit. IPv6 uses 128 bits (16 byte) long address. So the number of addresses available in IPv6 already removes the main problem that we face with IPv4 which is the inevitable exhaustion point. A heuristic comparison, IPv6 has a lot more addresses than IPv4 the main reason why IPv6 is seen as the future. This is approximately three hundred and forty trillion, trillion, trillion addresses. Comparing this to IPv4's address space of "4,294,967,296" or approximately four billion, it's possible to see the shear size of IPv6 address space. The facts show that it is almost impossible to run out of IPv6 addresses and still, there’s a heated debate that IPv4 will not run out in the near future since the rate of addresses required by customers has slowed down in the last few years.

Advantages of IPv6

Though the IPv6 space is large, that does not mean it is unstructured. In simple terms 64 bits are used for network identification and the remaining 64 bits are used for the host identification. This expansion allows for many more devices and users on the internet as well as extra flexibility in allocating addresses and efficiency for routing traffic.

It eliminates the primary need for network address translation (NAT), which gained widespread deployment as an effort to alleviate IPv4 address

IPv6 implements additional features not present in IPv4. It simplifies aspects of address assignment i.e. stateless address auto configuration, network renumbering and router announcements when changing Internet connectivity providers.

The IPv6 subnet size has been standardized by fixing the size of the host identifier portion of an address to 64 bits to facilitate an automatic mechanism for forming the host identifier from link layer media addressing information.

Network security is also integrated into the design of the IPv6 architecture, and the IPv6 specification mandates support for IPsec as a fundamental interoperability requirement.

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Jobs returns during Apples iCloud unveiling

Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs strode back into the spotlight on Monday to unveil the iCloud, a music-streaming service that the company hopes will power its next stage of growth and popularize Web-based consumer services.

A slim-looking Jobs walked out to a standing ovation from the more than 5,000 Apple faithful at its Worldwide Developers' Conference in downtown San Francisco's Moscone Center, making a few opening comments before ceding the stage to marketing chief Phil Schiller.

The CEO emerged from medical leave to launch an Internet-based service for consumers called the iCloud, which lets users play their music and get access to their data from any Apple device -- a crucial capability for users increasingly accustomed to performing tasks on the move



"It was good to see him appear despite being on medical leave," said Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu. "And at the same time, it looks like he is having his lieutenants handle most of the keynote, which is good in showing that Apple is a team and not a one-man show."

Apple's expansion into cloud computing comes as the company strives to stay a step ahead of rivals such as Google Inc and Amazon.com  in the mobile and online content business.

In cloud computing, data and software are stored on servers and devices get access to it through the Internet.

Analysts say the iCloud could create a new model for media consumption -- bringing the cloud, which corporations are already familiar with, onto consumer devices. It could ignite more demand for devices from the iPhone to the iPad, while helping sales of music through iTunes.

More than 25 million iPads sold in the 14 months since the tablet computer was launched, software chief Scott Forstall told the crowd. And customers have bought more than 15 billion songs from iTunes, the world's biggest music store.
Apple also introduced software upgrades at the conference, including Lion, its Mac OS X computer operating system and the next version of its mobile operating system.

Among the new features that executives sketched out were an improved email infrastructure and multi-touch features for the Macintosh operating software. Early impressions by experts watching the presentations were favorable.

Jobs' decision to headline such events often is news in itself, and his appearance on Monday likely will hearten investors worried about his health after the pancreatic cancer survivor went on his third medical leave in January for an undisclosed condition.

Apple, legendary for keeping its agenda under wraps, has been unusually open about what it plans to show at its annual developers' conference, a five-day extravaganza for developers who rely on Apple for much of their livelihoods.

Samsung to stay with Google for its tablets

May 31, 2011 (AFP) - Samsung Electronics will depend on Google's Android mobile-device software to run future versions of its tablet computers, a senior Samsung official said in an interview published Tuesday.
"We'll continue to work with Android on future tablets," J.K. Shin, head of the South Korean giant's mobile division, told The Wall Street Journal.

Samsung Electronics is the world's second-largest cellphone maker after Finland's Nokia but trails Apple's iPhone and iPad in smartphones and tablets.However, the Android system has boosted its smartphone business and Samsung hopes to do the same with tablets.The iPad surprised competitors with the success of its launch early last year. Samsung responded by choosing Android for its tablets and introduced the seven-inch (17.8 centimetre) Galaxy Tab in October 2010 to take on Apple.Samsung will launch new versions of the Galaxy Tab this summer in an 8.9-inch and 10.1-inch model. Both will run the latest version of Android, known as Honeycomb.

Despite Apple's status as a major customer for Samsung components, the two companies are embroiled in lawsuits.The US firm sued its South Korean rival, claiming it copied the look and feel of the iPhone and iPad. Samsung launched its own suits, alleging that Apple violated patents covering Samsung's cellphone transmission technologies."We didn't copy Apple's design," Shin told The Wall Street Journal. "We have used many similar designs over the past years and it (Apple's allegation) will not be legally problematic."

Samsung expects its tablet shipments to rise about fivefold this year to 7.5 million. Market data provider IHS iSuppli forecast in April that Apple's iPad shipments would reach 39.7 million this year.
"Android is the fastest-growing platform and the market direction is headed toward Android so we're riding the wave," said Younghee Lee, senior vice president of sales and marketing.

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Google and Apple privacy grilling

Google and Apple could be in for a grilling in Washington for their so-called "Locationgate" problems.Executives from both companies are set to appear Tuesday at a packed hearing called by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law.Alan Davidson, Google's (GOOG, Fortune 500) director of public policy, and Guy L. "Bud" Tribble, an Apple vice president, will testify at the hearing. This comes a few weeks after it was revealed that smartphones and tablets from Apple and Google can track users' location information and store that data.

The allegations kicked off last month after two British researchers released an open source application that let Apple's (AAPL, Fortune 500) customers see the location data stored on their iPhones and 3G iPads.

In his opening remarks, Franken noted that privacy concerns have multiplied as the world becomes increasingly digital.Franken cited a Wall Street Journal investigation of 101 apps, in which the paper found that 47 of those apps transmitted their users information -- some of them without users' consent.

But stalking isn't the only concern, Franken said: "There are a range of harms that can come from breaches."Jason Weinstein, deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, agreed.

Jessica Rich, deputy director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, said the FTC believes "consumers have no idea about the layers of sharing [data] that goes on behind the scenes."

Rich suggested prohibiting apps from collecting location information "if it's not necessary to the business model," as well as "streamlined" terms of service "that don't take 100 clicks to get through."

The Apple and Google executives will testify later on Tuesday, in addition to independent security experts.

For its part, Apple released a 10-part Q&A and statement two weeks ago admitting to a lack of transparency. It also promised a software update to fix a "bug" that retained data for more than a year instead of the intended few days .

Meanwhile, Google has said its Android devices collect location data, but only with users' consent. Any location data that is sent back to Google location servers is not tied or traceable to a specific user, according to the company.

Google Ambassador Program

ive just received this email and i thought its useful to all university students in kenya whose universities have been nominated by the Google Apps Supporting Program (GASP) team to participate in the Google Student Ambassador Program.find more about your varsity nomination if so why not try it out.ill just cop-paste the contents of the mail(the relevant sections).See for yourself.

Dear All,

I'm sending this email following the nomination of University of Nairobi
by the Google Apps Supporting Program (GASP) team to participate in the
Google Student Ambassador Program.

We are launching the Google Student Ambassador program in Kenya and would
like to invite your students to apply. We hope to find 2 - 5 outstanding,
in at least level 2, who are passionate about technology at your
university to spend 1-year as Google Student Ambassadors. In order to help
you spread the word, we have attached a poster and an email invitation
that we invite you to share with your students immediately. The
application deadline is Friday, 27th May 2011.

What we are looking for:
The most Technically savvy, forward thinking, and self motivated students
from any course of study (Economics, Computer Science, History, etc).
As a Google Student Ambassador, your student becomes a liaison between
Google and your university. For example, Ambassadors may plan and host a
few events during the school year, introduce students to new Google
products and features, and act as a campus contact for Google teams.

A Learning Opportunity:
Being a Google Student Ambassador is an excellent learning platform. Among
other things, students will receive invitations to participate in special
Google events, they may learn and support in testing Google Products
before launch, they will have the chance to build their professional
network, and be considered for Internship opportunities in Google.

To apply, students should:
1.Write an Essay on a Google Product or a Web Technology (e.g. Mobile
applications, local content & localization, cloud computing) and how this
product or technology can become an integral part of our lives in Africa.

2.Write a Motivation Essay on why the want to be an Ambassador, what the
can change in their country through learning new technical skills and how
using Google tools could help their university.

3.Provide a short statement from their Head of Department or Personal
Tutor confirming their level and area of study.

4.Submit their application online at http://goo.gl/kSRxh by Friday, 27th
May 2011. Accepted students will be informed by late July 2011.
We hope you find this opportunity as rewarding as we do! We look forward
to hearing from you with a confirmation and are happy to answer any
questions.

With kindest regards,