AT&T announces free, unlimited international text, picture and video messaging for Mobile Share customers

Starting February 28th, all AT&T Mobile Share and Mobile Share Value users will be able to send text picture and video messages internationally for free. However, there’s a not-so ulterior motive behind the announcement (one that’s referenced in AT&T’s own release), as in comparison “other messaging services or applications will incur cellular data charges,” pointing a vague finger at the likes of Hangouts, WhatsApp, Viber, LINE and, well, all the other ones we’ve forgotten. The full service will be compatible with around 120 countries, while text messages can be sent to over 190 different locales.

Alongside it, AT&T’s got another offer for anyone with a global circle of friends, announcing a new international calling plan, World Connect ValueSM. It might not roll off the tongue, but will offer a-cent-per-minute calls to over 35 countries, including neighboring Canada and Mexico. The plan will be on offer to any post-paid AT&T customer, but you’ll have to stump up $5 for it when it launches this Friday.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, AT&T

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CSTM uses augmented reality to help you create the perfect custom furniture

If you’ve ever tried to find a bookcase of your own, you’ll know that finding the perfect set of shelves for all your stuff can pose quite the challenge. One new startup, CSTM, is looking to change that, putting furniture customization in the hands of anyone with an iPad. The startup launched today during a tech conference in San Francisco, and is currently on the hunt for its first 1000 customers to try the app out.

With CSTM, you point your iPad at the wall where your bookcase will go to measure everything up, and then drag and drop template shelves into the perfect array to fit your vinyl collection and oddly-sized camera equipment. Once your done, a printout from your PC can be used to create an augmented-reality version of the bookcase. After making any needed adjustments, you can then order your creation and have it shipped to your home. Based on the demo we saw, the whole process from start to finish can be done in just a few minutes — that’s faster than it took us to build our soon-to-be-extinct Expedit unit.

Filed under: Household, Alt

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Source: CSTM

Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox goes dark, digital currency biz calls it a ‘tragic violation’ of user trust

Less than a year ago when we took a long look at Bitcoin, exchange Mt. Gox reportedly handled some 80 percent of global traffic in the digital currency. Tonight however, the exchange’s website is offline, all tweets have been deleted from its account, and customers are unsure what will happen to fiat currency (cash) or Bitcoin that it holds. There were signs of trouble before this however, as Mt. Gox hasn’t been the leading Bitcoin exchange since late last year, and it halted customer withdrawals on February 7th. The Bitcoin Foundation, which advocates for the digital currency, announced that Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles resigned on Sunday. A price index from digital currency tracker CoinDesk currently shows the value of Bitcoin has dropped $100 in 12 hours to $463, while Coinbase lists a buy price of $448.

Prices for Bitcoin on Mt. Gox had fallen as low as $135, as the exchange issued a statement on the 17th that it had halted withdrawals while dealing with security issues. Rumors have flown about what’s going on, and Reddit poster relliMmoT, who posted the screenshot above, reports trading halted at 8:59PM ET before the site went offline. Several other companies involved in digital currency including Coinbase, Blockchain.info, Circle, Kraken, Bitstamp.net and BTC China have issued a joint statement in response, decrying Mt. Gox’s “tragic violation” of user trust. They’re also promising to reassure customers and the public about their security, and to “lead the way” in consumer protection measures. Curiously, the statement originally referred to the exchange as insolvent (and still does on Circle), but that reference has been removed. According to Re/code a spokesman for the group stated that the troubled exchange has informed members of the community that it will file for bankruptcy, but that can’t be confirmed at this time.

Filed under: Internet

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Source: Coinbase blog, Reddit

LCD Soundsystem frontman wants to make New York’s subway more musical

Musician and self-described “subway geek” James Murphy has had a bit of time on his hands since LCD Soundsystem’s curtain call, but he hasn’t been idle. Inspired by the sounds of Tokyo’s train system, Murphy has proposed that the turnstiles of New York’s 468 subway stations each play a unique melody when someone passes through them. He thinks the project, dubbed Subway Symphony, could be part of the city’s plan to overhaul the existing MetroCard system and replace it with NFC-based readers, according to an interview with The Wall Street Journal. There is, however, something standing in the way of his 15-year old plan: the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). An MTA representative said that it’s a cool idea but one that would likely require a lot of labor, money and potential downtime for the subway’s 5.5-million passengers — and that isn’t feasible (unlike in-terminal WiFi). If you’re inclined to disagree, Muphy’s set up a petition on the Subway Symphony website.

[Image credit: Kent, J/Flickr]

Filed under: Transportation, Alt

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Via: The Verge

Source: Wall Street Journal