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broadbandreports.com

Friday Evening Links -

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 5:06pm MDT

Fixed-line broadband not threatened by mobile internet growth, says expert cable.co.uk/
We're trudging down the long road to universal 4Mbps broadband arstechnica.com
The reality of deploying 4G fiercewireless.com
FCC and Title II: All Options Said To Be Still On Table multichannel.com
Huge Push In Brazil To Legalize File Sharing techdirt.com
French ISPs Pushing Back Against Hadopi; Threaten To Ignore Requests techdirt.com
Novatel Wireless Inks Master Purchase Agreement with Comcast tmcnet.com
O2 claims broadband users waste millions on fast connections cable.co.uk
Apple TV: Internet TV is Still a Hobby pcmag.com
Edmonton International Airport offers free Wi-Fi ottawacitizen.com
Could Connectivity And Smartphones Open Your Car Up To Hackers? thecarconnection.com
AT&T speeds up Alltel market switches fiercewireless.com
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Labor Day Weekend Open Thread - Have something to say?

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 5:03pm MDT

Enjoy your holiday! Speak your peace in our comment section below.
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BetaNews.Com

90's game hero Duke Nukem returns after delay of more than a decade

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 2:45pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Friday, 2K Games and Gearbox Software announced they will be releasing Duke Nukem Forever on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC in 2011. The game was first announced in 1997 and has long been considered the most legendary case of "vaporware," that is, hardware or software that is announced but released either too late or not at all.
The story of Duke Nukem Forever is so legendary that its delay inspired its own parody game franchise. D3's Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard was released in 2009, and featured a gun-slinging action game hero very similar to Nukem returning to video games after a six-year hiatus.
"Gearbox has enabled die-hard key Duke Nukem franchise builders and skilled veteran game makers to stand together and deliver," Randy Pitchford, president of Gearbox Software said today. "All gamers deserve a happy ending and after all of us gamers feeling the full range of emotions about Duke Nukem Forever, I am thrilled to be in a position with the trust, power and means to make it happen."
Following 3D Realms' hit Duke Nukem 3D in 1996, the company announced Forever a year later. In November 1997, it was featured on the cover of PC Gamer, and hype for the title was pretty high. A series of setbacks pushed back the game's release, but it was never cancelled. 3D Realms changed its website to say the game would be released "when it's done."
Five years after the title was announced, 3D Realms' then-president George Broussard told Wired magazine, "We're undeniably late and we know it. We've switched engines a couple of times, and we've started over a couple of times. We've made some mistakes, and we've learned from them. I'm just glad we're in a position to do those things, and to be able to make the game we want to make, instead of being rushed out the door to meet stock projections."
In 2008, 3D Realms' president Scott Miller spoke on rumors that Duke Nukem Forever would be released some time that year, but still did not announce a date.
"We can't make an official announcement," Miller said. "Frankly, we may miss the mark by a month or two, but I feel very confident that we're on target this time. It's definitely an internal push."
Of course, 3D Realms never did put out the game. In 2009, funding issues caused the company to shelve development, which then caused publisher Take-Two Entertainment to sue 3D Realms for breach of contract.
"Our relationship with 3D Realms for Duke Nukem Forever was a publishing arrangement, which did not include ongoing funds for development of the title," said Take-Two VP of communications Alan Lewis at the time. "In addition, Take-Two continues to retain the publishing rights to Duke Nukem Forever."
Gearbox Software --which recently scored a big hit with dystopian first person shooter Borderlands-- subsequently picked up development of the title, and is giving attendees at Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) this week an opportunity to actually play portions of the game.
"All great things take time... a lot of time," 2K's President Christoph Hartmann said in a statement Friday.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Duke Nukem Forever - Randy Pitchford - Gearbox - 3D Realms - PlayStation 3

broadbandreports.com

FCC To Vote On White Space Broadband - Will vote on rules governing unlicensed wireless devices in vacated TV spectrum

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 1:41pm MDT

As some tipsters had suggested earlier this week, the FCC will be addressing white space broadband at their upcoming September 23 meeting. According to a meeting agenda (pdf) posted to the FCC website, the FCC's September meeting will focus on the E-Rate program (specifically, letting universities and schools purchase dark fiber directly), some E911 issues, and White Space broadband. The FCC announcement says that by creating rules that will allow "unlicensed wireless devices to operate in unused parts of TV spectrum," they'll "create opportunities for investment and innovation in advanced Wi-Fi technologies and a variety of broadband services." Somewhere, Wally the interference demon and Dolly Parton (aka the National Association of Broadcasters) are really pissed off.
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BetaNews.Com

Ping off to a rocky start as spam, issues plague service

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 1:36pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Apple's foray into social music is not going well as its Ping service is experiencing a multitude of problems, including comment spam, a lack of promised functionality, and generally inconsistent user experience.
Security researcher Chet Wisniewski at Sophos said Apple is not employing any type of spam or URL filtering, as comments such as those advertising "free iPhones" were already appearing some 24 hours after the site's launch. He also said that Apple has made it easy for those to abuse the service.
"No credit card or other positive identification is required to participate," he pointed out in a blog post. Without this, a user could create accounts easily simply by creating a bogus iTunes account which in turn would allow a bogus Ping account to be created.
Ping is also suffering from a case of overpromising and underdelivering, apparently. In his presentation on Wednesday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that the service would tie in with Facebook in order to assist in music discovery and finding friends to follow.
That is not to be. Facebook has blocked Ping from using its free APIs to connect to the service, fearing that a deluge of users could cause stability problems with the social networking site. Negotiations to make some type of arrangement don't seem to be going so well either: Jobs told All Things Digital's Kara Swisher that Facebook's terms were "onerous."
Users now must search for friends by name, or invite them through e-mail, making the process of getting up and running on the service much more difficult. It is not clear whether Facebook and Apple may come to terms, although reports indicate talks are "ongoing."
Another problem encountering early adopters of Ping is an inconsistent user experience. Apple has instituted a policy of approving profile pictures before they go live on the service: some have reported that the images fail to even upload.
Its recommended bands and users to follow seem stuck in time: the same 13 bands seem to be shown to all users regardless of their musical preferences, and the people recommended to follow seem also to be pretty much similar among early adopters.
Some are criticizing Ping for not living up to its potential. "Ping could be so much more than it is: isolated, controlling, and a bit boring," TechCrunch's Erick Shoenfeld wrote. "Ping debuts as this odd little social network sitting by itself in the corner refusing to, you know, network. And be social," CNBC's Jon Fortt said in his own review.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - Facebook - Steve Job - iTunes - Application programming interface

broadbandreports.com

Wi-Fi War Driving Drone Flying? - The WASP (Wi-Fi Aerial Surveillance Platform)

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 12:46pm MDT

If you remember the hysteria that surrounded war driving (people who drive around looking for unsecured hotspots), surely those terrified by the concept will enjoy this. According to Popular Science, a couple of hackers have modified a US Army gunnery target drone, turning it into a flying Wi-Fi sniffer. The WASP (Wi-Fi Aerial Surveillance Platform) is guided by an open source auto pilot system that uses Google Earth, and is capable of 1,000 square feet of "sniffing" at an altitude of about 400 feet. Once the drone finds the hotspot the pilot's looking for, it can be put into a holding pattern. The WASP's website has only the basic construction details if you're looking for a holiday weekend project.
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BetaNews.Com

Company of Heroes Online open beta launches, rewards early adopters

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 11:20am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Video game maker THQ has opened the beta of Company of Heroes Online, a free-to-play World War II strategy game based upon THQ's critically acclaimed real-time strategy franchise Company of Heroes, originally released for Windows in 2006.
The open beta of Company of Heroes Online includes 17 multiplayer maps which can be used in two, four, six, and eight-player modes, and beta testers can play one-player campaign mode from Company of Heroes for free. Users that register on companyofheroes.com before September 8 receive bonus in-game content for their early adoption.
Minimum requirements for Company of Heroes online include: Windows XP SP3, Vista 32/64bit or Windows 7, Intel Pentium 4 2Ghz, 1GB RAM, ATI Radeon 9500 or better, nVidia 5200 or better, 20GB free space, and DirectX 9.0C. The beta is currently limited to users in North America, and the final version is expected to be released later this fall.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Company of Heroes Online - World War II - Software release life cycle - Company of Heroes - Real-time strategy

broadbandreports.com

Ripe FCC Data: Our Broadband Is Still Pretty Slow - Only 44% of subscribers meet FCC's new 4/1 Mbps benchmark

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 10:25am MDT

As we've long noted, the FCC has made broadband policy decisions based on flawed and incomplete data for years. Part of the 1996 Telecom Act required that the agency release quarterly reports on the status of broadband deployment. Unfortunately for consumers, that data has always been essentially useless -- with the FCC declaring any zip code that has just one served broadband customer in it to be "wired" for service. This rose-colored glasses mentality is (very) slowly changing.

The FCC this week released their latest report (pdf) on the state of the broadband union, though they're still working with fouteen-month-old data.

According to the FCC, as of June 30 of 2009, there were 71 million residential landline broadband connections, and only 44% of them met the agency's goal for the standard definition of broadband: 4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream.

This report is of particular note because it's astonishingly the first time the FCC has required that ISPs provide details on what speed tiers consumers subscribe to. The FCC's data shows that 5.4% of consumers subscribed to 200-700kbps service, 14.1% subscribe to 768kbps-1.5 Mbps service, and 13.7% subscribe to 1.5-3 Mbps. On the faster end of the scale, 31% subscribe to 6-10 Mbps service, and 17% subscribe to speeds between 10 and 25 Mbps.

Other data of note from the study includes the fact that as of June 2009 there were 4 million fiber to the home connections, 31 million DSL connections, and 41 million cable broadband connections. Wireless Internet subscriptions jumped 40% in the first six months of 2009 to 35 million subscribers, though only 45% of those connections met the government wireless stimulus baseline of 768Kbps downstream and 200Kbps upstream.
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Verizon, Skype Fix Wi-Fi Bug In 'Exclusive' Client - Android users can now turn Wi-Fi on while using Skype over 3G...

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 7:47am MDT

Verizon's "exclusive" agreement with Skype has created a Skype client that has a number of quirky restrictions -- including the fact that it eats your wireless minutes in some instances (conveniently keeping voice minutes relevant in the age of smartphone mobile VoIP). But Skype's specialized Verizon application also had a fairly nasty bug: Android users who used the Skype app over 3G couldn't turn on Wi-Fi -- at all.

In other words, they couldn't use Skype on 3G and browse the Internet via Wi-Fi. At the time, Verizon gave a roundabout explanation, admitting there was a bug, but also insisting that CALEA wiretap restrictions were partially to blame for the problem, as the Verizon-specific app runs over Verizon's traditional voice network. Whatever the cause, Verizon and Skype have apparently figured it out, and Skype for Verizon smartphones now works with Wi-Fi turned on.
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M2Z Free National Wireless Broadband Plan Finally Dies - CTIA pleased you won't be getting 'slow' free 768 kbps service

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 7:23am MDT

You might recall that former FCC boss Kevin Martin and a company by the name of M2Z Networks had been cooking up a plan for a smut-censored free national wireless service with a free wireless component. We had predicted the plan would never actually leave the ground and that wound up being true, the project derailed by both politics and the fact that the plan itself while creative -- simply wasn't very good. After returning from the dead and being bounced around the halls of the FCC in slightly modified form, the FCC has finally dropped the effort completely. M2Z sent Broadband Reports an e-mailed statement lamenting the decision:"The FCC s decision to delay the use of this valuable spectrum forgoes the consumer welfare and economic stimulus that would result from putting new spectrum into the marketplace," said John Muleta, CEO of M2Z Networks. A new nationwide broadband entrant that provided a free broadband service would have created tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs throughout the country while giving all Americans an equal opportunity to participate in the digital economy. Despite the spectrum crisis facing the U.S. as documented by the FCC s National Broadband Plan, the AWS-3 spectrum will continue to lie fallow providing no economic value to American consumers."Of course the plan always faced an uphill battle, and was heavily lobbied against by the wireless industry and their trade group the CTIA, who obviously didn't want the added competition for lower end customers. The CTIA sent us a statement saying they were "pleased" by the FCC's decision:"As we had argued throughout the proceeding, a designer allocation auction that would be tailored for one company was not in the public s interest, especially when that company was offering broadband service that is slow by even yesterday s standards."While 768 kbps is certainly slow, you probably would have a hard time beating the price, and M2Z did show a degree of vision in the plan's development. The plan itself was just always various degrees of bad, initially including a mandate that would require porn filters. Various versions were also based on seemingly unrealistic build out schedules, and the end result was never really going to offer particularly compelling speeds.
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OnLive Adding Wi-Fi To Game Streaming Device - Extends founding fathers deal for second time...

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 6:56am MDT

Back in June broadband streaming video game service OnLive launched, offering users what's essentially a dumb terminal community-driven gaming service for $14.95 a month -- plus the cost of games. Reviews for the service so far have been mixed, and not too surprisingly dependent on the quality and speed of your broadband connection. Currently, the service only operates with an Ethernet connection -- but OnLive's considering adding 802.11n to the unit as a beta product sometime before October. They're also extending their Founding Members program for the second time, offering users a free year of service and a $4.95 monthly rate for life (theirs, or yours) to users who signs up before January 1, 2011.
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Verizon Unveils Limited New Prepaid Options - But they're of course designed to convince you to go postpaid...

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 6:45am MDT

Just yesterday we were discussing how analysts believe Verizon wasn't truly competing in the prepaid space because they were concerned with diminishing the perceived value of the Verizon brand, and having to engage in price competition with smaller carriers. With a flood of recent new prepaid offers, Verizon has announced a new unlimited data package for select smartphone users priced at $30 per month, and a $10 plan with a 25MB monthly cap and 20 cent per megabyte overage fee. As PC World notes this is a mixed bag on value (see chart), with users paying more for their phone, voice minutes and monthly total bill than postpaid, but with no ETF. By restricting qualified phone models and making users pay a monthly premium for voice and data, Verizon's trying to actually discourage users from going prepaid.
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Thursday Evening Links -

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 4:58pm MDT

Cisco to Service Providers: Get Moving on IPv6 lightreading.com
Have we seen the last of M2Z? fiercebroadbandwireless.com
Rumor mill: AT&T could move to acquire C&W Worldwide fiercetelecom.com
U.S. Broadband Starts To Speed Ahead forbes.com
Former UK Communications Minister: Government was wrong to axe broadband tax pcpro.co.uk
Verizon Wireless Adds $30/Month Prepaid Unlimited Data Plan foxbusiness.com
90% of UK consumers confused by broadband advertising theregister.co.uk
Skype updates Android app for Verizon users, lets you keep the WiFi on engadget.com
FCC Gets Earful On Further Inquiries On Net Neutrality multichannel.com
IBM Introduces World's Fastest Processor: 5.2GHz Enterprise Chip hothardware.com
Wireless charger standard released electronicsweekly.com
Sony Shows Prototypes of a Planned 3-D VAIO Laptop mobile-tech-today.com
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BetaNews.Com

Verizon offers prepaid data plans for smart phones

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 4:23pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Verizon strengthened its prepaid offerings on Thursday, introducing prepay data plans for consumers who wish to use smart phones on a no contract basis. While the acquisition costs for those phones will be significantly higher, a customer would be free to leave at any time.
Prepaid data plans would cost the user $30 per month, and include unlimited data access. The company would offer a 250MB data plan for "multimedia" phones, which would be a $10 per month add on. Both offerings would become available beginning immediately in Verizon's own stores, and online on September 28, the company said.
Data plans are not mandatory on prepaid phones, but would require a voice plan in order to be added to a user's account. The monthly fee is the same as a postpaid contract holder would pay, although its voice plans start at a $5 premium to the postpaid customer.
Many of Verizon's popular smart phones would be compatible with the prepaid service. These include the carrier's Blackberry line, the Droid X, the Droid 2, and HTC's Droid Incredible, among others. Multimedia phones compatible with the cheaper plan included the LG enV and Chocolate, Samsung Alias, and Casio Elixim.
"These new data offerings will help our prepaid customers experience the full breadth of Verizon Wireless' robust device portfolio," Verizon Wireless marketing director Jim Sullivan said. The move is also likely aimed at keeping the carrier in step with its competitors, who have increasingly been offering more smart phones in their device lineups as of late.
Essentially, prepaid users would for the most part have to pay a $200 premium on their desired device. That extra fee is compensation to Verizon Wireless for the subsidy that is normally paid for by the device manufacturer in exchange for carriage on the company's network.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Verizon Wireless - Smartphone - Blackberry - Droid - Prepaid

broadbandreports.com

Sonic.Net Treats Customers Well, Earns Praise - Carrier gets oodles of link love for new network build, customer service

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 3:50pm MDT

Sure, incumbent lobbyists and dysfunctional regulators may have crushed the majority of major, independent, residential broadband ISPs in the United States, but California-based ISP Sonic.net not only survived the indie ISP-pocalypse, but they're busily building their own network. As we've covered for years, Sonic's offering ADSL2+ (bonded, when possible) capable of providing speeds up to 40 Mbps downstream. Sonic's suddenly getting a lot of love this week, with Ars Technica profiling the company and their "bandwidth-hog friendly" policies:The new network, called Fusion, allows Sonic.net to offer ADSL2+ service along with its own telephone service (this isn't VoIP, but actual POTS). The company currently sells one offering to residential users through Fusion: for $50 a month, they get uncapped ADSL that runs as fast as their line can handle (up to 20Mbps) along with free nationwide phone service. Users who want more bandwidth can order up a second telephone line and "bond" the two for speeds of up to 40Mbps by simply paying another $50.Analyst Dave Burstein also doled out some Sonic love in his widely-read broadband industry newsletter: Dane Jasper's Sonic.net is (finally) bringing the same "low price, maximum speed, high volume" model to California. Sonic.net is offering 100's of thousands of Californians "up to 20 megabits" + unlimited national phone service for $56, about the same price as Verizon is charging for the 10-15 megabit DSL service alone. Verizon charges about $75 for similar and AT&T probably $84, about 50% more. Unless you live far from the exchange, Sonic.net offers a better deal than any large U.S. carrier.The man behind the plan, CEO Dane Jasper, is a regular here in our forums often helping customers personally. As we've seen with other, customer-service-focused ISPs (like Canada's TekSavvy) that kind of personal touch is welcome in an industry dominated by giants, and is helping fuel Sonic's fairly steller reviews by our users. Meanwhile, Yankee Group analyst Benoit Felten this week conducted an very interesting review with Dane on their new network, and life as a modern independent U.S. ISP in a sector dominated by giants.

Jasper (who you can follow on Twitter) is a breath of fresh air as a broadband industry CEO that understands the repercussions of putting quarterly investor satisfaction ahead of your network, your company, and the satisfaction of your customers. The result is an ISP that speaks to the fact that staying small -- and focusing on what's important -- isn't necessarily a bad thing. The problem is that the drive to get increasingly bigger (and go public) is an all-pervasive presence, and as an ISP grows -- customer service is usually the first thing lost in translation.
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BetaNews.Com

Samsung bets on Galaxy Tab in race against Apple's iPad

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 2:23pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

In what could potentially be the first serious challenge to Apple's dominance in the tablet sector, Samsung Thursday debuted the Galaxy Tab, a 7-inch Android powered tablet device. It will initially be available in European markets later this month, with a broader worldwide launch shortly afterward.
Although the device's screen size is smaller than the iPad, much of the rest of the specifications are quite similar. The Tab includes a 1GHz processor; up to 64GB of storage space; 3G, Bluetooth, and 802.11 wireless connectivity, and high definition playback of digital content.
One thing it does have that the iPad does not is a front and back facing camera: the front one is 1.3 megapixels, while the back camera would support 3 megapixels as well as an LED flash.
No announcement was made as to the pricing for the new device, nor carrier partners for the included 3G connectivity.
Samsung says the Tab, which is part of the company's broader line of "Galaxy" Android devices, is only the first of a line of tablet devices from the manufacturer. "Samsung recognizes the tremendous growth potential in this newly created market," mobile chief JK Shun said in a statement.
He said that the Tab was designed to maximize the user's online experience, and would "push the market in new directions." Built upon Android's 2.2 "Froyo" update, the Tab also includes something that has notoriously been left out of the iPad: Flash.
Adobe Flash 10.1 is supported, which Samsung extols the Tab as being able to view every single web page as the developer intended. In order to make these same pages viewable correctly on the iPad, some web developers have had to tweak their designs to take advantage of HTML5 vis a vis Flash, which could be inconvenient.
Getting into the e-reader business is something that Samsung is also interested in: each Tab would come with an application called the "Readers Hub," which would link into a library of content. The hub concept would also translate into other forms of media discovery including a "Music Hub" and "Media Hub."
The Korean manufacturer did not specify if it would use proprietary or open technologies to deliver this content to users.
Among many of the first looks given of the Samsung Galaxy Tab today, mobile messaging and VoIP software maker Fring gave a quick peek at video chatting on the device.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - Android - Bluetooth - Adobe Systems - Adobe Flash

broadbandreports.com

Google Sued Over Nexus One 3G Bugs - Suit alleges Google made misleading claims, failed to provide adequate support

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 2:10pm MDT

While Google's Nexus One phone was supposed to rattle the wireless status quo by offering users unsubsidized phones via a Google store, the promised revolution never arrived. That was due to a number of factors, including the fact that the phone was initially only available via T-Mobile. However, the Nexus One also came with fairly awful 3G connectivity bugs and annoying fees -- but not with phone support (Google fixed the latter two eventually). But those 3G bugs never quite got fixed, and Google's now being sued for it:On Tuesday, Google was slapped with a breach of contract class action lawsuit alleging that its Nexus One smartphone failed to maintain 3G connectivity and that the Mountain View company not only made misleading claims about the product's capabilities but also failed to adequately support customers in search of answers. . . The suit says Google basically failed to warn customers they would not receive faster 3G connectivity, even in areas where T-Mobile USA said such coverage was available.The suit (correctly) also alleges that those who called either T-Mobile or Google for support got passed around like a hot potato, with the problems never really getting fixed. Google recently announced that the Nexus One experiment was over and there wouldn't be a Nexus Two, though Google considered the whole affair a success. Of course it was in the sense that it provided traction for Google's Android mobile OS -- Google just didn't make a very good phone retailer or a phone that could hold a reliable 3G signal.
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Samsung Unveils 'Galaxy Tab' Tablet - Will have embedded phone capabilities, likely sold through Verizon

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 11:56am MDT

Samsung today unveiled their response to the Apple iPad: the Galaxy Tab. Unlike the iPad, the Android-powered device has two cameras, is a bit smaller (7.5 by 4.7 by .5 inches) and lighter (13.4 ounces), and actually operates as a phone. As such, the device will be offered through a phone partner, rumored to be Verizon. It's not clear yet if it's exclusive, given specs indicate it supports HSDPA and HSUPA (which could mean AT&T/T-Mobile, or it could simply mean European carrier support). Much like the recent netbook craze, you can expect this to be the opening salvo in a wave of subsidized tablets tied to carriers aimed at locking users into long-term contracts. Motorola and HTC are also rumored to be developing Android tablets for use on Verizon's network.
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BetaNews.Com

Why can't Apple's Ping sing?

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 11:08am MDT by Joe Wilcox
By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

Is Apple going to compel me to write another "I was wrong post?" Yesterday I extolled Ping -- Apple's new social music discovery tool -- based on features and product strategy. Finally, late last night, Apple widely distributed iTunes 10, giving me the chance to finally use Ping. The results aren't good. The discovery tool is simply useless, because Ping doesn't reflect my current music listening habits.
One of Ping's most important personal features is "What I Like." It can automatically display 10 popular songs, allowing friends to see what the Ping user (hereafter referred to as Pinger) listens to (there is a manual option, too). "What I Like" is crucial to music discovery friend-to-friend, and it broadcasts the Pinger's music tastes to the world. How embarrassing for the teen chugging Ke$ha, B.o.B., and Katy Perry, only to find Ping plunking Perry Como into "What I Like."
My list of 10 preselected songs is totally surprising. I haven't listened to one of these tunes in months. Some are MP3 files purchased from Amazon and others are AAC tracks bought from iTunes. I've looked through the songs and so far can see only one commonality: I don't listen to them much. Ah, isn't that the opposite of what Ping is supposed to do? Sure, there are many more songs that I listen to less, but many others I do more. Ping rightly reflects past listening habits as current. How dumb is that?
Among the songs, Ping asserts that I like:
- "Your Love is a Drug" by Ke$ha
- "The Beauty in Ugly" by Jason Mraz
- "This River is Wild" by The Killers
- "Warning" by Green Day
- "Shadow of the Day" by Linkin Park
These are all bands I do listen to. I don't recall ever listening to the Jason Mraz song. Last.fm or Zune.net would let people know what I listen to most and most recently. There's simply nothing current about Ping. Here's my confessed musical reality:
1. Last five played songs:
- "Banquet" by Bloc Party
- "The Ghost Inside" by Broken Bells
- "Too Dramatic" by Ra Ra Riot
- "Bourgeois Shangri-La" by Miss Li
- "Hate to Say I Told You So" by The Hives
2. Most played songs:
- "Shattered (Turn the Car Around)" by O.A.R.
- "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train
- "You Won't Know" by Brand New
- "Narcotic" by No Second Troy
- "Fortress" by Pinback
3. My current fav albums:
- "The Orchard" by Ra Ra Riot
- "Beneath It All" by Hey Monday
- "The Script" by The Script
- "The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me" by Brand New
- "Silent Alarm" by Bloc Party
Does Ping represent you, because it sure doesn't reflect me. This morning I tweeted: "Does Ping accurately represent what you like? Tweet back w/answer. I'm writing a story about Ping's music choices." Paul Sorensen responded: "It represents what I listen to, which is perhaps different than what I would like to think of myself as liking."
Adam Hall quipped: "I ticked Alternative and Rock options, and it recommended Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. that's a #fail to me!" But follow-up tweets revealed Ping's musical recommendations to Hall, not what he supposedly listens to.
Another problem: I went to bed with a Facebook Connect option, but it was gone this morning. Over at All Things Digital, Peter Kafka tries to answer: "What Happened to Apple's Ping/Facebook Connection?" Regardless, Ping is off to a somewhat rockier start than I would have guessed from yesterday's demo.
If Ping can't accurately display "What I Like" the service is useless to me. How about you? Have you used Ping? Are you satisfied? I ask Last.fm or Zune.net users to pipe in about these services compared to Ping. Please respond in comments.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - ITunes - Jason Mraz - Shadow of the Day - Steve Jobs
Toshiba recalls overheating and melting Satellite T-series notebooks

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 10:10am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Thursday, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada announced a recall of three Toshiba Satellite T-series notebook computers: T135, T135D and ProT130, for reports that the units' AC adaptors cause them to overheat and melt.
Though there have been no injuries reported, the CPSC said it received 129 reports of the computer cases melting and deforming, presenting a fire and burn hazard.
Toshiba's own recall notice says the problem stems from a potentailly faulty DC-In harness, which "in some circumstances, overheat to the point of melting the computer's base at the location where the AC adaptor plugs into the unit."
Owners of these notebooks are advised to immediately update their BIOS, which will determine if the DC harness is failing.
Toshiba says, "If the harness failure is detected while the system is operating you will receive a system message indicating that the failure has occurred and that external power has been disabled. You may continue to use the system, without risk of overheating, using the remaining battery charge. You should immediately close all open files and applications to avoid any data loss. Once the data has been saved the system should be properly shutdown. It will not be possible to recharge the battery within the system until it has been repaired."
The recall encompasses three Satellite models, but as many as 40 different SKUs.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Laptop - Power supply - Direct current - Alternating current - Hardware

broadbandreports.com

AT&T Forgets They Began The Network Neutrality Debate - Calls people conspiracy theorists for remembering this fact...

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 10:08am MDT

Consumer group Free Press is apparently hitting some of AT&T's buttons this week, if this missive from AT&T lobbyist Hank Hultquist is any indication. Hultquist this week attacked the consumer group as a purveyor of "Da Vinci Code conspiracy theories" for a recent letter the group wrote to the FCC that points out how AT&T's long-standing dream of "paid prioritization" could be bad for consumers. In it, Free Press notes they don't oppose intelligent network management, just paid prioritization:In a network where congestion is a somewhat rare occurrence, paid-priority treatment holds little value for third parties. Allowing ISPs to abuse their terminating access monopoly power by charging for paid prioritization directly produces the incentive to create scarcity. Policies that reward and encourage a steady state of scarcity are of course not a recipe for closing the digital divide through buildout and network expansion.AT&T retorted by trying to conflate QOS network management (which, especially in more intelligent modern incarnations, few if any oppose) with paid prioritization, or an ISP charging content companies an extra surcharge if they wish to have their content reach AT&T customers more quickly. AT&T also accuses the group of being inconsistent conspiracy theorists -- simply for pointing out AT&T's long-documented ambitions on this front:One sometimes hears...that the introduction of paid prioritization would enable ISPs to turn best effort Internet transmission into a "dirt road" and force virtually the entire Internet ecosystem to "pay extra" for prioritized transmission. Why would ISPs require such an elaborate scheme to raise rates if they have the market power attributed to them by the CoENN? Yet now Free Press seems to suggest that ISPs would restrict prioritization to only a few "deep-pocketed Internet giants." While I enjoy the Da Vinci Code conspiracy theories as much as the next blogger, I do expect at least some superficial consistency.Why would an entrenched, incredibly powerful duopoly carrier impose an "elaborate scheme" to milk more money out of consumers and businesses that already pay for bandwidth? To make more money, of course. While the Free Press is certainly known for occasional hyperbole, suggesting that AT&T could abuse their market position using paid prioritization certainly isn't conspiracy material. It's not even controversial.

AT&T enjoys ignoring this fact: AT&T started the entire network neutrality debate in 2005 by proclaiming that they were going to charge content companies (who already pay for bandwidth) an extra, nonsensical toll to reach AT&T customers quickly. Thanks predominantly to lobbyist distortion, the debate has grown into a ridiculous, often-incoherent monster since then. However, it should be remembered that it was AT&T's vocalized desire to act as a bridge troll that began the network neutrality debate, and the original goal of network neutrality rules was to prevent AT&T from abusing its duopoly/monopoly power to extort passers by.

Update: The IETF also thinks AT&T's conclusions are misleading:The current chair of the IETF, Russ Housley, disagrees with AT&T's assessment. "AT&T's characterization is misleading," Housley said. "IETF prioritization technology is geared toward letting network users indicate how they want network providers to handle their traffic, and there is no implication in the IETF about payment based on any prioritization."
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BetaNews.Com

First voice-over-LTE call placed in US public safety band

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 9:42am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent Thursday announced that the first voice call in the 700MHz band of LTE has been completed. This is the section of wireless spectrum that is being utilized in the United States' national public safety network.
Part of the FCC's National Broadband Plan (Chapter 16, to be exact) outlines the creation of a nationwide interoperable public safety wireless broadband communications network, used specifically for first responders and issues of national importance. The high speed network will utilize a 10MHz block of spectrum in the 700MHz band, and approval for construction has been obtained in a growing number of markets.
"This achievement represents an important step toward revolutionizing public safety networks as it establishes the readiness of LTE as a technology to enable broadband data applications," said Morgan Wright, Vice President, Global Public Safety Segment at Alcatel-Lucent.
The call also demonstrates the company's readiness to supply its hardware and solutions to local governments building their 700MHz networks. Alcatel-Lucent has been selected to provide the hardware for five commercial LTE deployments already, including Verizon Wireless and AT&T, but competitor Nokia-Siemens secured the deal for LightSquared's ambitious $7 Billion hybrid Satellite/LTE network that will be built with the express purpose of wholesaling to carriers.
Disclosure: Tim Conneally is an Alcatel-Lucent shareholder.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

United States - 3GPP Long Term Evolution - AT&T - Verizon - Wireless
Samsung: new wireless USB chips capable of 480Mbps max

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 8:58am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Samsung Thursday announced its latest two-chip wireless USB solution capable of transmission speeds up to 480Mbps with an actual throughput rate of 200Mbps. The result is reportedly ten times more power efficient than 802.11g Wi-Fi.
The product is made up of two chips, S3C2680, a baseband processor with an ARM 9 core, built-in NAND flash controller, SD I/O, and two USB 2.0 PHYs; and S5M8311a, a separate RF transciever.
The chips can be deployed in SD cards, USB dongles, or embedded directly into consumer electronics. Samsung says the solution is especially suited for digital cameras and HD camcorders for high throughput local content sharing.
"The ability to handle wireless high-speed data transmission while consuming less power is a key requirement for many consumer electronic devices," said Yiwan Wong, vice president, System LSI marketing, Samsung Electronics. "Due to power/performance issues, previous generations of [Wireless USB] products were unable to meet the consumers' expectations. Samsung's new WUSB chipset delivers up to 480Mbps (Megabit per second) data transmission rate, at an average power consumption of less than 300mW. This level of power efficiency greatly increases the attractiveness of WUSB connectivity in consumer electronic and mobile applications."
Mass production of the chips is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Flash memory - Digital camera - Consumer electronics - Samsung Group - Secure Digital
Dell and HP quarry 3PAR now valued at $2.4 Billion

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 8:07am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

The bidding war between HP and Dell over virtualized storage company 3PAR is in its third week, and as of Thursday morning, HP looks to have won. The Palo Alto IT giant turned the tables on Dell with a $2 billion bid last Friday that caused 3PAR to announce it was terminating the merger agreement it had reached with Dell in mid-August.
When Dell received 3PAR's notice of termination, it raised its acquisition offer once again, from $27 per share to $32, and modified the terms of its proposal to include an increased termination fee of $92 million.
3PAR's board of directors determined Dell's offer to be unacceptable, and HP fired back with a counter-offer to buy 3PAR's outstanding common stock for $33 per share.
Thursday morning, the board of directors at 3PAR determined that HP's revised offer was the "Superior Proposal," and again let Dell know its intention of terminating the merger agreement.
Dell responded by saying it would place no further bids.
"We took a measured approach throughout the process and have decided to end these discussions," said Dave Johnson, Dell's senior vice president of corporate strategy. "We believe our strategy of creating open, affordable and capable solutions resonates well with customers and will enable us to continue to outgrow the industry."
Brian Gladden, chief financial officer at Dell said, "We will continue to put the interests of our customers and shareholders at the forefront of all our decisions. Our focus is to create long-term value."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Hewlett-Packard - Dell - Bid price - Mergers & Acquisitions - Board of directors

broadbandreports.com

Virgin Mobile's New $40 Prepaid Data Plan Has Huge Issues - Fluctuating speeds, page load issues...

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 8:02am MDT

While that new Virgin Mobile $40 unlimited prepaid data plan looks great on the surface, users in our forums note that they're having a lot of problems not only ordering the plan, but actually using the plan for web browsing. Not only did Virgin Mobile botch the initial launch, but users are reporting inconsistent and often pathetic speeds with the service (as in, sometimes struggling to best dial-up era speeds). One consistent complaint by users is that routing or caching server overload is resulting in incomplete page loads during browsing:There are definitive problems with Virgin Mobile's unlimited offering now. I can confirm the problems exist whether you use their usb modem or their mifi. I bought the usb modem, and I had trouble, so I exchanged it for a mifi, and I continue to have trouble. Pages will not load at times. When they do load, it is usually after having to refresh several times. Images do not load well, and Flash-heavy sites bog down. I have Millenicom, too, and I am not having any of these issues with Millenicom. Seriously, the Virgin service is so poor, that I am considering cancelling after only two days.A consistent complaint among Virgin Mobile users is that despite running on Sprint's network, Virgin Mobile service is immeasurably poorer than using Sprint's network directly. Many users in the same location find no performance issues when using Millenicom, another Sprint-powered no contract prepaid operator. We've dropped a line to Virgin Mobile to inquire about some of these problems. Impacted users (many of whom complain the company does not respond to e-mail support requests) may find some help by contacting Virgin Mobile's Twitter representative.
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Thursday Morning Lnks -

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 7:19am MDT

Google Sued Over Nexus One 3G Connectivity Issues ubergizmo.com
Should public Wi-Fi access be 'free'? zdnet.com
Global broadband cost disparity must be addressed itpro.co.uk
NJ Transit hoping to add Wi-Fi to commute northjersey.com
Apple's iOS beats Android 6:1 on the Web networkworld.com
Is Falsely Being Accused Of File Sharing With An Automated Pre-Settlement Letter A Form Of Harassment? techdirt.com
AT&T calls net neutrality advocate a conspiracy theorist theinquirer.net
Intel goes all in on wireless with Infineon deal, but will it pay off? fiercewireless.com
Rumor Mill: Verizon bringing prepaid to Blackberry. Android phones fiercewireless.com
(Not so) Crazy Microsoft Rumors: A new Zune HD? zdnet.com
Can't Get Verizon 15 Mbps DSL? You're Not Alone. - That 7,000 foot drop off is a real doozy

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 7:03am MDT

For many people in our forums, Verizon's new announcement of 15 Mbps ADSL2+ service doesn't mean a whole lot, given they're beyond the 7,000 foot range the service is restricted to. Many are already barely able to get 1.5 Mbps downstream; Rob Pegoraro of the Washington Post tested the addresses of thirteen friends in the DC area, none of which are able to get the upgrade. Sector analyst Dave Burstein reiterates that those who can't get these faster speeds -- probably shouldn't hold their breath:Given that the majority of customers are beyond the 7,000 foot cutoffs for the 10-15 meg service, that means they have ADSL2+ to about a third of the network. Most of the rest are behind remote terminals or connected to DSLAMS 5-12 years old, neither of which are scheduled for volume upgrades. . .Experience from Britain, France and the UK has been that almost no one gets the 20 & 24 megabits possible with ADSL2+ and only a minority can even get 10 megabits down.So with no DSL upgrades planned, and FiOS deployment halted with the exception of several large cities, 1.5-7 Mbps DSL is as good as it's going to get for millions of Verizon customers. If you're in a FiOS neighborhood, or are able to get 10 Mbps downstream via Verizon ADSL2+, consider yourself lucky.
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Verizon's Stubborn Refusal To Compete In Prepaid Space - Competing on price would apparently be beneath their station...

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 6:45am MDT

Verizon has so far shrugged off the idea of offering unlimited, pre-paid broadband service, and their recently unveiled $80 for 5GB prepaid plan looks ridiculously uncompetitive next to new offers from Virgin Mobile, Clearwire's new Rover prepaid brand, Millenicom and soon, MetroPCS' looming prepaid LTE services. One analyst tells Light Reading that Verizon's reluctance to compete in the space is because once they begin competing on price -- they'll have to continue to do so:"When you lump Verizon and AT&T together, and you own 60 percent of the mobile market, and there are these little companies with 10 percent of your subscriber count who are coming in with lower pricing plans, you can't afford to drop your prices," Bluestein says. "It will be a world of hurt when you have that kind of share. Strategically it makes sense that they would do anything to avoid competing pricewise and valuewise.As such, Verizon will be throwing a limited number of prepaid-fueled Droid, Palm and Blackberry handsets at the problem. Verizon and AT&T have been able to avoid taking a hit from this prepaid space because of coverage -- and because they've generally had a better selection of handsets, though this is slowly changing. As handset availability broadens and Verizon and AT&T make their hard turn toward the postpaid low caps and high overage plan pricing model, a growing number of users may find prepaid appealing.

Update: Of course if you're Verizon, you might not need to bother competing in the space, given the kinds of problems users are having with Virgin Mobile's newest prepaid offer.
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FCC Delays Neutrality Rulemaking - Given they'd have no authority to enforce said rules...

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 6:24am MDT

The FCC yesterday issued a public notice today (pdf) that claims to be looking to clarify several definitions in the network neutrality debate. Of course what the agency is really doing is delaying any real decision on new network neutrality rules -- given they lack the proper authority to enforce them after their court loss to Comcast. Instead, the FCC's working hard behind the scenes on their effort to partially reclassify ISPs as common carriers, after which (assuming they can navigate the gauntlet of deep-pocketed carrier lobbyists fighting the idea) they'll be able to craft traffic non-discrimination rules they can actually enforce. In other words, sometime around 2027.
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Wednesday Evening Links -

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 5:19pm MDT

FCC Strikes Down M2Z Free Broadband Plan pcworld.com
U.S. weighing wireless Web traffic rules reuters.com
Portable Hotspots are the Future of Mobile Broadband pcworld.com
Comcast Takes 100-Meg Internet Down Jersey Shore; DOCSIS 3.0 Priced at $369.95/Month multichannel.com
Cable's set-top duopoly rose to the top by doing the things cable operators want fiercecable.com
EBay To Ban Google s Checkout Service From Its Sites investors.com
Dissecting wireless carriers' capex fiercewireless.com
Hardware hackers defeat quantum crypto theregister.co.uk
Rumor Mill: T-Mobile USA to eliminate $5 fee for adding a line fiercewireless.com
Microsoft releases FixIt for critical flaw in 100 apps theregister.co.uk
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BetaNews.Com

Roku and Boxee weigh in on today's AppleTV update

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 4:30pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

While the over-the-top (OTT) streaming entertainment category has not made a big dent in the mainstream home TV viewing market yet, it's a hot business, and service providers, software makers, and hardware manufacturers are all jockeying for the biggest piece of the pie.
When AppleTV debuted alongside the iPhone at Macworld in 2007, it was more or less a stripped-down home theater PC so users could enjoy their iTunes media on their televisions. Relatively little had changed on the platform until today, when Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the box would lose its storage capacity and become rental-only, gain Netflix streaming and drop in price to $99. Jobs said these changes were based upon feedback provided by AppleTV users.
The change has made AppleTV a lot more like Roku's Netflix streamer, which debuted in 2008 and made a strong impression for providing an affordable and enjoyable iPTV experience without the need for a powerful computer hooked up to your TV.
"Roku created the category for streaming players over two years ago with the original Netflix player for $99," Roku's Director of Corporate Communications Brian Jaquet said today. "Since then, the category has continued to grow rapidly with large hardware entrants like Xbox, PS3, Wii, blu-ray players, and now AppleTV adding streaming capabilities. At the same time, content is becoming more readily available thanks to Netflix's increasing popularity, but also from Amazon, MLB.TV and most recently Hulu Plus." Just one day before Apple announced its new AppleTV, Roku slashed the prices of its three set-top boxes to $59.99, $69.99, and $99.99. At the highest end, the streamer supports 1080p high def and dual-band 802.11n wireless.
"Roku is completely confident that our strategy of offering more features and lower cost than competitors continues to be the right plan," Jaquet said.
Boxee, the hot XBMC-based media center that will launch its first set top box in November with hardware partner D-Link, is taking a similar, but opposite approach to Apple's new product.
"We all watched the Apple announcement," Boxee's Avner Ronen said this afternoon. "We walked away feeling strongly confident about the space it left for Boxee to compete. We have a different view of what users want in their living rooms. We are taking different paths to get there. The Boxee Box is going to be $100 more expensive than the Apple TV, but will give you the freedom to watch what you want. We think it's worth it."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Netflix - AppleTV - Apple - Roku - IPhone

broadbandreports.com

T-Mobile Confirms 42 Mbps In 2011 - HSPA+ 'dual-carrier' technology should make it fairly inexpensive...

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 4:25pm MDT

Back in July, slides shown at a T-Mobile manager's meeting suggested the company wanted to push their 3G HSPA network toward downstream speeds of 42 Mbps. T-Mobile today confirmed those ambitions. T-Mobile's busily deploying HSPA+ upgrades capable of 21 Mbps downstream speeds (though users see half that), and 42 Mbps speeds will arrive sometime in 2011. While technically still just 3G, the company will be offering speeds as fast as fourth-gen services, including Verizon's upcoming LTE service (5-12 Mbps) and Clearwire (3-6 Mbps). Granted, many users are more interested in coverage and reliability above of a few extra megabits per second.
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Steve Jobs: 'Ping is for social music discovery'

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 3:13pm MDT by Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

Apple's September 1 music event ended on a sour note. Coldplay's Chris Martin gave a tepid and pitchy performance that would have sent him packing from an American Idol audition. Michael Stanclift aptly tweeted: "This guy could have practiced before this gig." Martin, whose daughter is named Apple, seemed like the right performer for what was otherwise an outstanding event. While Martin muffed, Apple -- the company, not his child -- hit every key. Not since the first iPod nano launched five years ago has Apple delivered such spectacular new music products.
For the past week, pundits and rumormongers spewed forth the most ridiculous and seemingly sensible conjecture about what Apple would announce today. Nearly every rumor was wrong. There was a new Apple TV, but with no storage, no apps and no gaming capabilities. It's a Roku with a nicer design and streaming support for Apple services and devices, Netflix and YouTube. Yes, there are 99-cent TV rentals as rumored, but only from ABC and Fox -- and they're all HD. Otherwise, the rumors missed all the significant stuff, even the most important details about the new multitouch iPod nano. Who guess right about iTunes 10? There was no iLife `11 as rumored, among the other bits of mistaken reporting (and blogging).
By far, Ping is the biggest single announcement. "Ping is for social music discovery," Jobs said during today's Apple event. People can "sign up for Ping immediately." That "immediately" depends on when you can get iTunes 10, into which Ping is built. As I write, Apple has placed notice "iTunes 10. Coming Soon." on the download page. Based on Twitter chatter, some people have the software. But not me. So my first-take Ping analysis is based on the strategy and not actual usage.
Apple is a surprising latecomer to the social sharing/networking circus. Ping is but the first of the day's two entrants. The other is the new FaceTime-supporting iPod touch, which I predict will be a big seller this holiday. I tweeted during the event: "OK teens, will your new 'face' be FaceTime instead of Facebook?" I'll circle back to the "Why?" in a few paragraphs.
In watching Jobs' announce Ping, I suddenly time traveled, first to January 2001 and then to October of the same year. In January, Apple announced iTunes 1.0. In October, the first iPod shipped. Both product launches marked Apple's late entry into music products and services. The media software wasn't just about managing music but being able to rip from CDs and later sync to iPod. I time traveled because of what made the iTunes/iPod combo eventually successful: People already owned content. There was no need to buy more to fill iPod. Users could just rip from CDs they already owned.
PIng is somewhat similar. People already have the content around which they will interact with others. Similarly, Ping users (hereafter referred to as Pingers) can discover new music through social interaction with people who own music of potential interest. "Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes," Jobs said of Ping. That's an apt description.
Ping really is two services with intertwined objectives. The first is social interaction around artists, whose activities Pingers can follow. Artists post updates, photos, videos, playlists and concert information to their fan subscribers. I'm somewhat surprised that Fox is one of Apple's TV-rental partners, because Ping is quite likely a MySpace Music killer. Ping offers many of the same benefits, and music buying is just a click or two from discovery. If Apple and the artists are really smart, they'll use "Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes" feeds for making exclusive offers.
The second objective is around non-artists -- as in friends. Around them are three main points of discovery: following, and seeing what they're listening to; seeing what friends of friends are listening to; and who is attending local concerts. Additionally, the discovery feature produces music charts for people Pingers follow.
I see lots of potential in Ping, which integration into iTunes for Macs/Windows PCs, iPhone and iPod touch, make it a better fit than Microsoft's socially-oriented Zune. I'm a big fan of Zune, but too much of the experience is on the Web -- outside the core device/software/service. Apple has done what Microsoft should have: Created a more enclosed and sticky service. Pingers won't easily switch to something else, because of the iTunes enclosure.
Forrester Research analyst Mark Mulligan isn't as enamored with Ping as I am. He blogs:
This social functionality (which looks like the best of MySpace, Last.FM, Twitter and Facebook) will be a valuable way of driving music discovery. But it needs more. My guess is that within 12 months we'll see this upgraded with the resultant social data combined with Genius data to create a robust crowd sourced discovery tool.
Maybe, but there is something even more potentially powerful here: iOS devices and FaceTime. Artists can upload photos and videos to their Ping pages. Can regular Pingers do likewise? Since I still can't download iTunes 10, I don't have an answer. But what if they could use iPhone or iPod touch to shoot concert photos or video clips (short enough to avoid copyright problems) and post to their Ping feed? The tools are there. Only the connections are necessary.
FaceTime is potentially huge, separately and as part of the social iTunes interaction someone is sure to call Pinging. FaceTime and Ping are both social services, even if Apple fails to initially treat the video chat service that way. There's a synergy FaceTime and Ping share that Apple should exploit, and it's something competitors should copy -- even if badly.
Given just how much social sharing takes place around music and music events or those where music is a part (think any party), Apple could and should assemble together the hardware, services and software pieces placed before existing and new customers today. It's 2001 again and Apple is moving into territory occupied by others with something game changing. Apple came late to CD-burning, music software and MP3 players in 2001, just like it's following behind Facebook, Last.FM, MySpace Music, Twitter and many other social-oriented services today.
There was an earthquake in San Francisco today. The shockwaves will reverberate from iTunes 10, Ping, iPod touch and iOS 4.1. Apple is finally getting into social media. Perhaps it's fitting then that Chris Martin fumbled as a solo act. His strength comes from the group.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - Steve Jobs - Facebook - iPhone - Microsoft
Windows Phone 7 is released to manufacturing

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 2:53pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Microsoft announced that the highly anticipated Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system has been released to manufacturing on Wednesday, a major milestone for the project.
Following the release of its developer toolkit, Microsoft released Windows Phone 7 technical preview to its developer, carrier and manufacturing partners in July. Since that time, the mobile OS has been updated in a number of ways, such as including intelligent Facebook contact filtering (only real friends show up,) and the ability to "like" Facebook posts from within the People Hub.
"Windows Phone 7 is the most thoroughly tested mobile platform Microsoft has ever released. We had nearly ten thousand devices running automated tests daily, over a half million hours of active self-hosting use, over three and a half million hours of stress test passes, and eight and a half million hours of fully automated test passes," said Terry Myerson, corporate vice president of Windows Phone Engineering on Wednesday. "We've had thousands of independent software vendors and early adopters testing our software and giving us great feedback. We are ready."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Microsoft - Facebook - Windows Phone 7 - Software release life cycle - Betanews
Microsoft makes second push to upgrade households to Windows 7

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 2:43pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

In a sign that Windows 7 sales may be beginning to falter somewhat, Microsoft on Wednesday announced that it would be bringing back its Windows 7 Family Pack discount program. The offer gives multi-computer households the opportunity to upgrade three PCs to Windows 7 Home Premium.
The deal is available beginning October 3 at a price of $149.99. This is a considerable savings over individual upgrades: a single copy of Home Premium alone retails for $129.99. It is unclear when the promotion would end, although Microsoft began pulling last year's offer in December.
Statistics from IDC indicate that the average household has at least two computers, so it's not out of the question that reintroducing the offering could accelerate operating system sales for Microsoft once again.
Selling the family pack likely helped Microsoft escalate Windows 7 adoption, while at the same time giving it a crucial revenue stream in an overall tough economy for the technology sector. About 175 million licenses have been sold to date according to the company.
Its reintroduction could also signal that adoption is beginning to slow again. According to statistics firm Net Applications, 15.87 percent of all Internet surfers were running Windows 7, versus 14 percent for Vista. That was nowhere near Windows XP though, which still has nearly 61 percent of the market.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Microsoft - Windows XP - Operating system - Windows Vista - Windows 7

broadbandreports.com

Apple TV Mark II - Smaller. No Hard Drive. Still not particularly interesting.

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 2:30pm MDT

Apple today unveiled their new Apple TV device, which as rumors had suggested costs $99, tops out playback at 720p, and is focused on renting TV episodes for a dollar or new films for five dollars. There's no hard drive in this incarnation, with everything streamed via either 802.11n Wi-Fi or Ethernet connectivity. The unit also comes with Netflix streaming service embedded. As rumors also suggested, broadcasters are still afraid of cannibalizing their traditional TV cash cow, so Apple scrapped a more interesting subscription-based TV service for this fairly standard rental model, which only features content from ABC and Fox.
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Redesigned AppleTV now $99, rentals and streaming now the focus

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 2:29pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Apple's hobby got a little more serious on Wednesday as the Cupertino company debuted a much smaller and cheaper version of its AppleTV set-top box. The device also heralds the introduction of rentable TV shows, a move that had been widely expected.
The new AppleTV device is less than a quarter of the size of its predecessor, and has no storage space. Instead users would stream content from Apple's servers, and content available to the box would be rent-only.
Users can either choose to use the built-in Wi-Fi or wired ethernet for Internet connectivity, and the device would be connected to the TV through its included HDMI port.
First-run movies would remain at $4.99, however instead of the $2.99 purchase price for individual episodes of TV shows, they would now be rentable for 99 cents. The device would also allow for iOS devices to control it -- for example, beginning to watch content on the iPad, then continue viewing from the AppleTV-connected television.
Price of the device too has dropped, going from $229 in the current generation to $99. Jobs said in the company's music event that the changes were based on feedback from AppleTV users.
Jobs seemed to express some frustration onstage when disclosing that only ABC and Fox had so far signed up to offer their TV content for rent. However, he said he was sure the remaining major networks would sign on once the company can prove that the model would indeed work. BBC America and Disney Channel content would also be available.
Netflix subscribers would be able to use AppleTV to view movies from the service, and as before it would include YouTube functionality.
BusinessWeek reported last week that Jobs does not believe that the AppleTV would be a mainstream hit, according to its sources. Instead he and other executives think the device would become popular among those looking to "catch up" on shows that they missed. This was how the company was reportedly marketing the rental service to content providers.
Jobs said the device would be available in about four weeks, although consumers would be able to pre-order beginning today.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

AppleTV - Apple - Netflix - Television - YouTube
Nokia to shut down Ovi Files 'digital locker' service on October 1

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 2:15pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Nokia's cloud-based "digital locker" service Ovi Files will be shut down on October first, Nokia is warning users. The service was used for making files remotely accessible through a mobile device's browser.
Nokia added Files to the suite of Ovi services in 2008 after it acquired digital locker startup Avevenu. When we tested the service back in 2008, Nokia said it planned to make Files a premium service, but it was ultimately made free in 2009. Files was significant because it was the first service in Nokia's Ovi suite that utilized the Nokia account ID.
Because Files was a simple "mirror" service (i.e. files weren't re-located to the cloud, but instead just copied there) the discontinuation of the service will not affect users' files.
"You will still be able to share content between your phone and PC using another Nokia product, Nokia Ovi Suite," Nokia said to users today. "With Nokia Ovi Suite installed on your PC, you can do the following: sync your contacts and messages; transfer videos, photos, and music; back up your Nokia and update your device software. Please note that this is not a direct substitute for Ovi Files as Nokia Ovi Suite requires a wired connection between your PC and mobile device."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Nokia - Nokia Ovi Suite - Ovi - Betanews - Mobile phone
New iPods: Apple pulls buttons off the Nano and gives them back to the Shuffle

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 1:13pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

At Apple's annual iPod refresh event today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs revealed the "biggest change in the iPod lineup ever," which included dramatic changes to both the Nano and Shuffle which seem to reverse advancements made to the models last year.
Last year, Apple unveiled a shockingly small iPod shuffle which had no buttons. Instead, the controls for the device were put on the headphone cord, and required that users purchase an adaptor to use any headphones other than those made for the Shuffle. This year, Apple looks to have completely undone what was attempted with last year's Shuffle, and has brought back the design from the previous year which has the clickable control pad directly on the surface of the device.
This model adds a dedicated VoiceOver button, which activates the voice navigation system which recites artist names, song titles, playlists, and battery status in 25 different languages.
The 2GB iPod Shuffle costs $49 and comes in five colors.
Last year, Jobs called the iPod Nano "the most popular music player in the world," when he announced that the device would have a larger 2.2" screen, an onboard video camera, microphone and speaker, pedometer, FM radio, and voice recorder. But all of those features couldn't make the device as appealing as the iPod Touch with its robust app support and sophisticated gaming. The Nano was promptly overtaken in popularity by the iPod Touch, and sales of the device actually dropped.
This year, Apple has removed the clickwheel from the Nano and made it a simple clippable 1.54" square multitouch screen. The device retains its FM radio, Nike+ fitness mode, VoiceOver compatibility, and pedometer functionality, but, the video camera and voice recorder functionality championed in the last generation have been removed.
The iPod Nano comes in two capacities: 8GB for $149, and 16GB for $179.
Finally, the newest generation of iPod Touch has been brought up to speed with the iPhone 4, complete with its 1GHz A4 chip, the trademark 960 x 640 Retina Display, iOS 4.1, a three-axis gyroscope, a front- and rear-facing camera with support for FaceTime and HD video recording. While it is very similar to previous generations, the latest iPod Touch is only .28" thick.
The 2011 iPod Touch comes in three capacities: 8GB for $229, 32GB for $299, and 64GB for $399.
Though the iPod Classic was not mentioned in today's presentation, it has not been retired, as some had speculated. That particular iPod model remains unchanged.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - iPod Touch - IpodNano - Steve Jobs - iPod Classic

broadbandreports.com

MegaPath, Covad, Speakeasy Merger Closes - Megaspeakovad? Speak-o-path?

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 12:38pm MDT

Back in June Megapath, Covad and Speakeasy announced their plan to merge, a deal that would have been a revolution for residential broadband customers back in 2001. But in 2010, all three companies have turned a cold shoulder on the residential broadband market, and instead primarily focus on the small business market -- making the news less compelling for many users. Still, the newly fused company dropped us a line today to note they've completed their merger, creating a "next generation Managed Services Local Exchange Carrier (MSLEC)." Combined, the company (which will retain the Megapath brand) serves 85,000 business customers.
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BetaNews.Com

A look at new portable media players for Fall 2010 that aren't iPods

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 11:52am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Apple's annual iPod refresh has taken place in the first week of September for the last five years, and the event coincides with back-to-school Mac and iPod promotions. Since the iPod has held a dominant share of the United States' portable media player (PMP) market, this is often the time of year when other consumer electronics companies debut new PMPs for the back-to-school season too.
This year, in the days surrounding Apple's September 1 event, Sandisk, Phillips, Archos, and Samsung have all revealed new media players that will compete against the newly-refreshed 2010-2011 iPod line.
Sandisk Sansa Fuze+
Milpitas, California-based flash memory giant Sandisk is one of Apple's principal competitors in the sub-$100 media player space. On Tuesday, the company announced its updated Sansa Fuze+ media player which strikes at Apple's new Nano and undercuts it by just about $60. This year's model replaces the Fuze's clickwheel with a capacitive touch panel, and eliminates the proprietary dock connector in favor of a MicroUSB port. It is available in various colors and capacities: the 4GB model costs $79, 8GB costs $89, and 16GB costs $119.As usual, they all come equipped with MicroSD slots for Sandisk's storage and slotRadio cards.
Archos 28IT, 32IT, and 43IT
Archos is charging ahead with a full line of Android-powered devices this fall. Because all of the devices are equipped with 802.11b/g/n, Archos classes them as "Internet tablets." The 28IT has a 2.8" touchscreen, a 600MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor and 4GB of storage, it will be available in September starting at $99. The 32IT has a 3.2" touchscreen, an 800MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor and 8GB of storage, it also has a video camera and will launch in mid-September for $149. The 43IT has a 4.3" resistive touchscreen, a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 8GB of storage, an HD video camera, Micro SD slot and HDMI output. The Archos 43IT will launch in October for $279. All of the devices will ship with FroYo, the most current version of the Android operating system.
Phillips GoGear Connect
Archos isn't the only company aligning with Android in its line of media players. At IFA in Berlin, Phillips announced its 3.2" touchscreen GoGear Connect Mp4 player will ship with "the full Android experience" at the end of October in the US, Western Europe and China. In addition to offering Wi-fi connectivity, a video and still camera, and sound isolation headphones, Phillips bundles the experience with the powerful Songbird desktop media manager software.
Samsung YP-Q3 and YP-U6
Samsung has added two new media players to its long list of devices, the YP-Q3 and YP-U6, which it will also be showing off at IFA in Berlin this week. Samsung has only revealed a little bit about these devices so far, but more info is coming. The YP-Q3 supports 5.1 channel audio output and a battery that promises 45 hours of continuous music playback thanks to the SoundAlive sound processing technology. The YP-U6 is designed for workout use and includes "fitness mode" with a calorimeter and voice feedback. It promises to have a 20 hour battery life.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Sandisk - Apple - IPod - MicroSD - Portable media player
Microsoft's flexible Arc Touch Mouse goes up for pre-order

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 9:59am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Microsoft Wednesday announced the availability of its Arc Touch mouse, a brilliantly designed mouse that can be flattened to fit into a laptop bag. The peripheral uses a capacitive touch panel in place of a scroll wheel, and provides haptic feedback that simulates the gentle ratcheting action of a traditional scroll wheel.
In light of the recent popularity of touchscreens and trackpads, Microsoft wanted to make it clear today that the mouse is far from dead.
"This is not the first time that the mouse has been threatened, look at 10 years ago when people started buying laptops that had integrated pointers and touch pads. Still, the mouse category continued to grow and grow," Brett Ostrum, general manager for the Hardware Group at Microsoft said. "The reasons people need external mice will not change: comfort and precision. The Arc Touch Mouse just demonstrates again how committed Microsoft is to continuing to bring great new mice to consumers."
The Arc Touch Mouse is powered by two AAA batteries and carries a suggested retail price of $69.95. It can be pre-ordered today on Amazon.com, BestBuy.com and Buy.com. Microsoft says it will ship in early December and will be available in retail stores in January 2011.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Microsoft - Arc Touch Mouse - Mouse - Amazon.com - ArcTouch

broadbandreports.com

AT&T U-Verse Pulls Plug On Hallmark Channel - Insists they're fighting for the little guy...

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 9:22am MDT

In the latest in what seems like an endless line of carriage fee disputes, AT&T overnight pulled the plug on the Hallmark Channel and the Hallmark Movie Channel after negotiations between AT&T and Hallmark broke down. AT&T has issued a press release insisting that U-Verse users "have been denied a fair deal." As with Time Warner Cable's noisy disputes with several broadcasters, AT&T's running a new PR campaign that tries to put the consumer right in the middle of the dispute as a negotiation tactic. However, as we've noted repeatedly, TV rates go up no matter which side "wins" in these retransmission disputes. The only real loser winds up being the consumer, who gets higher rates and service interruption, while being jerked around by frequently misleading ad campaigns.
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T-Mobile May Get Stake In Clearwire - Though some Sprint board members oppose making T-Mobile stronger

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 7:19am MDT

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Sprint is seriously considering letting T-Mobile have a stake in the Clearwire joint venture, a move that would infuse the effort with needed cash -- while giving T-Mobile a 4G upgrade path once beyond their aggressive HSPA+ upgrade ambitions. The deal isn't a given, with the Journal claiming that some Sprint board members are "adamantly opposed to the idea," largely due to competitive concerns:Some Sprint directors are fighting hard against a T-Mobile USA investment in Clearwire, one person familiar with the matter said. Giving T-Mobile a big Clearwire stake means "making a competitor stronger in an area of competitive advantage" for Sprint, this person said. Directors "are still struggling" with choosing their Clearwire investment strategy and haven't set a deadline for a decision, another person familiar with the matter said. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has yet to endorse a particular approach, people familiar with the matter said.Of course if Sprint doesn't partner with T-Mobile, T-Mobile may decide to partner with Harbinger Capital Partners, who is building a new wholesale LTE network of their own named "Lightsquared."
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T-Mobile HSPA+ Upgrades Keep On Rolling - Boston, Topeka, Miami, Richmond...

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 6:42am MDT

T-Mobile continues their HSPA+ upgrades, which offer T-Mobile users speeds around 10 Mbps downstream. The company announced this week that they're launching the service in nine new cities, including Boston; Erie, Pennsylvania; Fresno, California; Palm Springs, California; San Diego; Miami; Richmond, Virginia; Spokane, Washington; and Topeka, Kansas. With those launches, the T-Mobile HSPA+ upgrades will cover 55 major markets and approximately 100 million people. T-Mobile says they'll be offering the service to an additional 100 million people by the end of the year. You can see T-Mobile's full HSPA+ coverage map here.
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More Closed Door Neutrality Deals Struck - Without pesky public input into the process

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 6:32am MDT

We've already seen how the Goorizon deal is little more than an empty shell, solely designed to keep tougher consumer protections away from wireless networks, while leaving plenty of loopholes open for anti-competitive behavior over wired networks. Now a group of companies including Microsoft, the NCTA, Verizon, AT&T and Skype have "reached an agreement" on network neutrality behind closed doors, with no public, government, or objective expert input. As Mike Masnick at Techdirt notes, such a deal is a blend of hubris and pointlessness:I'm still at a loss as to how this actually matters. The companies can agree to whatever they want, and none of it makes a difference if Congress acts (or the courts say that the FCC is allowed to act). I guess the idea is to think that an "industry agreement" will stave off legislation, which perhaps might work for some time, but still reeks of collusion without consumer input or review.Again, the hope is that by proposing a set of weak, voluntary principles (this one also doesn't address wireless), weak regulators will buckle and avoid imposing tougher consumer protections -- something that frequently works in a country where a responsible regulatory presence is considered on par with puppy torture. While it's certainly not a given for an FCC that's often intimidated by such massive companies, it's not clear it's going to work in this instance, since the FCC truly wants neutrality rules that cover wireless -- and they're fairly set on their plan to partially reclassify ISPs under Title 2 of the Communications Act.
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Aircell Offers Broadband On 1,000 Planes - A Delta Air Lines DC-9 from Detroit...

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 6:19am MDT

The majority of this country's belated in-flight broadband service is now being provided by a company named Aircell. Aircell offers the service via the GoGo brand, which charges flyers $7.95 for smart phone access on flights of any length, $4.95 for flights 1.5 hours or less, $9.95 for flights between 1.5 and 3 hours, $12.95 on flights of more than three hours, or a $34.95 monthly auto-renewing unlimited access plan. Yesterday Aircell announced that they've now wired 1,000 planes with the EVDO-fueled service. Of course companies are still struggling with pricing models and finding users actually willing to pay for Wi-Fi, even at 30,000 feet.
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Wednesday Morning Links -

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 5:24am MDT

Why Offer A Lifetime Price Guarantee? cable360.net
Wireless service plans tailored on subscribers, not on devices fiercebroadbandwireless.com
Companies Reach 'Deal' On Net Neutrality... But What Does That Mean? techdirt.com
AT&T, Free Press Trade Punches Over Paid Priority multichannel.com
No speed limits for international broadband providers fiercecable.com
Comcast Launches 4G Version of High-Speed 2go Wireless Data Service in Boston Area prnewswire.com
Evolving Wireless Technology Drives Growth in the Test Services Market cellular-news.com
Scottish school forswears books, pencils, pens, and paper; will now educate its students solely via Apple iPad theregister.co.uk
Netgear delivers first PowerLine Wireless N Extender ubergizmo.com
iPhone 4.1 soon? Apple to fix antenna problems, blabs exec. computerworld.com
Tuesday Evening Links -

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 6:01pm MDT

US Commerce Secretary Sides With RIAA: Warns ISPs To Become Entertainment Industry Cops techdirt.com
Hypocrisy in the Name of the "Public Interest" huffingtonpost.com
Industry Minds Appear To Be Meeting Over Net Neutrality multichannel.com
Telstra launches world s fastest mobile broadband service rcrwireless.com
Canada telcos told to add rural broadband, pay rebate yahoo.com
Minneapolis may get new wireless broadband player Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
T-Mobile USA Promises 42-Mbit/s 3G in 2011 lightreading.com
Sprint expands Common Cents Mobile at Wal-Mart fiercewireless.com
Motorola Upgrades Software To Manage 'Multiscreen' Home multichannel.com
Game-addicted man scores rare win over software lawyers theregister.co.uk
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FCC Nearing Vote On White Space Broadband? - Years later and not a whole lot to show for it...

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 4:53pm MDT

"White space" broadband technology could use unlicensed and partially vacated spectrum created by the shift to digital television to create a new wireless broadband delivery system. You'll recall that in 2008 the National Association of Broadcasters was busy bickering with the companies pushing white space usage (Dell, Google, Microsoft), and the FCC began fielding comments on possible rules for the technology. According to the Wall Street Journal, the FCC may vote on final white space rules at their upcoming September meeting, though the agency has a mountain of unresolved issues already on their plate.
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Rover: Clearwire's New Prepaid Broadband Brand - Roll over. Fetch. Lure the 18-24 demographic. Good boy.

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 2:14pm MDT

As we predicted, Clearwire's surprise announcement this week was a new prepaid wireless broadband product offering under the umbrella of a new brand. That new branding is "Rover," and appears aimed at a younger target market that loves blue hues and sexual puns. As for the pricing? Rover offers users $5 daily, $20 weekly, and $50 monthly prepaid service without a contract, though you'll need to either buy the company's $100 4G USB modem "Stick," or their $150 mobile 4G hotspot "Puck":Rover's flagship device is the Rover Puck: an ergonomically designed portable Wi-Fi hotspot that lets you share broadband access, or "Puck", with up to eight devices at home, out on the town or nearly anywhere the feeling strikes you. . .The Rover Stick(TM) is a personal 4G USB modem that connects any notebook, laptop or desktop to the Rover 4G Service.You'll of course want to check out Clearwire's coverage map before you go "pucking" around in markets where Clearwire doesn't have coverage yet. Clearwire/Rover/CLEAR 4G service is currently available in 49 markets across the United States, with the largest markets like New York, Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco slated for launch before the end of the year.

Note that this is an unlimited service with no caps, though the Rover Acceptable Use Policy notes, the company will throttle users that engage in "excessive utilization of network resources" -- though what is considered "excessive" is not defined.
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BetaNews.Com

Borders offers cheapest, most diverse e-reader selection among booksellers

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 1:40pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Contrary to popular opinion, the competition between e-reader hardware manufacturers is nothing compared to the competition between e-book retailers. Tuesday, second place book retailer Borders revised its aggressive strategy for e-reader sales, slashing the price of its two e-ink readers before the arrival of its Android-based tablet readers from Velocity Micro.
In June, Borders unveiled its $149.99 Kobo e-reader, which was met with considerable consumer interest due in large part to its low retail price. After Kobo's launch, both Barnes and Noble and Amazon reduced the prices of their respective e-readers from $259.00 down to $149.99.
Amazon then launched a newer, more feature-rich Kindle 3 with models costing $139 and $185, which began shipping not even three days ago.
Borders has again pulled the trigger on a price reduction.
Now, the Kobo is $129.99 and the Aluratek Libre eBook Pro is only $99.99, and they're both available immediately. Furthermore, Borders will soon be launching two full-color, Android-based devices from Velocity Micro. The Cruz Reader R101 and Cruz Tablet T103 are both available for Pre-order on Borders' website, but won't ship until late September/early October.
In July, Borders said it expected its branded e-bookstore to grab 17% of the e-book market by 2011. Like its competitor Barnes and Noble, which has placed immense Nook displays right in front of the entrance to a number of stores, Borders expects to have its e-reader section in a majority of its stores by next month.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Barnes Noble - E-book - Borders - Velocity Micro - nook

broadbandreports.com

Lightsquared LTE Deployment Schedule Leaked - 20 cities by 2012, including NYC, LA and San Fran

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 12:11pm MDT

As we mentioned in March, Harbinger Capital Partners owns a satellite subsidiary by the name of SkyTerra -- who just so happens to have the spectrum necessary to build a national LTE network. The network, now officially named "Lightsquared," won't begin construction until December. Bloomberg has unearthed some inside information on the project's planned launch:The closely held venture, backed by Falcone s Harbinger Capital Partners hedge fund, will extend its network to Dallas, Chicago and Minneapolis in 2011, according to documents sent to potential partners. The company s network may grow to 20 cities in 2012, including New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.Back in July it was revealed that Nokia had won the $7 billion contract to build the LTE network. Harbinger wants to go wholesale, proposing conditions to the FCC that would prevent AT&T or Verizon from using the new company's spectrum without FCC approval, or consuming more than 25% of the new network's total traffic. AT&T, of course, isn't a fan of that idea.
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BetaNews.Com

Google introduces Gmail Priority Inbox beta for intelligent message filtering

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 10:21am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Google continued its reinvention of the Gmail inbox Tuesday with the introduction of Priority Inbox Beta, a new mail filtering system that prioritizes emails based upon the user's viewing and responding habits.
The feature will be rolled out incrementally to Gmail users over the next week, and will break up inboxes into three categories: Important and Unread emails, Starred conversations, and "everything else." Incoming messages will automatically be routed into one of these three categories, which Gmail determines by user trends. For example, if a particular contact is someone frequently exchanging emails with the user, their incoming messages will be ranked as more important than someone else's. Similarly, messages that users actually opened instead of skipped, deleted or "marked as read" from certain senders will be considered higher priority.
Like song suggestions from music service Pandora, an email's priority can be upranked or downranked with the click of a button; and users can set up filters to always mark certain messages as important, even if they have never received a message from them before. This means users who receive tons of email can be sure that a new important message will rise to the top, especially handy for new contacts, job interviews, or support tickets.
"We've evolved Gmail's filter to address this problem and extended it to not only classify outright spam, but also to help users separate this 'bologna' from the important stuff," Google software engineer Doug Aberdeen said on Tuesday. "In a way, Priority Inbox is like your personal assistant, helping you focus on the messages that matter without requiring you to set up complex rules."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Google - Gmail - Mail - Personal assistant - E-mail spam

broadbandreports.com

Canada Embraces Open Access - Independent ISPs get access to faster incumbent networks

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 10:02am MDT

Canadian regulatory authority the CRTC hasn't exactly been a friend to Canada's smaller, independent ISPs over the last few years. As such, it's interesting to see users in our Canadian forums direct our attention to the fact that the CRTC has ruled in favor of small operators, and is forcing larger carriers to offer wholesale access to services at the same speeds they themselves offer. As the CBC notes, the ruling reinforces a 2008 ruling Canada's incumbents had been lobbying to derail. Popular independent Candian ISP TekSavvy issued this statement (pdf):"This decision ensures that competitors of the incumbent telephone and cable companies obtain access to the same speeds that the telephone and cable companies provide to their own retail customers. It also removes some important shortcomings in the high-speed wholesale services known as Third Party Internet Access ("TPIA") required by competitors.Like here in the States, smaller independent ISPs weren't being allowed access to faster fiber-based networks, meaning they had to offer slower service via DSL. Now, carriers are being told to share their networks at a 10% markup over cost. Here in the States incumbent carriers have lobbied and threatened regulators away from the concept, but studies have shown that countries with "open access" regulatory policies do ultimately see more competition -- and as a result, lower prices. Of course the CRTC still has to enforce this policy.
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BetaNews.Com

'Boxee Killer' Plex/Nine media center released, adds iOS app

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 9:31am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Early Tuesday morning, a new version of Mac OS X-based media center software Plex was released, called Plex/Nine, and with it came a new app for iOS.
Plex is a fork of open source media center software XBMC, which has recently risen to prominence for being the software that powers Boxee and the forthcoming D-Link Boxee Box. It organizes multimedia content on a local media server, adds online content from more than 150 video and entertainment sites, and makes it available on client devices in the home network.
One of the most appealing aspects of Plex is its attractive user interface, which displays artwork and relevant information about your content without having to add it yourself.
With the new iOS app, users with the Plex Media Server installed on their OS X machine can then watch videos, access their music library, and control their Plex media manager with their iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad.
Elan Feingold, lead developer and creator of Plex said, "Is it perfect? No. Is it bug free? Absolutely not. But it's a giant step in the right direction, and it makes us very happy to be able to share it with you. We're over the snowy pass, and heading down into a lush valley, where great things await."
Plex/Nine (0.9.0.21) for OS X is available for free on the Plex website, and the mobile app is available today in the iTunes app store for $4.99.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Mac OS X - iPod Touch - Mac OS - Plex - Open source

broadbandreports.com

Verizon 15 Mbps Could Be 'Last Copper Upgrade' - Notes FTTH upgrade still makes more financial sense than VDSL

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 7:29am MDT

Yesterday we reported Verizon is now offering 15 Mbps ADS2+ service to about 4 million of their DSL customers. The new 15/1 Mbps tier costs $50 for users who bundle Verizon voice service, or $60 standalone. Light Reading's Carol Wilson offers additional technical detail, including the fact the faster speeds are being offered at customer central offices already equipped with Alcatel-Lucent or Adtran ATM Subscriber Access Multiplexers that can support ADSL 2+. Verizon's John Schommer puts it rather bluntly:"If we knew we had the proper type of equipment to support higher speeds, we turned it up," Schommer says. "Through the end of the year, we are investing a little bit in some preferred locations. But compared to the investment in FiOS, this is a very small amount of money being spent on DSL." This could be the last copper upgrade, unless something new comes along, he adds. "You never say never," Schommer says. "Every time before, when we thought we were at the end of the road, we found something else."It's not entirely clear where Verizon plans to go from here. The company says they won't be upgrading these users to VDSL, because the costs of building out fiber nodes closer to the customer "aren't favorable versus a complete fiber build." That of course is in contrast to the position held by AT&T, who recently insisted they still believe their decision to nurse copper and use more bandwidth-constrained VDSL was the more prudent option.

Meanwhile, Verizon's stated "complete fiber build" has been put on hold with the exception of large cities locked into franchise agreements (NYC, Pittsburgh, DC) with no statement from Verizon on when they'll be restarted.
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Tuesday Morning Links -

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 6:55am MDT

Canada allows 10% mark-up on wholesale fibre services telecompaper.com
Why the FCC can't do its job on broadband access washingtonpost.com
Gogo Inflight Internet Reaches 1,000 Aircraft; Offering Wi-Fi to Millions of Travelers Every Week prnewswire.com
India, after giving BlackBerry a reprieve, eyeballs Google, Skype theregister.co.uk
Death, taxes, power, water ... and broadband? Poll says yes fiercecable.com
BT Passes 15 Million Broadband Milestone cbmagazine.co.uk
New Zealand's commerce commission wants to deregulate wholesale market fiercetelecom.com
Samsung ships 1 million Galaxy S smartphones in US totaltele.com
Motorola Droid X will soon receive upgrade to Android 2.2, but if you've installed a leaked upgrade you're not eligible for official Android upgrades infosyncworld.com
MS hits refresh on Windows 7 SP1 for select few theregister.co.uk
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Hulu Well Aware Hulu Plus Is Underwhelming - Insists ads are necessary to lower subscription cost...

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 6:41am MDT

The other day we directed your attention to a new study that found that Hulu Plus really wasn't worth the $10 a month (yet), given that 88% of the content available on the subscription service was already available for free. Responding to a complaining Hulu Plus user, Hulu seems well aware that the Hulu Plus value proposition is underwhelming, and insists they're working on it. Hulu explains that licensing restrictions are part of the problem, and justifies the inclusion of ads in a subscription service in order to "reduce the monthly subscription price of the service." Of course if most of Hulu Plus content is already available for free, there shouldn't be much additional incurred cost there to reduce.

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Cisco Rumored To Be Buying Skype - Before Skype's planned $100 million IPO

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 6:40am MDT

After somewhat untangling itself from eBay's grasp last fall, Skype is now poised to go public, with an estimated $100 million IPO now in the works (their registration statement with the SEC is here). However, Techcrunch is floating a rumor that Cisco may try to buy Skype before the company's IPO can take place, with an initial valuation of around $5 billion or so. Investors Place dissects the financials of a possible Skype acquisition by Cisco, thinks $5 billion is too high. and suggests competitors may want to get a move on under pressure from Skype/Google (Yahoo for instance buying VocalTech, and AT&T/Verizon cooking up a PC phone service of their own).
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Monday Evening Links -

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 5:03pm MDT

India Delays BlackBerry Ban for 60 Days pcmag.com
WiMAX evangelist Intel to embrace LTE fiercebroadbandwireless.com
FTC drops LimeWire ID theft investigation reuters.com
Surprise! Community Wi-Fi Models Inexpensive Alternative To Cable Broadband informationweek.com
MetroPCS Launching LTE In Dallas, Las Vegas informationweek.com
Another (Small) ISP Fighting US Copyright Group Subpoenas; Why Aren't More ISPs Protecting Your Privacy? techdirt.com
Technology Aside, Most People Still Decline to Be Located nytimes.com
Will satellite broadband crash as part of NBN? businessspectator.com.au
Frontier Announces Ohio Broadband Commitment And Capital Investment Plan thestreet.com
Apple QuickTime backdoor creates code-execution peril theregister.co.uk
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Verizon Bumps Max DSL Speeds To 15 Mbps - 10-15 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up for $60 standalone, $50 voice bundled

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 3:29pm MDT

After coming off of their worst quarter for DSL losses ever, Verizon last week started offering a new bundle targeting users that are still on dial-up. This week the company announced a significantly more compelling shift for their DSL business: they're now offering users within range a new speed tier that clocks in between 10 and 15 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. Verizon tells Broadband Reports this is ADSL2+, and the service requires that users be at most 7,000 feet from the central office.

"The distance to get these speeds maxes out at about 7,000 feet," Verizon's Kevin Laverty tells us. According to Laverty, the new tier is available to about 4 million Verizon DSL subscribers. "We've invested tens of millions to upgrade central offices where ADSL 2 is currently available and expect to add more in the months ahead," he says. "Nationwide locations run the gamut from Barstow, CA in California's Mojave Desert to Lynchburg, VA."

Of course Verizon's "rewarding" those who bundle (or punishing those who don't, depending on your point of view), charging $50 a month for users that have Verizon phone service, or $60 for those without. The new tier isn't available yet on Verizon's website, but you'll notice that in response to recent FCC criticisms, Verizon has eliminated the "up to" marketing term, and instead is giving a general range of downstream speeds you can expect.

Verizon hopes that these faster speeds will keep customers in legacy DSL markets from defecting to faster cable speeds and VoIP triple play bundles. Of course this 10-15 Mbps upgrade comes too late for the millions of DSL customers in fourteen states that Verizon just offloaded to Frontier Communications.
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BetaNews.Com

Jobs Lied: Apple not fixing iPhone 4 proximity sensor bug in iOS 4.1

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 2:49pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Poor reception and easily disrupted wireless signals are not the only problem with Apple's iPhone 4, users have also complained of a bug in the smartphone's proximity sensor that caused the screen to flicker and accidentally registered screen touches.
"I am holding my phone in the exact same way I always did with my 3G, and it is right up against my face, but it continuously switches the screen on and off. I was just on a 10 minute call where mute was turned on 3 times and speaker once, all by my ear. " one user wrote in Apple's support forums in July. The Topic, "Issue with Proximity Sensor during calls." had nearly 1,700 replies.
When Apple CEO Steve Jobs gave an emergency press conference in July about the "Antennagate" issue, he also mentioned that the company was "tracking some problems with the proximity sensor" and that they were working on repairing it for the "next software update."
Since Jobs' presentation, there have been two incremental updates to iOS 4, but neither has fixed the problem with the proximity sensor.
There were rumors that iOS 4.1 would fix the issue, but on Friday, Apple Australia spokeswoman Fiona Martin told The Sydney Morning Herald that the problem had yet to be fixed.
iOS 4.1 has been in beta since July, and though users can only participate in the program on the condition of non-disclosure, a list of approximately a dozen improvements has been assembled from anonymous reports.
Thus far, there have been no reports of a fix to the proximity sensor bug, and the software update is expected within the next two weeks.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

IPhone - Steve Jobs - Apple - Smartphone - Apple Australia

broadbandreports.com

U.S. Consumers Continue To Hate Offshore Support - And it continues to erode customer satisfaction rankings

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 2:00pm MDT

While offshore support is less expensive, that cost savings continues to come at a significiant hit for customer satisfaction ratings, according to a new study by the CFI Group (pdf). According to CFI, call support satisfaction is only 58 out of 100 when the call is handled by an offshore agent, compared to 79 for U.S.-based agents. The study also found that U.S. support reps are 34% more likely to resolve the problem on the first call than those handled offshore. "If a customer hangs up mad, it isn't the agent they are going to blame, it s the company that put them in that position in order to save a buck by sending their call overseas," warns the study author.
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BetaNews.Com

Xbox Live Gold subscription price to rise for the first time

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 11:24am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

On November first, Xbox Live will get more expensive than it's ever been.
Since launching in 2002, Microsoft's Xbox Live subscription gaming service has retained the same price in the U.S.: $7.99 per month, $19.99 per 3 months, and $49.99 per year. Monday, Director of Programming for Xbox Live Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb announced a price increase coming to the service on November 1, 2010 which will raise it to $9.99 per month, $24.99 per 3 months, and $59.99 per year.
The subscription price will also be increased in Canada ($9.99CAD/mo), Mexico ($599MXN/mo), and The United Kingdom (£5.99/mo.)
Naturally, Hryb's announcement has been met with derision from many Xbox Live Gamers. Sony's PlayStation Network, though considered to be a less robust and useful environment for online gaming, has been free since its launch in 2006. In June, Sony introduced a premium tier to the service called PlayStation Plus, which costs $17.99 per 3 months or $49.99 per year.
"So what new features are you giving us to justify the $10 increase?" A user with the Gamertag ShaggyB asked. "Currently we pay $50 for the features we have to date, If you arent adding something totally new then how is this not just an increase to offset costs?"
Hryb did not announce the cause of the price increase, but there are a number of new features expected to come to Xbox Live before next year, including integration with Windows Phone 7, with voice and motion-based controls as the result of Kinect integration.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Microsoft - Xbox Live - Mexico - PlayStation Network - Larry Hryb

broadbandreports.com

Verizon Cooking Up 3G Femtocell - Hopefully it won't be as awful as the last one

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 11:07am MDT

We recently noted that Sprint is now giving subscribers new 3G-capable Airave femotocell devices, which allow users with poor cell coverage indoors to route calls over their home broadband connection. We've confirmed with Sprint that they are giving these units away to customers who call in to complain about coverage. Indications are that Verizon is busy working on their own upgraded femtocell unit with EVDO functionality. Verizon's first $250 femtocell was a fairly unimpressive offering, which ate user voice minutes (despite using the user's broadband connection) and suffered from the inability to prohibit other nearby wireless users from consumer the user's bandwidth. Sprint seems to understand that these devices need to offer the consumer value, while Verizon (and AT&T) appear to still be struggling with the concept.
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BetaNews.Com

DRM company acquires technology from music search engine killed by copyright suits

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 10:47am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Monday, Intertrust Technologies Corporation, a company with more than a hundred patents for various Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies, announced it has acquired all of SeeqPod's software and patents. The company went bankrupt after being sued by Warner Music Group in 2008.
SeeqPod was a music search engine that found, and let users listen to, songs in their entirety. The engine's algorithm set and technology reportedly were developed by biologists working at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to discover hidden relationships in genomic data. The technology identifies patterns in data that are distributed across the Internet. This included indexing and finding playable search results for audio, video, podcasts and text.
The search engine was sued in 2008 by Warner Music Group for copyright infringement, and subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009. The assets come to Intertrust via a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy proceeding.
"Intertrust plans to use SeeqPod's breakthrough technology in distributed search systems in a variety of applications and services for Internet television, targeted advertising, recommendation systems, electronic music distribution and healthcare information services," Dave Maher, executive vice president and chief technology officer for Intertrust said on Monday.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Digital Rights Management - Warner Music Group - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - SeeqPod - Web search engine
Intel acquires Infineon's wireless group for $1.4B, picks up 2G, 3G, LTE tech

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 8:56am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

The world's largest chipmaker, Intel Corp. announced Monday morning that it will be acquiring the Wireless Solutions (WLS) business from German semiconductor company Infineon Technologies AG for approximately $1.4 billion. Last year, the division held about 11% of the global cellular baseband market.
"The global demand for wireless solutions continues to grow at an extraordinary rate," Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO said in a statement today. "The acquisition of Infineon's WLS business strengthens the second pillar of our computing strategy - Internet connectivity - and enables us to offer a portfolio of products that covers the full range of wireless options from WiFi and 3G to WiMAX and LTE."
In July, Intel shut down its WiMAX Program office, and rumors arose that the company was backing off from supporting the WiMAX wireless standard in the face of rising support for LTE. Bill Kircos Director, Product and Technology Media Relations at Intel's Global Communications Group sought to quell such rumors, and said, "There has never been one single wireless standard out there, and WiMAX, LTE, 3G et al will all co-exist. And who knows, others will probably pop up, too, in the coming years. As we've said before, 4G WiMAX and LTE are very similar and Intel could support both technologies. Should LTE or other wireless technologies flourish, common sense says we'd be foolish to not ensure our ambitious Atom processor growth plans in cars, phones, netbooks, tablets, TVs etc. supported multiple wireless formats."
Infineon's wireless division, likewise, has products supporting both standards, including dual-band WiMAX, WLAN chips, and 2G/3G/LTE RF Transceivers. Intel says it will bring together its Wi-Fi and WiMAX offerings with WLS' leadership in 2G and 3G, and then take "a combined path to accelerate 4G LTE."
The cellular baseband market was led by Qualcomm and MediaTek, who held a combined 56% of the total revenue last year. But the market is changing shape as smartphones gradually replace the feature phones most consumers own.
Last week, Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technology analyst Sravan Kundojjala said, "A chip vendor's success in the smartphone world comes from scoring design wins at top-tier smartphone OEMs and supporting software platforms that have market momentum. This is one of the reasons why baseband vendors missed the smartphone boat as many of them were focusing on feature phone and basic phone segments. We think there is enough room for dynamism in the smartphone processor market as new entrants like Intel come into the value chain. If Intel acquires Infineon, as rumoured, that could put more pressure on standalone processor vendors, such as NVIDIA, that currently lack baseband products."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Wi-Fi - WiMAX - Intel - Intel Corporation - Infineon Technologies

broadbandreports.com

Clearwire Will Be Unveiling Prepaid Pricing Today - New prepaid brand, new mobile hotspot...

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 7:48am MDT

Last week Clearwire dropped a few cryptic hints that the company today would be announcing plans to "serve a new customer segment." As we noted at the time, it seemed likely that the company's secret was that they would be announcing new prepaid pricing options -- and that appears to be precisely the plan according to SEC filings. The announcement will come with a new brand for the prepaid service, all of which will be tied to a new small Mobile-WiMax to Wi-Fi portable router. You can of course keep your eye on Clearwire's website later today for specific pricing and additional details.
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DOJ Investigating Internet Video Antitrust Issues - Above and beyond Comcast/NBC impact on Hulu

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 7:30am MDT

While there's a lot of pretense from a few reporters and consumer advocates to the contrary, Comcast and NBC Universal's $30 billion deal to merge will see approval with minimal meaningful conditions. According to the Wall Street Journal however, a nine-month investigation into the deal by the DOJ's antitrust division has been exploring whether Comcast and other cable companies have been trying to lock up distribution rights to video licensing in order to keep Internet video competition at bay:During its eight-month review of the roughly $13.75 billion deal, the agency's antitrust division has become interested in finding out whether Comcast and other cable and satellite giants are trying to lock up distribution rights to television programming on the Internet, which would block potential competition, according to people familiar with the matter. . . .The people familiar with the matter have suggested that the agency will continue to investigate whether cable operators are acting to thwart emerging competition from the Web. If so, they could file a suit under Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which targets anticompetitive behavior by dominant companies.Granted, it's very likely that nothing whatsoever comes from this inquiry. For its part, Comcast has insisted that their ownership of Hulu isn't anything to worry about because the company would only have a minority, non-controlling interest in Hulu.
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Google Prepping Pay-Per-View Films - $5 per film, by the end of the year...

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 7:00am MDT

According to a report in the Financial Times (reg. required, visit CNET as an alternative), Google is working on a pay per view system that would allow users to stream films for about five dollars each. According to the Times, Google is currently in negotiations with Hollywood studios, and the service could go live before the end of the year. The service of course would compete with a similar service being developed by Apple. and would likely find some kind of integration with Google's looming Google TV platform, which is supposed to embed Google search functionality in a myriad of TVs and video devices made by companies like Sony and Logitech.
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Sorry Debunkers, Cord Cutters Are Very Real - They're just not being driven by Internet video yet...

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 6:42am MDT

The New York Times recently issued yet another story that aims to downplay the slow but steady rise of Internet video and "debunk" cord cutting, noting that 88% of those surveyed still pay for TV service. But while Internet video is certainly on a slow trajectory, it's silly to downplay the disruptive technology when nobody's really offered the perfect, inexpensive, and Luddite-proof broadband-driven living room solution yet. NewTeeVee notes that there is shift going on, illustrated by last quarter's cable subscriber losses:cable companies lost 711,000 subscribers, which represents the biggest quarterly loss in cable TV's history. Six out of eight cable TV operators also reported their worst subscriber losses ever last quarter. Telcos and satellite TV providers were able to pick up some of those customers, posting combined gains of 495,000 subscribers. That still leaves 216,000 subscribers who cut the cord entirely.Cord cutting is very real, though right now it's being driven primarily by the economy, not broadband video. What happens when Apple, Google, or an unknown upstart finally creates a broadband TV service that provides an inexpensive, simple, a la carte alternative to those annoying bi-annual cable rate hikes? Several studies have shown there's a very significant number of TV watchers who are prepared to make the leap.

TV operators seem prepared to do everything possible to prevent that -- except reduce prices. Lodged in a dance of death between investors who want continual returns, and broadcasters who demand ever-increasing programming fees, the cable TV industry will likely continue to raise prices even as these disruptive upstarts start to seriously nibble at subscriber totals over the next decade.
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Monday Morning Links -

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 5:17am MDT

Cisco May Be Making A Run For Skype Before IPO techcrunch.com
Senate To Sneak Through Internet Kill Switch Bill prisonplanet.com
Google in talks with major studios to rent movies via YouTube arstechnica.com
Is The US Caving On ACTA? Or Is It Just A Trick? techdirt.com
Australia Once Again Decides You Have No Freedom To Tinker With Your Gaming Console techdirt.com
Without fast broadband, towns and schools find selves withering chron.com
Intel s $1.4 billion Infineon mobile chips purchase: 2G, 3G, LTE & WiMAX gomonews.com
DoJ double eyes Google flight data play theregister.co.uk
Mysterious Verizon-bound HTC handset appears mysteriously on the internet engadget.com
Porn and pirates hide Android's money maker theregister.co.uk
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BetaNews.Com

Mobile phones in class: the next back to school accessory

Posted: August 28th, 2010, 12:57pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

As school districts across the country open their doors for the 2010-2011 school year, a remarkable shift in thought is taking place: cell phones, once regarded as distractions or liabilities are coming to be viewed as viable learning tools.
This fall, Wisconsin's Milwaukee Public School district will let students use their mobile phones in classrooms as long as it's for an approved educational purpose.
Contrast this new rule change with the newly-revised policy in Lynchburg, Virginia, which now lets students keep their mobile phones on them at all times, but only if they are not used during instructional time.
Prince Georges County, Maryland is taking a similar approach for the 2010-2011 school year. The county's policy says "students are permitted to use cell phones and PEDs only during certain times. The use...should not interfere with teaching and learning during the school day."
While school districts throughout the U.S. are tinkering with their policies to figure out how to best include cell phones, few are as forward-thinking as Milwaukee.
"When students are at home, they're using social networking tools like Facebook and sharing services like YouTube..but they step into a classroom, and they're stepping back into 1950," said Vikram Savkar, Senior Vice President and Publishing Director at Nature Publishing. "That will change over time, it's inevitable. I think the question is how to work mobile devices into teaching and then jump on the opportunity [to use them]."
Savkar and Nature Publishing are pushing a new model for learning and collaboration with Scitable, a free Web-learning portal that publishes peer-reviewed journals and scientific research for free, and lets students communicate with educators and researchers in "Web 2.0" fashion.
This week, Scitable launched a mobile version of its service, which is truly jumping on the opportunity Savkar mentioned.
"M-learning is not a replacement for e-learning," Savkar told Betanews. "It supplements it. Behavior on mobile devices won't be a 1:1 match with our behavior on the Web; our engagement with our tasks and workflow in the future --whether that's in education or any field, really-- will be split across many devices. I don't think that in the future a student will learn on just a PC or just a smartphone, the combined behavior will add up to the total experience."
The problem up to now has been that smartphones are a double-edged sword. Students can use them as scientific calculators, dictionaries, research tools, and even word processors or devices to assemble and conduct presentations. But on the downside, they can be a tool to cheat on tests, an expensive liability if stolen or broken, and generally, a tool to distract students from the learning they should be doing.
"I think that we'll come to accept that there are existential problems with mobile devices," Savkar said. "Any college professor knows that they will have students falling asleep in their classes. Maybe today, instead of students sleeping in class, they're texting. But in the end, the same percent of students will be engaged, and the same will be goofing off. I don't think phones will change the proportion. The split will stay the same. The engaged students will use their phones properly. Keeping phones out of your class because 20% may use them to goof off is a serious error."
When mobile phones are regarded as learning devices on campus, their purpose subtly changes when students go off campus. Education becomes available 24 hours a day. Though this sounds blissfully ideal, the teacher responsible for a large class full of students ceases to have time away from his pedagogical dais.
"Professors say they get hundreds and hundreds of emails from students every day, and at some point it becomes unmanageable. Faculty are looking for a way to streamline their communications with students so they can approach it in a more methodical way," Savkar said. "But when students turn to the Web for answers, I don't think they'll necessarily turn to their own instructor first."
This is one of the main benefits to a socially-enhanced learning site like Scitable. Rather than bog down their instructor with questions that may have already been answered in class, students can query other teachers who can answer it at any time.
"I think students are less afraid to pose 'dumb questions' to strangers," Savkar posited. "And less hesitant to post time-consuming questions to the masses. Teaching is irreplacable in creating the personalized learning experience; but questions are just widgets to the community. It's a new kind of questioning that isn't possible. You see a lot of Q&A sites out there...they're skimming at one level, but we're trying to bring researchers and scientists into the fold...the people you really have to ask for certain information."
As more school districts do as Milwaukee has done, and regard mobile phones as learning tools, it is critical to have high-quality material for those devices to access.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Education - Scitable - Mobile phone - Wisconsin - Vikram Savkar
HP's $2 billion bid leads 3PAR to terminate agreement with Dell

Posted: August 28th, 2010, 1:03am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Two weeks ago, Dell announced it would be acquiring virtualized storage company 3PAR for $1.5 billion. Dell's announcement, however, represented only a preliminary agreement between the companies, and HP wanted to acquire 3PAR as well.
Friday morning, just a matter of hours after 3PAR announced it had signed the second amendment to its merger agreement with Dell, competitor HP made its third bid for 3PAR, which upped the total value of the company to $2 billion.
In the late night hours Friday, 3PAR announced that its board of directors determined that offer to be superior, and that it would terminate the merger agreement it had with Dell as soon as it can.
3PAR says it has alerted Dell's board of directors of its intent to terminate the agreement in three business days "contemplated by, and the satisfaction of the other conditions set forth in, the merger agreement with Dell in order to enter into the merger agreement with HP on the terms set forth in HP's acquisition proposal."
However, 3PAR's board of directors must continue to recommend that its stockholders accept Dell's cash tender offer, and tender their 3PAR shares pursuant to Dell's tender offer, so long as the merger agreement with Dell remains in effect.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Dell - Hewlett-Packard - Business - Company - Tender offer

broadbandreports.com

Friday Evening Links -

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 5:07pm MDT

Is Harbinger's $3B bet on LightSquared scaring investors? fiercewireless.com
Virginia Repairs SAN Failure That Caused Statewide Outage informationweek.com
USDA Responds to Bloomberg Story "Broadband Trumps Farmer Payments in Rural Aid" usda.gov
ISPs - beware of paranoid bloggers theregister.co.uk
RCN officially under new management fiercecable.com
Gmail Phone Calls Are All About Facebook, Not Skype wired.com
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sues Apple, Google, Facebook, AOL, eBay, Netflix, Yahoo!, YouTube over patents engadget.com
Verizon Rolls Out Android 2.2 to Droid Incredible yahoo.com
Kaspersky Lab spots new breed of IM worm v3.co.uk
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Weekend Open Thread - Speak your mind...

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 4:28pm MDT

The weekend is here. Drop your thoughts in our comment section below.
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BetaNews.Com

Paul Allen sues Apple, Google, nine others over patent infringement

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 3:15pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Microsoft co-founder and former executive Paul Allen filed a suit against 11 tech companies on Friday, accusing them of infringement over patents he acquired from the now defunct Internal Research. While Allen had invested in the company, he never participated in the development of the patented technologies.
When Internal Research closed its doors in 2000, the rights to the patents were transferred to Interval Licensing, a company Allen owns. The technologies cover four patents -- the most notable being the 6,263,507 and 6,757,682 patents -- relating to various web technologies. The companies named in the lawsuit are AOL, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo and Google's YouTube.
Allen founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, and left the company in 1983 after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease. He helped found Internal Research in 1992, and ended up investing about $100 million of his own personal fortune in the firm's work.
The '507 patent is titled "Browser for use in navigating a body of information, with particular application to browsing information represented by audiovisual data," and appears to cover visual methods for accessing news content. All defendants save for Facebook are accused of violating this patent.
The '682 patent -- which all defendants are accused of infringing -- is titled "Alerting users to items of current interest." This patent describes a method for alerting users in real time of items that they may be interested in.
Two other patents named in the complaint cover "attention managers" which serve to get the attention of the user on a display device.
A spokesperson for Mr. Allen, David Postman, told PC Magazine Friday that "the technologies in the patents are fundamental to the ways that leading e-commerce and search companies operate today." The suit asks for an unspecified amount in compensatory damages.
AOL, Apple, Google and Yahoo are charged with four counts of patent infringement, and all other companies save Facebook accused of two counts. Allen's company has charged Facebook with a single count of patent infringement.
Both Google and Facebook have said Allen's suit is without merit. The remaining nine companies have so far not publicly commented on the suit. Several have policies of not commenting on current litigation, such as Apple.
In filing the suit, Allen's Interval Licensing becomes the latest patent-holding company to create problems for the technology sector. The most notable example of this was NTP in 2006, who successfully settled with BlackBerry maker RIM for $612.5 million.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Facebook - Apple - Microsoft - YouTube - Google
Windows Live Sync to become Windows Live Mesh after beta

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 2:18pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Microsoft's two sync offerings --Windows Live Sync and Windows Live Mesh-- were combined into a single program called Windows Live Sync beta for the beta of Windows Live Essentials. Today, Microsoft announced it's reversing that decision, and the combined program will be called Windows Live Mesh after the beta expires.
The decision to change the name was made because Microsoft felt that since the new program will do more than just sync files, it should have a name that reflects what it does.
Fortunately, it is more than just a name change, and some improved features will be added to Live Mesh once the Windows Live Essentials 2011 beta is complete.
Allison O'Mahony, Principal Program Manager Lead, Devices & Roaming at Microsoft listed a few noteworthy additions to the service Friday.
First, users will be able to sync hidden files, and keep track of files missing between synced devices. Secondly, Cloud storage will be bumped up from 2GB to 5GB. This storage is completely separate from SkyDrive and Live Hotmail storage, but O'Mahony said the team will consider ways to improve communication between these different services in the future.
Finally, the application's load time has been cut in half, CPU consumption at idle has been cut down by 30%, and syncing large quantities of folders and syncing across multiple devices is faster.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Microsoft - Live Mesh - Windows Live Sync - Windows Live Essentials - Windows Live Mesh

broadbandreports.com

Dish Network Launches Their Broadband Video Alternative - 150,000 clips, movies and shows via their version of 'TV Everywhere'

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 1:50pm MDT

Like their cable and telcoTV competitors, Dish Network is hoping that by offering a limited selection of paywalled broadband video content to paying customers, they can prevent customers from cutting the cord and going with Internet video alternatives. Dish this week launched their version of "TV Everywhere", which the company says will include 150,000 video clips, full-length episodes and movies made available via broadband through DishOnline.com. Currently there's no ads, but the company tells Multichannel News that "someday we'll look into that."
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BetaNews.Com

Where have all the PC sales gone?

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 1:17pm MDT by Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

It's the question to ask now that Intel has issued a third-quarter profit warning. Right, this is the same company that reported its "best quarter ever" just last month. Strong PC sales mean more chip sales for Intel, and second quarter was scrumptious-delicious. PC shipments rose 21 percent year over year, according to Gartner, beating estimates. Apple and Microsoft had record quarters, too. Everybody swayed in the mosh pit of love, singing praises to a PC market recovered from recession.
Today, Intel sang a different tune, cutting its revenue estimate to $11 billion from a previously forecast range of $11.2 billion to 12 billion. "Revenue is being affected by weaker than expected demand for consumer PCs in mature markets," according to the press release. Yeah, Happy Friday to you, too, Bud.
As if there isn't already enough bad economic news. The last week has been full of it. This morning, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed that second-quarter GDP was a tepid 1.6 percent rather than the previous 2.4 percent estimate. Days ago, two different housing reports -- from National Association of Realtors and US Commerce Dept. -- revealed record housing sales declines. NAR put housing sales down more than 25 percent in July year over year. Commerce Dept. reported new home sales declined more than 32 percent in the same time period.
All signs point to double-dip recession in the making and slowing consumer spending, which drives between 60 percent and 70 percent of the US economy. These sully indicators have sent stock markets swinging high and low, like the amusement park ride from Hell. It's puke or pee time, baby.
Still, grim news doesn't mean the grim reaper is coming. Yet. Intel's profit warning doesn't have to mean doom for Apple, Dell, HP, Microsoft or many other companies adjoined to PCs. Much depends on the reasons for Intel's problems. Second quarter tends to be slowest for PC sales, which makes Intel's record results somewhat surprising. By comparison, Q3 is one of the two best quarters for PCs sales because of back-to-school buying. These PC sales are more typically consumer driven, although there still is much institutional buying, too.
I have to ask: What? Are Freshman going to college without new laptops this year? Are the European and US economies really so bad that moms and pops can't pony up for a shiny, new back-to-school PC? If that hard-to-believe scenario is true, it can't be good for Microsoft attaching Office to new computer sales.
So, why then is Intel reporting slowing sales during a quarter that should otherwise be strong? It's easy to blame the economy, eroding consumer sentiment and spending, high unemployment and shrinking school budgets (Hey, tax base is lower because of unemployment and other economic maladies). But there are other factors that shouldn't be ignored (but probably will be in many simplified analyses). Three factors stand out, and two derive from economic conditions:
1. Rising PC inventories. There is a revealing "tell" in Intel's press release: "Inventories across the supply chain appear to be in-line with the company's revised expectations." The key word is "revised." Gartner, like rival IDC, measures PC shipments going into the channel, not sales out to customers. Strong Q2 shipments would be good for Intel chip sales but are no guarantee they would continue to be strong. If retailers and dealers don't sell enough PCs in stock, OEMs like Dell and HP won't ship as many more, meaning they also won't place as many chip and other component orders from Intel.
Should rising PC inventories be a factor, it foreshadows trouble for other component manufacturers and software developers that ship software on new PCs. For example, Microsoft could see a slowdown in Windows 7 OEM license sales and for Office 2010, which consumer sales already were slower than anticipated.
2. iPad sales. Every tablet that Apple ships is a computer without an Intel microprocessor. It's Apple A4, baby. Apple shipped more than 3.2 million iPads during Q2. I've seen Wall Street analyst estimates ranging from about 4 million to 6 million units for third quarter. Apple's tablet is the cheapest Mac anyone can buy and it's familiar to the iPod touch generation of incoming college Freshman or 11th and 12th grade high schoolers. Then there are the people who choose iPad as an adjunct to an aging PC, rather than buying a new computer.
By the gross numbers, iPad shipments pale before PCs. Globally, vendors shipped 82.7 million PCs during Q2, according to Gartner. However it's not how many but to whom that matters. Right now, Apple is selling iPad mostly in mature markets, which Intel explicitly identified as being slower for PCs than anticipated. Could it be that iPad is cannibalizing PC sales? There has been much debate about iPad impact on computer sales, with some Wall Street analysts indicating such a scenario is unfolding. In that circumstance, Intel is more casualty than, say, Dell or HP. Because every iPad sale is a computing device without an Intel processor -- and coming from Apple, which otherwise buys Intel chips for Macs.
3. Smartphone sales. I'm surprised no one is really asking whether or not smartphones are cannibalizing PC sales. For smartphones, Gartner does measure sales to end users rather than shipments into the channel. During Q2, smartphones accounted for 19 percent of worldwide handset sales, rising 50.5 percent year over year to 61.6 million units. Consumers have many more smartphones to choose from in 2010, and prices are declining, particularly as more Android models come to market.
How many Millennials do you know that eat, drink and sleep with their cell phones? Surely a smartphone wouldn't replace a PC, but a new model costing less than a laptop could be the choice in an either-or purchase decision; the student makes do with an older computer or shares with a roomie. Meanwhile, adult consumers looking for a connected computing device could easily put off new PC purchases for a smartphone as companion to the aging computing clunker. The scenario would more likely hurt Intel than PC manufacturers, since most smartphones ship with chips from competitors and some OEMs now sell handsets.
Bottom line: Intel's profit warning is disturbing and foreshadowing but not necessarily disastrous for the entire PC sector -- nor the larger US economy. That said, no one should dismiss as frivolous Intel warning just as schools resume across the country. Will the PC sector get a failing grade for the quarter? I sure hope not.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - Intel - Dell - Microsoft - Intel Corporation

broadbandreports.com

88% Of Hulu Plus Content Already Available For Free - $10 doesn't really net you all that much. Yet.

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 11:55am MDT

Back in June Hulu announced Hulu Plus, a $10 a month broadband video subscription service that is supposed to allow users to access entire back catalogs of TV shows above and beyond what's available on free Hulu -- albeit still with commercials. According to an analysis of the offering by One Touch Intelligence however, about 88% of the content available through Hulu Plus is already available via vanilla Hulu for free. In other words, of the 28,418 full-length TV episodes available via Hulu, just 3,564 of them are hidden behind a paywall. Obviously Hulu Plus is young, many people are still getting invites, and in game console land it's a Sony PS3 exclusive for the rest of this year, but the firm notes that for now, Hulu's not living up to their "stated value proposition."
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BetaNews.Com

Mozilla updates Fennec alpha for Android 2.0+, Nokia N900

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 11:10am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Still in alpha after nearly two years, Mozila on Friday released the latest version of its mobile browser, Fennec for Android 2.0 and higher and Nokia N900.
Several improvements have been made in the Android version since the "Pre-alpha" build was released last April. In addition to interface and performance tweaks, the browser's integration with the desktop version of Firefox has improved, and tools for sharing content are taking a more prominent position.
Sync
This week, Mozilla released Firefox 4 beta 4 which integrated Firefox Sync directly into the browser, and in this version of Fennec, the user launches to a personal start page tied to his Sync account. This page presents the user's browser history, tabs open on the desktop, and shared favorites. Mozilla is attempting to create a seamless browsing experience between the desktop and mobile screen, and this is the first glimpse of what the pairing of Firefox 4 and Fennec will do.
Browsing
"The main focus of this release is to increase performance and responsiveness to user actions," Stuart Parmenter said in Mozilla's official blog today. "This is being implemented using two major technologies, 'Electrolysis' and 'Layers.'"
Layers is not included in this release, but is expected to be fully in place by the time the first beta comes out. Electrolysis, however, is present in this build, and it lets the browser interface run in its own separate process, apart from the process that is rendering Web content. This is meant to make the interface more responsive while content is loading.
Sharing
Long-pressing links brings up a menu that lets users either open the link in a new tab or send the link via Email, Twitter, Facebook, or Google Reader. Furthermore, when users press the Android "Menu" button, they are presented with the option to save content as a PDF for offline viewing or for sharing.
While these are significant improvements, it is still a very early build, and frequently encounters difficulty. It is not suitable for daily usage just yet, but provides an exciting look at what will be possible in the not too distant future.
Download Fennec for Android 2.0+ and Nokia N900 here.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Nokia N900 - Mozilla - Firefox Sync - Firefox for mobile - Mozilla Foundation

broadbandreports.com

Google Sees A Million Calls On First Day Of GMail/VoIP - Multicolored cannon aimed squarely at Skype

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 7:51am MDT

Despite a few hiccups, Google's launch of VoIP integration for Gmail has gone rather smoothly, with the company stating they placed over one million phone calls (about one out of every 3,000 phone calls made that day) the first day the service was live. According to Google, more than 200 million people worldwide are active Gmail users, and all of the company's users in the U.S. now have access to this new functionality. Google is allowing users to make free calls to either the U.S. or Canada at least until the end of the year, hoping to ramp up adoption quickly as they take aim at Skype and Skype's 560 million registered (124 million active) users.

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Blockbuster Bankruptcy In September - Failure to adapt to broadband age a large reason...

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 7:33am MDT

It has been interesting watching Blockbuster video adapt to the broadband age, with the company seemingly not trying very hard -- either out of fear of cannibalizing their brick and mortar revenue, or just a general fear of losing control. Early efforts to mirror Netflix's success at broadband video delivery have seemed relatively lackluster, and the company's CEO, when announcing such broadband initiatives, seems to almost expect them to fail. Rumors of an impending bankruptcy have been around for a while, but a Blockbuster filing is now expected in September.
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Newsflash: Cable/Telcos Write Telecom Law - But it's a rare politician that's proud of that fact...

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 7:16am MDT

Three times now, AT&T and Time Warner Cable have tried and failed to pass laws aimed at stopping towns in North Carolina from building fiber networks. Such networks offer symmetrical fiber at higher speeds and lower prices than either company's willing to offer. The politicians that pass these carrier-written laws (without even understanding them) pretend the bills were their idea, though Ars Technica notes NC Senator David Hoyle seems rather proud of his well-heeled compliance:In the last legislative session Sen. Hoyle tried to put a moratorium on any more local governments expanding into municipal broadband. When the I-Team asked him if the cable industry drew up the bill, Senator Hoyle responded, "Yes, along with my help." When asked about criticism that he was "carrying water" for the cable companies, Hoyle replied, "I've carried more water than Gunga Din for the business community -- the people who pay the taxes."Hoyle apparently couldn't get his Time Warner Cable's law passed directly, so he then tried to bury it within another bill designed to help fund broadband expansion in the State. Using figures from Connected Nation (which is a lobbying and policy extension of major carriers designed specifically to downplay coverage and competitive issues), Hoyle recently proclaimed that broadband availability issues in the state were "bullshit." Luckily for locals in Wilson, North Carolina, Hoyle failed to "protect" consumers from symmetrical fiber speeds of up to 100 Mbps.
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MetroPCS LTE To Launch Next Month - Still no word on pricing, speed...

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 6:57am MDT

Like Boost Mobile and Cricket, Prepaid cell phone carrier MetroPCS has seen some early success in the mobile market by offering discount unlimited prepaid wireless plans with no contracts, and by, refreshingly, making the advertised price the real price. The company enjoys injecting disruptive pricing and no contract service into the wireless voice market, and has stated they hope to do the same thing for LTE wireless broadband service soon. Samsung, who is providing much of the hardware to MetroPCS, says the company's LTE offering will go live next month -- though there's still no word on pricing or speeds.
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Friday Morning Links -

Posted: August 27th, 2010, 5:21am MDT

First commercial LTE network operator TeliaSonera plans LTE in 218 Swedish communities in 2011 fiercebroadbandwireless.com
Ereaders, tablets are early winners in embedded device category fiercewireless.com
MetroPCS to launch LTE service next month totaltele.com
Fiberlight takes network into Charlottesville, Va. fiercetelecom.com
Intel To Purchase Infineon's Wireless Business For $2B This Week? ubergizmo.com
India hopes to resolve BlackBerry access issue in next few days totaltele.com
Will internet kill the video store? Not just yet abc.net.au
Ford plant to fit SUVs with Wi-Fi suntimes.com
iPhone hackers look to iOS 4.1; Version 4.0.2 stumps them reghardware.com
Xbox Live audio upgrade promises end to crackly voice slashgear.com

BetaNews.Com

Hulu Plus survey hints at ad-free premium content packages, HBO, Showtime integration

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 6:02pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

According to a survey given to Hulu Plus testers, the streaming web TV service might consider offering ad-free content packages on top of the existing Hulu Plus subscription.
The options Hulu is considering include: movie packages that feature classic movies, indie and foreign fims, documentaries or "back catalog" studio films; Premium Channel add-ons like HBO or Showtime; or On-demand premium TV with the option to rent or buy like Amazon On Demand.
While these types of satisfaction surveys frequently amount to nothing, similar surveys were released by Netflix before its streaming on demand service came to different platforms, and the Playstation Network Plus service was foretold in a 2009 survey long before it was officially launched in June 2010.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Netflix - Hulu - Television - Huluplus - Amazon.com

broadbandreports.com

Thursday Evening Links -

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 5:43pm MDT

A new push for a nationwide cell phone directory fiercewireless.com
Google: 1 million Gmail calls during first day cnet.com
xG searching for a market for its cognitive radio network that really works fiercebroadbandwireless.com
Verizon Wireless looks to roll out LTE in Alaska fiercewireless.com
UK broadband use ahead of the US, says expert cable.co.uk
Apple, Google TV: Does Pay as You Go Make Dollars and Sense? zdnet.com
Prices Down, Coverage Up, But is Wireless Competitive? yahoo.com
Cloud Computing: Google Versus Microsoft pcmag.com
Faster broadband wouldn't boost web-TV numbers digitalspy.com
Study: Home Wi-Fi Important for School Success yahoo.com
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GAO: Wireless Consolidation Good, Bad, Wait, We're Not Sure - GAO lacks the data to study competition, tries anyway

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 4:45pm MDT

A new report (pdf) on the U.S. wireless market from the Government Accountability Office includes data collected on the sector since 1990. The GAO found that network expansion continued at a fairly solid pace, with prices dropping by 50% since wireless service appeared nearly two decades ago (not surprising considering the high costs of early gear). On the other hand, the report warns that consolidation has resulted in just four companies controlling 90% of the market. Though the GAO concedes this may -- or may not be -- entirely a bad thing:...by enabling large national carriers to exploit economies of scale, consolidation can create greater productivity and economic efficiency. This industry consolidation may have especially improved the efficiency of the large national carriers, allowing them to offer more wireless services for similar or lower prices. . .A few stakeholders with whom we spoke noted that national wireless networks, which some carriers have developed through mergers and acquisitions...can provide smoother, more uninterrupted service.On the one hand, some very large carriers (specifically Verizon and AT&T) are using their power (especially on the special access side) to help drive competitors out of business. On the other hand, these giant carriers (aka "a few stakeholders" whispering in the GAO's ear) create "greater economic efficiency," though exactly how is only loosely defined. The report seems to be a bit of a Rorschach test, given people seem to see what they want to see. The wireless industry of course thinks this highlights the intense competitive perfection of the industry:"In finding that wireless consumers are seeing 'lower prices and better coverage,' today s GAO report confirms what we ve been saying for a long time - that the U.S. wireless industry is extremely competitive and continues to respond to increasing consumer demand by delivering real benefits for American consumers.Consumer group Public Knowledge of course sees things drastically differently:"The report shows the large companies continue to pile up advantages in gaining more spectrum, in exclusive deals for handsets and in locking in consumers with high termination fees. At the same time, there is the equally disturbing trend that the investments larger carriers are making in their networks are a smaller proportion of their service revenue than the expenses of smaller carriers. High special access rates imposed by the wireline affiliates of the larger carriers also hamper competition.Of course if you read the GAO report, they go on to note that they lack the full volume of data necessary to fully analyze the competitive impact of this consolidation, so they urge the FCC to ramp up their wireless industry data collection. If you've watched the ridiculously-overdue effort to map available broadband here in the U.S., you'll notice this isn't the first time the GAO has concluded that government really doesn't have enough real-world data to make policy conclusions. Not that this has ever really stopped them.
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BetaNews.Com

HP continues 'bidding up' Dell's offers to acquire 3PAR

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 3:58pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

It seems Dell cannot make an acquisition bid for virtualized storage company 3PAR without competitor HP making a bigger bid almost immediately afterward.
Just hours after Dell announced its revised offer to acquire memory company 3PAR for $1.6 billion on Thursday, HP announced a new counter-offer for $1.8 billion. HP's last counter-offer caused Dell to raise its bid by a little under 34%, and that offer raised it by another 11%.
Dell announced Friday morning that it had matched HP's bid to acquire 3PAR for $27 per share in cash, or approximately $1.8 billion, and that the memory company has approved the acquisition terms.
"3PAR and Dell have signed a second amendment to their previously announced merger agreement reflecting the new offer price, and maintaining the termination fee unchanged at $72 million, which is payable in the event that 3PAR receives and accepts another unsolicited acquisition proposal that its board determines to be superior to Dell's increased offer," a statement from 3PAR on Friday said.
But once again, not long after Dell and 3PAR announced they were tentatively moving forward, HP raised the bid by another 11% to $30 per share in cash, or an enterprise value of $2.0 billion.
Dell and 3PAR have not yet responded to the counter-offer.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Dell - Hewlett-Packard - Company - Vice president - General manager
Netgear's NeoTV set-top box revives first-gen Blu-Ray drives

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 3:01pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Network hardware company Netgear has taken the wraps off of a new set-top media player called the NeoTV 550 Ultimate HD, which will go on sale in North America this October for $220.
Betanews first started paying attention to Netgear's set-top boxes in 2009, when it first unveiled a BitTorrent-enabled box called Digital Entertainer Live EVA2000. That device, while useful for connecting devices within the home network to the user's television, was only capable of 720p output, and had only moderate support for streaming video services. It received pretty mediocre reviews, and didn't stand out tremendously from the crowd of similar products from Netgear's competitors.
"We've learned a lot since the EVA2000," Netgear's Product Manager of Connected Entertainment, Damir Skripic, told Betanews. "It was only 720p and had some limitations with codec support. But we've taken it into the next generation and greatly expanded the product."

NeoTV has full 1080p support and DTS multichannel audio, and codec support includes H.264, Mpeg-2, Mp4, AVI, Windows Media, and DivX/Xvid, among others.
Part of Netgear's overall strategy for AV consumption in the home is to make internet-connected devices visible to other devices connected to the network. For example, the company released the industry's first DLNA compliant router that lets users plug any HDD into it so it can be accessed as a DLNA media server. As such, NeoTV can access content on DLNA, UPnP and MMS devices connected to the user's home network.
The interfaces on the device include two USB ports, an SD card slot, wired 10/100 Ethernet (no wireless.) But the most interesting thing about it is the fact that it's equipped with an eSATA port, something not typically found on simple set-top boxes. With this, users can attach a Blu-ray drive to NeoTV, and access all of the menus, navigation, and BD-Live content without leaving the NeoTV menu system.
"Any Blu-ray player that can be plugged into a PC should also work with the NeoTV550," Netgear told Betanews today. "In addition, when NeoTV is connected, it enables BD-Live for the Blu-ray discs that come BD Live content/features."
So first-generation Blu-ray drives or players without an Internet connection can be turned into BD-Live compatible drives with this set top box, a handy feature indeed.
Netgear will officially launch the product next week.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Netgear - Blu-ray Disc - Universal Serial Bus - Ethernet - Universal Plug and Play
Google deepens commitment to realtime search

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 2:40pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Google expanded its commitment to providing real-time search results by introducing a new site devoted to searching live content, as well as new tools aimed at helping users parse the information collected more easily.
The live search would be available at www.google.com/realtime, which the company is launching on a rolling basis Thursday. It indexes content from social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Google first introduced basic realtime search last December, allowing users to more accurately search for current trending topics.
Realtime search has become more popular -- and arguably more necessary -- in a world where social media has increasing influence. Topics on these services can evolve rapidly, much faster than the traditional search indexing methods where it would take days, weeks, or even months to "recrawl" a site.
Competitor Bing has already committed itself to realtime search, striking deals with Twitter in October of last year and Facebook to include their content in search results.
Product manager Dylan Casey called the new functionality "our most significant enhancements to date." The realtime search product would be available globally in 40 languages, and would either be accessible via the service's direct URL or by clicking "Updates" when viewing traditional search results.
Results data would be displayed in a constantly updating stream, similar to the way Twitter displays real-time tweet data on a specific subject. The site was split from standard results based on feedback from users on the beta, Casey told Reuters.
Those worried about privacy issues with Google now indexing their social lives should know that in order for the content to be indexed by Google, it must be available publicly. Private social data would not be included.
In addition to the realtime search, Google has introduced a "Conversations" feature which would help organize the conversation around a single topic easier. The stream would be organized from oldest to newest and use indents in order to make it easier to follow.
Google Alerts has also been updated to take advantage of the new realtime search functionality, and can be set to alert users on topics when they are mentioned on Twitter and other short form services, Casey said.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Twitter - Google Alert - search - Facebook - Google

broadbandreports.com

Carriers Intent On Sucking All Value Out Of Femtocells - AT&T not sure you deserve that free, congestion-easing Microcell, sorry.

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 2:30pm MDT

We've repeatedly noted that femtocells (which allow you to route mobile calls over your broadband connection) would probably take off if carriers stopped sucking all the value out of them. Carriers like Verizon seem intent on making users over pay for the hardware on top of monthly fees, in addition to having usage eat away at user minutes. Consumers correctly observe that this is ridiculous, since they're paying extra money to reduce strain on local carrier towers, while using their own bandwidth to fuel the devices.

Sprint for one kind of gets it, and is giving away their new EVDO-capable Airave femtocells to anybody who calls in to complain about shoddy indoor cell coverage. In contrast, AT&T seems confused with the recent launch of their Microcell femtocell device, giving away the unit to some users but not others -- with no discernible way to determine if you're worthy of their free femto blessings. Worse perhaps, the Consumerist notes that some users are being promised a free Microcell, only to have AT&T turn around and change their mind:I asked about a Microcell, but informed him that I shouldn't have to pay to make up for AT&T's poor coverage in my area. Larry agreed that the MicroCell would be a great idea for getting me coverage in my home and said he would have to get approval from a superior, but that it shouldn't be a problem at all. This conversation occurred end of business day on a Friday, and Larry informed me he would follow up on Monday confirming that my MicroCell would be coming at no charge.The user got a call back a few days later to be told that even though there were Microcells in stock, he couldn't get a free one because managers wouldn't approve it. He did get a $50 credit, but that obviously didn't help his coverage problem. Of course given some of the activation and glitches users at the AT&T forums continue to experience, it's not clear if getting one (for free or paid) would cure his coverage problems anyway.

At the very least, femtos should be used as a customer retention and added value proposition. There's a world of innovation and value that's possible here too, were companies like AT&T interested. What about a Fon-esque mesh network of femtocell-loaded home gateways tied to AT&T's 20,000 strong hotspot network (AT&T would have to upgrade to FTTH, of course)? Instead, they're being used to milk consumers in already-troubled coverage areas even further, which is par for the mega-carrier executive mindset, and of course doesn't win AT&T any new consumer friends.

Update: Walt Mossberg at the Wall Street Journal today also explores how AT&T's Microcell works best in total dead zones, but gets flummoxed if you're in a "sorta kinda" coverage area.
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BetaNews.Com

Netflix launches app for iPod touch, iPhone devices

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 1:37pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Netflix on Thursday introduced a version of its application for the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing subscribers of the entertainment service to watch streaming content on their portable devices. The company already has a version of its application for the iPad, designed for the bigger screen of that device.
A subscription to Netflix is required, which starts at $8.99 per month. Nearly two thirds of its 15 million subscribers use some version of its online offerings, which also are available for PCs and select Blu-ray players and TV sets. It additionally gives Netflix a foothold in an increasingly competitive mobile entertainment market.
News surfaced earlier this week that Apple too plans to further extent its content rental offerings, possibly introducing TV show rentals for 99 cents along with a new version of its AppleTV set-top device at its September 1st event.
Streaming content would be available over either 3G or Wi-Fi, and users will be able to fast-forward and rewind through the stream. If a user stops watching a stream, they would be able to pick up where they left off on another Netflix application, the company said.
"Apple has changed the game for mobile devices," CEO Reed Hastings said. "We're excited that our members can now carry Netflix around in their pockets and instantly watch movies and TV shows streamed from Netflix right to their iPhone or iPod touch."
The application is free and is currently available in the App Store. Users must be running iOS 3.1.3 or later.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

iPhone - Netflix - Apple - Reed Hastings - App Store
MIT lab creates giant robotic tadpoles for oil spill cleanup

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 1:08pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

The Sensable City lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is developing a solar-powered robot whose sole purpose is to clean up oil spilled into the water.
Seaswarm, as the robot design is called, is essentially a large robotic tadpole. The "head" of the robot consists of a solar collecting cell, which generates enough electricity to power the nanowire-covered conveyer belt "tail." The conveyor belt propels the robot, and the nanofabric on the surface of the belt can absorb 20 times its own weight in oil without becoming saturated with water. The oil sucked up onto the belt is then removed by heating it up and evaporating the oil into a container in the head of the robot.
At 7 feet by 16 feet, the robot is meant to be set up in fleets, and the individual units in the fleet communicate with each other through GPS and Wi-Fi, so once they're deployed, they navigate mostly autonomously against GPS data about the oil spill.
"We are also working on developing on board sensors that can work within our 100W limit and be deployed on board our current prototype," said Phil Salesses, Research Affiliate with the Robotic Mobility Group at MIT. "When it has completed cleaning, a unit joins and reinforces others working in other areas. Oil is 'digested' locally so that Seaswarm does not need to make repeated trips back to shore, a practice that can dramatically slow cleaning time."
Seaswarm is being previewed at the Venice Biennale of Architecture starting August 29, 2010 in the "Nanotechnology in the year 2050" exhibit. The robotic fleet is also expected to be a competitor in the $1.4 million Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X Challenge.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Oil spill - Conveyor belt - Robot - MIT

broadbandreports.com

Verizon, Time Warner Bicker Over NYC HD Channel Counts - TWC has 150 to Verizon's 133...

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 12:33pm MDT

Time Warner Cable hasn't exactly set land speed records with their deployment of DOCSIS 3.0 technology, only deploying faster services "tactically," in markets where the company competes with Verizon FiOS. In New York City, where Time Warner Cable competes with FiOS, they have upgraded -- and are now bragging that they have 150 HD channels to Verizon's 133. Verizon was quick to fire back, insisting that Time Warner Cable only has more channels due to Cablevision's vise-like grip on local sports programming:"Time Warner Cable can make a claim of having a few more HD channels than Verizon FiOS, but our service still blows them out of the water with more VOD, more HD VOD, more interactive features, better picture quality, faster Internet speeds, the only place to get Facebook, Twitter and YouTube on TV - the list goes on." In addition, the cable operator's claim of having all nine New York sports teams in HD "is only possible because of an FCC loophole used by Cablevision Systems through which they share the HD feeds for some of these channels with their cable brethren, but withhold the channels from us."Of course new FCC rules will eventually force cable operators to stop hoarding access to local sports programming, though regulatory progress on this front seems typically glacial. Meanwhile, since only about a third or less of Time Warner Cable markets see FiOS competition, most Time Warner Cable markets aren't seeing this kind of fighting for consumer affection whatsoever.
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Verizon: Please, Only We Can Lie About Network Neutrality - Our made-up facts are the undeniable truth.

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 9:43am MDT

We've explored how the Goorizon alliance is the regulatory equivalent of a bobble-head doll: cute and stuffed largely with air, but primarily designed to pre-empt tougher consumer protections. Worse perhaps, Google and Verizon's defense of their proposal has been one distortion after another, the companies insisting the weak-kneed framework is solely about empowering the consumer, and has nothing to do with keeping wireless consumer protections away from their tablet/smartphone Android partnership.

With both Verizon and Google being immensely and documentably full of crap on this issue (and in Google's case they're now in full disagreement with Google circa 2007), it's fairly cute to see a Verizon lobbyist (whose job we can all agree is, in part, to lie whenever necessary) "setting the record straight." In a new Verizon blog post, Verizon's David Fish sets forth a new set of "facts" on the Goorizon proposal in response to "factually challenged" critics like consumer group Free Press. The only problem? Not a single one of them is true. One by one:

Here's a real fact: Verizon wants what any massive, government-pampered duopolist wants: more strings-free taxpayer money, a lazy regulatory body with no consumer protection authority whatsoever, government protection from competition, and the ability to engage in any business practices they like, no matter how unethical or anti-competitive.

Fact: Our proposal enforces a tough non-discrimination requirement and promotes and protects Internet access.No, it doesn't. The proposal is about as "tough" as year-old cardboard in a highway rainstorm, excluding wireless from consumer protections entirely, while the landline non-discrimination requirements are packed with absurd loopholes.Fact: It includes a presumption against all prioritization on Internet connections.No, it doesn't. It completely frees wireless from consumer protections, while leaving gaping loopholes for a myriad of managed wireline services. If you actually read the proposal (pdf), it claims prioritization might be considered unacceptable discrimination, then proceeds to vaguely insist this "presumption could be rebutted." The entire framework is intentionally ambiguous.Fact: The non-discrimination provision and presumption against any prioritization are stronger than what the FCC could obtain through Title 2 reclassification.

Fact: The non-discrimination provision for Internet connections is in-line with the President s priority on net neutrality, and it establishes specific FCC authority called for by the Free Press.These two can be tackled together, and neither is true. Partial Title II reclassification would give the FCC a degree of authority over broadband ISPs, while the Goorizon proposal is designed to ensure the FCC has "no rule making authority" and is required to "give appropriate deference" to telecom industry-backed self-regulatory organizations. And while the assumption is the FTC would step in to fill the void, the FTC is a slumbering agency that, like the FCC, can't even be bothered to address blatant, predatory false advertising in this sector.Fact: The FCC is given specific authority for the first time to oversee these provisions.Again, by "specific authority," Fish actually means "little to no authority whatsoever," with offenses judged and punished by the industry itself. Apparently, Fish hopes that by falsely repeating the "fact" that the FCC is gaining authority here, nobody will notice that said authority is simply for show.Fact: Our proposal protects Internet users by ensuring that potential services beyond robust Internet access (e.g. medical monitoring, smart grid and other ideas in the National Broadband Plan) are differentiated from the Internet and subject to GAO and FCC monitoring and reports to Congress.Verizoogle's exemption for managed services is a neutrality loophole big enough to drive a truck through, given that in an app-mad, tablet and smartphone driven world, everything can become a managed service. About the only thing the proposal restricts are things Verizon had no intention of doing anyway, like the outright blockade of a competing voice service, or packet forgery. Even those might be allowed as long as a carrier lawyer vaguely shows the ISP was acting to protect the network from bogeymen (congestion, child pornographers, P2P, phantoms, goblins, etc.).Fact: Openness is fast becoming the standard in the wireless industry, as the FCC envisioned. Verizon purchased spectrum in the FCC s 700 megahertz auction for national deployment of our 4G network, knowing it came with open access, non-discrimination and no-blocking requirements. Others are following suit.As we've repeatedly noted, the "open access" conditions attached to the 700MHz auction were also packed with loopholes, allowing carriers to do essentially whatever they'd like as long as it's done to protect the integrity of the network. Like this new proposal, those restrictions were crafted to be intentionally flimsy so Verizon lawyers can tango over and around them at their leisure. They are for show.

And yes, "openness" is so "standard," that AT&T's still busily crippling Android phones and packing them with unremovable AT&T bloatware. It's so open, carriers are crippling phone functionality as to charge consumers more for tethering. It's so "open," companies like Skype are striking exclusive deals with carriers designed specifically to artificially save the concept of the voice minute from its inevitable evolutionary extinction. Crippled handsets, exclusive deals, high ETFs, gated app-store approval criteria and punitive mobile pricing do not equate to "open."

Some people need to cool the rhetoric and stick to the facts.

-Verizon

It's fairly clear that Verizon lobbyists thought that by giving a few very minor and pathetic concessions on landline neutrality, they'd be rewarded with not only no neutrality rules applied to wireless, but they'd be able to pre-empt the FCC's interest in partial Title II reclassification of broadband ISPs. While Verizon protecting their revenues from government regulation is expected, the pretense that these actions are pro-consumer altruism is insulting.

And while consumer groups certainly aren't above layering annoying hyperbole (it's the end of the Internet!) on top of their arguments to grab the attention of a lazy public, their "facts" on the Goorizon proposal are much closer to the mark than Mr. Fish's. Here's a real fact for Mr. Fish: Verizon wants what any massive, government-pampered duopolist wants: more strings-free taxpayer money, a lazy regulatory body with no consumer protection authority whatsoever, government protection from competition, and the ability to engage in any business practices they like, no matter how unethical or anti-competitive.

Mr. Fish and Verizon apparently believe consumers and the press aren't smart enough to realize this, and judging from this morning's editorial in the Washington Post calling for "legislative enactment of something like the Google-Verizon plan," they very well may be right.
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BetaNews.Com

Dell outbids HP for storage company 3PAR

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 8:58am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Computer maker Dell will be acquiring virtualized storage company 3PAR for $1.6 billion, the companies announced Thursday. The announcement follows a bidding war for the company that took place between Dell and rival HP.
Dell increased its bid for 3PAR to $24.30 per share; considerably higher than the $18 per share offer it made one week prior. The bigger tender offer comes as an answer to a competing bid placed by HP just three days ago for $24 per share.
A statement from 3PAR today rather succinctly explained Dell's zealous interest in the company:
"Dell's desire for 3PAR is driven, in part, by its belief that 3PAR...is important to Dell's customers and will enhance its position in cloud-based storage applications," the statement read.
Indeed, Dave Johnson, senior vice president of Dell corporate strategy today said, "Storage is at the forefront of this strategy...With the 3PAR acquisition, Dell will have the broadest set of differentiated storage solutions in the market today."
The tender offer will expire at midnight on September 20, and after all the shares are bought back and regulatory approval is met, 3PAR will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dell.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Dell - Hewlett-Packard - Dave Johnson - Bid price - Strategic management

broadbandreports.com

Virgin Mobile $40 Prepaid Unlimited Launches - And it appears to truly be unlimited

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 8:03am MDT

Virgin Mobile's new prepaid broadband pricing has arrived, after a launch planned for earlier this week suffered from a few technical hiccups. The new pricing is now available on the Sprint-owned company's website: users can choose either a ten day, $10 plan with a 100 MB cap, or a $40, one month plan with unlimited usage. Unlike previous industry difficulties with the term unlimited, this one seems to truly be, the website informing users that "Virgin Mobile does not restrict your speeds based on data usage caps."
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Google's Desktop VoIP Service Lifts Off - Company promoting service with university, airport phone booths

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 7:38am MDT

Google yesterday officially announced Gmail VoIP integration for Gmail, which allows users to call cell phones or landlines from within their Gmail contact list. Google says calls to the U.S. and Canada will be free "for at least the rest of the year," while calls to other countries are subject to these rates. "We re rolling out this feature to U.S. based Gmail users over the next few days, so you ll be ready to get started once "Call Phones" shows up in your chat list," says Google, who notes you'll have to install their voice and video plugin. To promote Google Voice, the company's going to begin installing British style (watch out for Daleks) phone booths in universities and airports.
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Netflix Streaming Hits iPhone, iPod Touch - Free app with Netflix plans $8.99 or higher...

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 6:41am MDT

Netflix this morning announced that they've developed an app that will allow both iPod Touch and iPhone users to stream video selections from their instant queue. You'll need to be a Netflix customer on a $8.99 or higher to use the free application, which will work over both Wi-Fi and AT&T's 3G network (just in time to run smack into AT&T's new 200 MB and 2 GB caps). Progress made on movies or shows while at home is saved for use within the app, allowing you to finish watching your program while on the go. Users can also manage their instant queue from within the app, but only for streamed programs (not DVDs).
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Thursday Morning Links -

Posted: August 26th, 2010, 5:54am MDT

Broadband Trumps Farmer Payments as Obama Remakes Assistance to Rural U.S. bloomberg.com
Verizon: Nondiscrimination, Prioritization Proposals Are Stronger Than Title II multichannel.com
The lowdown on Net neutrality and cloud computing infoworld.com
BT gets 2.5bn broadband network going with Huawei deal electronicsweekly.com
Iranian Government Runs Public Warez Server torrentfreak.com
Car Audio 2.0: Pandora, MP3s and Bluetooth Car Stereos digitaltrends.com
The Ipad will dominate the market, and coffee tables (at least for the next year) theinquirer.net
Just 5% of workers ever truly leave the office theregister.co.uk
LG: big, bendy e-paper screens out by year's end reghardware.com
Geolocation gaming planned for Windows Phone 7 Xbox Live theinquirer.net
Wednesday Evening Links -

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 5:32pm MDT

Next generation Kindle is fastest selling kindle, begins shipping two days early businesswire.com
Why Android won't worry RIM and Apple theregister.co.uk
4G will kill the voice phone market theinquirer.net
Google goes to bed with CIA rt.com
Nokia and Intel want to take Meego into 3rd dimension theregister.co.uk
Comcast Posts DNSSEC Update cable360.net
Broadcasters: FM radio on cell phones just "sound public policy" arstechnica.com
RIM Buys Cellmania to Improve App World enterprisemobiletoday.com
1.25 million Garmin Nuvi's recalled as fire hazards pcworld.com
Apple patches 13 bugs in OS X theregister.co.uk
Target launching mobile retailing business in stores; to be operated by RadioShack fiercewireless.com
Lexmark, HP Using Patent Law To Try To Block Replacement Ink Cartridges From The Market techdirt.com
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Clearwire Considering New Prepaid Options? - Announces cryptic plans to serve new consumer segment

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 4:23pm MDT

Clearwire today issued a rather cryptic press release stating that on August 30 (next Monday), the company would be unveiling their plans to "serve a new customer segment." They didn't get any more specifics than that, aside from the fact that Clearwire CMO Mike Sievert will be making the announcement on a conference call presentation with the media and analysts. So what is Clearwire planning? One likely guess is that they'll be announcing some kind of prepaid pricing option, given that 2010 is clearly the year of prepaid wireless broadband. Sprint-owned Virgin Mobile just got done announcing plans to offer 30 days of unlimited EVDO service for $40, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Clearwire announce something similar -- with a new nifty marketing name and branding for the offering.
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Glitch Postpones Virgin Mobile Unlimited Launch - $40, thirty day unlimited tier to drop in a day or two...

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 2:33pm MDT

They other day we noted that Sprint-owned Virigin Mobile was launching a $40, unlimited prepaid wireless data plan -- a price point that looks almost virtuous compared to Verizon's newly proposed $80 for 5GB of usage tirt. However, Virgin Mobile appears to have botched the launch of the new unlimited tier, the company telling us a "computer glitch" has delayed the full launch for a day or two (something they're also confirming on Twitter). Until then, their old pricing, which featured caps up to 5 GB for $60 a month, remains all you can see on their website.
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BetaNews.Com

Introducing a new, more social Digg

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 2:21pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Popular social link-sharing and bookmarking site Digg on Wednesday made its new, redesigned site available to all users after testing in an invitation-only mode for roughly four months.
"This redesign is a major revision of our platform -- front end to back end -- this is just phase one of what will be an on-going, iterative process, involving lots of input from all of you. We'll be pushing out features on a regular basis and tweaking often, "Digg founder and CEO Kevin Rose said on Wednesday. "Our goal has always been for Digg to be a place where people can discover and share content and conversations from anywhere on the web. With Digg v4, we are introducing a few things that will make discovering and discussing news a lot better."
The service has evolved into something more social than it used to be, complete with the ability to follow or be followed, and to import your friends from Facebook, Twitter, and Google. Instead of presenting news stories based solely on their popularity across the entire Digg service, users are presented with news stories that have been liked by their friends under a heading called "My News." The traditional Digg system remains under the tab "Top News."
"The new Digg is all about making it easy to see the stories your friends are Digging and commenting on, and to share interesting stories with them," Rose said.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Facebook - Twitter - Kevin Rose - Digg - Google
Germany moves to ban bosses from checking your Facebook

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 2:01pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

In an age where just about anything is shared on Facebook, employers have turned to it and other social networking sites to ensure its employee's behavior is on the up and up. In Germany, that practice may become illegal.
German news outlets are reporting that Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière is working on new privacy legislation that would outlaw corporate snooping on social networking profiles. It would restrict the amount of information that current as well as prospective employers could gather and use.
Employers would still be able to use search engines in order to gather information on an employee, however it would be banned from being used in employment decisions if it came from a third party. It also does not cover social networking sites intended for professionals.
The law apparently has the blessing of the cabinet, but now must be passed onto parliament for a full vote. With European governments typically having much stricter privacy controls than their US counterpart, its not out of the question that the law would indeed pass.
Germany has historically been very cognizant of privacy, even though the government itself has a history of spying on its citizens, the Gestapo being the most notorious example.
Both Maizière and privacy experts do say that the law could be quite difficult to enforce. For example, it may be difficult to prove that employers were indeed snooping -- although friending a current or prospective employee to find out personal information would be illegal.
With many adding new friends on their social networking profiles with little thought as to an actual real-life friendship, employers may gain access to this information anyway -- and could easily give another reason for hiring or termination to cover their true intentions of adding the person.
If somehow the victim can prove he or she was spied on, the new law would permit them to sue the company in court and claim damages.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Facebook - Germany - Law - Social network - Corporation

broadbandreports.com

Verizon Hypes 3DTV, Eventual FiOS Holograms - Too bad millions of Verizon customers remain on last-generation DSL...

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 12:35pm MDT

It seems like only last April that Verizon was calling 3DTV sports broadcasts "hype" (because it was, and they were). That's a fairly far cry from their sudden devotion to 3DTV this week, as the company works with Cisco to highlight the work they're doing to broadcast the first NFL Game in 3D from New Jersey. Verizon's 3DTV effort isn't fully out of the oven, but the company is already talking about a future that involves holograms delivered over FiOS. From an enthusiastic CNET piece:Verizon Communications Chief Information Officer Shaygan Kheradpir said his company is already working with researchers to bring holographic technologies into homes and small businesses. And the medical industry is one place where he sees a particularly good fit for holograms. Kheradpir wouldn't offer specifics of what Verizon is working on with its research partners, but he said that it has been playing around with sending holographic images of someone's head across its Fios fiber-optic network.Oddly, CNET gushes over Verizon's Jetson-esque future vision without mentioning that Verizon has halted all next-gen network upgrades, with no plan to resume them anytime soon. You do wonder: if 3DTV winds up being just hype, wouldn't this time, money and effort be better used upgrading Verizon's remaining customers, millions of which remain on 3-7Mbps DSL? If not network upgrades, how about finally fixing a backoffice billing system that for years has had a bad habit of hallucinating phantom charges? No? Sorry to bring it up.
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BetaNews.Com

Apple launching TV show rentals, new AppleTV at Sept. 7th event

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 11:19am MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Apple is in 'advanced' talks with News Corp, parent company of the Fox broadcasting network, over letting consumers rent its TV shows for 99 cents, Bloomberg has reported. CBS, NBC Universal, and Walt Disney, which owns ABC, are also said to be participating in those talks.
While the focus is expected to be how the new shows add entertainment options to Apple's preexisting line of products, the company is also likely to introduce the second generation of its AppleTV product. That would likely come with a smaller hard drive and a $99 price point, sources told the news service.
Whereas the focus of the first AppleTV was on downloading content to the device, the new model would instead center on streaming. Like the first model as well, Apple does not expect the new AppleTV to be a runaway hit. Instead, the company sees the new AppleTV and the rental structure as good for "catch-up" viewing.
Bloomberg says this is how the new strategy is being marketed to content providers. This way, those companies can generate additional income, yet not affect their preexisting contracts with cable and satellite providers.
Original rumors had pointed to a subscription-like model, however sources indicated that content providers balked at the idea since it could have put those lucrative contracts at risk.
These new announcements are expected to come on September 1. Typically, Apple has held some type of music and entertainment related event during the month to introduce its iPod product line ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season. Indeed, the company is expected to also introduce a new iPod touch based on the iPhone 4's design, including the new Retina display.
As is typical with rumors on the company's moves, Apple refused to comment on the speculation, or confirm its plans to hold the event.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - AppleTV - IPhone - iPod - IPod Touch
Google unveils voice calling through Gmail

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 11:14am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Wednesday, Google officially announced that North American Gmail users can place voice calls to any phone number directly from their Gmail interface. The feature will roll out to all users in the next few days.
Users will be able to place totally free calls within the U.S. and Canada for "at least the rest of this year," and international calls for comparatively low rates. All outgoing calls originate from the user's Google Voice number, and calls can even be received within the Gmail interface.
To do so, users need to first place an outbound call from the Gmail interface, and then under Settings > Voice Settings > Phones, click the "Google Chat" checkbox. This will route Google voice calls through Gmail.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Google - Canada - Google Voice - Telephone number - Google Chat

broadbandreports.com

Not Shocking: Wireless Execs Like Metered Pricing - Study also finds puppies really enjoy peanut butter

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 10:16am MDT

The Boston Globe points to a survey of 391 mobile industry executives in 55 countries, which showed that 55 percent of executives say that consumers can expect so-called tiered pricing in the future. 47 percent of the executives insist that flat-rate data plans damage their ability to grow revenues&#46 While these numbers actually seem surprisingly low, the research firm tells the Globe this "the beginning of the end" for flat-rate pricing&#46 Of course that's not necessarily true, given several execs think unlimited pricing could be a competitive differentiator thanks to its simplicity:Virgin Mobile LP said yesterday that it would offer unlimited data for $40 a month. Last week, Sprint s chief executive, Dan Hesse, said his company will not limit data usage in the near future. "We are committed to an unlimited plan, because we think that s a differentiator in the market," he said. "Customers want simplicity . . . They just don t want to hear that meter running."Of course just because 50% of execs daydream about the industry shifting this direction doesn't mean it has to. The survey may have well just asked puppies if they like peanut butter, given the low cap and overage model not only results in people frequently having to take out second mortgages to pay their wireless bill, but it also helps offset the loss of revenue in an open platform, smartphone future, where mobile VoIP and push IM make voice minutes and SMS archaic.

We already know metered billing is good for investors, bean counters and executives, as it allows them to retain control by constricting the pipe, while ramping up data revenues substantially. The question (unasked by the Globe) is whether a shift from "unlimited" (usually not unlimited anyway) to more caps and overages will be a good move for consumers, many of which don't even know what a gigabyte is. Network upgrades provide enough leg room that we should be seeing high caps, but instead AT&T's busily forcing consumers to do the limbo.
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BetaNews.Com

Adobe updates Web-based Photoshop, no longer demands membership

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 10:09am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Now approaching its third year online, Adobe's Web-based photo editing suite Photoshop Express underwent a significant redesign which launched Wednesday. Adobe Photoshop Express Editor, Organizer, and Uploader are included in the refresh.
Firstly, a Photoshop.com account is no longer needed to use Photoshop Express Editor. Users can simply navigate to the Web app, upload photos directly from their local drive, edit and change the photos, and then save them back on their local storage. Previously, an account was necessary, and photos were uploaded to online storage first before they were edited. This is still an option, as Photoshop.com members can still store and share photos online as well as create albums, but it's no longer the only way to use the Editor.
Secondly, the Photoshop Express Uploader client application has been streamlined to make the desktop experience a bit more like the experience in Photoshop Elements, or in the Photoshop Express app for iOS and Android. The Uploader handles JPEG, PSD, and various RAW format files and automatically syncs them with a Photoshop.com account.
Finally, Photoshop Express Organizer and personal galleries have a new layout and design, which Adobe says are the result of user requests. Now, photo descriptions and comments are more visible, and images can be shared on standalone pages with more comprehensive EXIF data and the ability to leaf through pictures in "filmstrip mode."
"All of our customers, from high-end professionals to more casual photo enthusiasts, want to do more with their digital photos on the web and on different devices," said Matt Domenici, director of product management for online and mobile digital imaging at Adobe. "We've redesigned our Photoshop Express online apps to make it easier and faster to work with photos online and then share them broadly."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

photoshop.com - Adobe Systems - Adobe Photoshop - Image editing - Graphics

broadbandreports.com

ESPN 360 Model Continues To Take Flak - Your content access is determined by which ISP you have...

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 8:09am MDT

We've explored how smaller ISPs are annoyed with ESPN's new business model for their "ESPN 360" online video service, which involves striking deals with large ISPs, then urging consumers switch carriers if they want access to ESPN 360 content. This of course completely shakes up the consumer content choice equation, while smaller ISPs complain they have to pay more than big carriers to carry the content. Investor's Business Daily notes that consumer groups, the FCC, and smaller cable operators don't like where this model is headed:The Pittsburgh-based American Cable Association, which represents small cable companies, has objected to paying online fees for broadband subscribers that do not access ESPN3.com. . .Some rural-based industry groups, such as the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies and the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, worry that if ESPN3.com business models become more common, they'll be forced to divert funds for broadband investment to paying online fees to other content providers.Despite opposition to this model, ESPN 360 (now just named ESPN3) has had no problem signing up ISP partners if you take a look at their ISP list. Many (us included) assumed this model would collapse under the weight of its own absurdity by now, but we're seeing the model spread to other companies like HBO, whose HBO Go broadband streaming service is only currently available to Verizon or Comcast customers.

If this model spreads, the likely outcome isn't a good one for consumers or small ISPs. In a market where most users only have the choice of one or two ISPs, they likely won't have the ability to switch if they can't get access to the content they want. The end result is also likely higher costs for consumers, as the cost of paying these companies winds up being passed down to the end user for content the may or may not even want.
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Shareholders Approve CenturyLink, Qwest Deal - Deal expected to close in first half of 2011...

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 7:35am MDT

Shareholders of both Qwest and CenturyLink have approved the latter's acquisition of the former, a $22 billion deal that was announced back in April. CenturyLink was formed not that long ago by a merger of Embarq (a Sprint spinoff) and CenturyTel. This new, even larger CenturyLink -- once Qwest is integrated -- will offer service in 37 states, and the new combined business will serve approximately 5 million broadband customers, 17 million access lines, 1,415,000 video subscribers and 850,000 wireless consumers. The deal has already seen approval by the USDOJ, but is still awaiting inevitable approval by 14 States, DC, and the FCC. Ma Humpty Bell continues to slowly but surely pull herself back together again.
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Desktop VoIP Coming To GMail - As several rumors suggested already

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 7:01am MDT

Rumors have been popping up since April about Google taking on Skype by directly integrating desktop VoIP functionality into GMail, so it's not too surprising to see CNET confirming that such a project is in fact being worked on. According to a source, users will be able to make VoIP calls from within their contacts using "a user interface that strongly resembles the one used in Google Voice." Obviously this project would be tightly integrated with Google's existing Google Voice system, and is the end result of their Gizmo5 acquisition from a few years back.

Update: Well that didn't take long. Google has announced VoIP integration for Gmail.
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Wednesday Morning Links -

Posted: August 25th, 2010, 5:25am MDT

Europe and USA Broadband ISP Prices Continue to Fall as Speeds Increase ispreview.co.uk
Organizations Counter Defense Of Verizon's Net Neutrality Policy Accord With Google multichannel.com
Evolving from multi-cloud to multi-screen video delivery fiercecable.com
Tiered data pricing looming for mobile broadband says ABI Research EE-Times Europe
Analyst: IPTV is the best defense against cord cutters fierceiptv.com
Court Throws Out FCC Auction Rules multichannel.com
FCC's chairman warns of national crisis in broadband twincities.com
Android web browsing surges 400% in Q2 fiercemobilecontent.com
Google testing web-based VoIP phone calls from Gmail theregister.co.uk
Windows DLL bug exploits go wild, hits dozens of apps cnet.com
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Tuesday Evening Links -

Posted: August 24th, 2010, 5:26pm MDT

Verizon Wireless, RIM data issues/outage in Midwest? boygeniusreport.com
The FCC's wireless work is just beginning fiercewireless.com
Cloud computing expansion threatened by power shortage? broadband-finder.co.uk
Qwest shareholders OK CenturyLink deal Columbus Business First
Only 1 in 20 to benefit from LTE by 2015 fiercewireless.com
Where have all the subs gone? Online broadcast picks up steam fiercecable.com
NBN dominoes starting to fall: Aussies freeze rollout fiercecable.com
Weapons expert warns Wi-Fi could cause generational birth defects vancouversun.com
Verizon-AT&T deal finalized on Centennial assets wirelessweek.com
RIAA: U.S. copyright law 'isn't working' cnet.com
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Hype Surrounding The New Apple TV Ramps Up - Though Apple scrapped subscription service due to frightened broadcasters

Posted: August 24th, 2010, 4:31pm MDT

There's been a pretty steady flood of details surrounding Apple's plan to launch a new broadband video TV service. Most recently, details emerged indicating that they hoped to name the unit "iTV," price it at about $99, and offer TV shows for about 99 cents. Not all of the details are promising, including rumors that the device will top out at 720p. Bloomberg today offers up another confirmation that the service is coming, with a little added detail -- such as the fact that program rentals will last for just 48 hours. Bloomberg confirms the TV rental effort replaces a scrapped plan by Apple leaked last fall to offer a full subscription video service broadcasters wouldn't support for fear of cannibalizing pay TV.
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Dell Offers First Smartphone Via AT&T - Aero arrives at $100, with outdated Android 1.5

Posted: August 24th, 2010, 2:31pm MDT

Dell today unveiled their first smartphone, the Android-based Aero, which goes on sale today for $100 if you agree to a two-year AT&T contract. The specs are solid if not immensely average, the device sporting a 3.5-inch screen, 2GB of onboard storage, triband 3.6Mbps HSDPA and quadband EDGE, a 5 MP camera, and all at 3.67 ounces. One thing that's annoying gadget nerds is that the device is still sporting the 1.5 version of Google's Android OS, though Dell (weakly) justifies this by insisting the Aero comes with a "tremendous amount of customization." Hopefully the device sees better results than Dell's other attempt to jump into an established market.
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BetaNews.Com

Mozilla launches Firefox 4 beta 4, rolls in Sync, Panorama tab manager

Posted: August 24th, 2010, 1:10pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Mozilla Tuesday updated Firefox 4 to its fourth beta release, adding two major new features: Firefox Sync and Panorama.
Firefox Sync lets users access browser history, password keychain, bookmarks, and open tabs across their different desktop computers, iOS, or Maemo-based mobile devices. Sync is available as an add-in for Firefox 3.5 and 3.6, but in Firefox 4, it is a built-in feature.
Firefox Panorama was formerly known as Tab Candy, and it debuted in alpha several months ago to critical acclaim. To solve the problem of too many browser tabs being open at once, and turning into a cluttered mess; the feature lets the user arrange their tabs into groups. The result is similar to HTC and Samsung's Android UI layers that let the user zoom out and see all the homescreens at once.
Firefox Panorama: How To from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

Mozilla's Aza Raskin Tuesday said, "While there are many directions still left to explore...there is a strong set of design principles that have and will continue to guide development. We've already seen activity from extension authors to extend the capabilities of Panorama, which makes now a perfect time to discuss Panorama's design principles."
Download Firefox 4 Beta 4 for Windows from Fileforum now.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Mozilla Firefox - Mozilla Foundation - Firefox 4 - Tab Candy - Firefox

broadbandreports.com

Verizon Trimmed Investment By $2 Billion In 2010 - Making threats to trim investment rather hollow..

Posted: August 24th, 2010, 12:36pm MDT

Though it doesn't get talked about much, we've explored in the past how AT&T and Verizon have slowed (in Verizon's case all-but stopped) next-generation broadband deployment. Dave Burstein digs through the numbers to note that Verizon cut wireline capital spending by about two billion so far this year, and has cut back investment by about $7 billion over four years. AT&T's slowed U-Verse projections several times, and cut U-Verse investment by about 1/3 last year. Burstein suggests they're gunning for government funds:These multi-billion dollar cuts came after the U.S. enacted a stimulus program and now is talking about huge subsidies supposedly for broadband. Ivan is a smart guy who told investors that he thinks the government will pay up if he doesn't invest. The stimulus, as Tom Hazlett predicted, resulted in fewer new broadband connections as company after company reduced spending hoping the government will pay instead. Verizon is claiming 20-30% of their lines require a subsidy and asking for billions or they might discontinue voice service. Ironically, V & T just reassured wall street their wireline margins are staying up.AT&T and Verizon didn't apply for stimulus funding, fearing it would come with some regulatory conditions. Instead they've been focusing on getting billions through "reform" of the USF -- which could net them billions in additional, poorly-tracked funds. While investment cuts have pleased short-sighted investors, they've also resulted in cable operators eating the telcos lunch in these un-upgraded legacy markets. These are the same companies that continually threaten to cut investment if they don't get what they want in DC, while hoping nobody notices that they already did.
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BetaNews.Com

Remembering Windows 95's launch 15 years later

Posted: August 24th, 2010, 11:58am MDT by Joe Wilcox
By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

Some moments are culturally defining. They pave the way for a generation of consumers. People of my parents generation still remember the Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. I recall long lines to see the movie "Jaws," which gave A-movie status to scary B-movies. Many young adults of this generation will recall iPhone's June 2007 launch. Some moments define us. So it was this day 15 years ago. Windows 95 launched to long lines at midnight on Aug. 24, 1995.
Do you remember? Please share your Windows 95 story/memories in comments. Or send e-mail to joewilcox at gmail dot com. If I get enough good stories, I'll compile them into a separate post.
Microsoft had the right product at the right time. The planets aligned just so. Windows 95 was by no means the best PC operating system of its day. But it was good enough, usable enough, cheap enough and marketed well enough -- and the personal computer was mature enough for the mass market.
Windows 95 made geeks cool, too. Suddenly the seemingly unhippest of all people, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, was a rock star and business genius. Microsoft left IBM at the OS/2 altar -- abandoning the 32-bit operating system the companies codeveloped -- and shacked up with pseudo-32-bit Windows 95. A decade-and-a-half later, OS/2 is all but forgotten, while Windows defines the very essence of personal computing.
Other product and marketing decisions would prove crucial:
- Pricing: Windows 95 sold for under 100 bucks as an upgrade to anyone with a powerful enough PC running DOS/3.11.
- Compatibility: Microsoft ensured that Windows 95 would be largely backward compatible with customers' existing DOS software and PC hardware. PC owners could get a new computer, so to speak, for the price of a new operating system.
- Marketing: The fast-flashing television commercials suited the MTV-video generation of the day, and they were aspirational. Your life would be better for buying Windows 95. Then there was the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" theme song.
- Networking: Windows 95 fully supported TCP/IP out of the box -- no expensive third-party add-ons required. Businesses could easily network PCs and consumers could get online.
- Multimedia: Windows 95 users could listen to music or watch videos on their PCs.
To showcase Windows 95's multimedia capabilities, Microsoft included two music videos--Weezer's "Buddy Holly" and Eddie Brickell's "Good Times"--on the operating system disc. Little touches like these show how well Microsoft synced Windows 95 product development and marketing. The music videos catered to a younger audience and they demonstrated the multimedia features' benefits. Yes, people could watch videos on Windows 3.1, but the experience was better on its successor.
Windows 95 made Microsoft a household name; it did for household awareness what DOS' and Windows 3.1's success did for businesses. Microsoft smartly simultaneously released Office 95 with the new Windows. Businesses bought the software duo by the millions of copies. From Windows 95's release, Microsoft's 15 year-old applications business really started flying.
Innocence Lost
I often wonder how close Windows 95 came to being a train wreck. In October 1994 -- the month OS/2 Warp launched -- I flew to Seattle; I was there to write a profile about a company using Lotus Notes. My local, Maryland Egghead Software store prominently displayed OS/2 -- right as customers walked through the door. The Seattle Egghead had similarly large display for Microsoft Bob, the-too-cute-to-sell graphical user interface for Windows 3.11. Bob turned out to be a magnanimous marketing and product disaster for Microsoft. Yet less than a year later, the company managed to get most things right with Windows 95.
I say "most things," because Gates was too obsessed with chasing AOL and CompuServe when the burgeoning World Wide Web mattered much more. I beta tested Windows 95 and MSN. I used OS/2 before running the first Windows 95 beta. I first surfed the Web using the Mosaic browser IBM shipped with OS/2. While Windows 95 shipped with Internet Explorer 1.0, Microsoft's main focus was MSN, which debuted with the operating system. MSN was an online client built into Windows 95. There was no Web browser access like there is today.
If I fault Microsoft for anything with MSN 1.0 it would be trying to do too much. The original MSN was a heavy client that labored under the slow dial-up connections of the day. It was simply too slow to offer a really good user experience, disappointing many launch partners.
Windows 95 launched a short-lived time of innocent success, when good marketing and right timing turned a mere operating system upgrade into a phenomenon. During late-Windows 95 beta testing, Gates penned the "Internet Tidal Wave" memo; suddenly, he got the Web. Within a year, Microsoft aggressively pushed down an obsessive and dangerous path: Attempting to snuff out Netscape's browser for the perceived threat posed to Windows. The European and US antitrust cases that followed chaffed away the business decision-making, product innovation and marketing knack that helped make Windows 95's launch a defining cultural moment for PCs and computing operating systems.
Fifteen years later, Microsoft has got its Windows mojo back. There weren't massive lines around the block for Windows 7's launch, but that doesn't make the product any less culturally defining. Windows 7 is a spirited and reliable operating system that Microsoft brought to market with clever advertising. There is a massive Windows XP install base -- on order of 80 percent of all Windows users -- ready to go 7. In the strange way of Microsoft counting 95 comes before 7.
Happy Birthday Windows 95!
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Windows XP - Microsoft - Windows 95 - Windows 7 - Windows 3.1

broadbandreports.com

Verizon Offers $80, 5GB Prepaid Data Plan - 'viable option' for high end users, says company...

Posted: August 24th, 2010, 10:23am MDT

Sprint-owned Virgin Mobile this week launched a new unlimited, $40 a month prepaid wireless data plan that could shake things up for larger carriers. Companies like Verizon have laughed off offering any prepaid unlimited plans, despite the fact they're simpler for byte-challenged users to understand. Late last year, Verizon Wireless started offering prepaid daily ($15 for 75 MB, 20 cents per additional MB), weekly (30 for 250 MB. 12 cents per additional MB) and monthly ($50 for 500 MB. 10 cents / additional MB) plans. Verizon is now adding a $80, 5GB monthly plan to the prepaid mix, a move the company insists provides "contract-phobic, high-end users with a viable option."
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BetaNews.Com

Samsung teases 7" Tablet for September 2

Posted: August 24th, 2010, 9:21am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

There has been a considerable amount of chatter about a potential contribution to the Android Tablet market from Samsung. Tuesday, the company started to mete out official teasers for the upcoming 7" Galaxy Tab and launched the device's official website at galaxytab.samsungmobile.com.
In Samsung's video today, the 7" tablet is briefly shown to include: Augmented Reality, Navigation, E-reading, HD Movie Playback, Flash support, full web browsing, "PC link web," video calling, Android 2.2, and what looks to be a rear-facing camera but no visible forward-facing one (though it's implied by "video calling".)
More of the device will be shown off at IFA 2010 on September 2, 2010 in Berlin, Germany.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Android - Samsung Group - Germany - Samsung - GalaxyTab
Intel and Nokia team up to begin work on open 3D interface for MeeGo

Posted: August 24th, 2010, 8:59am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Chipmaker Intel and mobile phone leader Nokia Tuesday announced their partnership has extended into research and development, in a collaboration expected to last three years, and focus on future telecommunications solutions.
The first project will be aimed at creating user interfaces for mobile devices that are "more similar to interactions in the real world," and take advantage of the increased power of small, pocketable devices.
Since the MeeGo mobile operating system is the result of Intel's Moblin and Nokia's Maemo combining, Intel Tuesday said it will provide the greatest flexibility for 3D development. In keeping with MeeGo's ethos, much of the laboratory's research in this area will also be open source.
In one of the more science-fictiony areas of development, Intel says research may be done on portable holography so consumers can see a 3D projection of the person they're speaking to.
The Oulu laboratory where Intel and Nokia will be conducting research has a strong community of 3D developers, and the open source virtual reality platform realXtend was a product of work done there. Shown in the video below is Virtual Expo by LudoCraft, which is built upon the realXtend platform.
"3-D technology could change the way we use our mobile devices and make our experiences with them much more immersive," Rich Green, Senior vice president and chief technical officer at Nokia said Tuesday. "Our new joint laboratory with Intel draws on the Oulu research community's 3-D interface expertise, and over time will lay down some important foundations for future mobile experiences."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Open source - Nokia - Moblin - Intel - Maemo

broadbandreports.com

RIAA: Failed 'Sue 'Em All' Campaign A Success - Because it got people talking about how ridiculous the RIAA is...

Posted: August 24th, 2010, 7:58am MDT

The RIAA recently decided to scrap a plan that involved suing P2P users (and potential customers), in the hopes that the surrounding fear would stop piracy. Of course that didn't work, so the current plan appears to be to make deals with ISPs, who'll then threaten copyright infringers with account disconnection (which as we've noted is sometimes a bluff). Talking with Vice Magazine, RIAA boss Cary Sherman claims that their lawsuit campaign was successful, because it got people talking about things over dinner:The time had come to shift over to a strategy that would be more effective. The lawsuits were obviously controversial in the media, but the reality was that most people had no idea that what they were doing was illegal at the time of those lawsuits. We did all sorts of surveys. We tried PR firms. We did everything to look at how to begin to change the culture of using illegal P2P. We realized that 1) none of the messages resonated, and 2) most people had no idea that what they were doing was illegal, let alone thought it was wrong. That completely flipped overnight when we started the lawsuits. It made an enormous impression and we were constantly generating dinner conversations about what you may or may not do with your computer.Of course the "enormous impression" made was that the recording industry was greedy, myopic and out of touch -- and instead of evolving their business models and offering inexpensive, DRM-free piracy alternatives, decided to make life miserable for potential customers. Of course the RIAA's next "successful" campaign will be to buy U.S. laws forcing ISPs to boot users for copyright infringement, which will "successfully" push all P2P toward other, more private distribution methods -- while doing nothing to stop piracy.
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Verizon Defends Goorizon Accord - Our wimpy proposal is better than past wimpy proposals

Posted: August 24th, 2010, 7:28am MDT

Given he helped write it, it's not too surprising to see Verizon's top lobbying and policy guru Tom Tauke reacting poorly to criticism that his company's net neutrality deal with Verizon is an empty shell, designed to pre-empt real network neutrality rules. According to Tauke, the proposal is "much tougher than any nondiscrimination proposal that had ever been put on the table publicly before." That's not saying much, given previous proposals were just as weak as Verizon's (and weren't actual law either). Tauke also insists that not having rules protecting wireless is ok, given there are already rules on the books:Tauke said that the controversy stirred by the proposal's treatment of wireless networks has been "a little ironic, because there is only one company in the U.S. that has a requirement for open access as a wireless entity, and that of course is Verizon." Verizon bid for and won a chunk of valuable wireless spectrum in 2008 that came with so-called open access rules, requiring that the airwaves remain open to a wide array of devices and applications provided by companies other than the airwaves' owner.Verizon enjoys bringing up the 700MHz open access conditions as an example of why wireless consumer protections aren't needed, but they don't bother to note that the rules are jam packed with loopholes making them meaningless. So in short, Tauke is correctly noting that his toothless Goorizon proposal is just as toothless as previous network neutrality proposals.

All of these proposals have simply been show pieces, designed specifically not to restrict Verizon in any way (while keeping real consumer protections at bay). Obviously that's precisely the way Verizoogle wants it as they push harder into the Android tablet/smartphone space.
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ISPs Make Comparison Shopping Difficult - Asked for a price quote up front recently?

Posted: August 24th, 2010, 7:09am MDT

David Lazarus at the Los Angeles Times concisely explores one of the broadband and TV industry's more annoying traits -- their unwillingness to tell you what the full cost of service will be up front. All you'll usually get is your promotional rate, after which the TV operator or ISP piles on a long list of taxes and fees. Ask your ISP to pre-calculate your total up front and you'll usually get some kind of flimsy excuse, notes Lazarus. Verizon tells Lazarus that's just how it is:Jon Davies, a Verizon spokesman, said the company's sales reps aren't being deliberately evasive when it comes to taxes and fees. They're just making sure potential customers have been offered every possible option and add-on before a final price can be given. "We have to build the order to see what the customer is going to get before we can give a final price," Davies said. "We need to make sure they're aware of everything that's available."Of course an example customer in the piece who just wants a base package can't get his price upfront either. Not only does the tactic give the company ample time to upsell a user, it makes comparison shopping more difficult by not letting users just call up and get a quick quote. Meanwhile, as we've long explored, many of those tacked on fees are completely bogus -- and exist simply to impose rate hikes without having to change the advertised price. That last tactic has been ignored by sleeping regulators for years.

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Tuesday Morning Links -

Posted: August 24th, 2010, 5:26am MDT

Internet and broadband: the difference between cake and icing fiercecable.com
Murder by malware: Can computer viruses kill? computerworld.com
UK regulator Ofcom proposes to reserve 'best bits' of mobile broadband for UK Olympic Games broadbandgenie.co.uk
Copps: Broadband regulation will preserve openness fiercecable.com
Airband, Sparkplug merge to create largest US fixed-wireless company fiercebroadbandwireless.com
Verizon's Exec VP Defends Google Policy Accord multichannel.com
Tech industry attacks proposal for mandatory FM radio in cellphones mobile-ent.biz
Police Arrest Researcher Who Showed E-Voting Machines Are Not Secure techdirt.com
AT&T, Dell, Best Buy bank on tablets fiercewireless.com
YouTube surpasses Yahoo! as the Internet s 3rd most visited site thenextweb.com
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BetaNews.Com

TiVo launches QWERTY remote

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 10:00pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

TiVo today has finally launched the full QWERTY TiVo Slide Remote control. The remote was extensively demonstrated at the TiVO Premiere launch in March.
"This is the first ever DVR remote with a full QWERTY keyboard, and we are certain that users will be excited to get their thumbs on it. The slick design has the same fun look of the classic TiVo remote, but makes it even easier to get more from your TV experience," Jim Denney, vice president and general manager of product marketing for TiVo said today.
The TiVo Slide Remote is not an infrared device like the traditional TiVo remote, but connects instead via Bluetooth to a USB dongle that attaches to TiVo Premiere and Premiere XL units, TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL DVRs. It is available right now at Tivo.com and will be available at Best Buy stores this weekend for $89.99.
TiVo is giving away one free Slide Remote every day for the next 30 days, so interested users who don't want to incur the (mysteriously high) expense for one can become a fan of TiVo on Facebook or follow them on Twitter to enter the giveaway.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

TiVo - Digital video recorder - Television - Facebook - QWERTY

broadbandreports.com

Monday Evening Links -

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 5:39pm MDT

Is DSL dipping or diving? fiercetelecom.com
Clearwire best served by moving to TDD-LTE fiercewireless.com
New Round of Talks In Broadband Regulation Debate multichannel.com
Verizon DSL Promos Aimed At Dial-Up Internet Users multichannel.com
Will Seattle be an early Verizon LTE market? fiercewireless.com
Will Reduced Wireless Backhaul Costs Promote Broadband? wirelessweek.com
Motorola's Android 2.2 Rollout: What a Mess networkworld.com
Net neutrality concern as app downloads become bigger earners for mobile operators computerweekly.com
Dual-core chips migrating to smartphone market fiercewireless.com
Fraudsters Drain PayPal Accounts Through iTunes techcrunch.com
Will Google's Net Neutrality Shift Complicate The Book Settlement? booktrade.info
Samsung Blu-ray players won't play Warner, Universal movies after firmware update, require a rollback engadget.com
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DirecTV To Offer NFL Sunday Ticket Via Broadband - $350 for those without the satellite TV service

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 4:46pm MDT

When DirecTV extended their exclusive (and expensive, at more than $700 million a year) distribution deal with the NFL they included the right to deliver NFL games via broadband. Last fall DirecTV started testing their broadband video Sunday Ticket service last fall, and according to the New York Daily News, will be offering it to everyone this fall. Subscribers don't need to be a DirecTV subscriber to get the service, which will cost $350 for a season and will be offered in 720p -- assuming your broadband connection can handle it.
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BetaNews.Com

Halo: Reach hacked, leaked weeks before anticipated release date

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 3:11pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Halo: Reach, a prequel to Microsoft's billion-dollar Halo first person shooter series was scheduled to launch on September 14 worldwide, but a pre-release version of the game leaked early and has found its way across the Web.
The title, however, wasn't kept under tight lock and key.
Microsoft put the full version of Halo: Reach on Xbox Live Marketplace for media and reviewers to download with a pricetag of 99,999 Microsoft points to prevent the public from accessing it. A group of users on a game modding site called Game-Tuts.com took credit last week for cracking Halo: Reach.
A user going by the name Joakim posted: "So after alot of .xex cracking etc. Me and my team finally did it, we got Halo: Reach! This is not released for public, and we are not really planning on releasing either."
The file, however, found its way out within 24 hours of that post. The precise source of the leak has not yet been determined.
To play the game, an Xbox 360 hardware modification called JTAG is required. With this, users can install any size hard drive or launch unsigned games through a parallel PC connection.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Microsoft - Xbox - Xbox Live Marketplace - haloreach - Games

broadbandreports.com

Virgin Mobile Embraces Prepaid Unlimited - $40, thirty days, unlimited usage...

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 1:55pm MDT

Sprint owned prepaid operator Virgin Mobile has shaken up their wireless broadband pricing, announcing via Facebook that the company is unveiling new pricing. The new pricing includes either $10 for 100 MB of usage over ten days, or $40 for unlimited broadband service that's good for thirty days. Virgin Mobile has tinkered with their prepaid data plan tiers several times, though this is the first time they're offering an unlimited option. Sprint recently stated they felt unlimited plans helped simplify things for consumers, and Virgin's unlimited tier is a nice choice for people (especially travelers) who don't want to worry about per-byte overages.
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Sprint Starts Offering EVDO Femtocells - And they're free for many users...

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 11:42am MDT

Sprint was the first wireless carrier to embrace femtocell technology, their Airave service debuting back in 2007 and allowing unlimited mobile calls over a user's home broadband connection for an added fee. While the old version didn't support EVDO wireless broadband, they've started shipping a new unit that does. The new unit can run up to six simultaneous calls (up from three with the last unit), and Sprint is giving the device away free to customers who call in and complain about indoor coverage. In fact, we know someone who was given two Airaves for free; one for his home and one for his small business down the road.
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BetaNews.Com

PocketGear secures $15M to advance 'largest open app store'

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 11:17am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

PocketGear, the cross-platform mobile application retailer which acquired mobile app store Handango earlier this year, has closed a round of series B funding, which earned the company fifteen million dollars.
The round of funding was led by Trident Capital, and included investments from BlackBerry Partners Fund, and Google CEO Eric Schmidt's TomorrowVentures LLC.
Currently, PocketGear sells downloadable apps for Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Android, Symbian, PalmOS, and Java-based devices in both the North American and European markets. The company says the money will be put toward growing its sales and marketing teams, expanding its global presence, and to fund continuing development in its technology and platforms.
"As we power more app stores for our partners, PocketGear provides an even more powerful distribution channel for our network of developers. Trident and BlackBerry Partners Fund both have deep experience and success in mobile and Internet services and, like us, believe that an open marketplace will deliver more value for all of the key stakeholders across the mobile value chain," Jud Bowman, President and CEO of PocketGear said in a prepared statement today. Market research firm Gartner estimated that 99% of mobile app sales for 2009 came from the iTunes app store, but as users gradually abandon their old flip phones for smartphones of various types that support third-party application installation, this statistic will balance itself out.
PocketGear's app store network includes Handango, Smartphone.net, PocketGear, Mobile2Day, AndroidGear, SymbianGear, and RimGear.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Handango - BlackBerry - Windows Mobile - Google - PocketGear
HP counters Dell's 3PAR acquisition bid with 33% higher offer

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 9:01am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

One week after Dell announced its intention to acquire virtualized storage company 3PAR for $1.15 billion, HP announced it has submitted a counter offer of $1.6 billion to acquire the company.
HP had actually made a private offer to acquire 3PAR previously, but the company passed on it, accepting instead Dell's $1.15 billion share buyout bid. Monday's counteroffer from HP was public.
"We understand that you will first need to communicate this proposal and your Board's determinations to Dell, but we are prepared to execute the merger agreement immediately following your termination of the Dell merger agreement," said a letter to 3PAR from Shane Robiso, HP's Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer. "We also are prepared to commence a cash tender offer reflecting our higher price. Our tender offer would, of course, be conditioned upon your Board of Directors' approval of a transaction with HP."
Dell's acquisition offer broke down to $18 per share; HP's breaks down to $24 per share, or approximately 33% higher.
The offer would have to be approved by 3PAR's board of directors if it is to go forward. 3PAR has not made an official statement today, but we've contacted the company with questions, and we will follow up with updates.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Dell - Hewlett-Packard - Board of Directors - Company - Vice president

broadbandreports.com

Verizon Targets Dial-Up Laggards - Assuming there are any left....

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 7:52am MDT

Coming off of their worst quarter ever for DSL losses, AT&T and Verizon are once again tinkering with their DSL pricing in the hopes of luring cost-conscious customers who aren't looking for the fastest connection. AT&T's brought back their $15-$20 DSL prices (depending on the market), and now Verizon tells us they've cooked up a new "Regional Value bundle" that offers existing landline users the ability to tack 768-1Mbps kbps DSL service onto their landline for $35 total. "This is a very value-conscious deal at a time when our customers need value the most," Verizon's Robert Elek tells us. Oddly, new landline customers have to pay $45 per month for the same package, a price point that doesn't exactly scream value for POTS and slow DSL.
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France Sees The $60 Quadruple Play - VoIP, DSL/Fiber, TV and wireless for 45 Euros

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 7:25am MDT

We've often pointed to France as an interesting case study, where the country took our discarded idea of open access, ran with it, and now users in several markets wound up seeing some ridiculously competitive deals. How ridiculous? Users can often get unlimited VoIP, TV service, and broadband speeds up to 100 Mbps for around $40 a month. According to industry analyst Dave Burstein, the land of the $40 triple play is now turning into the land of the $60 quadruple play, as companies add wireless to the mix for very little money. Right now, several of these deals involve 20 Mbps + DSL, though similar fiber deals are coming.
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Cord Cutters Still Rare - And cable industry hopes to keep it that way

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 7:08am MDT

The New York Times is running an article with a popular theme: namely that broadband video is over-hyped as a threat to traditional cable TV. Many people cut the cord only to find out that can't gain access to the content they want anywhere if they don't have a cable TV connection -- something the Cable industry's "TV Anywhere" model encourages, given it requires a cable TV connection to get access to the industry's walled-garden playground. As such, cord cutters are still a minority:A New York Times/CBS News poll this month found that 88 percent of respondents paid for traditional TV service. Just 15 percent of those subscribers had considered replacing it with Internet video services like Hulu and YouTube. . . Even through the downturn, the number of people subscribing to pay TV continued to grow. Cable, satellite and fiber-optic providers added 677,000 customers in the first quarter of this year, according to the investment firm Sanford C. Bernstein.We've consistently shown how internet video ad revenue is minuscule when compared to traditional TV, and that it will be that way for another decade. Still, once someone develops the perfect broadband video living room solution, all of this can change rather quickly. There's a massive potential market out there of users tired of overpaying for television service and eager to pay for a la carte TV.
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HBO Wont Share Content With Netflix - 'There is value in exclusivity,' says HBO's Kessler

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 6:55am MDT

HBO hasn't exactly warmed to the broadband-driven Internet video revolution. Over the years they've been accused of poisoning copies of their TV shows available for download via BitTorrent, petitioned the FCC to make DVR recording of subscription video-on demand illegal, and even hinted at possibly suing Slingbox for allowing the re-transmission of their content. Now as Netflix streaming gains in popularity, HBO Co-President Eric Kessler tell Bloomberg the company has no intention of letting Netflix gain access to HBO content:"There is value in exclusivity," Kessler said in an interview. Consumers "are willing to pay a premium for high quality, exclusive content," he said...HBO's stand prevents Los Gatos, California-based Netflix from gaining online access to titles from all of the major studios. Netflix members can see films from Walt Disney Co. and Sony Pictures Entertainment online through a deal between the subscription movie service and Liberty Media Corp.'s Starz channel, which has separate accords with both studios.While that's certainly HBO's right, it's possible they could stand to make more money collaborating with Netflix than competing with them. HBO's of course protecting their new broadband-video service HBO Go. HBO Go is only available to customers whose ISP or cable provider have struck an arrangement with the company -- and right now, only Comcast and Verizon have.
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Monday Morning Links -

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 6:05am MDT

Can staid BlackBerry survive the smartphone wars? thestar.com
The Aussie NBN rollout schedule becomes a serious political football itwire.com
RIM close to solving Indian government problem with monitoring system v3.co.uk
UK Universal 2Mbps broadband 'will leave users behind' computeach.co.uk
Comcast: We Sped Up Your Internet... Oh, No, Actually, We Didn't techdirt.com
Court Rejects Patent On 'Watch An Ad To Get Content' techdirt.com
Virgin Mobile USA launches unlimited mobile broadband plan for $40 techwhack.com
Motorola in Froyo crackdown theinquirer.net
What to do? Samsung Galaxy S firmware update invalidates Vodafone warranties theregister.co.uk
Buyer beware: Misleading HDMI cable labels suggest needless upgrades msnbc.com
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Friday Evening Links -

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 5:32pm MDT

Senators question potential Sprint-Huawei deal fiercewireless.com
Trojan-ridden warning system implicated in Spanish airliner crash, 154 deaths theregister.co.uk
Sprint begins offering EV-DO femtocells fiercewireless.com
UK ISP Demon to prioritise gaming broadband traffic pcpro.co.uk
The Tragic Death of Practically Everything Tech pcworld.com
Warflying? Hackers create 'W.A.S.P.' (Wi-Fi Aerial Surveillance Platform) to fly around and find people s insecure Internet connections pcworld.com
Apple may be looking to lock out unauthorized iOS users arstechnica.com
The Fading Glory of the Television and Telephone pewsocialtrends.org
Steve Jobs: Software Fix Coming For Slow iOS 4 Performance On iPhone 3G thenextweb.com
Guy Sues Online Game Company For Making Game Too Addictive techdirt.com
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BetaNews.Com

New industry meetings over net neutrality being hosted by lobbyists

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 4:20pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

While much of the focus has been on Google and Verizon when it comes to net neutrality as of late, the Wall Street Journal has reported that lobbyists began a new set of talks among a much wider group on Wednesday.
The Information Technology Industry Council is a lobbying firm which represents dozens of companies, including Apple, AOL, Cisco, HP, Microsoft, Nokia, and RIM among others. Reports indicate Microsoft is in attendance as is Cisco. AT&T and Verizon are also involved in the negotiations, but Google is not.
An ITIC spokesperson is characterizing the meeting as an attempt to generate a net neutrality deal that could gain "broad cross-sector support." It did mention the Google-Verizon deal, and it may be quite possible that the meeting could be used to drum up support for that particular proposal, although the exact topics of the meetings are unknown.
A Google spokesperson confirmed that the company is not part of these new round of talks. Other companies that the ITIC represents did not return requests for confirmation on whether or not they are part of any discussion. One party is notably absent, and that's the Federal Communications Commission.
The FCC did not criticize however, with a spokesperson telling the WSJ they were pleased to see that a dialog was ongoing.
Such a stance seems in opposition to what some of its own commissioners have said: Commissioner Michael Copps has consistently criticized the Google-Verizon deal, most recently calling it an attempt to "build a world of private Internets that would vastly diminish the centrality of the Internet that you and I know."
No public interest groups have been invited to this round of talks, unlike the unsuccessful FCC talks. Those groups used that fact to point out that the consumer has no representation in these latest talks, making them illegitimate.
"The public does not need more time-consuming deliberations," Media Access Project senior vice president and policy director Andrew Jay Schwartzman said in a statement. "The FCC should take prompt action to assert its authority over broadband providers' network management practices, without further delay."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Google - Microsoft - Apple - Federal Communications Commission - Wall Street Journal

broadbandreports.com

Weekend Open Thread - Perhaps you'd feel better if you talked about it...

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 4:00pm MDT

The weekend has finally dropped. Empty your thoughts into the comment section below. Just remember to clean up after yourselves.
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Fairpoint Asks CEO To Leave - As company tries to emerge from bankruptcy

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 3:14pm MDT

Fairpoint has been trying to exit from bankruptcy after their acquisition of Verizon's landline and DSL networks proved to be a little more than they could handle. The company's plan has run into a little snag, as Vermont regulators recently decided to not approve Fairpoint's reorganization plan, arguing that Fairpoint's financial projections weren't realistic. Fairpoint's trying to get Vermont regulators to change their mind, and if that doesn't work -- they plan to try to get a federal bankruptcy court to overturn Vermont's June 28 decision. Meanwhile, Fairpoint's creditors have asked CEO David Hauser to resign, after just fourteen months on the job.
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BetaNews.Com

Is Apple the real U.S. PC market share leader -- or soon will be?

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 2:34pm MDT by Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

The answer to the question depends on how iPad is classified and how the shipments add up combined with Macs. Is iPad a PC, like Windows tablets or low-powered netbooks? The definition is sure to generate controversy because of what's at stake -- which manufacturer is market share leader in the United States.
Late yesterday, I contacted Gartner and IDC, which both measure global PC shipments. But only Gartner responded to my question about how iPad is classified. It is clear from preliminary second quarter PC shipment data that neither analyst firm calculated iPad with PC shipments (Gartner explicitly explained so in its press release: "Gartner's PC group does not track media tablet sales in this PC shipment data, so iPad sales are not included in these results.") A Gartner spokesperson responded to my question about classification: "We don't have data for this category yet. We hope to have some stats for this category at some time shortly."
But what category is that? Media tablets? Windows tablets have been shipping for years, then there are slate netbooks. Don't these devices count as PCs? If so, then why not iPad? Apple's tablet has a microprocessor, graphics processor and storage disk, runs an operating system and third-party applications and connects to the Internet. That sure sounds like a personal computer to me. There's a touch keypad, or the user can attach a physical keyboard by Bluetooth. If PC classification requires a mouse, well, iPad doesn't have one of those. But should no mouse make iPad no PC?
So I'll ask you, before showing why the classification is so important: What is a PC? Please answer in comments.
In mid July, Gartner and IDC released preliminary worldwide PC shipments. Final numbers should be soon coming, now that Dell and HP announced quarterly results (yesterday). Both analyst firms placed HP No. 1 during second quarter for global PC shipments. HP and Dell ranked first and second, respectively, in the United States. Their rankings were based on estimated shipments. The analyst firms should have had final data from most other PC manufacturers before making the preliminary announcement.
Global Top 5, Gartner
1. HP, 14.455 million
2. Acer, 10.796 million
3. Dell, 10.283 million
4. Lenovo, 8.31 million
5. ASUS, 4.318 million
US Top 5, Gartner
1. HP, 4.608 million
2. Dell, 4.236 million
3. Acer, 2.028 million
4. Apple, 1.749 million
5. Toshiba, 1.565 million
According to Apple's fiscal third calendar-quarter earnings announcement, 3.472 million Macs shipped during calendar Q2. Apple also shipped 3.27 million iPads. If iPad counts as a PC and the numbers are combined, then Apple shipped 6.742 million personal computers during second quarter. That's high enough to raise Apple to No. 5 in global PC shipments.
Figuring US placement is dicier, because publicly-available information is incomplete. Apple announced 2 million iPads sold on May 31, which effectively means through the 30th -- or two days after international sales started. During the last month of the quarter, iPad was available in 10 countries. Apple hasn't released a geographic breakdown of sales and probably won't. The first million units came before Apple opened international sales, which is more than enough to push Apple ahead of Acer and snatch away third place.
But how much of that remaining 2.27 million units went to the United States? If 1.487 million (plus the 1 million for certain), then Apple would match Dell. If 1.859 million (plus the 1 million for certain), then Apple would match HP -- based on Gartner's preliminary data. To match Dell, international sales would be only 783,000 and 411,000 to match HP. However, IDC puts Apple unit shipments lower (1.618 million) and HP and Dell higher (4.721 million and 4.408 million, respectively). Based on those figures, it's unrealistic that Apple would rank any higher than third place. Again, the numbers are not exact. Gartner and IDC released preliminary shipments, and Apple's data stops two days before the quarter ended.
But what about third quarter? Could Apple top Dell or HP? The answer would depend on how iPad is classified. Is it a PC? If, yes, then based on analysts projections for PCs, Macs and iPads, Apple almost certainly could sell more units than HP or Dell in the United States. I've seen Wall Street analysts' iPad shipment estimates range from about 4 million to over 5 million units. Macs: Hovering above 3 million units. Assuming even half the combined Macs and iPads were sold here, Apple would be in striking distance of topping either HP or Dell.
In several previous blogs, I've asserted that iPad is the cheapest Mac that anyone can buy. But should iPad be counted as a PC? Netbooks are PCs, and ASUS recently reduced netbook shipments because of iPad competition. Apple's tablet certainly competes with PCs. Should it be counted as one? You tell me. In comments.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - United States - Gartner - IPad - Dell
Comcast-NBCU merger opponents make one last push at FCC

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 2:21pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

The final comment period before the Federal Communications Commission makes its ruling on whether or not to approve the Comcast-NBC Universal merger ended on Thursday, and opponents made one last effort to stop it in its tracks.
Comcast fought off those complaints, calling them "nothing more than preexisting or industry-wide grievances" that should not be part of the decision to approve the merger. It also accused some of those attempting to put additional conditions on the deal were attempting "to foist unprecedented and onerous burdens on the combined entity."
That certainly is not the opinion of some of its closest competitors. In its own filing, satellite provider DirecTV expressed concern that Comcast could intentionally make it more difficult for its rivals to get NBCU programming, whether that be by raising carriage rates or moving programming online and then restricting access from there.
The nation's largest cable provider has already stuck its finger in DirecTV's eye once before: Comcast has refused to sell either it or Dish Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, which is the single largest carrier of Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers games in the region. Comcast either owns or has a significant stake in all three teams.
While larger cable firms such as Time Warner filed in support of the deal, an organization representing smaller cable providers -- the American Cable Association -- asked for conditions similar to what DirecTV asked for.
"Comcast-NBCU will have unmatched leverage in traditional and online media markets to harm competitive cable and satellite operators by driving up their programming costs to very troublesome levels," ACA President and CEO Matthew Polka said in a statement.
Others are going for an outright rejection of the merger, such as media interest group Free Press. It along with three other groups filed comments in opposition, and pointed out that 94 percent of the comments filed so far with the FCC have been in opposition.
"Comcast has failed to demonstrate that the benefits of the merger will outweigh its considerable harms," Free Press policy counsel Corie Wright said. "In its current form, the proposed merger suffers from a sizable public interest deficit."
Comcast executive vice president David Cohen responded to critics by saying these groups were blowing things out of proportion, and that comparatively to other major media deals, the Comcast-NBCU merger was relatively small.
"Not surprisingly, a few perennial critics of entertainment and communications companies have made apocalyptic predictions, just like they've made for years and years," he wrote on the company's blog. "The credibility of their arguments is thoroughly undercut by today's dynamic competitive media marketplace."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Federal Communication Commission - Comcast - NBC Universal - DirecTV - FCC
Scitable pulls scientific research out from behind the paywall

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 12:57pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

I experienced quite a personal shock when I aged out of having access to my university's research portal. The vast catalog of peer-reviewed journals, empirical studies, and thorough analytical research I had at my disposal as a student was boarded up behind a distinct paywall not long after I finished school.
The fast-moving news, blogs, forums, and free tools I had been taught to eschew were suddenly all I had. My principal option (besides re-enrolling in school) was to become a member of a research service like LexisNexis or NewsLibrary; but those portals cost several hundred dollars a year each. I suddenly recognized that the best information on the Web is not free.
But Nature Publishing group, the publishers responsible for the academic journal Nature, and the consumer publication Scientific American are changing that.
The group has spent the last year advancing a service called Scitable, which removes that academic paywall, and puts high-quality, vetted scientific learning materials online freely for anyone to use.
While this is itself useful, Open Access is only half of Scitable's mission; the other half is Open Discussion. To achieve this, Scitable has built-in collaboration tools that let teachers, researchers, and students hold online discussions about science topics 24 hours a day in the form of message boards, chats, private message threads, and "learning paths."
Currently, Scitable is limited to articles in the field of genetics, which are intended for college undergraduate faculty and students. But the site will eventually grow to include other topics.
This means students from different schools can share discussions on common subjects, or connect with researchers in a subject that they're studying; and teachers can utilize the information as a supplement to their textbooks and learning materials.
It is, in effect, a Collaborative Learning Network, a social construct that the Linux community has long embraced, except instead of basing it on communal knowledge, it is based upon information approved by an academic source.
Scitable is completely free, but receives funding from sponsors Intel, Roche Applied Science, Tata Consultancy Services, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, and New England Biolabs.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Scitable - Nature - Tata Consultancy Services - Education - Journals
Nokia beefs up mobile developer support with Motally buy

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 12:20pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

In a move likely aimed at putting it on a more even keel with Apple's App Store, Nokia on Friday announced it had acquired mobile analytics firm Motally. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the acquisition is expected to complete before the end of the third quarter.
Motally's metrics help developers understand how their users are interacting with their applications. Nokia would adapt the company's technologies to work with its Symbian platform as well as Meego, Qt, and Java, although it plans to continue serving current customers.
The company currently has tools compatible with Apple's iOS platform, as well as BlackBerry and Android.
Nokia says the acquisition will allow developers for its platform to better monetize their applications. It also certainly appears that the company seems to understand that its overall offering is beginning to fall behind its much larger competitor Apple.
The Cupertino company has put a good deal of focus on the backend of the App Store, giving developers analytics tools as well as other services -- such as iAd -- intended to make applications more profitable. Ovi, Nokia's answer to the App Store, so far has not done that.
While Apple has certainly led the industry in terms of mobile application development and support, Nokia's Symbian operating system still has the largest share of the market overall. Data from research firm Gartner indicated it had just over 41 percent of the market in the quarter ending June 30, leading all other platforms.
Nokia did acquire a mobile ad service back in 2007 called Enpocket. However, the market did not take off as fast as the company may have expected, and plans to fully implement Enpocket into its services have been slow to occur.
Motally, based in San Francisco, Calif., was founded in 2008 and has a staff of eight people.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Nokia - San Francisco - Android - Apple - BlackBerry

broadbandreports.com

Magic Jack Femtocell Device 'On Hold' - Though company offers new MagicTalk software platform

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 11:04am MDT

As we noted back in January, Magic Jack is gearing up to offer a new femtocell product that will allow users to make cheap calls using a GSM-based mobile phone. There's still very limited technical details about the product, outside of the fact it detects a compatible phone within eight feet of the USB femto device, and allows users to make VoIP calls with it. Back in January Magic Jack said the device was supposed to go on sale right around now for somewhere between $20-$40.

More recently the company started telling blogs that the product is still expected to come out this year -- but with a new wrinkle: the company's partnering with an as-yet-unnamed mobile carrier. Except given the technology is GSM based, here in the States obviously the company would have to partner either with AT&T or T-Mobile. But according to a new article by Peter Svensson of the AP, the project is now "on hold" as finding that partner has apparently proven difficult:Borislow said plans for the device are now on hold. The device had to use low signal power levels to get around legal restrictions on the use of licensed spectrum, but that also shortened the range and reduced sound quality. He's now looking for a carrier partner that would allow him to turn the power up.In other words, neither AT&T or T-Mobile were interested in promoting a technology that could cannibalize their own business models. Of course Magic Jack creator Dan Borislow has something else cooked up: he's launching a software version of Magic Jack this week called MagicTalk that offers free calls to landlines or cellphones in the U.S. or Canada.
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BetaNews.Com

'Innocent Infringer' copyright defense for downloaders goes to U.S. Supreme Court

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 9:12am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

The case of Whitney Harper, the first defendant in a peer-to-peer copyright infringement suit to use the "innocent infringer" defense, was submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in the form of an Amicus brief Thursday by a group of "Cyberprofessors" led by digital copyright reformer Professor Charles Nesson.
Nesson's group, calls this the "next generation of P2P lawsuits."
In 2004, when Harper was only sixteen years old, copyright monitoring company MediaSentry found that she was sharing 544 copyrighted songs on peer-to-peer network KaZaA. Harper's father was subsequently taken to court in the Western District of Texas by Warner Brothers, Sony BMG, Maverick Recording Co., UMG Recordings, and Arista Records for violation of the Copyright Act of 1976, requesting minimum statutory damages of $750 for each song.
Harper admitted to using KaZaA, but said that she had no reason to believe she was breaking any laws, and that she believed KaZaA was "similar to online radio stations." The district court allowed this "innocent infringer" defense, but it was overturned in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In their appeal, the labels argued that copyright warnings on physical CDs should serve as enough of a warning against P2P downloading, saying "one need only have access to some CD and see that the recording is subject to copyright."
Even though Harper may have never seen the CDs, their existence was enough of a safeguard for the Appellate court to reverse the District Court's "innocent infringer" ruling.
"Copyright notices on album covers in record stores are no substitute. To a person viewing an Internet file in cyberspace who genuinely does not know or have reason to know that file is copyrighted, they provide neither actual notice nor reasonable notice of copyright. They provide no basis for disregarding Harper's state of mind in downloading digital files," Thursday's brief said. "Not all music is copyrighted, and from the viewpoint of the music downloader on the Internet, copyright-restricted files often appear to be no different from noncopyrighted files."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

MediaSentry - Arista Records - Sony BMG - Copyright Act of 1976 - Copyright infringement

broadbandreports.com

WiMax 2 To Be Finalized In November - With deployment possible sometime in 2012

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 7:15am MDT

Nearly every major global telco plans to embrace LTE, a number of high profile major global WiMax supporters have either shifted from WiMax to LTE or shut down, and WiMax's poster children here in the States, Sprint and Clearwire, have both clearly stated they'll jump to LTE if the wind blows that way (and it is). That's of course not stopping the WiMax 2 (802.16m) standard from being finalized by the IEEE this November, with initial deployments potentially in 2012. Earlier this year Clearwire stated they were in no rush to test the new standard. WiMax 2 can deliver 120 Mbps downstream and 60 Mbps upstream by using a 4X2 MIMO antenna configuration with a single 20 MHz TDD channel.
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Pirate Party Offers To Host Wikileaks - 'Real responsibility for changing the world...'

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 6:28am MDT

Sweden's Pirate Party recently made headlines for not only agreeing to be The Pirate Bay's bandwidth provider, but for deciding to use Parliamentary immunity to run the site from inside the Swedish Parliament. Then, they began plans to launch "Pirate ISP," an ISP that will openly support the exchange of copyrighted files while thumbing its nose at the draconian nature of both Swedish and United States copyright laws. Now, the Pirate Party has struck a deal with Wikileaks to host several of their servers. Says Pirate Party leader Rick Falkvinge:"I love opportunities to demonstrate that one of the biggest differences between us and the other parties is that we positively leap at any and all changes to take real responsibility for changing the world, rather than just commission reports and avoiding blame like the archetypal politician," Falkvinge added.Not only would the entertainment and software industries love to see both the Pirate Party and Wikileaks shut down, but so would a significant number of corporations and the majority of the U.S. military and intelligence community. In other words, this could get rather interesting.
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Google CEO Perfecting The Art Of Creepy Statements - Somebody should tell him many people are already terrified of Google

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 6:27am MDT

It hasn't been a particularly good few weeks for Google from a brand perspective, largely thanks to their network neutrality flip-flop, which we've documented in fairly extensive detail. But CEO Eric Schmidt hasn't exactly been helping things, recently ramping up his marginally creepy commentary by stating that everyone will eventually need government online identifiers to help curb "criminal or anti-social behavior." This week, Schmidt proclaimed that kids today should be able to change their names once they reach adulthood, in order to cover up all the ridiculous things they did as kids that Google's busy tracking and storing. While a good chunk of the public's worry about Google is over-inflated (Google can only store what you put online), Schmidt isn't helping things by giving the Google phobic more to worry about.
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San Francisco Launches Free Wi-Fi - Joins Denver and Seattle airports...

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 6:26am MDT

Our friend Glenn Fleishman directs our attention to the fact that the San Francisco airport has launched their free Wi-Fi service ahead of schedule. San Francisco is the largest airport yet to ditch their menu of paid services and instead offer free access to visitors, joining similar moves by the Denver and Seattle airports.
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Friday Morning Links -

Posted: August 20th, 2010, 6:22am MDT

3G Femto a 'Key Project' for Verizon? lightreading.com
Hughes wins $58.7M stimulus deal for rural broadband gazette.net
Apple kills Quattro to focus on iAds telecoms.com
Recording Industry Using Net Neutrality Debate To Try To Link Child Porn With Copyright Infringement Again techdirt.com
Belgian ISP reveals one data hog gobbles 2.7TB of data in a month arstechnica.com
Energy firm proposes private LTE network for oil and gas firms fiercewireless.com
Researcher: Code-execution bug affects 200 Windows apps theregister.co.uk
Marvell buys into broadband-over-power electronics-eetimes.com
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Thursday Evening Links -

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 5:31pm MDT

Sprint tests more aggressive WiMAX pricing in select markets fiercebroadbandwireless.com
Report says free hotspot locations now outnumber paid locations in US fiercebroadbandwireless.com
Intel to Acquire McAfee, Moving Into Online Security nytimes.com
T-Mobile s HSPA+ G2 4G Speed Is Just Another Market Ploy wirelessweek.com
Music industry questions Google and Verizon on piracy and their proposed regulatory framework thehill.com
Facing up to the 'mobile data tsunami' philly.com
Comcast 'Clears' Denver for 4G in 2011 cedmagazine.com
Apple testing iOS 4.1 alongside next-gen iPod touch, iPad and 'unknown' product appleinsider.com
New Software Out Now To Unlock Iphone 3g, 3gs And Iphone 4 Ios 4.0, 4.0.1 And 4.0.2 yahoo.com
Unhackable PS3 finally jailbroken? theregister.co.uk
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Verizon Testing $99 Unlimited Postpaid Offer - Takes Aim At Sprint's Simply Everything plan

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 3:54pm MDT

Fierce Wireless notes that Verizon is currently testing a new, post paid $99 unlimited voice, data and SMS/MMS plan designed to take aim at Sprint's "Simply Everything" plan. The new offer, so far only being tested in retail outlets in Los Angeles and San Diego, would be about $20 less than what Verizon's currently offering for unlimited data, text and voice. Verizon's current $90 unlimited text and voice plan is currently $70 in those test markets as well. The tests of course may or may not result in a nationwide launch, depending on whether Verizon likes the trial results.
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BetaNews.Com

40 Windows apps affected by critical security flaw, researcher claims

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 3:43pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

A Texas-based researcher claimed he had discovered that about 40 different Windows apps, including the Windows shell, suffer from a critical vulnerability that could open up users to attacks by hackers. The flaw was originally discovered in iTunes for Windows, and was patched by Apple four months ago with iTunes 9.1.
Rapid7 chief security officer HD Moore detailed his findings to Computerworld in an interview on Wednesday. He said a wide range of applications are affected, and it was found while looking into another flaw involving Windows shortcuts, which Microsoft patched in an emergency update.
The flaw exists in how the programs handle malformed DLLs. While the methods to trigger the hole differ slightly from application to application, execution causes the hole to open which allows the hacker to execute arbitrary code and/or install malware on the infected machine.
Apple said at the time that the issue only affected Windows versions of iTunes, and not the Mac. Since Mac OS X does not use DLL files, the attack does not work on that operating system. There is no reason to believe that a similar flaw exists on that platform, either.
A single patch from Microsoft will not fix the problem: Moore said that each application would have to be patched on its own. He also would not disclose the names of those applications affected in order to prevent any attacks from occurring.
Users concerned with this vulnerability should block outbound TCP ports 139 and 445, as well as disabling the WebDAV client. This was a similar suggestion given to users as a workaround if they could not install the update to patch the shortcut vulnerability.
It is not immediately clear why the issue affects so many applications, or what these applications may share in terms of development that could give clues to its origin. So far, those working on the flaw have stayed quiet, leaving only speculation as to what may be the cause.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - Microsoft - iTunes - Windows - Operating system
Toshiba's hard drive breakthough could herald mega-capacity drives

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 1:31pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Toshiba said Wednesday that it had made a breakthrough in hard disk design that will allow hard drives to have much higher capacities than what is currently possible today. The research is in something called bit-patterned media, a magnetic storage technology.
The recording surface is broken up into tiny magnetic bits, each of which can hold a single bit of data. The bits are made up of several grains, which are organized in rows. This organization is what makes it possible for data to be found easily.
Current technologies require the data to be spread across a broader section of the disk, requiring hundreds of magnetic grains to store bits of data. However this technology is reaching its upper limits, requiring drive manufacturers to look for new ways to store data.
Bit-patterned drives could hold some 2.5 terabits of data on every square inch of recordable space. Contrast this with the highest densities that Toshiba has currently been able to squeeze out of current technologies -- 541 gigabits -- and the company's breakthrough seems even more stunning.
Such a breakthrough would mean a current standard 3.5-inch HDD could hold at least 8 terabytes of data, far above the current limits of 2 and 3 terabytes. The technology is still a good ways off though: Toshiba doesn't expect the drives to hit the market until 2013.
A lot of work still remains. The company has yet to be able to read or write data to the prototype drives it has made, although it has been able to detect a track. That track detection is important though: it is the first step towards making the technology usable.
The announcement was made at the Magnetic Recording Conference, underway this week in San Diego. While Toshiba's competitors, such as Seagate and Western Digital, are working on bit-patterned drives, they claim the technology is far from becoming a standard.
Instead, those companies are working on competing technologies, such as single magnetic recording and heat-assisted magnetic recording -- despite the fact that there too questions remain as to their viability and cost-effectiveness.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

San Diego - Hard disk drive - MagneticStorage - Toshiba - Storage
LightSquared initiates L-band spectrum shift critical to new 4G LTE/Satellite network

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 1:02pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

LightSquared, the company responsible for the first wholesale hybrid Satellite/Cellular network that many expect will power the 4G services of at least one of the four major wireless carriers in the U.S., announced Wednesday the beginning of the wireless spectrum shift that will ultimately make its network possible.
In a December 2007 agreement, SkyTerra (now LightSquared) and mobile satellite service provider Inmarsat arranged a system that would allow the L-band spectrum to be re-banded for use in both MSS (satellite) and ATC (terrestrial) services.
On Wednesday, LightSquared delivered notice to Inmarsat to begin the first phase of this agreement. The first phase will be an 18-month transition period for Inmarsat where it switches to a modified spectrum plan, and LightSquared begins making its annual payments for the L-band spectrum the new plan frees up. During this phase, LightSquared is expected to pay $337.5 million to Inmarsat.
"Implementation of this agreement represents a significant milestone in LightSquared's plan to build the nation's first wholesale only 4G-LTE wireless broadband network," said Sanjiv Ahuja, chairman and chief executive officer of LightSquared. "Triggering this agreement will now give us the contiguous spectrum we need to support additional network capacity to meet the growing demand for wireless data."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Satellite - Inmarsat - Sanjiv Ahuja - Business - United States

broadbandreports.com

Satellite Providers Once Again Promising To Suck Less - Carriers still hyping boosted capacity of new satellites...

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 12:56pm MDT

We've mentioned how satellite broadband is the Rodney Dangerfield of broadband connectivity, given the ridiculously low caps, high prices, and slow speeds. With the satellite industry pushing for broadband stimulus funds, they're heavily hyping next year's launch of ViaSat 1, which Viasat insists will have more capacity than all current commercial satellites combined. The NY Times is running yet another in a number of articles where satellite providers insist they're finally getting ready to not suck:WildBlue s alone will have 10 times the capacity of its three current satellites combined. Such behemoths, the companies say, will enable them, at prices similar to what they now charge, to provide Internet service at speeds many times faster than they now offer as fast, in some cases, as fiber connections. Further, the companies argue, satellites can provide service more easily and cheaply per subscriber than their earthbound cable and phone company competitors, particularly to the 14 million to 24 million Americans who live in areas without broadband service.Most satellite customers will have to see this kind of satellite broadband Utopia to believe it. Satellite providers have been making these kind of over-the-horizon promises for the better part of a decade, but limited capacity and their pesky inability to defeat basic physics have left them as little more than marginal providers. Viasat purchased WildBlue in 2009, and says that they're planning to "reposition WildBlue as a higher-end service," as in, one that can actually deliver the speeds they promise. That might be a good place to start.
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BetaNews.Com

RIAA, music industry step into net neutrality debate once again

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 12:05pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

In a letter to Google chief Eric Schmidt, RIAA and 12 other music industry groups asked that any proposal on the issue of net neutrality be specific in taking steps to combat copyright infringement and child pornography. The inclusion of pornography in the industry's request is somewhat unusual considering none of the groups listed are active participants in any anti-pornography efforts.
The groups feel that any proposal should permit ISPs to take action against these issues. While the proposal put forth by Google and Verizon does address 'unlawful content,' it is not specific as to what that may entail.
"We all share the goal of a robust Internet that is highly accessible, secure and safe for individuals and commerce," the letter reads. "An Internet predicated on order, rather than chaos, facilitates achievement of this goal."
Asking for some type of provision over copyright protection is nothing new to the industry: executives pushed for a similar statement in the FCC's National Broadband Plan, and they have asked for a distinction in previous net neutrality discussions. However, this is the first time the industry is doing so in a public matter.
RIAA's moves could be due to the failure of the industry to get control of piracy through legal channels. A review of tax documents from 2006 to 2008 indicate that while RIAA spent over $58 million in lawyer fees, it only managed to recover about $1.4 million in restitution.
That failure may be the reason why the music industry is now turning to ISPs themselves to curb so-called "unlawful" traffic in an effort to fight pirates in a much more cost-effective way.
"The current legal and regulatory regime is not working for America's creators," the groups continue. "Our businesses are being undermined, as are the dreams and careers of songwriters, artists, musicians, studio technicians, and other professionals."
Such a move likely will not be popular with net neutrality proponents, who have already pushed back on efforts to define what is lawful and what is not when it comes to Internet traffic. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has said it believes such proposals could be used to limit free speech, noting that the industry had tried a similar tact last year.
In working on its own proposal for net neutrality, the FCC included a provision that allowed the ISPs to block content in an effort to prevent copyright infringment from occurring.
"Neutrality regulations should not excuse ISPs that discriminate against or block innocent content just because they claim it was done to protect copyrights or cater to law enforcement," EFF senior staff attorney Fred von Lohmann said in January.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Google - Electronic Frontier Foundation - Network neutrality - Eric Schmidt - Law
Is Facebook stifling innovation?

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 11:16am MDT by Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

The answer could prevent startups like foursquare from ever coming to be.
I predict that social geotagging service "Places" will be Facebook's TCP/IP moment. During the 1990s, Microsoft started to aggressively integrate previously standalone features into Windows, with TCP/IP and disk compression being notable. The features' integration made products from smaller companies -- many of them startups -- redundant. Microsoft didn't necessarily offer something better, but something free and easily accessible as part of Windows.
Particularly during the late 1990s, it seemed like anyone developing anything would ask whether or not Microsoft would move into their market. The day's hot startup could be tomorrow's roadkill if Microsoft chose to suck some new capability into Windows. Critics, and later the US government, charged Microsoft with stifling innovation, particularly as Windows' popularity increased. Facebook is starting to look eerily similar.
The companies aren't just similar, so are their platforms, which is reason enough to ask the "stifling innovation" question. As I explained in September 2007 post "Microsoft's Facebook in the Mirror," the social networking service shares surprising similarities with Windows:
Like Windows, Facebook is an enclosed platform, and one where people can install applications, post and share digital content and communicate with friends, families or others in ways they might do with Windows on PCs.
Facebook is also a lot more like Microsoft than it resembles Google, because it's so-called openness is more of a one-way street. Information goes in, but it doesn't easily come out. Developers write applications for the one platform, which is different from, say, tapping into Google APIs (application programming interfaces) for use elsewhere. Facebook and Google both take platform approaches, but Facebook's way is more like Windows than Web 2.0.
I've repeatedly called Facebook "Windows in the cloud." The platforms simply reside in different places: The cloud data center rather than the local PC. Microsoft's integration approach arguably stifled software competition on the PC. Facebook can do something similar for social services served up from the cloud to mobile devices. Microsoft's integration approach also put it in direct competition with its Windows development partners. Facebook's position is similar.
Facebook announced Places at 8 pm ET yesterday, much to the chagrin of East Coast journalists (I read complaints on Twitter). Facebook put on a good face, seemingly making the Places launch a happy place. Major competitors like foursquare and Gowalla joined Facebook for the announcement. It was all huggy and kissy, but really the kiss of death. Standalone social geotagging services, where people checkin to let friends know their location, are endangered species.
"Oh, yeah?" you ask. I can recall countess events where Microsoft competitors put on the happy face during similar past announcements. They received the kiss of death and died. That's how business is done. What other choice do foursquare and Gowalla have? They run little shops, and Walmart just opened a Super Center down the block. Competition is brutal, baby. Take a look at Facebook's Places logo. Is that a 4 in a square? Get it?
That said, the competing business models are different. Microsoft vanquished products that consumers or businesses paid for. Facebook is potentially killing competitors even before they have clear revenue streams in place. The competitive chilling effects could be much more severe. Many startups are nearly or wholly reliant on venture capital funding. When their founders are asked about future Facebook competition, how can they answer -- particularly if the social media service will be given away for free at first and monetized later? Investors may be harder to come by, fearing they could lose their wad before the startup ever has a chance to succeed. Someone's good idea today becomes their death by Facebook integration tomorrow.
I'll close by asking a question for which I encourage readers to answer in comments: Could Twitter have been funded in 2006 if Facebook was as big then as it is today? You can guess my answer, particularly considering how many times the question is asked today about Twitter's future.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Facebook - Microsoft - Google - Gowalla - Twitter

broadbandreports.com

Not Shocking: People Keep Cutting Landlines - 30% of households have cut the phone cord

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 10:17am MDT

The slow erosion of ye olde copper landline continues, as telcos continue to slowly bleed customers who switch to either a wireless phone only -- or take the plunge on a cable VoIP/broadband/TV triple play. Business Insider notes that almost 30% of U.S. households have cut the cord, up from about 25% a year ago, according to a Citi Investment Research report by analyst Jason Bazinet. The past nine quarters have seen the acceleration of "wireless substitution" has accelerated, with more 1% of households cutting the cord every quarter, according to Bazinet. Other recent data from the CDC (which tracks the information for medical polling accuracy reasons) notes that another 15% have landlines -- but rarely if ever use them.

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BetaNews.Com

Intel seeks to change cybersecurity with $7.6B McAfee acquisition

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 8:44am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Intel Corporation Thursday morning announced that it will acquire security software and management company McAfee Inc. for $7.68 billion in cash. Intel says the move reflects the changing security climate as more non-PC devices connect to the Internet, like cars, TVs, and medical equipment.
"With the rapid expansion of growth across a vast array of Internet-connected devices, more and more of the elements of our lives have moved online," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "In the past, energy-efficient performance and connectivity have defined computing requirements. Looking forward, security will join those as a third pillar of what people demand from all computing experiences." Intel says there needs to be "a fundamentally new approach involving software, hardware and services," for the increasingly connected world.
McAfee shared that sentiment in a statement to investors on Thursday:
"The current cybersecurity model isn't extensible across the proliferating spectrum of devices -- providing protection to a heterogeneous world of connected devices requires a fundamentally new approach to security. Frankly, the industry needed a paradigm shift -- incremental improvements simply couldn't bridge the opportunity gap. McAfee and Intel Corporation are joining forces to tackle this next generation cybersecurity issue which impacts everyone and anything connecting to the Internet."
While it sounds like the companies are planning a major change to the current security model, it is still unclear what it will mean to McAfee's portfolio of intellectual property after it becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intel.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

McAfee - Paul Otellini - Intel Corporation - Subsidiary - Security

broadbandreports.com

Intel's WiMax Hype Machine Grinds To A Halt - From revolution to also ran...

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 8:18am MDT

Mobile WiMax certainly isn't dead, but given recent events it wouldn't be distasteful to send the technology a get well soon card. International support is wavering, most global telcos are supporting LTE, and even U.S. WiMax poster child Clearwire is planning on LTE trials. That doesn't mean Mobile WiMax can't survive as a promising niche solution, but primary (as in more than $1.2 billion) backer Intel's predictions that WiMax would be a dominant player are fading fast. The Financial Times explores how Intel's dealing with the news:"I think many service providers are still going to look at WiMax as the best technology and I think WiMax absolutely has a lifespan that s going to continue," said Julie Coppernoll, Intel s director of WiMax. "I do see LTE and WiMax coexisting; 10 years from now there will ideally be two technologies." . . We ve never said it will be the only solution, we ve said it will be a timely solution."Actually, if we remember correctly, back when we were trying to temper some of Intel's hype back in 2004, Intel actually said WiMax was going to be "the most important thing since the Internet itself."
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More Wi-Fi Health Hysteria. This Time In Canada - Parents group tries to have Wi-Fi banned

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 6:44am MDT

Despite no scientific evidence of harm, there continues to be people both here and abroad that believe Wi-Fi signals are a serious health threat. We've seen several instances of schools going so far as to ban Wi-Fi on the basis that it's no different from second hand smoke (did we mention there's no evidence that Wi-Fi is a health risk whatsoever?). PC Magazine directs our attention to a group of parents in Canada who are convinced Wi-Fi is making their kids sick. Says their website: So far there has been no scientific study concluding that long term exposure to microwaveas is safe for children. Since December 2009 members of the Committee have been informing Superintendents and Trustees of the Simcoe County District School Board of the symptoms that can occur in students when they enter a school with WiFi microwave transmitters. . .So far the Committee has documented reports from children with such strange problems as they can't hold a pencil, they feel faint, they have chronic headaches, and they have developed an erratic heart rate requiring medical attention.Perhaps they were eating paste? Interestingly, the parents group has offered to pay for wired connections as an alternative to Wi-Fi, though the school board has yet to take them up on the offer. In fact, this CBC report says the school has denied the parents' request to shut off all Wi-Fi.
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Cablevision's Wi-Fi Footprint Continues To Grow - Use in New Jersey has quadrupled since last year

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 6:40am MDT

A few years ago, Cablevision decided they'd spend roughly $300 million to not only upgrade their entire footprint to faster DOCSIS 3.0 speed (allowing 100 Mbps service), but also on a Wi-Fi network that provides free Wi-Fi to all Cablevision customers. Plugged largely along commuter rail lines and at train stations into New York City, the service coverage area continues to grow, with Cablevision announcing (pdf) their New Jersey footprint has grown by half since 2009, and usage has quadrupled during that time. Price promotions, faster cable broadband service, and 3 Mbps down 1.5 Mbps Wi-Fi to be doing a good job so far keeping the Verizon FiOS monster away, if Cablevision earnings are any indication.
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Thursday Morning Links -

Posted: August 19th, 2010, 6:31am MDT

Administration announces $1.8 billion program to bring broadband to rural areas agrimarketing.com
NextWave, Cavalier highlight shadowy world of spectrum speculators fiercewireless.com
Industry Groups Back To 'Negotiating' Net Neutrality techdirt.com
Is Google TV Right for Service Providers? lightreading.com
MessageLabs Blacklists Email from UK BT Business Broadband ISP Customers ispreview.co.uk
Why Nothing Will "Save" Print Media techi.com
The Audacity of Warner Brothers and Re-Spawning Zombie Cookies networkworld.com
Verizon Sets Live TV iPad App For FiOS multichannel.com
Cricket going after major wireless providers' customers denverpost.com
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BetaNews.Com

Facebook adds check-in feature with "Places," teams up with likely competitors

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 7:35pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Leading social network Facebook Wednesday announced Facebook Places, a service which adds location awareness to the service's mobile experience.
The service launches tonight in the United States as a part of the Facebook application for iPhone, and on the HTML5 touch.facebook.com, and users will have the ability to "check in" to their locations similar to the way users on Foursquare, Gowalla, and Brightkite can, and likewise they can find out who and what is available around them.
When users log into their mobile app, a list of "Nearby Places" will be listed, where they can check in, tag their friends (with their approval, of course), and post a text update which will appear in their friends' feeds. Users will also be able to see a list of other Facebook users nearby under "People Here Now."
Though this is a move to make Facebook more competitive in the burgeoning location-based services class, the social network made its Places API available to the services that would otherwise have been its biggest competitors. Foursquare, Gowalla Booyah (the company responsible for location-based game MyTown,) and Yelp were all present at Facebook's launch announcement Wednesday. Places data goes live tomorrow for partner applications.
The service will not feature any advertising, and users can opt out of the service entirely and turn off the ability for others to check them in. Underage users of the service will also lack "Here Now" visibility to anyone but their friends.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Facebook - Social network - Gowalla - Foursquare - Facebook Places

broadbandreports.com

Wednesday Evening Links -

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 5:17pm MDT

California launches the largest broadband network dedicated to telehealth in the nation informationweek.com
UAE Plans to Go All Fiber by 2011 redorbit.com
Verizon targets Sprint's Simply Everything with $99 unlimited tests fiercewireless.com
LightSquared Moves Forward With Re-banding of L-Band Radio Spectrum cable360.net
Will Apple redesign iPhone antenna for Verizon? Don t count on it yahoo.com
Akamai CEO sees mobile overtaking wired Internet fiercecable.com
IPTV, DVRs will spur growth of 'no-new-wires'-based home networks fiercetelecom.com
Skype mobile application to run on Verizon Wireless BREW feature phones boygeniusreport.com
Feds Won't Bring Charges Against School District Officials In Webcam Spying techdirt.com
Apple to Deliver iPad Mini by Christmas? theatlanticwire.com
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Free Hotspots Outnumber Paid Hotspots For First Time - Thanks to Cablevision, Starbucks, Barnes and Noble

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 4:15pm MDT

According to new data from Jwire, the number of free Wi-Fi hotspots are outnumbering the number of paid hotspots for the first time, with 55 percent of locations now offering free Wi-Fi. What's driving the surge in free wireless? In part it's Cablevision's (and to a lesser degree Comcast and Time Warner Cable) decision to offer free Wi-Fi to paying customers. Starbucks, McDonalds and Barnes and Noble all deciding to offer free Wi-Fi (all of which use the AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot network). We're going to go out on a limb and assume Jwire's data does not include the world's largest and most popular free ISP, linksys.
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BetaNews.Com

FCC says broadband ISPs routinely exaggerate connection speeds

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 2:58pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

The Federal Communications Commission has said that ISPs are not truthful in advertising broadband speeds, often choosing to use maximum connection speeds in attracting customers. The finding came as part of a larger study on broadband performance released this week.
While the advertised speeds have averaged in the range of 7 to 8 Mbps, actual speeds are roughly half that. This gap was found to be about the same across all technologies, including cable, DSL, and fiber to the home. The FCC argued that the gap may cause confusion among consumers as the speeds determine the consumer experience.
Researchers found that the advertised speed has generally increased about 20 percent each year since 1997. At this rate, about every four years or so the speed would double, they said.
"The actual speed that consumers experience influences their ability to access and utilize applications and content," researchers said in the report. "Consumers need a better, publicly agreed upon measure of broadband performance that reflects the network operation and end-user experience."
In advertising their download speeds, ISPs are not taking into account various factors. For example, the quality of the network lines bringing broadband into the home will obviously affect speed, as will network congestion. ISPs are too often using the "up to" speeds as a way to separate themselves from competitors -- yet rarely if ever are consumers actually getting that type of performance.
To this extent, the FCC is working to pressure broadband providers to more accurately report speeds in advertising, and would support efforts to come up with a standard that could be used to derive these numbers.
Such work is being done as part of the National Broadband Plan -- a set of initiatives proposed by the Obama Administration and the FCC to help ensure broader availability of broadband services, as well as faster speeds to those already using it.
It is all but certain this would not come easy -- ISPs would more than likely resist as settling on a standard would likely cause them to have to reduce their advertised speeds considerably. This could even cause an uproar among consumers, as they would realize that in many cases, the speed they were paying for was not truly there in the first place.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Federal Communications Commission - Internet service provider - Broadband - FCC - National Broadband Plan

broadbandreports.com

Windstream Keeps Gobbling Up Smaller Operators - Acquires Q-Comm Corporation for $782 million

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 2:57pm MDT

As the rural telco consolidation trend continues, Windstream continues to quietly grow in the shadow of larger deals, like CenturyLink and Qwest or Frontier and Verizon. Fresh off of putting the finishing touches on their deal to acquire Iowa Telecom, Windstream has announced that they've acquired Q-Comm Corporation in a deal worth around $782 million. Q-Comm is a Kansas-based regional fiber transport company and CLEC, with operations in 22 states. Q-Comm also has two subsidiaries: Kentucky Data Link, a fiber services provider in 22 states, and Norlight, a Midwest competitive local exchange services company. From the release, it looks like a primary motivator for the deal is Windstream's desire to expand their wireless backhaul presence.
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Wireless Carriers Won't Budge On Wireless Neutrality - While CTIA 'very curious' of how Goorizon deal impacts public perception

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 1:06pm MDT

Wireless carriers have made it very clear they don't want any network neutrality rules applied to wireless networks. They've been fighting it tooth and nail in negotiations with the FCC (both open and closed door), and the recent Voogle proposal also suggests wireless shouldn't be included in neutrality rulemaking. The Hill has posted interview excerpts from a conversation with former NFL player turned wireless industry spokesman Steve Largent, who strongly suggests the wireless industry won't budge:"Our job is to say 'nothing is necessary,'" in reference to the push by some for a net neutrality framework that applies a non-discrimination rule to wireless traffic. CTIA does not see a compromise short of a wireless exemption to a non-discrimination rule that would be acceptable, he said. . . Largent said he does not think wireless carriers in FCC-led talks (Verizon, AT&T) are prepared to swallow tougher rules than those in the Verizon-Google proposal. He said if there are reports to the contrary, he thinks they are wrong. By "wireless carriers," the CTIA means AT&T and Verizon, who dominate both the industry and most of the industry trade and policy groups. And by saying he sees "no workable compromise," Largent's saying they aren't willing to compromise at all. Interestingly, The former Seattle Seahawk goes on to suggest that the Goorizon deal may have hurt the wireless sector, with the CTIA wondering if there was "opposition generated by this story that would not have been there otherwise."
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BetaNews.Com

Bike tech is Hot: Google Maps gets help from 10,000 bicyclist beta testers

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 12:54pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Google announced on Wednesday that it has expanded the bicycle mapping feature of Google Maps to include 80 new cities, thanks to an overwhelming response from its community of beta testers.
In March, Google introduced the beta of bike routes in Google Maps, a feature which lets users plan directions optimized for bicycle transportation. When we ran a story about this, it got a tremendous amount of traffic, beating nearly everything else the whole week in terms of unique reads.
Since that time, I've talked to a number of other tech publications who have begun to lump bike technology news into their coverage because it ends up being so popular.
Today, Dave Barth, Google Maps Product Manager confirmed the sentiment in the Google Lat Long Blog: Bike Tech is hot stuff.
Over 10,000 beta testers submitted approximately 25,000 suggestions to Google for improvements to the bike maps feature in Maps, and bike trails and dedicated lanes in 80 more cities have been added to the 150-city bike trail database from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.
"We always knew the cycling community would be a passionate bunch, but the response to both our biking directions feature and our call to join in the effort to improve our bike maps has surpassed our happiest expectations," Barth wrote. "It's like having 10,000 new members of our bike maps team, contributing their time and energy to make Google Maps more useful for everyone."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Google Maps - Google - Cycling - Rail trail - Bicycle

broadbandreports.com

Skype Offers Apps For More Verizon Phones - Now available for LG enV TOUCH, LG Chocolate Touch and Samsung Reality

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 10:59am MDT

After years of complaining about close wireless networks, Skype recently got a tad hypocritical (there's a lot of that going around), striking an "exclusive" deal with Verizon to offer a semi-crippled version of Skype on a limited number of Verizon smartphones. Skype and Verizon have now apparently expanded that partnership, the Skype blog announcing they'll soon offer a Skype app based on the BREW platform for a broader selection of Verizon phones, including the LG enV TOUCH, LG Chocolate Touch and Samsung Reality. Like the previous Verizon app, Skype-to-Skype calls to or from your mobile, computer or TV are free -- but calls to another mobile number or landline number in the US will eat your Verizon Wireless minutes.
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BetaNews.Com

T-Mobile's first HSPA+ phone to be called G2

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 10:44am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Mobile network operator T-Mobile today announced that the first smartphone capable of fully utilizing the company's HSPA+ network upgrade will be called the G2. Unfortunately, there were few details about the device, and the site announcing the G2 is currently unavailable.
The brief announcement on the vanity site said, "The T-Mobile G2 will deliver tight integration with Google services and break new ground as the first smartphone designed to run at 4G speeds on our new HSPA+ network. In the coming weeks, we'll share more details about the G2 and offer exclusive first access to current T-Mobile customers." instead of a photograph of the device, there is simply a white block suggesting the shape of a smartphone.
When the teaser site first launched in July, there was even less information present. However, when users looked at the source code of the page, the device was listed under the name "T-Mobile Vanguard."
The Vanguard, now officially named the T-Mobile G2 is widely expected to be an HTC slider which has been called the "HTC Vision" in early leaks. Details about it, however, are scant.
T-Mobile's HSPA+ network upgrade is expected to be completed this year, and already covers more than 50 major metropolitan areas. The carrier offers a USB modem --called WebConnect Rocket-- compatible with the 21 Mbps HSPA+ network, and expects the first HSPA+ handset to be available in September, followed by a second model in the fourth quarter.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

HTC Corporation - Evolved HSPA - Smartphone - T-Mobile G2 - Google
New PlayStation 3 includes largest hard drive of any video game console

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 9:18am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

At Gamescom, the annual video game tradeshow in Cologne, Germany, Sony Computer Entertainment unveiled a new PlayStation 3 bundle that includes not only the new PlayStation Move motion controller, but also the Playstation 3 with the largest hard drive ever.
In conjunction with the launch of Sony's PlayStation Move motion controller, the new 320GB PlayStation 3 slim will launch on September 19 for $399.99, and will include the PlayStation Move motion controller, PlayStation Eye camera, and a motion-based game entitled Sports Champions.
PlayStation Move launches on September 17, and will be sold as a $99 bundle that includes the Move controller and the PlayStation Eye camera, or simply as the controller by itself for $49.99.
By comparison, Microsoft's Motion-based controller Kinect is expected to launch on November 4 in North America, and will come with a 4GB Xbox 360, the Kinect motion sensor, and a traditional controller for $299. In early August, a Kinect box mockup mentioning a 250GB Xbox 360 pack was spotted, but no announcements have been made regarding its release.
At present, the PlayStation 3 Move bundle constitutes the largest off-the-shelf hard drive in a home video game console.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Playstation 3 - Microsoft - Video game - Sony Computer Entertainment - Gamescom

broadbandreports.com

HTC Google Chrome Tablet On Verizon In November - To be offered subsidized with long-term Verizon contract

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 7:54am MDT

We've already noted that Motorola is building an Android-based tablet to be sold by Verizon later this year, with functionality tied to FiOSTV. Now come reports that HTC is building a Chrome-driven tablet computer for Verizon that will launch on November 26. Tablet mania has clearly infected many ISPs, who will either be offer TV Everywhere Internet video apps for tablets (Comcast, Cablevision, AT&T, Time Warner Cable) -- or offering tablets themselves later this year. Much like the recent netbook craze, expect ISPs to give these things away at a subsidized price point if you sign a long-term wireless broadband contract.

Update: Verizon today also expanded on their iPad application ambitions today in great detail.
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T-Mobile Preps First HSPA+ Smartphone: The G2 - Made by HTC, will launch sometime in September

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 7:43am MDT

T-Mobile employees have been rather busy running running around upgrading the company's wireless network to HSPA+, which provides theoretical top downstream speeds close to 20 Mbps (though more like 10 Mbps in the real world). The company recently noted that their HSPA+ upgrades are now available in nearly 50 major metropolitan areas, with plans to cover 185 million people by the end of the year. Now T-Mobile has launched a new teaser website for the first smartphone that will be able to take advantage of those speeds here in the States: the G2. Rumors have suggested the phone is made by HTC, and should drop sometime in September.
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Wired Trolls The Undead Web For Hits - 'I'm not dead yet!'

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 7:25am MDT

It seems like inevitably, people covering the tech sector like to declare things as "dead," when they're very much, well, not. Take VoIP, for example. Plugging away for site hits during the August doldrums, Wired this week is running a rather silly story that declares that the "Web is dead." That conclusion seems based almost entirely on data from Cisco used to create this graphic, which highlights largely how video is taking up a larger slice of overall traffic. However, more reasoned voices note that if you look at the same data using absolute numbers, things look much different. In short (because the resulting debate over this has already gotten more coverage than it deserves), the web isn't dying, it's just evolving.
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Google TV Running Into Stubborn Broadcasters - Who don't want Google 'cannibalizing' their existing cash cows

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 7:02am MDT

Earlier this year, Google unveiled their Google TV ambitions, which include embedding their Android OS into broadband-enabled TVs, set tops and other devices, hoping to simplify the content gap between the PC and the living room. Like other broadband video efforts before them, they're running into problems getting the broadcast industry to loosen up their licensing restrictions, according to the Wall Street Journal. Google's been meeting with the major networks, but those networks are "are skeptical that Google can provide a business model that would compensate for potentially cannibalizing TV owners' existing broadcast businesses," notes the Journal.
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Wednesday Morning Links -

Posted: August 18th, 2010, 6:41am MDT

Five billionth device about to plug into Internet networkworld.com
Clearwire ISpot pcworld.com
Netflix vs. Hulu Plus: Who Deserves Your $10 a Month? maclife.com
Firm behind LTE startup LightSquared drops Clearwire, cuts Sprint/Nextel holdings fiercewireless.com
Analysis: Industry still split on vulnerability disclosure v3.co.uk
Google Sued in Spain Over Data Collecting nytimes.com
Apple's Iphone 4 advertising system fails theinquirer.net
Congressmen Speak Out Against Verizon-Google Broadband Proposal crn.com
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Tuesday Evening Links -

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 5:14pm MDT

ACA: Higher Pole Fees = Less Broadband; New Regs Could Push Fees Up 400% for Rural Operators multichannel.com
Will The NAB Agree To A Performance Rights Tax In Exchange For Having RIAA Support Mandatory FM Radio In Mobile Phones? techdirt.com
Intel faces 4G predicament as WiMAX's star dims ft.com
Australia begins first phase of NBN network buildout fiercetelecom.com
Debunking the Internet apocalypse cnn.com
WiFi Goes Mainstream in Phones tmcnet.com
India sets BlackBerry data-monitoring deadline for August 31st networkworld.com
BlackBerry Torch Fizzles: What's Next For RIM? networkworld.com
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BetaNews.Com

Yahoo begins transition to Bing search, kills SearchMonkey

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 5:07pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Yahoo said Tuesday that it would begin to switch over its search backend to the Microsoft platform in the US and Canada, the cornerstone of an agreement reached between the two companies last July. A "Powered by Bing" graphic would appear at the bottom of its search pages after the transition, the company said.
It would still be some time yet before other markets worldwide transition to Bing, for which Yahoo gave no timeline, although it's expected the full transition wouldn't be complete until 2012. Of course, one notable example would be Japan: that division is switching to a Google backend pending regulatory approval and any legal challenges.
While the innards of Yahoo would change, the search company stressed that most of the functionality around the search would stay the same. Web services product SearchMonkey is a notable exception: that service shutters effective October 1.
"As a result, third party custom result apps, infobar apps, and data services will no longer appear on Yahoo!'s search results," product manager Natasha Fattedad wrote in a blog post announcing the move.
Yahoo would continue to offer its Search BOSS, YQL, and Site Explorer tools, although the company said it was still evaluating others, and would charge for access to some of them.
The fact that Yahoo's development tools will remain should not be too surprising: in essence, the Microsoft deal only really covered the search results portion of Yahoo. Most of Yahoo's other services were unaffected.
Paid search accounts would also begin the transition to Microsoft's adCenter platform this week as well. Current Yahoo Search Marketing customers would be prompted to create adCenter accounts through a transition portal, and Yahoo and Microsoft hope to have this portion of the transition completed by the end of the year.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Yahoo - Bing - Google - Canada - Microsoft-Yahoo

broadbandreports.com

FCC: You're Not Getting The Broadband You Pay For - Again insists users only see 50% of advertised speed

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 3:18pm MDT

Ars Technica directs our attention to a new FCC report (pdf) that's just chock full of broadband stats. Among them, the report concludes that users are getting about half of the speed advertised, thanks to that nifty "up to" marketing lingo used by most ISPs. According to the FCC, ISPs advertised a mean "up to" download speed of 6.7Mbps in 2009, while consumers actually saw a median speed of 3 Mbps and a mean speed of 4 Mbps:In other words, consumers need a better, publicly agreed upon measure of broadband performance that reflects the network operation and end-user experience. The NBP s Recommendation 4.3, calling on the FCC to work with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, consumer groups, industry and other technical experts to develop broadband measurement standards is designed to address this issue.The FCC's solution is a more comprehensive nutrion-label esque advertising standard that gives consumers a more well-rounded idea of what they can expect from their connection. This label would include actual average connection performance estimates for peak and off peak speeds, "tested against a given set of standard protocols and applications."

This isn't the first time the FCC has said they would like to see more accurate speed advertising, nor is it the first time the FCC has used that 50% metric (they mentioned this before on page 26 of a recent slideshow here). While there's certainly a very real gap between real-world broadband and marketed broadband, most people in the industry don't think it's that big -- and there has been some complaints (primarily from the cable industry) that the FCC used not-entirely-comprehensive Akamai and comScore data to get that total.

As such, the FCC has started more comprehensive, in-home testing with the help of UK firm SamKnows, involving the use of custom-firmware embedded Cisco routers that will gather more comprehensive data to fuel FCC decisions.
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BetaNews.Com

iPad likely cannibalizes Mac sales, but that's OK

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 2:48pm MDT by Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

Analysts and pundits have fiercely debated whether or not iPad would cannibalize Mac sales. Or netbooks, or Windows PCs or iPods. Or nothing at all. Cannibalization will happen now, if at all, which is what I predicted in April. Based on NPD July US retail sales data, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty asserted in a report yesterday: "iPad momentum is likely contributing to the moderation of both broader PC and Mac unit growth."
Oh yeah? I'm skeptical about iPad sapping PC growth, except for perhaps netbooks, but Macs make sense. It's about time a Wall Street analyst finally acknowledged the inevitable. In April I asked "Will iPad cannibalize Mac sales?" and answered: "The question isn't if iPad will cannibalize Mac sales but when. If the cannibals are coming, they'll first strike during back-to-school buying season."
Well, bust my butt. We're in the thick of back-to-school buying season. Surely any cannibalization is going on now. For example, back-to-school buying season would be right time for mom and dad to choose a lower-cost iPad rather than MacBook for their middle or high schoolers. It's easy arithmetic: $499 vs $999. For the teen set -- iPad is an iPod touch plus. All the music and video benefits are there, and it's more respectable to carry around school. What teacher is going to tell a student to put away an iPad, who might otherwise scoff at iPod touch?
Not that cannibalization is so bad a circumstance. Apple is no longer a Mac company, and executives have the right attitude about cannibalization. Attitude first: During last month's earnings conference call, Apple COO Tim Cook surprised analysts by saying, "Everybody views cannibalization as a negative, but at Apple we focus on synergy between devices." The statement is so sensible, I nearly fell off my chair. It also resonates with what I blogged in January:
From a marketing perspective -- looking at Apple computing products as a range of features and prices -- iPad fills a gaping hole in the Mac product line between the aforementioned $399 and $999. Suddenly, the cheapest, functional Mac portable is $499, or half what it was on Monday. Consumers who wanted a Mac but couldn't afford one can get one for under 500 bucks...
Apple now offers portable computers -- and that's how I classify iPhone, iPod touch and iPad along with Macs -- ranging from $99 to $2,499. From a pricing strategy perspective, iPad is a brilliant product, because it fills the gap between iPhone/iPod touch and Macbook without price cuts or risk to the Mac's premium brand status.
Cook's July comments fit with this perspective. Apple doesn't see so much cannibalization as halo effect, where buyers of the company's other products add an iPad rather than skip buying something else. That's sensible marketing strategy. But what about profit and revenues? Macs generate lots more revenue than do iPads. Or do they?
During second calendar quarter, which would be Apple's fiscal third, iOS products accounted for at least 50 percent of Apple revenue -- that's an estimate, because the company didn't release exact iPod touch shipment data. For certain, iPad and iPhone accounted for 48 percent of revenue. By comparison, the Mac accounted for a mere 28 percent of revenue during calendar Q2. Apple's stake in iOS is much bigger than Mac OS X products -- the computers.
More numbers: iPad generated $2.17 billion revenue during its launch quarter or about half of what Macintosh generated but much more than desktops ($1.3 billion). Average selling price of iPad is about $600, according to Apple. Based on various iPad device breakdowns, gross profit is $400 or more per tablet. I don't have data on Macs other than ASP of about $1,200, but presumably profits -- and therefore margins -- are substantially higher than iPad. Where iPad cannibalizes iPod touch, Apple gets an overall margin boost, since iPad generates more revenue and margins. Where iPad cannibalizes Mac sales, Apple margins go down. But that's OK from Cook's "synergy" perspective.
Based on the imbalance of PCs and Macs, iPad is more likely to cannibalize Windows PCs than Macs. "If it turns out that the iPad cannibalizes PCs, then I think it is fantastic for us because there are a lot of PCs to cannibalize," Cook said last month. He is so right.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - iPhone - Mac - IPad - Mac OS X

broadbandreports.com

Intel Gobbles Up Texas Instruments' Cable Modem Business - Will focus on whole-home gateways for cable industry

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 1:48pm MDT

Intel this week announced they've struck a deal to acquire the Texas Instruments Inc.cable modem chipset product line, though the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. "All employees of Texas Instruments' cable modem team received offers to join Intel at sites in their home countries, primarily Israel, and will become part of Intel's Digital Home Group," says the company's press release. Intel, who has been a key player in DOCSIS 3.0 development, says they'll fuse TI's Puma product lines with DOCSIS 3.0 technology and Intel SoCs to deliver advanced set top box, residential gateway and modem products for cable operators.
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BetaNews.Com

Move over Apple: Canonical to add multitouch gestures in Ubuntu Linux 10.10

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 1:40pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Citing manufacturer demand, Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth said Monday that Ubuntu 10.10 would include the beginnings of the company's UTouch multitouch framework.
"Rather than single, magic gestures, we're making it possible for basic gestures to be chained, or composed, into more sophisticated 'sentences,'" he said in a blog post. "The basic gestures, or primitives, are like individual verbs, and stringing them together allows for richer interactions."
Work on adding multitouch functionality to Ubuntu began with 10.04, and testing was done on Dell XT2, HP tx2 tablets and the Lenovo T410s laptops. That work helped Canonical develop a framework that could be used across a broader range of devices.
"Our aim is to bring the natural, tactile experience of the world to the desktop, window manager, and applications you value," the company wrote in announcing UTouch.
While the move puts Ubuntu Linux on a level playing field with Mac OS X in terms of multitouch, it may take a while before users see such features due to the disparate way Linux is developed. For example, the GNOME desktop environment would likely need the most work to support multitouch. In fact, one of the developers behind that platform was on the development team.
How fast it spreads to other platforms and applications entirely depends on the developers themselves, so it's hard to say how soon multitouch will become commonplace in Linux. Canonical will do what it can to speed up that process - UTouch 1.0 has been released as an API and gesture-recognition engine, under the GPLv3 and LGPLv3.
Multitouch would probably see its tightest integration in Ubuntu Unity, which is the operating systems's solution for netbook computers. Shuttleworth said that Canonical hopes to bring better compatibility for multitouch with Ubuntu 11.04, which is due next April.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Mark Shuttleworth - Ubuntu - Apple - Linux - Operating system
RIAA, broadcasters want mandatory FM radio in cell phones, electronics

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 11:49am MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

The music industry is looking for a way to save broadcast radio, and may have found it: a legislative mandate to carry FM radio in personal electronics. Like the net neutrality debate, this idea was born out of two sides disagreeing and attempting to come to a compromise.
RIAA and broadcasters are at odds over the payment for the right to play songs on the radio. While satellite and Internet broadcasts must pay this fee, radio is exempt under current copyright law. The labels want this changed, obviously the broadcasters do not.
Congress tried to force the two sides to talk, but failed. Since then, the two parties have apparently continued to hash out a deal and are now close to having a compromise, which would in turn act as a framework for what the industry as a whole would consider acceptable legislation.
While FM radio would need to pay about $100 million a year, it would gain a whole new potential listener base by mandated FM chips in personal electronics. The broadcasters defend this idea by saying it increases "consumer choice."
This has the electronics makers up in arms. "The backroom scheme of [broadcasters] and RIAA to have Congress mandate broadcast radios in portable devices, including mobile phones, is the height of absurdity," Consumer Electronics Association president Gary Shapiro told Ars Technica.
Legislation has already moved out of committee, called the Performance Rights Act. That bill, which would force terrestrial broadcasters to pay the same fees as satellite and Internet, has been moving through Congress for the past two years.
In any case, it does appear that the industry will try hard to lobby legislators to amend the bill, and bring it to a vote as soon as possible. With the midterm elections quickly approaching, there's a good chance little movement will happen before the new Congress is seated next January.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Radio - Consumer Electronic Association - Mobile phone - FM broadcasting - Recording Industry Association of America

broadbandreports.com

Blackberry Torch: 150,000 Sold In Three Days - Mixed reviews mire AT&T, RIMs latest exclusive launch...

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 11:45am MDT

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets and Stifel Nicolaus both put weekend sales at around 150,000 phones for the AT&T Exclusive RIM Blackberry Torch, according to The Wall Street Journal. The paper suggests the "plodding start isn't great news for RIM," with the iPhone selling roughly 1.6 million units during its first four days on sale. Gizmodo argues those sale numbers still aren't awful, given they roughly matched Palm Pre and HTC EVO launch numbers, but they certainly don't match the hype RIM tried to create; their CEO Jim Balsillie calling the smartphone "a quantum leap over anything that's out there." The good news? If you like the Torch, it's already on sale in many locations.
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T-Mobile Won't Launch 4G For At Least 2 Years - Going to nurse HSPA+ to the very end of the line...

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 8:48am MDT

We already knew that T-Mobile planned to nurse HSPA+ for as long as possible, and that their fourth generation wireless broadband plans were murky at best. Rene Obermann, CEO of T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom, says the company won't even consider making a move on LTE for at least two years. According to Obermann, the company isn't worried that they'll lag LTE efforts by Verizon and AT&T, who'll both have deployments underway by that time. Says Obermann:"We'll get a fourth-generation wireless network either by buying spectrum or re-farming existing spectrum, or potentially leasing spectrum together with others. I don't think we'll trail others in the next two years. With HSPA+ we're in a very good position. We still have plenty of capacity, so we are competitive" said Obermann.T-Mobile does have some time (but not a lot) to dilly dally as they consider their next move. The company's current upgrades allow theoretical downstream speeds of up to 20 Mbps, and there have been rumors they'll try to push HSPA+ towards 40 Mbps down the line. While Verizon plans to offer 4G services by the end of this year, their LTE deployment will be initially capped at 5-12 Mbps downstream. AT&T meanwhile is taking their time on the shift to LTE, and like T-Mobile is nursing HSPA+ -- albeit less aggressively.
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RIAA Wants Mandatory Radios In Smartphones - RIAA, NAB join forces, come up with even worse idea than usual...

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 7:57am MDT

It appears that the RIAA and broadcasters (NAB) have joined forces to push Congress to create laws that require FM Radios be embedded in all digital devices, including smartphones, MP3 players, and theoretically e-readers. Of course, the move is yet another attempt to prop up the dying recording business models of old, and to sell the idea they're comparing their push to the FCC mandated shift to digital television (which aren't related in the slightest). It gets worse, given that as Techdirt notes, the agreement between the RIAA and NAB would include NAB's support for a "performance rights tax on radio," which would force radio stations to pay performers for advertising and promoting their music.
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Wired: Android Users Can Expect To Be Capped, Throttled - But they should demand those caps be (unlike the iPhone) reasonable

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 7:41am MDT

A recent study found that Verizon (mostly Android) users consume the most data; even more than iPhone users, who've taken quite a beating from AT&T for supposedly being the worst sort of gluttons. Meanwhile, the study also found that while 56% of iPhone users stream over 3G, 72% of Android users stream over 3G. With this in mind, Wired news is running a somewhat vague story that notes that Android users should expect their wireless Utopia to be introduced to caps in fairly short order:If you re contemplating the purchase of an Android phone, you should probably get a move on. Nothing is impossible, of course, and one of the Android carriers could somehow offer unlimited bandwidth forever. Nonetheless, the likelihood that Android users will continue being able to sign up for unlimited data contracts grows slimmer with each passing day.Maybe. Maybe not. You'd have to look at each carrier that carries Android phones. Sprint (home of the Android-based EVO and now Samsung Epic) for now appears poised to stick with unlimited plans, arguing that low caps and overage models simply act to confuse customers. Verizon meanwhile has made no secret of their desire to mirror AT&T's low cap and high overage model. And while all carriers are constrained by limited spectrum, as sector analyst Dave Burstein recently notes, Verion's shift to LTE should make higher caps possible:Two of the best engineers in the U.S. tell me wireless congestion can be almost eliminated except at Katrina type emergencies with 5 and 10 gigabyte caps. Models from Adtran suggest 20-30 gig caps (or higher) are practical in the LTE generation. There's nothing wrong with caps if they are economically sensible. The problem is that AT&T placed the cap much too low.So while the end of unlimited smartphone plans is probably coming, it may not be coming for all carriers right away (including some MVNOs), some of whom realize that low caps and high overages confuse and annoy users. Meanwhile, carriers that do start imposing caps on their previously unlimited smartphone plans don't necessarily have to follow AT&T's lead and impose punitive models with puny caps.
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Verizon Readies More Droids - 4 inch screen 'Droid Pro' should be launching soon

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 7:15am MDT

The Boy Genius Report has posted a few screengrabs from internal Verizon Wireless systems that confirm Verizon's droid lust won't be slowing anytime soon. A Verizon source confirms that the wireless carrier will be launching the DROID Pro, the latest Droid smartphone with a 4" display, 1.3GHz CPU, and global roaming capability -- sometime in November. There's also references to another mystery devices, which may possibly be a new "slab touch screen Android phone." It may also be the new Motorola Android-powered tablet, which as previously discussed, Verizon plans to tie tightly to their FiOS TV service.
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Tuesday Morning Links -

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 6:32am MDT

BelAir Gets CableLabs Best Product Nod multichannel.com
After Google-Verizon fizzle, FCC should force Net neutrality boston.com
Clearwire: 4G Pure Play Is a Risky Bet thestreet.com
Radio, RIAA: mandatory FM radio in cell phones is the future arstechnica.com
EFF Warns of Untrustworthy SSL, Undetectable Surveillance networkworld.com
Google dominates Web video rankings totaltele.com
Intel Acquires Cable Modem Business from Texas Instruments. xbitlabs.com
Three UK Broadband ISPs Slammed for Poor Customer Satisfaction Ratings ispreview.co.uk
RIM Halves BlackBerry Torch Price to Boost Sales networkworld.com
Geeks turn Army surplus drone into a Wi-Fi network hacking plane dvice.com
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BetaNews.Com

Microsoft announces gaming lineup for Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 10:38pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

At MIX '10 Last March, Microsoft gave an impressive look at Xbox Live integration with the Windows Phone 7 platform. Today, it got even more impressive as Microsoft announced the upcoming lineup of more than 60 Xbox Live games on Windows Phone coming for the Holiday 2010 season.
"Windows Phone 7 is the launch of a major gaming platform for Microsoft," said Matt Booty, general manager of mobile gaming for MGS. "Just like we've done with Xbox 360, our charter is to push the envelope and deliver definitive games that maximize the platform. We will have an incredible lineup of MGS titles, and that's just the beginning."
In the Games Hub in Windows Phone 7, Xbox Live users will be able to view, access, and launch their games library; earn, view, and track achievements; customize their Xbox Live profile and avatar; shop in the Games Marketplace; and invite, connect and play live with other Windows Phone 7 devices or against PC users with turn-based multiplayer games.
The launch titles for Xbox Live on Windows Phone will be:
• 3D Brick Breaker Revolution (Digital Chocolate)
• Age of Zombies (Halfbrick)
• Armor Valley (Protégé Games)
• Asphalt 5 (Gameloft)
• Assassins Creed (Gameloft)
• Bejeweled™ LIVE (PopCap)
• Bloons TD (Digital Goldfish)
• Brain Challenge (Gameloft)
• Bubble Town 2 (i-Play)
• Butterfly ( Press Start Studio)
• CarneyVale Showtime (MGS)
• Castlevania(Konami)
• Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst (MGS)
• De Blob Revolution (THQ)
• Deal or No Deal 2010 (i-Play)
• Earthworm Jim (Gameloft)
• Fast & Furious 7 (i-Play)
• Fight Game Rivals (Rough Cookie)
• Finger Physics (Mobliss Inc.)
• Flight Control (Namco Bandai)
• Flowerz (Carbonated Games)
• Frogger (Konami Digital Entertainment)
• Fruit Ninja (Halfbrick)
• Game Chest-Board (MGS)
• Game Chest-Card (MGS)
• Game Chest-Logic (MGS)
• Game Chest-Solitaire (MGS)
• GeoDefense (Critical Thought)
• Ghostscape (Psionic)
• Glow Artisan (Powerhead Games)
• Glyder 2 (Glu Mobile)
• Guitar Hero 5 (Glu Mobile)
• Halo Waypoint (MGS)
• Hexic Rush (Carbonated Games)
• I Dig It (InMotion)
• iBlast Moki (Godzilab)
• ilomilo (MGS)
• Implode XL (IUGO)
• Iquarium (Infinite Dreams)
• Jet Car Stunts (True Axis)
• Let's Golf 2 (Gameloft)
• Little Wheel (One click dog)
• Loondon (Flip N Tale)
• Max and the Magic Marker (PressPlay)
• Mini Squadron (Supermono Limited)
• More Brain Exercise (Namco Bandai)
• O.M.G. (Arkedo)
• Puzzle Quest 2 (Namco Bandai)
• Real Soccer 2 (Gameloft)
• The Revenants (Chaotic Moon)
• Rise of Glory (Revo Solutions)
• Rocket Riot (Codeglue)
• Splinter Cell Conviction (Gameloft)
• Star Wars: Battle for Hoth (THQ)
• Star Wars: Cantina (THQ)
• The Harvest (MGS)
• The Oregon Trail (Gameloft)
• Tower Bloxx NY (Digital Chocolate)
• Twin Blades (Press Start Studio)
• UNO (Gameloft)
• Women's Murder Club: Death in Scarlet (i-Play)
• Zombie Attack! (IUGO)
• Zombies!!!! (Babaroga)
Microsoft says more titles are expected to arrive before the service launches, and new titles will be added weekly.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Microsoft - Xbox Live - Xbox - Windows Phone 7 - Microsoft Game Studios
Democrats slam Google-Verizon neutrality deal, ask FCC to act

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 6:29pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

AT&T and Verizon's net neutrality deal became a political issue on Monday as four House Democrats voiced their opposition to the plan with the Federal Communications Commission. In a letter to the regulatory agency, the lawmakers said the proposal 'reinforces the need for resolution' to the debate.
"Formal FCC action is needed," they wrote. "The public interest is served by a free and open Internet than continues to be an indispensable platform for innovation, investment, entrepreneurship, and free speech." The four lawmakers calling for the changes were Reps. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Anna Eschoo of California, Jay Inslee of Washington, and Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania.
Markey and Eschoo were behind a net neutrality bill called the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, which has never made it out of committee.
The consensus among the four seems to be that the FCC should reclassify broadband Internet as a regulated service so that net neutrality polices can be enforced by the agency. Inslee said in a statement that the idea of net neutrality was not to impose new rules, but rather ensuring an open Internet where all traffic is treated equally.
Google and Verizon had in a roundabout way agreed to do so, but with a few key caveats. Wireless traffic was not included, and ISPs would be allowed to throttle traffic that it finds 'unlawful.' It also gave the ISPs free reign to prioritize traffic for unspecified future services.
Members of the Tea Party movement have already interjected their own opinions into the debate, opposing any new regulations. At least 35 groups have joined conservative groups in the anti-net neutrality movement, The Hill's Hillicon Valley blog reported on Friday.
"I think the clearest thing is it's an affront to free speech and free markets," Virginia Tea Party chairman Jamie Radtke said. Her statements also seemed to indicate that more groups in the movement plan to make the idea of reclassification a political issue ahead of the 2010 midterm elections.
Not everyone agrees with that line of thinking, however. Media reform interest group Free Press applauded the lawmaker's move, calling it 'a courageous stand for the American public' in attempting to prevent the industry from writing its own rules.
"The industry titans are trying to convince policymakers in Washington to look the other way while carving up the Internet among a few big companies," Free Press political advisor Joel Kelsey said in a statement. "Their policy proposal would leave consumers, innovators and entrepreneurs unprotected."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Federal Communications Commission - Google - Free Press - Network neutrality - Verizon

broadbandreports.com

Monday Evening Links -

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 5:18pm MDT

Traffic Jams Ahead Unless More Cables Laid livescience.com
WiMAX 2 planned to top 100Mbps in real world by 2012 electronista.com
Broadband superhighway only part of the whole fiercecable.com
How Wireless Net Neutrality Could Kill Kindle Business Model pcworld.com
Mobile Data Offloaded Will Grow 100-fold by 2015 fiercemobilecontent.com
Report: Sprint's merger with Nextel ranked among least successful fiercewireless.com
Android app secretly uploads GPS data, warns Symantec theregister.co.uk
Hulu IPO: Just Another Risky Dotcom Bet? theatlantic.com
Data-Gobbling Android Users Will Likely See Bandwidth Capped wired.com
Ruckus debuts public Wi-Fi device for MSOs cedmagazine.com
Ont. school board to parents: No proof WiFi makes anyone sick = WiFi stays on in schools cbc.ca
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House Dems Diss Verizoogle Proposal - 'The time for FCC action is now,' says letter

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 4:14pm MDT

Not particularly taken with the Googizon (Voogle? Goorizon?) network neutrality proposal from last week, House Democrats Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Anna Eshoo of California, Jay Inslee of Washington and Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania today sent a letter (pdf) to the FCC urging the agency to reject the deal. Instead, the representatives argued, the FCC should propose a neutrality framework that, unlike the Verizoogle proposal, ensures the FCC have strong authority over broadband ISPs, adequately addresses paid prioritization and managed services, and addresses both wired and wireless services. Says the letter:The recent proposal by Google and Verizon of an industry-centered net neutrality policy framework reinforces the need for resolution of the current open proceedings at the Commission to ensure the maintenance of an open Internet. Rather than expansion upon a proposal by two large communications companies with a vested financial interest in the outcome, formal FCC action is needed. The public interest is served by a free and open Internet that continues to be an indispensable platform for innovation, investment, entrepreneurship, and free speech.In short, the four dems want the FCC to do what they're already doing. Namely, push for neutrality rules that cover wireless (something AT&T, Verizon and now Google absolutely do not want), and proceed with their plan to partially reclassify ISPs under Title II of the Communications Act (something the three companies also don't want).

Given the FCC's apparent terror at upsetting AT&T and Verion (by doing things like tackling open access or improving broadband competition), and Genechowski's tendency to walk a murky, non-committal middle ground, one gets the sense the final FCC product will have more in common with the Googizon proposal than not.
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Apple's Testing CDMA iPhones, iPads - The Verizon iPhone rumor parade marches on...

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 3:06pm MDT

The flood of endless iPhone to Verizon speculation has certainly been annoying for iPhone users irked with AT&T's network, but the latest rumor that Verizon will launch a CDMA-based iPhone in January seem to actually be more substantive (which isn't saying much). On the heels of rumors that Apple recently ordered a flood of CDMA chips from Qualcomm and Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg will give the CES keynote in January -- the Boy Genius Report notes that there's some hints in iOS 4 code that suggest either a CDMA iPhone and/or CDMA iPad are being currently tested. Of course Verizon isn't the only CDMA carrier out there, so keep those grains of salt handy...
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Time Warner Cable CEO Opposed, Not Opposed To Neutrality Rules - Wants 'more people in the room' while hashing out rules he may, may not want

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 12:53pm MDT

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt walks a fine line when discussing the recent Verizon/Google network neutrality deal kerfuffle, essentially telling the paper he's neither for or against network neutrality rules, then going on in great detail about how he's essentially against network neutrality rules. Britt, whose company faced a wave of negative PR when they tried to impose low caps and high overages on consumers, offers his thoughts on last week's events:I didn't say I was opposed to having rules&#46 But I'm not in favor of taking a competitive market and trying to shoehorn it into regulation that's meant for a monopoly. That doesn't work- it's just basic economics.What about for a duopoly? Speaking about the Verizon/Google framework, Britt says he would have liked to see "more people in the room" and more of a consensus. The CEO Goes on to argue that the broadband sector is simply too "dynamic" for consumer protections on the network neutrality front:We're competing in a sector of the economy that's enormously dynamic, where companies start up every day in garages that have new ideas. We should be able to innovate, too. Without the U.S. cable industry, we wouldn't have broadband and all the jobs and investment that came with it . If there had been rules in place at that time causing us not to do broadband, I don't know where we'd be.It's not clear who came up with the idea of new government laws telling ISPs they "can't do broadband," but we'd agree that whoever it was, it wasn't a very smart idea.
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BetaNews.Com

Apple manager indicted in $1 million kickback scheme

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 12:43pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

A federal grand jury has indicted an Apple supply manager and an individual involved in the company's supply chain on 23 counts including money laundering, fraud, and kickbacks. The two individuals set up an elaborate scheme involving several of Apple's suppliers.
Paul Shin Devine used his clearances within Apple to obtain information that was then shared with suppliers. This information was then used to negotiate contracts, and upon their awarding a kickback was paid to Devine.
Payments were delivered to bank accounts across the US and Asia, which were broken up into small payments to avoid suspicion, and even placed in his wife's name to conceal the true recipient of the money. It is unclear if his wife was a willing participant in the crime, although she has so far not been charged.
Devine in turn would share this with Andrew Ang of Singapore, which was also involved in the scheme and an employee of one of Apple's suppliers. It is believed that Ang and Devine cashed in on the scheme for at least three years starting in October 2006.
US marshals were holding Devine as of press time, although Ang's whereabouts were not known. Devine is also being sued by Apple for his involvement on Friday, accusing him of receiving over $1 million in payments.
"Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business," Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said in a statement. "We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside the company."
In Apple's own complaint, it says it found evidence of the scheme on his work laptop computer, which included e-mails from personal e-mail accounts confirming receipt of payments as well as confidential information on the company itself.
It was not clear if Apple still has a working relationship with the suppliers Devine and Ang worked with. The suppliers -- from several companies across southeast Asia -- made parts for Apple's iPod and iPhone products.
The former Apple executive is expected to appear in court Monday.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - iPhone - iPod - Money laundering - Grand jury
Hurd's surprise settlement with accuser contributed to ouster

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 12:14pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Former HP CEO Mark Hurd's move to settle with Jodie Fisher contributed to his firing, those close to the company's board told the Wall Street Journal on Monday. Sources say Hurd was told several times in the three weeks proceeding his ouster to settle Fisher's claims.
Board members felt that Hurd was not fully cooperating with their attempts to investigate the matter, and the settlement stopped their investigation prematurely. Fisher has said that there was no intimate relationship, however at the same time what exactly she had accused Hurd of has never been fully disclosed.
Initially the board did find Fisher's complaint meritless, however further investigation opened up questions of misconduct by Hurd. This included finding evidence that he had used company PCs to view films starring Fisher. It should be noted that Fisher did spend some time as an adult film star.
Such statements from those close to HP's board should not be surprising. The company has gotten a good deal of backlash, both from its shareholders -- who have even filed suit -- and Hurd confidant and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. Those close to the board may feel that getting their side of the story out could help their cause.
Another source that was close to the former CEO claims that Hurd had cooperated with the board, however he was not permitted to respond directly to any inquiries. Sources close to the board dispute this, saying he himself declined to speak with the board.
They also add that the Fisher scandal was not the only reason he was fired, saying Hurd's behavior leading to the settlement had already all but disqualified him to serve as the company's CEO. This included the failure to disclose a personal relationship with a contractor, and falsification of expense reports.
HP's board believed that disclosing the matter fully was the most appropriate course of action to prevent any backlash. Hurd apparently disagreed. This was likely where the rift between the board and Hurd began. Hurd's settlement effectively ended the investigation because Fisher had signed a confidentiality agreement and absolved HP of any responsibility.
It was this -- and not a look at the facts -- that contributed to HP's decision that the sexual harassment claims were meritless, WSJ sources suggest.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Mark Hurd - Jodie Fisher - Wall Street Journal - Hewlett-Packard - Sexual harassment
Intel introduces faster 'Pineview' Atom processor for network-attached storage devices

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 12:00pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Intel today announced its low-power Atom processor line has two new models designed to be used in network attached storage in the home or small business setting: the 1.8GHz single core D425, and and dual-core D525.
We first began seeing network storage devices built on Intel Atom chips in early 2009 with solutions like Asus' D200 mini-server/router/nettop, which utilized the Atom N270, a member of the first generation "Diamondville" platform.
Intel says manufacturing partners have been building NAS solutions on the "Pineview" platform since March, utilizing the Atom D410 or D510 processors. Some are currently available, such as the Asus TS Mini, and the Synology Diskstation DS1010, and some will be released later in 2010.
The D425 and D525 are currently shipping to manufacturers.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Intel Atom - Intel Corporation - Multi-core processor - Asus - Network-attached storage
Dell grows enterprise storage business with $1.15B 3PAR acquisition

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 10:50am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Dell on Monday announced it will be acquiring virtualized storage company 3PAR for $1.5 billion to grow its storage portfolio and complement its PowerVault, EqualLogic, and EMC-licensed solutions.
3PAR's claim to fame is its unique approach to storage architecture. The company provides what it claims is the hypervisor of storage utilization, or "the only virtualized storage platform built to overcome the limitations of traditional monolithic and modular arrays." 3PAR's technology will round out Dell's offerings for enterprise storage to include directly attached storage or clustered storage area network solutions.
"We have aligned our storage offerings over the last several years to provide our customers choice and value," said Brad Anderson, Dell senior vice president, Enterprise Product Group. "3PAR brings the same values of performance, agility and ease-of-use to higher end, virtualized storage deployments as EqualLogic does for the entry-level and mid-range, rounding out our industry-leading solutions portfolio."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Dell - Brad Anderson - Business - Dell PowerVault - 3PAR

broadbandreports.com

Verizon Tests 1 Gbps GPON FiOS - Existing business customer sees 800-925 Mbps in trial

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 10:24am MDT

Verizon's been busily conducting GPON connectivity in the field, showcasing how future upgrades could theoretically allow them to offer 10 Gbps to each home, or symmetrical 1 Gbps service to each PC in said home. But Verizon's current framework is no slouch either, the company today announcing they just completed a trial that involved almost 1 Gbps service on their existing GPON network.

The trial involved connecting Verizon's Taunton, Massachusetts call-switching office to an ONT located at a business customer's location. The speed was tested to a local speed test server over an optimized route, as well as across the public Internet to a regional speed test server located more than 400 miles away.

GPON is theoretically capable of offering 2.4 Gbps downstream and 1.2 Gbps upstream. In the real world (or at least something close to it), the connection tested out at 925 Mbps to a local server and 800 Mbps to a regional speed test server.

"The successful trial demonstrates that we have the headroom to meet current and future demands on the FiOS network from both residential and business customers," Verizon spokesman Cliff Lee tells Broadband Reports. The test "validates our decision to support both residential and business services on the same platform," said Vincent O'Byrne, director of Verizon's technology organization, who managed the trial.

Last week AT&T proclaimed Verizon's decision to halt FiOS expansion (to ramp up penetration and see if they could score some taxpayer/USF funds to continue deployment) justified AT&T's decision to spend less on AT&T U-Verse, though Verizon remains in a better competitive position. While you won't see 1 Gbps FiOS anytime soon, it seems likely Verizon will offer a new 100 Mbps (uncapped) tier sometime in the next year.
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BetaNews.Com

LG-Ericsson joint venture launches in the U.S.

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 10:04am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

The enterprise telecommunications joint venture formerly known as Edgecore Networks today officially launched in the United States under the new name, LG-Ericsson USA. The joint venture is made up of South Korean electronics maker LG, Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson, and Taiwanese networking solutions provider Accton Technology Corp.
The rebranding is a part of Ericsson's increased stake in its joint ventures with LG, after it bought Nortel's portion of LG-Nortel for $242 million in cash less than two months ago. Nortel agreed to sell its CDMA business to Ericsson the year before in a massive restructuring effort by the Canadian telecommunications company.
Edgecore, meanwhile, was first announced in January 2010 with the goal of offering voice and data solutions to all business sizes, while simultaneously extending the LG-Nortel brand into the United States. But now that the joint venture has changed, the switches, adapters, routers, modules, and other hardware sold have all been rebranded.
LG-Ericsson will sell IP PBX systems, digital, IP, WiFi, SIP, soft phones, and multimedia terminals, as well as managed and unmanaged switches.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

United States - Business - Nortel - Ericsson - Telecommunication

broadbandreports.com

Sandvine 'Fairshare' System Hits DOCSIS 3.0 - Fairshare 3.2: 'application, subscriber, time of day and congestion awareness'

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 8:14am MDT

You'll recall that after Comcast had their wrist slapped by the FCC, they wound up shifting to a protocol agnostic network management platform in late 2008. Instead of using a blunt hammer to throttle all users 24/7, the system targets only heavy users on the heaviest nodes, and temporarily flips the user to a lower quality of service (QoS) until they ease off consumption. This platform is supplied in large part by Sandvine, who calls it "Fairshare," and says they're now testing the system on DOCSIS 3.0 CMTS' with four tier 1 providers in North America and Europe (you can probably safely assume Comcast is one of them).
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Monday Morning Links -

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 8:00am MDT

Kiwi device to make broadband Internet 50 times faster at no extra cost The Economic Times
Skype filing reveals company's worries, strategy fiercevoip.com
Canadian parents say school WiFi made kids sick upi.com
Wireless Is Not Different. You Can t Be Half-Open techcrunch.com
WiMax 2 standard to get final stamp of approval soon neowin.net
1 out of 3 AT&T iPhone customers will switch to Verizon intomobile.com
Antennagate hits Verizon's Android Motorola Droid 2 appleinsider.com
WildBlue and HughesNet say they'll be able to provide easier, cheaper Internet than cablecos and telcos boston.com
Sandvine Expands Cable Support In Bandwidth-Management Platform multichannel.com
Verizon Fivespot by ZTE gets FCC Approval itechnews.net
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AT&T: Wireless Is 'Different' - In which AT&T gives that speech about growing wireless demand. Again.

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 7:25am MDT

As we noted last week, AT&T stayed largely quiet when Verizon and Google announced their network neutrality agreement, not wanting the deal telecom tango to be seen as a plan hashed out by only the debate's wealthiest participants (which it was). So, even though the framework gave AT&T everything they wanted (no wireless neutrality, a weak FCC, paper thin rules) AT&T figured they would stay quiet.

That didn't last. AT&T's now put a blog post up entitled "Wireless Is Different," which complains there's a lot of "misinformation out there about this issue," which AT&T will be happy to clear up for you. AT&T pulls out their well-used speech about how mobile data use is exploding (I think we get it already, guys), and argues that because wireless networks are more bandwidth-contained, it makes better sense to skip wireless when/if we impose network neutrality rules. Says AT&T's Joan Marsh:Pitted against this insatiable demand are wireless networks of finite and shared resources. Wireless networks simply cannot provide the same amount of capacity as wireline networks (i.e., DSL and cable). Fiber is to a wireline network what spectrum is to a wireless network, and as a transmission medium, the two simply do not compare. The theoretical top speed of a LTE carrier is 100 Mbps. By contrast, theoretical transmission speeds on fiber can reach as high as 25,000,000 Mbps. The 5 extra zeros tell the story.While wireless is different, that's certainly no reason to have no consumer protections of any kind (outside of some meager transparency requirements). AT&T, Verizon and Google have constructed a false choice between either no neutrality rules for wireless -- and an imaginary future where any effort to protect wireless consumers ends up in sector collapse. You'll note the companies intentionally ignore the fact that you could have neutrality rules for wireless that take into account the need for intelligent congestion management systems.

AT&T just doesn't want consumer protections for wireless. Why? They might prevent AT&T from crippling vendor handsets so users are forced to use AT&T bloatware, or forcing users to pay more for certain services. Consumer protections also might prevent AT&T from blocking applications that either compete with their own services, or say the services of a giant preferred advertising partner with a colorful and whimsical logo. Such protections might restrict AT&T's shiny new pricing model as well, which involves fairly unreasonably-low caps of 200 MB and 2GB.

Sure, wireless may be different, but AT&T's love of using capacity as a bogeyman to justify any and all behavior remains the same, whether we're talking about wireless or wireline networks (you'll of course recall the AT&T-funded Exaflood myth). Of course this discussion really isn't about capacity, given regulators could easily craft rules that allow for intelligent network congestion management. The discussion is about protecting consumers from AT&T's bad behavior. It's also simply about money. It has always been about money.
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Sprint Epic 4G Reviews Start Rolling In - Tops HTC EVO with better screen, battery

Posted: August 16th, 2010, 6:58am MDT

Last week Sprint announced that their second 4G phone, the Samsung Epic 4G, will be launching August 31 for $250 after a $100 rebate and with a Sprint two-year contract. Now the reviews have started to roll in, Gizmodo calling it the best 4G phone available, which isn't saying all that much -- given there's only two. But according to the gadget blog, the device does wind up topping the popular HTC EVO, in part due to a more visible screen and slightly improved battery performance. Reviews over at CNET and Engadget also seem largely positive.
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Friday Evening Links -

Posted: August 13th, 2010, 5:10pm MDT

MagicJack maker plans to banish calling costs msnbc.com
Android has overtaken iPhone worldwide electronista.com
Free Press Calls for Swift FCC Action to Protect Internet Users commondreams.org
ISPA UK Regrets Governments Failure to Solve the Fibre Optic Broadband Tax ispreview.co.uk
Google admits compromise made on network neutrality in wireless sector techwhack.com
Dual-core smartphones on the horizon networkworld.com
How AT&T s iPhone exclusivity ends Orange County Register
Skype and Google next against the wall in India theregister.co.uk
Marvell, Harmon team for factory-installed in-vehicle WiFi fiercebroadbandwireless.com
Is Charter missing the boat on Opelika's muni broadband network? fiercetelecom.com
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Weekend Open Thread - Discuss!

Posted: August 13th, 2010, 4:52pm MDT

The week is over. Share your thoughts in our comment section below.
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Verizon To Show First NFL Game In 3D - Preseason game between Giants and Patriots

Posted: August 13th, 2010, 2:02pm MDT

If you think 3D TV is little more than a new old gimmick that requires annoying glasses and a new television, you might want to skip this post. If you think 3DTV is a compelling product, you might be interested to note that Verizon has been working with the New York Football Giants on broadcasting the first ever NFL game in 3D (well, preseason, anyway). Verizon will be showing the September 2 preseason match-up between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots in 3D to FiOS TV customers. If you recall, Verizon earlier this year called similar cable "first ever" 3D sports efforts "hype," and insisted they'd be ramping up their own 3D efforts ahead of the 2010 holiday season.
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BetaNews.Com

Apple can still win the mobile platform wars, but it won't be easy

Posted: August 13th, 2010, 1:56pm MDT by Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

The InterWeb is buzzing about Android's sudden second quarter smartphone OS market share surge against Apple's iOS and Research in Motion's BlackBerry OS. Windows Mobile was a goner last quarter. But behind the numbers is a bigger question: Which mobile platform will be more successful? Smartphones are but one small measure of success.
Android's smartphone surge -- to No. 3 worldwide and No. 1 in the United States during second quarter, according to Gartner -- doesn't surprise me. I laid out the scenario in October 2009 post "Apple cannot win the smartphone wars" and again in May with "Like I said, Apple cannot win the smartphone wars."
As I explained in the first post, "Another 'everyone else against Apple battle' is coming, with Android looking to be the better OS around which an ecosystem grows and thrives." The key word is ecosystem. "In the 2000s, like the 1980s, Apple successfully launched industry-changing platforms -- iPhone and Macintosh, respectively. Like Macintosh, iPhone's end-to-end licensing model is poised to limit the supporting ecosystem's growth," I wrote. "Meanwhile, Google, Microsoft and Nokia license their mobile operating systems to third parties. Among the three, Google's Android is the one to most closely watch."
Android's smartphone OS market share gains are simply stunning -- 10.606 million units during second quarter, up from 755,900 a year earlier. To be clear, Gartner measures actual sales to end users, not shipments to carriers or dealers. Its market share data is more meaningful measure of device or operating system sales success.
Android pushed iOS to fourth place in worldwide smartphone OS market share during Q2. "A non-exclusive strategy that produces products selling across many communication service providers (CSPs), and the backing of so many device manufacturers, which are bringing more attractive devices to market at several different price points, were among the factors that yielded its growth this quarter," Carolina Milanesi, Gartner research vice president, said in a statement.
By the way, Android's smartphone OS market share gains already are sure to exceed Gartner predictions, as iOS already has done. Last year, Gartner's Ken Dulaney predicted that Android's market share would be 18 percent in fourth quarter 2012 -- 13.6 percent for iOS. Apple's smartphone OS already exceeds the number, while Android is just shy of it.
Apple's Future is Bound to iOS
Pundits already are predicting iPhone's death brattle before the great Android god. I wouldn't write off Apple just yet. The mobile wars are bigger than smartphones, as Apple already has shown. Also, market share is but one measure of success. Money is more important, and Apple rakes in nearly $600 for every iPhone.
That said, Apple can't afford to lose the mobile platform wars. During second calendar, iOS products accounted for at least 50 percent of Apple revenue -- that's an estimate, without exact iPod touch shipment data. For certain, iPad and iPhone accounted for 48 percent of revenue. The point: Win, lose or draw, iOS is now the future of Apple's success. The Mac accounted for a mere 28 percent of revenue during calendar Q2 (which was Apple's fiscal third quarter). Apple's stake in iOS is much bigger than smartphones and the operating system is hugely important to future revenue.
In the wake of iPad's sudden, surging success -- 3.2 million shipments during the launch quarter -- Apple mobile competitors are seemingly appearing on every corner. Rumors or official announcements have tablets running HP, Microsoft, Nokia and RIM mobile operating systems soon coming to market. Analysts' tablet predictions vary for 2010 -- 6.9 million, according to Consumer Electronics Association; 7 million, according to IDC; and 11 million, according to ABI Research. Apple is expected to take the majority of sales.
Competition may be just what Apple needs to stay the course and navigate past pirates looking to snatch its mobile platform booty. From a purely platform perspective, iOS is the most appealing choice. Developers get a single ecommerce-capable platform for their applications, and consumers (or businesses) get mobile products developed end-to-end from one company. Applications can run across iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, too -- another compelling benefit. However, Google is building the stronger, sustainable ecosystem around a mobile operating system. Google's only big problem is fragmentation, which is unavoidable as long as cellular carriers or hardware manufacturers control update distribution. Then there are the skins device makers like HTC and Sony Ericsson place on top of Android. Skinning fragments the user experience, even while creating better differentiation among Android-based devices.
Meanwhile, Microsoft, Nokia and RIM are all struggling to reposition their mobile OSes. Their increased competition will cause fragmentation of the broader mobile device market -- at least as viewed by developers and, more importantly, consumer or business buyers. In the smartphone market, Nokia will soon launch the N8, and Microsoft will unleash Windows Phone 7 before the holidays. During second quarter, Nokia lost mobile market share -- again -- to 34.2 percent from 36.8 percent a year earlier. However, Nokia's smartphone OS share plummeted by nearly 10 percent. Microsoft's smartphone OS fall from grace is to fifth place, during first quarter. Then there is RIM, which is debuting a new BlackBerry OS version. These three companies have much to lose or to regain in the coming months. The point: Smartphone competition will be fierce during fourth quarter.
Mobile Device Competition Benefits Apple
My prediction: Increased smartphone competition is more likely to hurt Android than iOS. Then there are other mobile devices to consider, like tablets and portable media players -- or even set-top boxes and TVs. In an "everyone else against Apple battle," iOS loses if there is a single competing platform around which third-parties rally (Like DOS/Windows on PCs during the 1980s and `90s). But in a war of many, iOS is more likely a winner. Apple's end-to-end mobile products, backed by the hugely successful App Store, will stand out against the many other choices similar to one another.
However, much depends on how fast and far Android can extend to other mobile products. It's only a matter of time before the number and quality of mobile applications in the Android Marketplace rivals Apple's App Store. Applications are great, but the ecosystem is everything. Android can't become the Windows of the mobile era without both.
Even if Android does beat down rivals like BlackBerry OS, Meego, Symbian, WebOS or Windows Mobile, there is another measure of success working to Apple's long-term advantage: The business models are different. Apple derives direct revenue from iOS, by sales of hardware, software and services. Google gives away Android, indirectly deriving revenue from applications and cloud services attached to smartphones and other devices.
Apple's profit motives are much stronger than are Google's (or many of its Android licensing partners), and Apple already takes a larger chunk of mobile revenues than any competitor other than RIM. According to various analyst estimates, iPhone accounts for more than 30 percent of global handset profits, off a mere 2.7 percent market share (the latter number from Gartner's Q2 handset sales data). But, again, iOS isn't just a smartphone story. Apple sells portable media players and tablets, which combined with iPhone amount to more than 100 million iOS units sold.
I don't believe that Apple can win the smartphone wars, but there's still a chance to win the broader mobile platform device wars. It won't be easy. Much will depend on whether or when Android can beat other operating systems across all major mobile device categories. That said, if Apple's profits are scads larger than rivals', losing the market share war can still be called victory.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - Nokia - iPhone - Microsoft - Google

broadbandreports.com

San Francisco Gets Tough(er) On Tower Builds - New Ordinance allows build rejections based on aesthetic reasons

Posted: August 13th, 2010, 12:03pm MDT

San Francisco certainly isn't making many friends in the wireless sector. The city recently passed a new law requiring the industry clearly display all phone radiation levels at retail -- and they're being sued by the industry, which insists cell phone radiation is already managed by the FCC, there's no solid evidence of health issues, and the warnings unnecessarily frighten consumers. Now San Francisco is working on a new ordinance that would let the city reject tower builds based on aesthetic reasons, and give local communities more authority on build locations:Avalos' ordinance, however, would ban new utility poles built solely for new antennas. It would also require special permits for large antennas on public property, force carriers to plant trees to disguise antennas in some locations, and oblige the city to notify neighbors of new installations. Neighbors would then have the opportunity to protest new antennas and force a hearing with the Department of Public Works.San Francisco may find themselves running into a new rule passed last fall by the FCC, which puts a 90-150 day shot clock on municipal tower build decisions. Of course AT&T's also impacted here; the company working hard on trying to shore up flaky wireless network performance in the Bay Area, but recently noting these efforts are well-behind NYC improvements due to additional layers of bureaucratic wrangling. Of course at the same time, nobody wants towers in their backyard, so something here has to give...
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Cox Launches 50 Mbps In Connecticut - $99 for 50/5 (55 Mbps with Powerboost)

Posted: August 13th, 2010, 10:08am MDT

Cox Communications has announced that the company is now offering faster, DOCSIS 3.0 based service to businesses and residential customers in Connecticut. That of course includes the company's fastest Ultimate Internet tier, which offers 50 Mbps downstream (55 Mbps when Powerboost kicks in) and 5 Mbps upstream for $99 a month. According to the Cox press release, the tier comes with three unique IP addresses, 10 e-mail addresses, and 50 hours per month of remote dial access (that last one being something you'll enjoy for less than a month, since Cox is killing off backup dial-up starting in September).
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Charter Cures Cable Theft With $50,000 In HUD Money - Service will be kept on at heavily vandalized apartment complex

Posted: August 13th, 2010, 7:58am MDT

Last year we noted how Charter was threatening to stop offering TV, broadband and cable service to an apartment complex in Michigan, because local vandals kept destroying hardware and coax runs and/or stealing service. Charter of course didn't want to pony up the cash to upgrade the apartment, if thieves and vandals were going to be a mainstay. Many locals, meanwhile, didn't think it was fair to lose service because of the actions of a select group of residents.

The majority of the residents are elderly and on fixed incomes, and the apartments are subsidized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development -- legally restricting Charter from including service charges in monthly rent (one proposal of several).

For those who found the original story interesting, the Kalamazoo Gazette reports Charter and the apartment owners have come to an understanding; namely to use $50,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on the upgrades Charter didn't want to pay for:Lisa Willcutt, property supervisor, said her company received special permission from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to use more than $50,000 from the project s replacement reserves to pay for changes management hopes will stop the pirating and malicious damage. . . According to Willcutt, cable wires now visible on the outside of Interfaith s buildings will be enclosed and access boxes on the buildings will be boosted to 12 feet above ground to make it more difficult to illegally access the cable signal and easier to spot pirating.Charter's still threatening to stop serving the complex if the company detects "more than 20 instances of illegal cable connections or must repair three or more vandalism incidents totaling $500 in a one-year period."
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Cable, TelcoTV Operators Eye Tablet Video - Verizon, Cablevision, Comcast all have projects underway

Posted: August 13th, 2010, 7:30am MDT

We've already noted that Verizon is working with Motorola on an Android-based tablet that will be integrated with FiOSTV content and services. Time Warner Cable this week also indicated the company was working on a video streaming application for the iPad, something Comcast and Cablevision are also investigating. This is of course part of a broader satellite, telcoTV and cable industry effort to extend their TV Anywhere paywalled functionality to tablet computers, and of course the effort's success will be dictated by ease of use -- and navigating broadcaster licensing restrictions. You'll of course note that while most of these companies are focusing on iOS, Verizon's hitched their wagon to Android.
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FCC Quiet On Verizon/Google As Review Continues - Though insiders suggest they do want rules to cover wireless

Posted: August 13th, 2010, 7:12am MDT

Aside from a somewhat vague statement from Commissioner Copps (pdf), the FCC has been quiet this week about the network neutrality kerfuffle caused by Verizon and Google. One anonymous White House aide tells a Time Magazine blogger that they're staying quiet because their review is ongoing. Another anonymous White House insider tells the blog that the government does want whatever final rules are made to cover both managed services and wireless -- something Verizon, Google and AT&T have been opposed to during those closed-door negotiations; recently scuttled thanks in part to Verizon and Google's late-night cuddle sessions.

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Project Vigilant: 'One Nearly Homeless Guy Talking Big?' - Sound and fury, signifying nothing...

Posted: August 13th, 2010, 6:54am MDT

Earlier this month your might remember a ruckus about "Project Vigilant," a group that claimed to be buying data from ISPs in order to act as outsourced data analysts for Uncle Sam. Except nobody in the security industry had heard of them and on first look, the group came across as a bunch of crackpots. Techdirt directs our attention to a piece over at CNET by Declan McCullaugh that notes the group is really little more than one guy, with virtually no budget, who likes to make a lot of very large claims, virtually none of which can be supported. As an aside, it's interesting to see the shift in news coverage of the group in just over a week, as reporters realized the group was about 90% hyperbole (see Salon article one and Salon article two).
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Frday Morning Links -

Posted: August 13th, 2010, 5:49am MDT

Cox Fires Up DOCSIS 3.0 In Connecticut multichannel.com
Global mobile data traffic tripled in last year - Ericsson totaltele.com
T-Mobile Tops US Wireless Retailer Customer Care Survey cellular-news.com
If Verizon and Google Win, We Lose pcworld.com
Most Dangerous Trojan Virus Ever Steals Over $1 Million digitaltrends.com
French court effectively rules that gov can order ISP's to censor Internet techdirt.com
Wireless To FCC: Don't Tread On Us multichannel.com
NCTA to FCC: Adopt a sort of Hippocratic oath for broadband broadcastingcable.com
Persistent Wireless Broadband Communications Network for the Battlefield defencetalk.com
Oracle sues Google over Java in Android theregister.co.uk
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Friday Morning Links -

Posted: August 13th, 2010, 5:49am MDT

Cox Fires Up DOCSIS 3.0 In Connecticut multichannel.com
Global mobile data traffic tripled in last year - Ericsson totaltele.com
T-Mobile Tops US Wireless Retailer Customer Care Survey cellular-news.com
If Verizon and Google Win, We Lose pcworld.com
Most Dangerous Trojan Virus Ever Steals Over $1 Million digitaltrends.com
French court effectively rules that gov can order ISP's to censor Internet techdirt.com
Wireless To FCC: Don't Tread On Us multichannel.com
NCTA to FCC: Adopt a sort of Hippocratic oath for broadband broadcastingcable.com
Persistent Wireless Broadband Communications Network for the Battlefield defencetalk.com
Oracle sues Google over Java in Android theregister.co.uk
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BetaNews.Com

This is big: Oracle claims Android violates its Java patents, sues Google

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 10:59pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Enterprise computer company Oracle has filed a lawsuit against Google for patent and copyright infringement related to Java and Android.
"In developing Android, Google knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle's Java-related intellectual property. This lawsuit seeks appropriate remedies for their infringement," Oracle spokesperson Karen Tillman said in a brief statement Thursday evening.
The complaint claims that Android violates the following seven patents for Java technology which Oracle obtained when it acquired Sun Microsystems in 2009.
6,125,447: "Protection domains to provide security in a computer system,"
6,192,476: "Controlling access to a resource,"
5,966,702: "Method and apparatus for pre-processing and packaging class files,"
7,426,720: "System and method for dynamic preloading of classes through memory space cloning of a master runtime system process,"
RE38,104: "Method and apparatus for resolving data references in generated code,"
6,910,205: "Interpreting functions utilizing a hybrid of virtual and native machine instructions,"
6,061,520: "Method and system for performing static initialization."
Android is based on a Java Virtual Machine known as Dalvik, which was built by Dan Bornstein. Dalvik takes the generated Java class files and combines them into one or more Dalvik Executable files, known as .dex files. However, once the code reaches its final executable stage, it is not based on Java bytecode, but instead upon these .dex files.
In its complaint in the Northern District Court of California Thursday, Oracle asked for a jury trial, which could result in an injunction on infringing software, and damages for any profits Google has made off of Android.
Though Google has not issued a statement about the complaint, Tim Bray, formerly Sun's director of Web Technologies, and current Android Developer Advocate at Google had a direct and colorful response for Oracle on Twitter Thursday evening.
On Friday, Google issued a brief response to Oracle's equally brief lawsuit announcement put forth the day before.
"We are disappointed Oracle has chosen to attack both Google and the open-source Java community with this baseless lawsuit. The open-source Java community goes beyond any one corporation and works every day to make the web a better place. We will strongly defend open-source standards and will continue to work with the industry to develop the Android platform," Google's statement to the media said.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Google - Oracle - Sun Microsystems - Java Virtual Machine - Oracle Corporation
Google: Net Neutrality proposal 'represents real progress' in debate

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 6:07pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

After almost a week of criticism surrounding its announcement Monday that it had come to an agreement with Verizon over net neutrality, Google on Thursday attempted to defend itself. The Mountain View, Calif. company characterized the deal as progress on the issue, and done in the 'spirit of compromise.'
Since the announcement Monday, several companies have weighed in on the move. AT&T called the deal a 'positive step,' while Facebook criticized it over the fact that it excludes wireless traffic. Google took opponents to task for mischaracterizing some portions of the agreement, although it admitted that it didn't expect everyone to agree on the issue.
"Google has been the leading corporate voice on the issue of network neutrality over the past five years. No other company is working as tirelessly for an open Internet," counsel Richard Whitt argued in a fact sheet on the issue. "We're not saying this solution is perfect, but we believe that [this] proposal ... is preferable to no protection at all."
Whitt pointed out that there is currently no method for the federal government to enforce equal access principles. His assertion does have basis in the facts: following the Comcast decision, it is now case law that the FCC does not have regulatory authority over broadband access under current rules.
Google and Verizon's proposal would for the first time give the FCC a legal basis to ensure net neutrality principles, and Whitt noted that Verizon had voluntarily already agreed to abide by the requirements set forth even without legislative action that would make it mandatory.
A good portion of the criticism has come on the issue of wireless traffic, and Whitt admitted that in order to advance the deal, it agreed to not ask for net neutrality principles on that traffic. He argued that due to bandwidth constraints, it is more necessary to manage traffic actively on wireless connections.
"This is a policy proposal -- not a business deal," he wrote. "Of course, Google has a close business relationship with Verizon, but ultimately this proposal has nothing to do with Android."
Regardless of what happens with net neutrality, in the end it will come down to action in Washington. Whitt said that it will ultimately be in the hands of legislators and regulators to do what they need to do in the space to ensure an open Internet.
"We're not so presumptuous to think that any two businesses could -- or should -- decide the future of this issue," he concluded. "We're simply trying to offer a proposal to help resolve a debate which has largely stagnated after five years."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Google - Richard Whitt - Verizon - Network neutrality - Washington

broadbandreports.com

Thursday Evening Links -

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 5:36pm MDT

Is there a "caring about broadband" divide in the US? arstechnica.com
Net neutrality protest planned at Google on Friday cnet.com
High-Fiber Subs Are Happiest With Broadband, TV: Survey multichannel.com
Smartphone sales up 50% theregister.co.uk
Leap's MVNO deal with Sprint makes MetroPCS merger unlikely fiercewireless.com
Sprint's 4G chief stands behind WiMAX despite LTE rumblings fiercewireless.com
4G: It s All Semantics goinglte.com
Verizon certification program OKs home routers resistant to hacking cedmagazine.com
Long-Rumored 'Verizon iPhone' Gets a Name: N92 pcworld.com
Proposed SF ordinance would place new restrictions on cell phone antennas cnet.com
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Here Comes Sprint's Second WiMax Phone: The Samsung Epic - August 31 for $250 with 2-year contract and $100 rebate

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 4:41pm MDT

After launching the HTC EVO to largely positive reviews back in June, Sprint is now gearing up to launch their second Mobile WiMax smartphone. The Samsung Epic 4G will be available starting August 31 for $250 -- after a $100 rebate and only if you sign a two-year contract with Sprint. The device mirrors the Samsung Galaxy S family of devices, but is the only one to support Mobile WiMax and have a slide-out keyboard. The Epic comes with a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, 1GHz Samsung Cortex A8 processor, Android 2.1 (no Froyo, yet), free 3G/4G hotspot functionality, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash capable of 720p video.
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Google Lawyer Again Insists They Didn't Sell Out On Neutrality - Though this same lawyer in 2007 would probably disagree

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 1:40pm MDT

Google continues to work on damage control over their deal arrangement telecom policy lambada with Verizon. The company took to their policy blog today to insist the company didn't "sell out" on network neutrality, but instead is just working "tirelessly for an open Internet" (in ways an ocean of critics just can't see). The post, by Google lawyer Richard Whitt, essentially argues that due to "political realities," their solution is better than the neutrality protections currently on the books (namely, none):
the wireless market is more competitive than the wireline market, given that consumers typically have more than just two providers to choose from.
-Google Attorney Richard Whitt, in 2010
But given political realities, this particular issue has been intractable in Washington for several years now. . .With that in mind, we decided to partner with a major broadband provider on the best policy solution we could devise together. We re not saying this solution is perfect, but we believe that a proposal that locks in key enforceable protections for consumers is preferable to no protection at all.Of course there's a third option: a neutrality foundation built by tough regulators based on the input of all parties (including small businesses and consumers), and not just two of the wealthiest corporations in the debate. Whitt glosses over the fact their proposal creates a toothless FCC that will be subjugated by industry-created self-regulatory showmanship, insists the wireless sector (dominated by AT&T and Verizon) is actually very competitive, and then proclaims their joint proposal has nothing to do with Android:
...such competition, while beneficial to consumers, appropriately should be seen as relatively shallow in nature.
-Google Attorney Richard Whitt, in 2007
This is a policy proposal not a business deal. Of course, Google has a close business relationship with Verizon, but ultimately this proposal has nothing to do with Android. Folks certainly should not be surprised by the announcement of this proposal, given our prior public policy work with Verizon on network neutrality, going back to our October 2009 blog post, our January 2010 joint FCC filing, and our April 2010 op-ed.You'll note Whitt conveniently doesn't want to go back to 2007, where you'd actually start to notice the stark contrast between a company focused on innovation, and one focused on turf protection. Take a look at documents written by Whitt in 2007, back when Google was trying to break into the wireless ad business. You'll see a remarkably different tone, with Whitt not even approving of wireless or wireline QoS prioritization, while repeatedly noting a lack of competition in the wireless sector and the myriad of possible threats entrenched, uncompetitive carriers pose consumers:...Wireless providers block many common Internet applications and services outright, frequently do not allow network attachment of any device but their own, and reserve the right to terminate service arbitrarily for using other services that do not conform to a short and vaguely-defined list...Where the broadband incumbents do compete against each other in the market, they do so primarily based on qualities such as price and speed. Within the larger context of market dynamics, such competition, while beneficial to consumers, appropriately should be seen as relatively shallow in nature.Aside from some pressure from upstart prepaid carriers (whose subscriber totals are still relatively laughable), the wireless sector hasn't magically become so competitive and open that Whitt's fears in 2007 no longer apply. Clearwire's partial network build adds a little competition, but recall Verizon removed the semi-disruptive Alltel from the market. The wireless sector remains a market absolutely dominated by AT&T and Verizon, who are still consistently crippling handsets and blocking applications they don't like in the hopes of retaining control.

So what changed? Google did. In 2007, Android wasn't a major mobile OS, and Google didn't have multi-billion-dollar wireless advertising relationships with Verizon and AT&T. You'll also recall that Google had hopes of bypassing the carrier retail experience completely -- hopes that flamed out rather spectacularly with the death of the Nexus One and their online phone store. The policy shift is clear and indisputable, as is the motivation: Google doesn't want consumer protections (be they privacy, or network neutrality) to impact wireless ad revenues.

Even industry "consultant" Scott Cleland, paid by AT&T and Verizon in the past to attack Google (he apparently didn't get the memo that Verizon and Google are now BFFs), acknowledges Google's new perspective is about mobile ads. The continued pretense that Google's shift has nothing to do with protecting their new multi-billion-dollar wireless ad empire from tough consumer protections is aggressively insulting. While we wait for Google to admit the obvious, the Richard Whitt from 2010 might benefit from a conversation with the Richard Whitt from 2007.
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BetaNews.Com

Google officially launches Chrome-to-Phone extension, broadens Android voice search.

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 1:06pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Google today announced the availability of two features exclusive to Android 2.2 (FroYo): Voice Actions and Chrome-to-Phone.
Voice Actions is an app that vastly expands Android's speech-to-text functionality, and Chrome to Phone is a Chrome extension and Android app pairing that lets the user forward content in Chrome to his Android device. This was first shown off at Google I/O last May as a part of the 10 improvements in Android 2.2 and has been available on Google Code since July.
Android's Google Search widget received a voice recognition tool in the very early RC33 update before Android 1.2 was released, and the functionality was extended into Google Maps several months later, but the platform relied upon third party apps for things like speech-to-SMS or speech-to-E-mail.
With Voice Actions, users now have about a dozen more commands that they can activate from the Google Search widget, including sending texts, listening to songs on Pandora, Last.fm, mSpot, and Rdio, calling contacts or businesses by name, navigating to website or real-world locations, making notes, or pulling up maps and directions.
Currently Voice Actions and the improved Google Search widget are preloaded on the Motorola Droid 2; but other devices with 2.2 (EVO, Nexus One, Droid) can download several app updates to gain the functionality.
Chrome to Phone has been available for a little while, but it is now an official Chrome extension and App in the Android Market.
With these, users can seamlessly push Chrome content to their Android phone, including Google Maps, YouTube videos, and URLs.
While neither of Google's announcements on Thursday were anything totally surprising, nearly all of Google's first-party apps for Android are must-haves, and this deepens the functionality of Android as an access device, while simultaneously extending Google's Chrome desktop presence into the mobile space.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Google - Google Maps - Android - Nexus One - Google Chrome
Report: Sony Ericsson prepping 'PlayStation phone'

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 12:45pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Technology blog Engadget said Thursday that sources have confirmed mobile device manufacturer Sony Ericsson is working on an Android-based phone that would serve as the platform's first gaming-centric device.
Described as a cross between the PSP Go and the Samsung Captivate, the phone runs Android 3.0, otherwise known as "Gingerbread." It looks much like a slider phone, however instead of a keyboard the slider would pull out to reveal the gaming controls, the blog reported.
The device would be PlayStation-branded, although it would obviously have a different platform from the consoles since the device runs the Android OS. The screen is expected to measure around 4 inches, and would include a five megapixel camera and 1GHz CPU.
Rumors of a PlayStation-branded Sony Ericsson device trace back to a 2007 patent application for a gaming phone filed by the joint venture. The device in the patent had a 90-degree pivoting screen not unlike the LG VX9400, and d-pad style buttons rather than the traditional numeric keypad. This rumor has surfaced a number of times since the patent was filed.
Sony looks to want to port some of its popular PSX and PSP games to the device, but it probably would not be out of the question to see brand new titles being released for it. Games would be downloaded through the Android Market, although pricing was not disclosed.
Engadget was unable to confirm a release date for the phone, although it said it was possible that Sony Ericsson could be targeting an October release. It also did not have any information on potential carriers for the device.
If the product is indeed real -- which the blog was pretty adamant it is -- it would essentially be the first game-centric phone since Nokia's N-Gage.
The N-Gage was released in late 2003, and while never really a massive hit, it did attract a cult following. Around 3 million or so devices were said to be sold, and Nokia said last October that it was winding down production of the phones and the N-Gage service this year.
Microsoft and its Xbox platform shouldn't be counted out as a result of this news, though: Windows Phone 7 will include Xbox Live functionality, and there has been repeated rumors that the company is considering an Xbox phone of its own.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Sony Ericsson - Android - PlayStation Portable - N-Gage - PlayStation
Confessions of a Windows 7 to Ubuntu switcher

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 11:49am MDT by Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

The other night, I got quite the shock. A good friend, who is a Windows enthusiast and IT administrator/consultant, informed me that he had dumped Windows 7 for Ubuntu. I didn't see that coming. For one, he's a Windows fan. For another, I would rate Windows 7 as nearly Microsoft's best operating system ever (sorry, even with the driver problems, Windows NT 4 still ranks as my fav; for its time -- 1996ish). My buddy contacted me by Skype, and I kept the transcript which I offer here with his permission.
Many of my questions were deliberately pointed, for three reasons. 1) As with all interviews, I strive for impartiality. 2) This friend, whom I'll call IT Guy for this post, is a good buddy. I know his personality enough to press hard about certain things. 3) I don't want to give some of Betanews' more rabid commenters cause to accuse of bias against Microsoft or Windows (I have none, but they accuse anyway). Hey, I'm just as surprised as you about my buddy's Ubuntu conversion. He had tried Linux years ago and didn't really like the experience, particularly because of driver problems and deficient or missing applications.
I don't see that IT Guy gave very good technical reasons for abandoning Windows 7. He mostly states what I consider to be perception problems -- that there are daily updates (which isn't the case), that there are massive security problems (because of the number of patches) and that Microsoft's anti-piracy mechanisms are harassing. These are actually emotional reasons, which is why I am posting the conversation. Even for experienced users, a purchase decision is still an emotional one. My friend didn't feel good about Windows 7. Microsoft doesn't want long-time loyal users like IT Guy going rogue and switching to Linux or Mac OS X.
With that introduction, I present the conversation, which has been edited in four places for flow (We asked and answered some questions out of sequence). The opening question reflects IT Guy contacting me by Skype, where my username isn't my real name. So he wasn't initially sure he was skyping me.
IT Guy: That you, Mr. Joe?
Joe Wilcox: Hey, bud. What's shakin?
IT Guy: Same ole same ole! And you?
Joe Wilcox: Working. Caught me at bad time.
IT Guy: I've tossed Windows7 Ultimate!
IT Guy: Ahhhh. sorry....
Joe Wilcox: Oh?
Joe Wilcox: Wait.
Joe Wilcox: Do tell.
Joe Wilcox: Tossed for what?
IT Guy: Yeah, moved back to Linux. Using Ubuntu.
Joe Wilcox: Because?
IT Guy: Very satisfied, very impressed!
IT Guy: Couldn't keep Win running with any speed.
Joe Wilcox: What about drivers? Software?
IT Guy: That's with 8 GB of RAM.
Joe Wilcox: Really. What's the system config again?
IT Guy: Everything including video if you want to vid chat.
Joe Wilcox: I can't vid chat now. Later perhaps.
IT Guy: It is a truly amazing system. Especially with the spec's I'm running.
Joe Wilcox: But give me some more details. Start with complete system specs.
IT Guy: Intel quad i7 proc.
IT Guy: 8 GB Ram
Joe Wilcox: Laptop?
IT Guy: Yes
Joe Wilcox: Just spell out specs in one sentence.
IT Guy: 500 GB HD
IT Guy: sorry
Joe Wilcox: Model and manufacturer too.
IT Guy: HP Pavilion DV6T. 1 GB dedicated vid ram, and the rest listed above. Came with win7 home, upgraded to Ultimate. Wireless internal of course.
Joe Wilcox: You ran Ultimate for how long?
IT Guy: Now running Ubuntu Desktop 10.04 Lucid Lynx. I ran Ultimate for about 3 mos.
Joe Wilcox: Why so little time?
IT Guy: Just got tired of fighting with it all the time with rights issues and such. A patch an hour somedays? Come on...
Joe Wilcox: What kinds of rights issues?
IT Guy: I've got some stuff I never want to lose, and with Windows I wasn't feeling warm and fuzzy anymore.
Joe Wilcox: Because?
IT Guy: Anytime installing anything from software to copying doc's localy folder to folder...
IT Guy: I understand some of that but come on. I upgraded to Ultimate to get access to some of my old db files created on XP.
Joe Wilcox: You couldn't access them?
IT Guy: No. Windows 7 Ultimate is the only version that will.
Joe Wilcox: Did you try and identify why? Use Microsoft Knowledgebase or forums?
IT Guy: They are up front about that though.
IT Guy: The KB for sure. Most didn't have the time of day.
Joe Wilcox: What about performance? Powerful system, should be plenty of oomph for Windows 7 Ultimate.
IT Guy: Yes it was at first. I could never keep it that way short of doing a sys restore.
Joe Wilcox: So what about performance?
IT Guy: Oddly enough, I came here from the Ubuntu forums
Joe Wilcox: Came here, meaning where?
IT Guy: A refreshing change from MS. Not only is the OS free, if you're kind in your approach on the forums, it's almost like free tech support as well!
IT Guy: I highly recommend Ubuntu.
IT Guy: In case you couldn't tell.
IT Guy: Been using it about a month.
Joe Wilcox: You still haven't answered question about Windows 7 Ultimate performance.
IT Guy: With NO problems!
IT Guy: The performance degraded as time went by.
Joe Wilcox: How so?
IT Guy:: I have no explanation why. That was the most frustrating part of the whole thing.
Joe Wilcox: What makes you sure Ubuntu won't degrade in another two months?
IT Guy: I consider myself, if not a 'computer guru', then pretty darn close.
IT Guy: With Linux today you can monitor and control everything the system is doing.
Joe Wilcox: So let's discuss that. You have how much IT experience?
Joe Wilcox: You've managed systems?
Joe Wilcox: Meaning, as I recall, your experience is broader than just an end user.
IT Guy: Started my first programming classes in 1983. Been working in the industry in one way or another ever since. You know that.
IT Guy: Went to Devry or however they spell it.
IT Guy: Ended up as a full time employee for my COBOL professor.
Joe Wilcox: OK. How about you give me three things you liked and also disliked about Windows 7 Ultimate?
IT Guy: It was pretty.
IT Guy: It was shallow!
IT Guy: Reminded me too much of a cheap woman! hehe
Joe Wilcox: Are you describing Windows or your first date?
IT Guy: Liked the new Aurora interface and how fast my games played.
Joe Wilcox: Cheap woman as in easy to get or hard to please?
IT Guy: I disliked that it has so many security flaws. There were literally patches per hour some day!
Joe Wilcox: Microsoft releases patches on second Tuesday of the month. There couldn't have been that many.
IT Guy: No stable OS should have to be updated continuously in order for the end user to have some sense of security.
Joe Wilcox: Apple regularly updates Mac OS X.
IT Guy: True enough.
Joe Wilcox: What about Ubuntu?
IT Guy: If I want the update yes.
Joe Wilcox: How often? More often in one month than Windows?
IT Guy: My kernel is protected and I only update it in the event of hardware change.
IT Guy: I've updated the kernel once since install.
Joe Wilcox: The Windows 64-bit kernel is pretty hardened. Did you run 64-bit Ultimate?
IT Guy: Yes I did.
Joe Wilcox: Could it be Microsoft is just more proactive about security?
Joe Wilcox: Crime goes up after cities put more cops on the street. It's a well-documented occurance. More cops means more crime recorded not an increase in actual crimes.
IT Guy: That is a possibility. I was thinking about it more from the disgusted end user perspective of 'what is so wrong that I have to have all these updates' feeling.
Joe Wilcox: So the updates generated fear -- that Windows isn't safe enough?
IT Guy: I just figured that as loaded up hardware wise as this laptop is, that I shouldn't have noticed any slowdown, or at the most it should have been imperceptible.
IT Guy: It wasn't so much a fear factor thing though it did weigh on me at times.
Joe Wilcox: Got it. OK, now to those three things you didn't like most about Windows 7 Ultimate.
IT Guy: The slow down, the security, and having it act like I was a new user every time I tried to do something at the sys level.
Joe Wilcox: OK. So what about Ubuntu? What three things do you like most or dislike most?
IT Guy: I like most the fact that when I turn on the laptop, I'm able to be editing my website live, in about a minute flat!
Joe Wilcox: How do the bootup times compare?
IT Guy: Three weeks later I like that it still is booting just as fast.
IT Guy: Ubuntu=1 minute up and able to start an app.
IT Guy: Windows 7 Ultimate=At the end about 4 and a half minutes before you could try to start an app..
Joe Wilcox: That's from bootup? What about sleep? I find Windows 7 Ulitmate to resume quickly on a much less powerful system than yours.
IT Guy: Ahhh, never used sleep.
Joe Wilcox: Really? I assume most everyone uses sleep.
IT Guy: I can't give you a good answer there because I just never used it.
IT Guy: I now do! Took Ubuntu for me to 'discover' the value of sleep mode.
Joe Wilcox: My experience is about 10-15 seconds from sleep.
IT Guy: With Win7?
Joe Wilcox: Yes.
IT Guy: Wow.
Joe Wilcox: That's hardcase scenario -- using Outlook. Outlook was super slow on Vista.
Joe Wilcox: From sleep.
IT Guy: Now I'm going to have to reinstall and look at it again. I used it hard as well. Outlook, Word, Access and typically a media player app of some kind running.
Joe Wilcox: What else do you like about Ubuntu? How is the UI and drivers?
IT Guy: The UI for Ubuntu is on a level with OS X.
Joe Wilcox: That's good?
IT Guy: As far as I'm concerned, it's the best, most intuitive UI I've ever had. The drivers are superlative and run everything very well.
IT Guy: I'm using Gnome, by the way.
IT Guy: KDE was just to much like windows for me. Seemed like there were two ways to do everything.
Joe Wilcox: OK. Driver installation compares how with Windows 7 Ultimate?
IT Guy: Ahhhh.
IT Guy: Are you talking initial install? Of Linux?
Joe Wilcox: Both for drivers.
Joe Wilcox: What if a device doesn't work? How easily can you get a new driver?
IT Guy: At present, I've not come across anything hardware wise that hasn't worked. I have intentionally reinstalled the nVidia drivers with no problems or issues.
Joe Wilcox: What about applications?
Joe Wilcox: Can you watch DVD movies? Make home movies, etc.?
Joe Wilcox: Microsoft has Windows Live Essentials, and there are plenty of good third-party apps. Apple has iLife and its pro products.
IT Guy: All my writing is done with OpenOffice, I watch movies with VLC, I've been happily burning my DVD's with Brassero, and so on and on...
IT Guy: All of the apps I use are free. Part of the OpenSource community.
Joe Wilcox: You do some photography. Have you got anything comparable to Adobe Lightroom?
IT Guy: I am using Gimp for all my photo needs.
Joe Wilcox: That's enough? Really?
IT Guy: Matter of fact the photo used on my twitter account was imported and edited with Gimp today.
IT Guy: It's a really awesome graphics program actually.
IT Guy: So far, I've found there is nothing I can't do with this OS that I was doing with Mac or Windows.
Joe Wilcox: And it handles your Nikon RAW files?
IT Guy: Very well.
IT Guy: Actually found a nikon driver for the camera that imports them directly to Gimp and then wants to know if I want to convert them to a different format.
Joe Wilcox: Would you recommend Windows 7 Ultimate to friends? Would you recommend Ubuntu to friends?
IT Guy: hmmm.
IT Guy: Yes to Ubuntu.
Joe Wilcox: And WIndows 7 Ultimate?
IT Guy: I don't think right now I'd recommend Windows. I mean Ubuntu is free, and you can do everything with it that you can do with Windows, so do the math!
IT Guy: Also, Linux tends to keep your skills honed. Windows seems to not want the end user to have any smarts!
Joe Wilcox: Skills honed how?
IT Guy: You can do a lot from the terminal. Learn basic commands to run in the terminal to maintain the overall health of the computer...
IT Guy: Stuff that harkens back to the Unix console days.
Joe Wilcox: Windows has a sophisticated command line feature.
IT Guy: It definitely does.
Joe Wilcox: But you prefer the Unix/Linux terminal?
IT Guy: Unless you know more or can do more than the basic old dos commands it is really limited compared to the console in Linux.
IT Guy: Especially compared to Unix...
IT Guy: So yes I prefer the Unix/Linux command line over Windows.
Joe Wilcox: And how many years have you used Windows?
IT Guy: Holy *^#*. since ver 1.0.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Windows 7 - Linux - Operating system - Joe Wilcox - Microsoft Windows
Viacom appeals YouTube ruling, called decision 'flawed'

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 11:17am MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Still stinging from a court decision in June which threw out its $1 billion suit against video site YouTube, entertainment company Viacom filed an appeal Wednesday in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York.
The original suit was filed in 2007, and accused YouTube of being a willing participant in the piracy of Viacom's work on the site. The company is behind such networks as Comedy Central, MTV, and VH1. YouTube had made an effort to remove Viacom's content, as well as negotiate with the company, however those talks failed.
"We are disappointed with the judge's ruling, but confident we will win on appeal," general counsel Michael Fricklas said at the time. "It is and should be illegal for companies to build their businesses with creative material they have stolen from others."
Judge Louis Stanton granted Google's request for summary judgement, meaning the case never went to trial. Stanton said that YouTube's actions were legal under the safe harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Several Internet companies including Facebook, Yahoo, and IAC filed briefs with the court in support of Google, saying a decision against the company could open the door for others and could stifle innovation.
Google declined to comment on Viacom's appeal. No date has been set yet for initial hearings on the appeal, as this point in the process is only to notify the court of Viacom's intentions.
Legal experts say that Viacom may have a hard time winning on appeal, and any decision is likely not to come for several years.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Google - Viacom - YouTube - Facebook - Digital Millennium Copyright Act

broadbandreports.com

59% Don't Know What Fiber To The Home Is - Fiber users most satisfied, says group that sells fiber

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 10:58am MDT

According to a new survey from the Fiber To The Home Council (which is comprised of largely fiber hardware vendors and carriers), 71% of FTTH subscribers say they are "very satisfied" with their Internet service, compared with 53 percent for cable broadband and 52% for DSL. The survey, conducted by RVA LLC, polled 1,000 FTTH subscribers and 600 other broadband subscribers from a pool of 50,000 randomly selected consumers.

Most interesting perhaps is the fact that the FTTH council found that just 41% of broadband subscribers actually know what the term "fiber to the home" even means, compared to 28% one year ago. You might recall the FCC recently found (pdf) that 80% of broadband customers don't even know what connection speed they have, despite it being clearly advertised at sale. The survey also found that FTTH is usually faster (shocking) than DSL or cable:The survey, which also asked respondents to measure and report the speed of their Internet connectivity via www.speakeasy.net, found that average FTTH download and upload speeds continue to stay well ahead of cable and DSL. Based on these reports, FTTH currently has a median download speed of 16.6 Mbps and an upload speed of 4.5 Mbps, an increase of 219 percent for download and 350 percent for upload speeds over the three years RVA has conducted this survey.The group says FTTH is now available to more than 16% of North American homes, with six million homes actually connected. 3.8 million of that total are Verizon FiOS customers.
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BetaNews.Com

CBS Interactive launches the Foursquare of TV viewing, TV.com Relay

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 10:46am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Thursday, CBS interactive launched a mobile Web app called TV.com Relay, which lets users "check in" to the TV shows they happen to be watching and earn badges for their activities just like popular location-based games Foursquare and Gowalla.
Unlike those location based services, though, you don't actually have to go anywhere to use Relay.
Users link their Facebook profile to Relay, and enter their Zip code and cable provider. Then, by clicking "Shows," the user is presented with a complete list of everything their cable provider is playing at that moment. Next to each show is a list of how many other users are currently checked into it. Clicking on each list item opens up an episode synopsis, a list of users watching the show, and a big "Check In" button. The show the user is currently watching is then posted as a Facebook update.
Since it is a Web app, it's available to most mobile devices with a browser, and CBS Interactive says it will be available on connected TVs later this year.
Relay is located at relay.tv.com.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Facebook - Foursquare - Gowalla - CBS Interactive - Location-based service
Mozilla Firefox 4 beta 3 released, adds multi-touch enhancements in Windows 7

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 9:45am MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Mozilla has made the third beta of Firefox 4 available for download and testing this week, and the popular browser has received two major updates: one is very visible, one is not.
The less outwardly visible improvement in Firefox 4 beta 3 is the improved JavaScript engine, which now supports 64-bit "Fat Values." This promises more efficient code execution for complex graphical and animated content, among other things.
The more visible addition is new support for touch events in Windows 7. While the touch events are packaged as three relatively simple actions (touching the screen, moving the finger, removing the finger) they can be stacked to track multiple fingers touching simultaneously and therefore create new gestures. On Mozilla Hacks, Paul Roget shows some of what is possible with HTML5 and the new touch events in this beta, The experimental results are quite exciting.
Download Mozilla Firefox 4 Beta 3 for Windows from Fileforum now.
For the complete list of changes and upcoming features, visit Mozilla's Firefox 4 beta site.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Windows 7 - Mozilla Firefox - JavaScript engine - Firefox 4 beta 3 - Firefox 4

broadbandreports.com

Apple TV Will Be iTV - $99 broadband TV unit to top out at 720p?

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 7:55am MDT

Last May leaks emerged that Apple was starting to get serious about their next incarnation of Apple TV -- which is expected to be a much smaller, simpler broadband-connected device that will cost somewhere around a hundred bucks. Subsequent leaks indicated that the service will be co-launched with a rental service providing TV shows for 99 cents -- down from the $1.99 Apple charges now for standard-definition programs -- and the $2.99 it charges for high-definition programs. Now Engadget has a little more detail, and says the unit won't be capable of anything higher than 720p. Oh, and Apple's also going to change the name of the unit (which will of course be tied tightly to iTunes and have an app store) from Apple TV to iTV.
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AT&T: Verizon, Google Deal 'Positive Sign' - AT&T playing assigned role as casual observer

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 7:43am MDT

Part of the reason Verizon has been so reluctant to call their collaboration with Google a "deal" or "arrangement" (scolding news outlets who do so like bad puppies) is because they don't want the deal romance seen as just two major corporations trying to use their size and influence to craft regulatory policy with little to no real substantive consumer protections (even if that's precisely what it is).

AT&T, who frequently works in perfect symmetry with Verizon on lobbying tactics and manages an almost endless list of telco lobbying operations with Verizon, has remained uncharacteristically quiet so far for exactly the same reason. Still, AT&T figured it probably wasn't believable to remain dead silent, so yesterday AT&T exec Ralph de la Vega casually complimented the deal, calling it a "positive sign":"It's a positive sign that shows that those two companies can agree on something as different as net neutrality," Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T's consumer and mobile divisions, told analysts during an investor conference on Wednesday. He called it the right step forward in coming up with a reasonable agreement. . . De la Vega, meanwhile, said he hopes the industry can use the proposed framework to come up with a reasonable agreement.Given AT&T's history of working with Verizon in lock-step with nearly all lobbying issues (and their mutual interest in gutting the FCC, preventing Title II reclassification and keeping neutrality away from wireless and AT&T's crippled Android phones), it's impossible to believe AT&T didn't have at least some role in the agreement legislative lambada. AT&T's playing restrained observer to ensure the deal love affair appears to be about a bridging of discordant minds -- and not about a bunch of the wealthiest corporations trying to dictate telecom policy (aka, business as usual).

Below the surface, you can expect Verizon and AT&T to begin using their army of think tanks, hired PR consultants, policy flacks and lobbyists to start pounding a unified message over the next several weeks. Namely, the message that this largely-empty framework aimed at preventing ISP Title 2 reclassification and protecting wireless revenues is a great boon to consumers and lovers of balanced compromise everywhere, and anyone who thinks otherwise is the very worst sort of unreasonable and radical contrarian.
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Cox TiVO Users To Get Access To Cox VOD - Though those TiVO-embedded Cox DVRs still a no show

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 7:00am MDT

Back in 2008, Cox announced they'd be offering cable TV subscribers TiVo-based Cox DVRs, though like a similar announcement by Comcast -- the offering never quite fully materialized. Meanwhile, the cable industry has found itself at odds with TiVO over their use of switched digital video, which saves bandwidth across the cable network by storing unwatched channels at the edge router, but requires that users add an external adapter to their box. On the plus side, Cox has announced that TiVo Premiere DVR users will now be able to access Cox VOD with their units, something previously not possible:the two companies will offer TiVo Premiere with integrated Cox On DEMAND service to Cox subscribers. This represents the first time that a cable operator will make its entire video on demand (VOD) library available via a retail DVR and TiVo Premiere will become the first retail product to fully integrate a cable VOD service, along with linear television and broadband content accessible through TiVo's user interface and intuitive search capabilities.Access won't be enabled until "early 2011" according to Cox, which made no mention of that 2008 announcement to offer TiVO-driven Cox DVRs directly to consumers.
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Broadband Adoption Slows - While 26% say gov't shouldn't worry about expanding cheap broadband

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 6:49am MDT

A new Pew Internet And Life Study indicates that broadband adoption continues to slow. According to the study, roughly 66% of U.S. citizens currently use a high-speed internet connection at home -- up from 63% just one year earlier. Pew also asked survey participants if they though that expanding affordable high-speed internet access to everyone in the country should be a top priority for the federal government. 26% of respondents said government shouldn't get involved, 27% said it was "not too important" a priority, 30% said it was an important priority, and 11% said it should be a top priority.
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Thursday Morning Links -

Posted: August 12th, 2010, 5:14am MDT

3G data networks being saved by WiFi fiercewireless.com
The Mobile TV survey says ... wireline wins big fiercetelecom.com
Broadband more important than clean clothes for Brits thinkbroadband.com
Australian planned broadband network boosted to 1Gb/s pcr-online.biz
Cox, TiVo Strike a DVR Deal lightreading.com
How Starbucks Plans to Capitalize on Free Wi-Fi mashable.com
Another Embarassment For French 'Three Strikes' Agency... As Someone Beats Them To Filing For Trademark techdirt.com
Facebook fixes bug that spilled names and pics for all 500 million users theregister.co.uk
Sony Ericsson to introduce Android 3.0 gaming platform and PSP Go-like smartphone engadget.com
Aussie Communications Minister Stephen Conroy now stands alone on Internet filtering theregister.co.uk

BetaNews.Com

Sprint prices and dates Samsung Epic 4G, decides to offer reservations

Posted: August 11th, 2010, 11:23pm MDT by Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Sprint's second WiMAX phone, the Samsung Epic 4G will be available on August 31 in Sprint, Radio Shack, Best Buy and Wal-Mart stores for $249.99, the wireless operator announced Thursday.
Beginning August 13, customers will be able to reserve an Epic 4G on a special page on Sprint's website to guarantee they will receive one on launch day. Sprint's first 4G phone, the HTC EVO 4G, was sold out for weeks after the device launched, and according to Sprint, this will be the first time it has ever done this sort of reservation proccess.
So far, Samsung's Galaxy S series has received highly favorable reviews for being powerful, slim, light, and attractive. The demand for the Epic is potentially quite high, especially if a lot of subscribers held off from buying the EVO for its lack of a keyboard.
Most of the details of the Epic 4G were already announced in June, so there are no surprises with this launch. The device's main features are mostly the same as the other Samsung Galaxy S devices (Captivate, Vibrant, and Fascinate): 1GHz Hummingbird Processor, 4" Super AMOLED screen, and Android 2.1 with TouchWiz 3.0. However, it is worth noting that the Epic is not only the sole 4G Samsung Galaxy S device, but it is also the only one with a keyboard, and the only one with dual cameras for video chatting.
According to statements from Sprint's 4G partner Clearwire last May, there will be one more 4G phone released in 2010 after the Epic 4G. It is expected to be another device from HTC, but little is known outside of that.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Sprint - WiMAX - Android - RadioShack - Samsung Epic 4G

broadbandreports.com

Wednesday Evening Links -

Posted: August 11th, 2010, 5:12pm MDT

Broadband Should Not Be a Government Priority: Pew Internet Study wired.com
AT&T, Level 3 agree Verizon-Google proposal a positive step totaltele.com
Don't Tax the Internet pcmag.com
UK ISP Backlash Feared After Government Scraps Fibre Broadband Tax Review ispreview.co.uk
VeriSign goes back to roots with DNS management service v3.co.uk
Music Festival Producer Pre-Sues Bootleggers techdirt.com
Viacom Formally Appeals YouTube Decision multichannel.com
EU regulators team with FTC for Apple antitrust probe fiercemobilecontent.com
Free Android antivirus clocks up 2.5m downloads theregister.co.uk
iOS 4.0.2 released, fixes jailbreak vulnerability neowin.net
Amazon, looking beyond Kindle, considers making phones fiercewireless.com
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Opelika, Alabama Decides To Give Charter Fiber Competition - 62% of locals vote to get into the broadband business...

Posted: August 11th, 2010, 3:35pm MDT

Despite best efforts by Charter Communications (including telling locals earlier this week that a coax network is more reliable than fiber to the home), 62 percent of Opelika, Alabama residents have voted to build a fiber to the home network.The $33 million fiber network will be funded with revenue bonds, using a core fiber ring from the local power utility as its heart -- with some services and support layered on top by local competitor Knology. Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller called out Charter when announcing results:"It s a great day for Opelika. It s a great day for our future. It s a terrible day for Charter," Fuller said. "We all worked very hard on this," Fuller said. We heard the cry of our citizens about competition for Charter and know the importance of this to economic development that this fiber and high speed Internet will provide as well as the value of improving our existing smart grid system." "We still don t have any plans to control anybody s coffee pot," joked FullerOf course if history is anything to go by, this is usually the part where the local incumbent, after being semi-responsible for the community effort due to neglected upgrades and poor service, engages in an expensive campaign to bog down the community fiber build via a series of endless lawsuits. Then when the project struggles, the incumbent usually uses said failure as "proof" that all community broadband efforts end in failure.
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BetaNews.Com

Apple closes PDF flaw in iOS updates for iPhone, iPad

Posted: August 11th, 2010, 2:59pm MDT by Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Apple released iOS 4.0.2 for the iPhone and iPod touch, and iOS 3.2.2 for the iPad on Wednesday, effectively closing the PDF flaw which allowed hackers access to the internal code of those devices. The exploit was central to the jailbreakme.com hack released earlier this month. According to release notes with the updates, the PDF fix is the only change made to the code of the OS.
The jailbreak also made it possible for the iPhone Dev Team to release a version of its ultrasn0w carrier unlock for the iPhone 4 for the first time, which it did two days after the release of jailbreakme.com.
The Cupertino company said shortly after the jailbreak that it was aware of the issue and would be releasing a fix. It is not clear what the Dev Team's next move would be, considering anyone who updates would now be unable to use the site.
"Comex," the developer behind jailbreakme.com, only said as part of a tweet late Tuesday that "[I] guess I need to get working on the next jailbreak," likely in reference to the anticipation that Apple was about to update iOS, which it did indeed do.
Users wishing to update to the new software would be able to do so by connecting their iOS device to iTunes, and clicking "Check for Update." Similarly, those who may be in line for an automated weekly check for updates may start being prompted to upgrade beginning today.
It appears that those who have jailbroken before the fix would still remain jailbroken, although that has not yet been independently confirmed.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

iPhone - iPhone Dev Team - Apple - Jailbreak - IPod Touch

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Posted: September 1st, 2010, 2:30pm MDT

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 2:29pm MDT by Ed Oswald

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 2:15pm MDT by Tim Conneally

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 1:13pm MDT by Tim Conneally

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 12:38pm MDT

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 11:52am MDT by Tim Conneally

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 9:59am MDT by Tim Conneally

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 9:22am MDT

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 7:19am MDT

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 6:42am MDT

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Posted: August 31st, 2010, 6:01pm MDT

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 4:53pm MDT

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 2:14pm MDT

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 1:40pm MDT by Tim Conneally

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 12:11pm MDT

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 10:21am MDT by Tim Conneally

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 10:02am MDT

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 9:31am MDT by Tim Conneally

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 7:29am MDT

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 6:55am MDT

Posted: August 31st, 2010, 6:41am MDT