T-Mobile paying $17.5 million in fees for 911 outages
Having access to 911 calls is of utmost importance to Americans. Being able to make these calls in time can be the difference between life and death, so the FCC takes it very seriously when a carrier has an outage in which calls can’t be routed to the nation’s emergency line.
The latest major 911 outage came from T-Mobile, in August 8, 2014. There were a couple nationwide blackouts this day, accounting for about 3 hours of down time. That is a long time of having no 911 access, especially considering T-Mobile serves about 55 million subscribers. The number was a bit lower when the event took place, at about 50 million, but we are sure more than a few of them needed help during this outage.
T-Mobile is making amends by paying $17.5 million USD in fees. In addition, they are taking responsibility and incorporating a compliance program to strengthen their 911 network communications.
- In particular, T-Mobile will develop and implement processes to:
- Identify risks that could result in disruptions to 911 service;
- Protect against such risks;
- Detect future 911 outages;
- Respond with remedial actions, including prompt notification to affected 911 call centers; and
- Recover from such outages on a timely basis.
T-Mobile’s prevention methods (or lack thereof) were not the single issue in this investigation. Matters worsened upon realizing the carrier hadn’t notified affected 911 call centers in a timely fashion, which is a requisite from the FCC.
The Commission has adopted a number of rules intended to ensure seamless, ubiquitous, and reliable 911 service nationwide. These rules include the obligation for wireless carriers to implement 911 routing and delivery systems to ensure that 911 calls are transmitted to the appropriate 911 emergency call centers and to notify those call centers of 911 service outages lasting longer than 30 minutes.
That’s a hefty chunk of cash t-Mobile has to fork out, though we don’t know how significant of a fee that would be for a large carrier. Regardless, seeing them improving their systems and keeping 911 accessible is golden. T-Mobile has been doing great improving their services with Uncarrier, offering deals no other carrier ever brought to the table. I am not sure I would give up 911 for all that, though.
Did any of you happen to notice these outages last year? It would be interesting to hear your take on this.
This is how ‘Shenmue 3’ raked in over $6 million on Kickstarter
Records, like rules, were made to be broken. Shenmue 3‘s Kickstarter campaign recently wrapped and upon doing so it set the bar for video-game projects on the crowdfunding platform by pulling in some $6.3 million in pledges. It’s pretty impressive when you consider that just last month the previous record-holder, the Castlevania spiritual successor Bloodstained, raised over $5.5 million in a similar span of time. Both games come from legendary game developers striking out on their own (thanks to risk-averse publishers) and both are more or less the sequels fans have been asking for for years.
There’s a big difference though: the side-scrolling action/role-playing game Bloodstained didn’t make its debut at E3, much less onstage at PlayStation’s media briefing ahead of the show. That gave Shenmue 3‘s open-world RPG a pretty significant head start, helping it reach its original $2 million funding goal in nine hours. And of course, it didn’t stop there. Along the way, an explanatory documentary about the series popped up and the development team took to Twitch to answer any questions you might’ve had.
The developers at Ys Net also revealed physical copies of the game for PlayStation 4, replicas of protagonist Ryo’s leather jacket and plenty of in-game content like additional quests and features as stretch goals. Of course, we got a brief glimpse of what the game looks like at the moment as well.
But how will Shenmue turn out, though? And further to that point, what about Bloodstained? The former isn’t anticipated to ship until December 2017 and the latter’s slated for March of the same year. If they follow the path of another Japan-developed, Kickstarter-funded game, Mighty No. 9, perhaps it won’t take nearly as long to find out — the latter was playable at E3 this year. For now we have to play the waiting game, though.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Kickstarter
‘Street Fighter V’ will give you free extras if you earn them
For most of the Street Fighter series’ history, you’ve had to pay for significant new content. Want to get those sweet new characters? Buy the Super Ultra EX Plus Alpha Turbo Championship edition. You won’t have to go through that rigamarole with Street Fighter V, though. Capcom is promising that any post-launch SFV material will be earnable for free, in-game — accrue enough “Fight Money” and that brawler will be yours. You can still use real cash if you want more content without putting in additional play time, but you’re no longer forced to splurge.
This economic aspect won’t show up until later in SFV‘s beta testing, and it’s not clear just how much effort you’ll have to put in to unlock content at no charge. Here’s hoping that it isn’t a grind, like you often see in free-to-play games. Either way, this could be a refreshing change from the fighting game world’s recent tendency to charge for extras. You won’t have to purchase whole ‘new’ titles just to compete at tournaments, and you only have to get the content that interests you. Ideally, this will keep the SFV community intact for as long as the core game remains current — and that’s good for both Capcom (which doesn’t split its fan base) as well as casual and cost-conscious players.
Filed under: Gaming
Source: PlayStation Blog
Znaps adds a magnetic charging port to any smartphone
Apple may not be our favorite company here at Android Authority, but we gotta give it to them for coming up with the MagSafe charger; it’s about the most convenient and safe charging technology we have seen. In fact, we wonder why they haven’t applied a similar concept to their mobile devices. Regardless, someone has already beat them to the punch.
The Znaps was just introduced via Kickstarter this week, and it seems like a brilliant idea that should have come years ago. In essence, Znaps is an adapter that turns any microUSB or Lightning port into a magnetic charger. You simply plug it into your port and a small protrusion will show, but it’s so small it shouldn’t really affect you. Znaps claims you can even continue to use your cases without an issue.
The set-up can’t really be any easier. And you have no idea how convenient something like this would be. Just think about it. These are gadgets we carry every single day… and we charge them very often, too. Smartphones are prone to much more accidents than computers are, yet this MagSafe concept hasn’t been adopted by the mobile industry yet.
Interesting fact: the guys from Znaps managed to avoid a lawsuit from Apple by making an adapter for your current chargers. Making a cable would have violated Apple’s patent, and we know they are not fans of people copying them! By the way, it seems this system can do as much as the cable you are using. It supports Quick Charge 2.0, data transfers and all.
I suppose something that also has me excited is that this will probably get rid of the hassle that comes with owning devices from multiple platforms. You could probably use a microUSB charger with an adapter to power up an iPhone with with a connector, for example. The same should apply the other way around.
As the Znaps team mentions on Kickstarter, your phone would be safe from sudden pulls. Charging will be super easy (you can even plug it in without looking). Oh, and there’s the added bonus of Znaps making your phone a bit more resistant to water dunks, as it stops water from going in through the microUSB port.
The best part is that Znaps is super affordable. You can get yourself an adapter and connector for only $9 USD, and they offer a calculator which you can use to make a custom order.
There’s no plans to support USB-C just yet, but the team does claim they will work on it if this Kickstarter campaign does well… which it has. They have more than doubled their $120,000 funding goal in just a few days and still have 26 days to go.
I am in love with this thing and am pledging today. I seriously hate cables dangling around my living space. They are annoying and get damaged very easily. Not to mention the damage they can create if someone accidentally pulls them while in use! A recent Zagg study states about 48% of smartphone users live with damaged smartphones. Something like Znaps would probably help reduce that number.
Wireless charging is also great, but doesn’t offer the same charging speeds and data transfers are impossible with it. Sadly, we do still need them cables, so we should at least have better ones. Are you signing up? Hit the comments and let us know how you feel about this little accessory!
Tapatalk updated to version 5 with some classic touches
Popular forum browsing interface Tapatalk has rolled out an update to version 5. The new version brings back some previous features to the interface, probably based on user feedback. To help spin this, the Tapatalk team frames these as “classic” changes to the app.
One of the changes in the new version is an improved forum nav slide bar accessed using the overflow menu button in the top right when visiting a forum. This provides some new options to perform forum actions or navigation like marking all messages as read, checking notifications, or accessing messages.
Subforum navigation has been added back to the app so that users can navigate straight to particular subforums from the forum home view. Tapatalk says they have overhauled the font size on all screens to improve readability. There is the usual assortment of bugs fixes and performance enhancements which the Tapatalk team says improves load times and responsiveness.
Tapatalk users will also find that they can customize the fonts used and they can follow other forum users with a simple tap on their avatar.
Finally, Tapatalk says they have included a Night Reading Mode that is fully customizable. You can check to see whether the update is available for your account by visiting the Google Play Store using one of the links below.
Come comment on this article: Tapatalk updated to version 5 with some classic touches
Google Play continues to dominate in downloads as video streaming apps surge
As we move into the second half of 2015, App Annie has released their report on the performance of the Google Play and Apple App Store for the 2nd quarter of 2015. No surprises emerged regarding the competition between the two as Google continues to dominate in terms of downloads while the App Store maintains a lead in revenues.
Google actually expanded their lead in downloads pushing to an 85% advantage compared to 70% for the first quarter of 2015. This growth is attributed to Google’s success in emerging markets on the back of inexpensive Android devices. Even with growth in these markets, penetration is still only 30%, so there is still a lot of potential.
For revenue, much of Apple’s growth can be attributed to China which has eclipsed the U.S. in terms of iOS downloads. This helped Apple maintain a 70% edge over Google.
App Annie also noted a couple other changes of interest that occurred during the second quarter. First, they highlight how Taiwan has surged past Germany in terms of Google Play revenue and it is also one of the markets where Google Play revenues exceed the App Store. Much of this explosive growth in Taiwan is due to the Games category.
The other change is impacting both Google Play and the App Store as the Entertainment category continues to surge on the strength of video streaming platforms. Both China and the U.S. are seeing apps like Hulu, HBO Now, Youku and iQIYI Video grow in popularity and capture the interest of smartphone and tablet users. App Annie hints that this may be an early indication that the cord cutting movement is finally gaining some decent traction with viewers.
source: App Annie
via: Android Authority
Come comment on this article: Google Play continues to dominate in downloads as video streaming apps surge
Mountain Goat Mountain: a new free game from Zinga
Enjoying the weekend? Probably not enough, so let’s take a look at a new game from popular developer Zinga. It goes by the name of Mountain Goat Mountain and it just might become your new addiction.
As its name entails, the new title revolves around a lonely little goat. The goal is to go as high up the mountain as possible, before dying. This may sound easy for a mountain goat, which can climb incredibly steep slopes without a problem, but it’s a bit harder for the animal in this game. There’s plenty of traps, falling objects and obstacles that can harm you.
The mechanics of the game are a bit interesting. The goat can go to different maps and locations by collecting new hats. Some of the maps include the Arizona Desert, VR Voxels and Winter Snowland. Pretty straight forward and fun, right?
Let me warn you, though – this game is addictive, which makes it a very fun-packed time for those of us who have nothing to do during the weekend. It’s no Flappy Bird, but it sure is a worthy download. Especially considering the game is free on the Google Play Store!
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The developer does make some cash through in-app purchases. The user can buy in-game currency to help him advance faster, as well as getting 20 different goats and other great buys.
With that in mind, let’s stop talking and get goating! I know I’ll be spending a good amount of hours on this game. Will you?
Riding the $3,000 pickup truck of electric scooters
Scooters are known for having more storage space than the average motorcycle. Because the engine is actually connected to the rear wheel, that leaves a lot of room under the seat for stuff. It’s convenient, but it still limits the utility of the bike when you want to buy more than some milk and bread at the store. The new GenZe 2.0 electric scooter not only has that under-seat space, but also sports a relatively huge bed (called the “BackBay”) behind the seat. It’s like a tiny two-wheeled pickup truck that can handle a few pizzas, a backpack or your dirty clothes as you take them to the Laundromat. I didn’t have pizzas or filthy clothing to toss in the back, but I was able to take this urban utility scooter for a spin on Treasure Island before its launch in San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, this fall.
Built in Michigan by India-based Mahindra, the aluminum-frame GenZe 2.0 — like a lot of scooters currently available and coming to market — is technically a moped. The onboard software keeps the top speed at 30MPH. You might not be able to keep up with traffic on streets with a 40MPH speed limit, but you also won’t need a motorcycle license to ride it.
The bike has three modes: Sport, Economy and Easy. Easy mode eases new riders into the wild and wooly world of traveling on two wheels by limiting acceleration. Once you’ve done that, you’ll never use it again. For me, Economy is only for when I realize I’m in danger of killing the battery on the ride home. Fortunately, it has a range of 30 to 35 miles on a single charge and the battery is removable, so you can park the scooter and take the battery inside with you to charge it. The rather heavy battery (Mahindra says a lighter one will be available next year) takes about three and a half hours to charge. Because I’m usually in a hurry, I picked Sport mode.
Acceleration is on par with other electric scooters regulated to moped mode. It’s smooth and eventually gets you to the top speed within about half a city block. While it’s not going to be flying down city streets, it’s a bit safer than the average scooter thanks to the 16-inch front wheel that makes it extremely stable. I could feel the bike trying to right itself as I leaned side to side while cruising down the road.
The large wheels (the rear one is 12 inches) also have the added advantage of making all those potholes your city refuses to fix less of a danger than if the GenZe used the smaller tires found on other bikes. Plus, that added stability also makes slow turns easier. I was able to pull tight circles while doing 2 MPH.
As for hills, Mahindra says the bike will tackle an 8 percent grade at 30MPH for half a mile. Helpful for topographic wonderlands like San Francisco. Unfortunately, Treasure Island was built to be as flat as a board, so no hill-climbing tests for the pickup-inspired GenZe.
Like an actual truck, the sitting position is upright. There’s no leaning forward; the high handlebar position keeps that from really being much of an option. My daily rider is a Vespa that also lends itself to an upright riding position, but this is far more pronounced. Right off the bat, the bike is trying to fix my horrible posture. After a few blocks, I got used to sitting at attention while riding.
On that high handlebar, though, is a 7-inch touchscreen that shows off your usual speed, battery and range stats. It’s also how you unlock the bike. As with a smartphone, a PIN code is needed to start the GenZe. But, the most exciting feature is the ability to adjust the power and regenerative-braking settings of the bike directly from the display. Riders can customize their experience with a few flicks and taps. These settings can also be adjusted via a companion app.
The features meant to woo urban gearheads don’t stop there. On the final production model, riders will also be able to top off their smartphones and other devices using two 12-volt charging ports. One will be located in the under-seat compartment so you can charge your phone while you store it. Oddly, the GenZe also has a reverse mode. I guess you could use it to back out of spaces. ¯_(ツ)_/¯.
As for the BackBay bed in the back, the stock bike will have the rather large bucket that housed my backpack and DSLR with plenty of room to spare. There will also be hooks on the production model for bungee cords so all your stuff doesn’t go flying into the street. But customers also have the option to upgrade the bay with a lockable lid and other accessories when the bike launches, which should be somewhere in either late September or early October. Expect it go for $3,000, with availability starting in San Francisco and Portland.
While the GenZe will be available for individual purchase, the company is also interested in fleet sales to colleges, resorts and rental services like Scoot. Don’t be surprised to see a few of these filled with coolers and towels the next time you visit a beach town or in a city where people want the freedom of two wheels, but still need to do things like go shopping for more than a loaf of bread.
Filed under: Misc, Transportation
UK says it’s once again illegal to rip CDs for personal use
Brits: we hope you enjoyed that brief, glorious year of legal media ripping, because you’re once again flouting the law. In the wake of a challenge from the music industry, the UK’s High Court has overturned regulation that allowed format shifting (such as ripping CDs and DVDs) for the sake of personal use. Supposedly, the government was in the wrong when it didn’t implement compensation for copyright holders when you dumped those albums and movies on to your hard drive. Officials could reintroduce exceptions, but they’d have to take a different tack if they want these measures to survive.
The industry unsurprisingly portrays the High Court decision as a big win for performers and writers. At one point, it had claimed that compensation-free format shifts would rob creatives of £58 million ($90.5 million) per year. However, that’s a tentative claim at best. After all, there’s no real way to know if someone is ripping media in the first place, let alone whether or not those copies are intended for piracy or convenience. This also overlooks the blows inflicted against teachers and researchers, who now can’t legally transcode media they need for presentations and studies. While it’s true that the damage to personal use rights is mostly symbolic (the UK can’t really enforce its new policy), the rule ultimately hurts more than it helps.
[Image credit: Jonathon Colman, Flickr]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage, HD
Via: BBC, Ars Technica
Source: UK Music
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