The hottest thing on YouTube this month isn't The Dark Knight trailer or that clip of a baby giving an evil eye. It's video of somebody downloading a copy of Ubuntu, a Linux-based operating system.How did something so completely boring top the list? The makers of UseNext, a download client that lets users grab files from Usenet newsgroups, are hosting a Usenet Download World Record contest to spread the gospel about their product. Users who submit a YouTube video detailing a hyperfast transfer are eligible for a $1,000 jackpot. To land the fat prize, UseNext users must download an Ubuntu image, videotape the download process and e-mail the clip. The fastest download wins.

A study from Nemertes Research Group suggests the increasing use of video services such as YouTube could see the internet reach breaking point in just three years’ time. The research firm says the flood of new video content could overwhelm the web by 2010 unless backbone providers invest up to $137bn in new capacity, more than double what service providers plan to invest, according to the study. In North America alone, backbone investments of $42bn to $55bn will be needed in the next three to five years to keep up with demand, Nemertes said.

The study is the first to "apply Moore’s Law (or something very like it) to the pace of application innovation on the Net,” the study says. “Our findings indicate that although core fibre and switching/routing resources will scale nicely to support virtually any conceivable user demand, Internet access infrastructure, specifically in North America, will likely cease to be adequate for supporting demand within the next three to five years."

Neowin.net