FCC FTW: wireless telcos agree to more consumer-friendly phone unlocking policies
About a month ago, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler gave the U.S. wireless industry an ultimatum: choose to get on board with unlocking people’s phones or face regulatory action forcing it to do so. Today, the CTIA — the wireless industry trade association — and Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular have acceded to Wheeler’s demands by recommending that his policies be incorporated into the CTIA Consumer Code for Wireless Service. According to a letter sent to by the CTIA to the FCC, this means that the telcos mentioned above “will move quickly to implement these principles” in total within a year. In case you forgot, this means that within 12 months those companies will:
- provide a clear, concise and readily accessible policy on unlocking
- unlock mobile devices for legitimate owners of those devices once their service contract has been fulfilled
- notify customers when their devices are eligible to be unlocked and/or automatically unlock those devices for free (but they can charge a reasonable if you aren’t a current customer)
- unlock devices or provide an explanation of a denial of any unlock requests within two days
- unlock devices for military service men and women upon deployment
For its part, the FCC was gracious in victory, with Chairman Wheeler stating during an open Commission meeting today that he was happy that a cooperative agreement was reached in a speedy manner and that “this is the way things should work.” Fellow commissioner Ajit Pai chimed in as well, stating that he was glad that the “specter of jail time for those who unlock their phones” was now removed, but that the policy change isn’t enough. Pai went on to call on Congress to fix the flaws with US Copyright law that are the underlying root of the problem, and he hopes that this shift in CTIA policy will “help expedite the legislative process.” Time will tell if our governmental’s legislative arm heeds the executive’s advice — don’t hold your breath.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: CTIA letter (PDF)
Scientists combine magnets with bull semen to create ‘spermbots’ (yes, really)
Oliver Schmidt’s team at the Institute for Integrative Nanosciences in Germany has created a controllable spermbot. Not a word we’d ever think we’d be writing either. After adding cone-shaped nanotubes to bull sperm, Schmidt’s team observed that when one swam into the wider end of the tube, it would become trapped, but with the flagella free, enabling it to carry on swimming. Next, the team added magnetic fields into (or rather, near) the mix, and was able to control the direction in which the spermbots moved. It’s not a stretch to imagine obvious applications in fertility, but it could go beyond that. Schmidt believes that sperm cells could be used for “robotic micro-systems,” as they are harmless to the body, and come with their own power source. Micro-robots were always destined to be a part of our future, but we’re betting no one had their money on this.
Via: Huffington Post
Source: New Scientist
Ford’s Fusion Hybrid research car will explore our driverless future
Ford is convinced that autonomous cars are the future, and it’s putting its money where its mouth is by unveiling a Fusion Hybrid variant built solely for researching driverless-car technology. The experimental machine boosts existing driver-assistance tech with four LIDAR sensors that create a 3D map of the vehicle’s surroundings; while the data will only improve driver awareness in the short term, it should eventually help the car navigate on its own. Ford isn’t planning a production version, so don’t look for a robotic Fusion at your local dealership anytime soon. However, the project should be invaluable for translating autonomous-driving concepts into practical realities.
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Ford
Qualcomm COO reportedly added to Microsoft’s list of potential Ballmer successors
There are plenty of of high profile names currently being bandied about as potential successors to Steve Ballmer’s Redmond throne. Stephen Elop’s name has been on the tip of a lot of tongues, thanks in no small part to his past Microsoft experience. And just about a month ago, Reuters noted that Ford CEO Alan Mulally’s name had been added to the shortlist. Today Bloomberg‘s usual stable of “people familiar with the matter” note that Qualcomm’s COO Steve Mollenkopf has also joined the elite ranks. Certainly the chipmaker has the sort of mobile expertise Microsoft’s board is looking for during this ever-important transitional period. Of course the company isn’t talking about whether it’s considering asking the exec to leave sunny San Diego.
Filed under: Mobile, Microsoft
Source: Bloomberg
Daily Roundup: Jawbone Up24 review, Instagram Direct announced, Aereo controversy and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Instagram Direct announced
Earlier today, CEO of Instagram, Kevin Systrom, took the stage at a New York press event to announce Instagram Direct. This new feature allows users to limit certain videos and photos to groups of up to 15 friends. Follow the link for all the details.
Jawbone Up24 review
Jawbone’s latest fitness tracker, the Up24, touts much-needed upgrade: wireless syncing. But is that improvement enough to win back the hearts of those disappointed by the original Up’s performance? Click the link for our review and find out.
Microsoft questions Google’s EU concessions
Microsoft claims it has scientific proof that Google hasn’t totally resolved its sponsored link issue with the European Commission. Click on through for more information.
Cable vs. Aereo
Many cable operators agree that streaming startup Aereo conducts an illegal service by retransmitting broadcast content without a license. Cablevision, however, is hesitant to pursue any legal action — and warns other cable companies to think twice as well. Follow the link to find out why.
Razer Comms for Android keeps in-game chat alive when you leave your PC
It can be tough to leave in-game voice chats — step away to walk the dog and you may miss an important strategy session. You’ll stay in the loop with Razer’s new Comms for Android, though. The free app improves on rival clients from Steam and Teamspeak by supporting both voice chats and text while on the road; you won’t have to miss out on either team banter or private messages. Comms for Android is also useful if you’re still sitting at your desk, as it lets you respond to SMS and turn down calls through its Windows equivalent. The mobile software is available now through Google Play, and Razer promises that iOS users will get Comms sometime in the first quarter of 2014.
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Tablets, Mobile
Via: Razer
Source: Google Play
‘Instapaper’ Named App of the Week, Available for Free [iOS Blog]
Popular read-it-later app Instapaper has been named Apple’s App of the Week, and as a result, it is available for free for the first time since its initial 2010 release.
The app is designed to allow users to save and store articles for reading at a later time, stripping away unnecessary page clutter for an unhindered reading experience. Instapaper supports up to 500 articles on the iPad and the iPhone, and it includes an offline mode for reading in areas without cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity.
Instapaper is the simplest way to save and store articles for reading: offline, on-the-go, anytime, anywhere, perfectly formatted.
Instapaper for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch provides a mobile-optimized Text view that makes reading Internet content a clean and uncluttered experience.
Instapaper also integrates with more than 150 other apps, which support saving content within the Instapaper app, and it includes features like adjustable fonts and text sizes, dark modes, brightness control, filters, and dictionary and Wikipedia integration.
Earlier this year, Instapaper developer Marco Arment sold a majority stake of the app to Betaworks, the company that owns Bitly, Digg, and Socialflow.
Instapaper will be free for one week and can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]
     |
FCC Takes Steps to Approve Cell Phones in Flight as Transportation Department Considers Banning Calls on Planes
The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) announced on Thursday that it will consider banning cellular phone calls on planes if the FCC gives airlines the go-ahead to install equipment to support cellular service on flights.
According to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who spoke to Politico, the department will seek to determine whether in-flight calls are fair to consumers.
“We believe USDOT’s role, as part of our Aviation Consumer Protection Authority, is to determine if allowing these calls is fair to consumers. USDOT will now begin a process that will look at the possibility of banning these in-flight calls,” Foxx said in a statement emailed to POLITICO. “As part of that process, USDOT will give stakeholders and the public significant opportunity to comment.”
Foxx’s statement was made shortly before the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to approve a proposal to invite comment on the potential change to its rules. The FCC first announced that it was considering allowing airplane passengers to use mobile phones on flights to make voice calls and use cellular data back in November.
The FCC is currently investigating the safety of allowing cell phone service on planes, and with a potential in-flight call ban from the Department of Transportation, a situation could arise where customers are permitted to use cellular data in-flight for texting and web browsing but are banned from making voice calls.
“Over the past few weeks, we have heard of concerns raised by airlines, travelers, flight attendants, members of Congress and others who are all troubled over the idea of passengers talking on cellphones in flight — and I am concerned about this possibility, as well,” Foxx said in his statement. “As the FCC has said before: Their sole role on this issue is to examine the technical feasibility of the use of mobile devices in flight.”
Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission officially relaxed its restrictions on the use of portable electronic devices in-flight, allowing them to be used during landing and takeoff. The FCC still requires devices like the iPad and the iPhone to be placed in Airplane Mode, however, with cellular service disabled.
| |
Remote iOS App Updated to Add iTunes Radio Control on Mac or PC [iOS Blog]
Apple has updated its Remote iOS app to add control of iTunes Radio on iTunes on the Mac or PC. Previously, Remote could not control iTunes Radio on computers.
The app was previously updated in early November with an iOS 7-inspired redesign.
Remote is designed to be in perfect sync with iTunes. With just a few taps on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, you can play iTunes Radio from anywhere in your home. Choose playlists, songs, and albums as if you were in front of your computer or Apple TV. Or play them from iCloud with iTunes Match on Apple TV. Control your Apple TV with the flick of your finger or use the keyboard to quickly tap out a title instead of clicking letters on the Apple TV screen.
Remote is a free download for the iPad and iPhone from the App Store. [Direct Link]
| |
Google+ updating: Snow Globe effect for your Photos [Download]
Google is pushing out a nice festive little update in the play store for Google+. While you are viewing one of your photos in Google+ you can give your device a little shake to make it snow. Shake your device again to save the snowy photo and share it with your circles. The update also automatically refreshes friends locations, includes a variety of photo improvements and the usual bug fixes.
What’s new:
1. Shake your device to add snow to your photos. Many of you enjoyed last week’s#AutoAwesome snow (http://goo.gl/913KlK), so we’re adding another way to let it snow this holiday season. Just open one of your photos, shake your device, and snow will start falling. Shake again to save. (http://youtu.be/YWRa6Cz6m_M)
2. Search across more stuff, from a single box. Now you can search for posts, people, photos and communities — all from one place. So the next time you’re looking for something specific, just tap ‘Search’ and type what you want.
3. Control who can buzz your phone, without missing notifications from others. If you only want certain people to be able to buzz your phone (like family), simply adjust your “Who can notify me” settings. Notifications from others will now appear in “Everything else,” so you can read them whenever it’s convenient.
4. Explore content by category. Now when you visit the What’s Hot stream, you’ll be able to “go deeper” on a number of different categories — from Music and Science to Sports and Photography.
5. Spread the love this holiday season. Now when you +1 posts in the stream, you’ll see something lovely.
In typical fashion, the update is rolling out gradually through the Play Store to everyone. That process can take a a little bit of time. If you don’t like waiting then you can go download it from our sister site, Gappsearly and pick up v4.2.4 right now, enjoy.
Via Android Police
AIVAnet 