Top 10 stories: Broadband, Googleplex, Virgin and more

What were your peers been reading last month? Check out the 10 most popular articles on ZDNet Australia during August.

1. Broadband over powerline gets boost from US A new initiative in the US could give broadband over powerline (BPL) a kick-start, with two US companies getting together to provide Internet connectivity through electricity cables.

2. Review: HTC Touch While not a iPhone killer, the HTC Touch represents good value for money. If you can do without 3G support or a high-res camera, then the Touch will offer most features you'd require from a smartphone.

3. Photos: Inside the Sydney Googleplex It's not quite the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, but Googleplex Sydney is nonetheless an intriguing insight into the Google mindset.

4. "="" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Blog: Get your hands off my Internet, Virgin! Getting into the finer print of Virgin's broadband-over-3G plans is a little like getting up close and personal with the office hottie and then discovering they have a personal hygiene problem...

6. Blog: Kill GPRS to make Virgin Broadband fly After struggling with Virgin Mobile's broadband over 3G for a couple of weeks, I discovered a modem tweak that has completely changed my Internet experience.

7. Sky makes Google Earth a virtual telescope Google Earth will, from tonight, allow users to view the sky as seen from ground level, thanks to a new feature called Sky.

8. Review: Toshiba Portege R500 Toshiba's much-anticipated Portege R500 may be the best ultraportable laptop available right now, but mobile broadband is conspicuously absent.

9. Skype users left hanging without a service Many Skype users were unable to make calls yesterday after a "software problem" left some callers without a service for at least 14 hours.

10. AAPT promises 'naked DSL' by Christmas AAPT has revealed that it will start selling Internet connectivity without the need for a phone connection before the end of the year.