It looks like ViaSat is getting serious. The company launched its Exede internet product this year, and DIRECTV immediately partnered with them to create a killer solution for folks in rural areas. Things must be going well for them, since they're ready to build another satellite which will launch in 2016.

GigaOM reports that the new satellite, aptly named ViaSat-2, will have double the capacity of the original ViaSat-1 satellite and that it will be developed by Boeing, who have built the massive DIRECTV 10, 11, and 12 satellites as well as other mega-orbiters.

This will give the Exede product a lot more ability to service not only rural customers but also planes -- Exede internet service is currently available on selected JetBlue flights.

Looking for a simple way to aim that antenna? It doesn't get any better than the Antennas Direct Clearstream SM200. This little gem does one thing and does it well. Connect it to an antenna, point that antenna, and you'll see if you're getting signal. Easy, peasy.

You know, you could spend a lot of money on an ATSC signal meter, but do you really need it? A web site like TVFool will give you basic information on where to aim, and then it's just a matter of fine tuning with a simple signal meter.

Best of all, this meter is inexpensive. How inexpensive? I can't even tell you. You'll have to click here and add it to your cart.

It seems like we can't get enough nostalgia on Fridays here at The Solid Signal Blog. We all remember the web being "so cool" when we first got on it, but the web's own history betrays it.

Business Insider has put together a slide show of then-and-nows of some of your favorite web sites. Hate to tell you this... they're not as cool as you remember. In fact, some of them are just a little embarrassing.

One of those that holds up fairly well is the New York Times site from 1996. Not surprisingly, its drawn-from-the-actual paper look is sincere, informative, and surprisingly content-rich considering that it was meant to be seen using a dial-up connection.

We were lucky enough to get an interview with a New York Times insider who was there when the page you see above (and the very first nyt.com page) went live. He said,

Don't just take our word for it... click here to see the whole slideshow.

Congratulations to our friends at Wi-Ex for being recognized by Network Products Guide in their 2013 "Hot Companies and Best Products" list! It just proves what we've known all along... cell boosters work and they make work easier.

The Wi-Ex product line is designed for folks to self-install with very little experience. It doesn't take more than a wrench and a screwdriver to put them up, and once installed they are both self-configuring and reliable. Lately, Wi-Ex has expanded their product line with boosters for both Verizon and AT&T 4G services, and these boosters have proven to be just as reliable and just as easy to hook up.

Click here to browse the Wi-Ex booster line!