Connectify Dispatch combines multiple internet connections into high speed bandwidth

Connectify, a company known for software that can turn your computer into a wireless hotspot, is at work on a new project called Dispatch that will turn all internet connections available to your device into one glorious (and hopefully faster and more stable) stream of high-speed bandwidth.

The project appears to take some of its cues from live video broadcasting companies like LiveU, which sells custom made backpacks wired up with 3G/4G and Wi-Fi transceivers. These backpacks then spread the traffic load over whatever available networks it can connect to in order to maximize bandwidth, which is obviously a major plus if you're streaming live video.

Dispatch, however, is planned as a software-only solution for the masses – no special backpack required. It will dynamically manage the traffic based on which networks provide the greatest bandwidth and have the clearest signal, which also means that even if one of the networks drops out entirely, you'll still have internet access on another network.

The number of simultaneous connections will depend entirely on what hardware you have on your system, but a user that has, say, a netbook with inbuilt Wi-Fi, tethered smartphone, Ethernet and an extra Wi-Fi or mobile data card for good measure (a reasonably common setup for many) will be able to have four connections going at once.

The Dispatch software manages multiple network connections on the fly (Image: Connectify)

The plan to launch an API for Dispatch also sounds like a good move, allowing programmers to integrate the tech into their own applications.

Connectify has made a video that showcases an extreme-power setup using Dispatch (below), but we'll be interested to see how the software performs when it's actually out in the wild. We imagine the most likely use-case scenario for the majority of people will probably be a desktop machine with both an available Ethernet and Wi-Fi connection, which both end up connecting to the same router/access point. Will we actually see much of an improvement in these cases, or will the real performance improvements be seen when using entirely different networks (i.e. 3G/4G and Wi-Fi)?

Connectify says that Dispatch can potentially double or triple speeds in torrent applications like BitTorrent, but we'll just have to wait and see.

The Kickstarter page for the project has, at time of writing, raised about $30,000 of the $50,000 funding goal, with 15 days left to go.

Comments

Google to build green-roof California HQ

An image has been released of what looks set to become Google's new California HQ. Named Bay View, the nine-building campus is designed to maximize the likelihood of innovation-friendly chance encounters between the workforce. "You can't schedule innovation," Google's David Radcliffe tells Vanity Fair . "We want to create opportunities for people to have ideas and be able to turn to others right there and say, 'What do you think of this?'" This philosophy has fostered the design's angular office blocks, arranged back to back like nodding clergy. Despite the 1.1 million sq ft (102,000 sq m), employees will be a maximum of a 2.5-minute walk away from one another, Vanity Fair reports. Perhaps most remarkable is that this is Google's first build. In its 15-year history, Google has only ever occupied buildings previously used by others. "We've been the world's best hermit crabs: we've found other people's shell...

Nerf Vulcan Sentry Gun tracks targets and avoids friendly fire

Anyone who plays video games will know that few things protect an area like a well-placed sentry gun. In the real world, though, even a person's bedroom or office could use a little protection sometimes, which is why one designer has built the Nerf Vulcan Sentry Gun. Using a custom program and some servos, the sentry can automatically locate targets and unleash a stream of foam darts at over seven times the usual speed, while keeping its owner out of the crosshairs. Britt Liv Ulrike Michelsen, a chemical and biological engineering student from Germany, designed and constructed the sentry using mostly basic electronics and some plywood. This isn't the first time she's modified a Nerf gun, but building this robotic turret is arguably her most ambitious project to date. Luckily, the Nerf Vulcan already operates using an electric motor, so controlling the actual firing mechanism through a computer was just a matter of connecting it directly to an Arduino Uno and a laptop. ...

Wired wood: Gizmag's top ten wooden gadgets

We may be surrounded by gadgetry clad in shiny aluminum and gaudy plastic, but there's still a place left in the digital age for the comfort, simplicity and beauty of wood. Perhaps its the trend towards a "green" aesthetic or some deeper drive to get back to nature, but we've noticed a growing number of consumer electronics offerings in recent times that mesh circuit boards and synthetics with the wonders of wood. With this in mind, we've scoured our resources to come up with this list of Gizmag's top ten wooden gadgets. OOOMS Wooden USB Stick OOOMS, a design company based in The Netherlands, has created a USB stick that is made of … a stick. The creators literally pick up sticks, based on quality and appearance, and professionally work them into unique USB sticks that can hold from 2 to 16 Gb. Wooden Records Amanda Ghassaei has developed a laser cutting system that can carve music into a wooden record . After pulling audio from a WAV file with P...

ANBARASUASOKAN

Search This Blog