AT&T no longer works with your 2G phone

We hope you weren’t planning to use your old-school iPhone or BlackBerry Pearl on AT&T’s network for nostalgia’s sake — unfortunately, you’re not going to get anywhere. As promised way back in 2012, the carrier has confirmed that it shut down 2G services on January 1st, 2017. If your phone only makes GSM calls and uses EDGE for data, you’re stuck. The move won’t hurt very many people (even basic phones have been using 3G and LTE for years), but it’s hard not to shed a little tear for a technology that had been around for so long.

As it stands, you probably won’t mind much given what AT&T has in store. It’ll repurpose that newly freed spectrum for LTE, and the move will ultimately create more headroom for 5G wireless. Just as with the end to analog cell service, the small sacrifice you make now will likely pay much larger dividends down the road.

The shutdown is also a reminder of just how far mobile data has come since 2G hit the scene (in the US, at the turn of the millennium). EDGE was considered fine at a time when any mobile data was a relative novelty, and the most you did with it was check email or surf the most basic of websites. Now, even a modestly-sized app or photo download would absolutely crush 2G — the modern mobile internet depends on speeds that are orders of magnitude faster. We can only imagine what it’ll be like when 3G bites the dust and LTE is considered the baseline.

Via: The Verge

Source: AT&T

Zotac’s tiny gaming PC is powerful enough to play in VR

A major obstacle currently facing VR is the fact that the headsets themselves (generally) have to remain tethered to a bulky desktop tower. With the new Zbox Magnus EN1070K from Zotac, however, that tower is now barely bigger than a Mac Mini.

The EN1070K is part of Zotac’s gaming line of ultra-compact PCs, but don’t let its miniscule footprint fool you. It offers the current Intel Kaby Lake Core i5 processor, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 GPU and can accommodate up to 32GB of RAM. That’s more than enough processing power to run a VR setup such as the Oculus Rift.

There’s no word yet on when the EN1070K will be released, or for how much. Given that the last generation E-series cost around $1,500, you can pretty safely bet the new one will retail for roughly the same, depending on the specific components you elect for. So even though it may be small enough to fit into a VR backpack, the EN1070K’s price tag may be too big to fit into your budget.

Via: The Verge

Source: AnandTech

Auto and oil industries want to pit hydrogen cars against EVs

A consortium of companies from the car and power industries are teaming up to push hydrogen as the fuel of the future. Plenty of big names are involved, including Toyota, Daimler, BMW, Honda and Hyundai representing the automobile world. On the other side, we have Linde (Industrial Gas), Shell (Oil and Gas), Anglo American (Mining), Total (Oil and Gas) and Engie (Gas). Together, they will form the Hydrogen Council which has the job of positioning “hydrogen among the key solutions of the energy transition.”

The announcement was made at the World Economic Forum at Davos and sees 13 companies in total signing up. Their job will be to convince other companies, regulators and the public that switching to hydrogen is essential to our continued survival. Oh, and a big bucket of new subsidies for the oil and gas industry, since the transition to cleaner fuels will only happen “with appropriate policies and supporting schemes.” Air Liquide CEO Benoît Poiter adds that the group “cannot do it alone,” so governments should “back hydrogen” with “large-scale infrastructure investment schemes.” EVs are also subsidized, sure, but then

The announcement describes hydrogen as a “clean fuel or energy source” because it “does not release any CO2 at the point of use.” That’s not the same thing as being good for the environment, since the emissions all take place at the refinery rather than in the tailpipe. Natural gas will be used to reform methane into hydrogen, a process that releases carbon monoxide into the atmosphere.

Transportation is responsible for more than a quarter of all greenhouse gases, so a cleaner alternative to petroleum is welcome. Hydrogen is an improvement, but certainly not the wonder substance that these companies would have you believe. Don’t forget that methane has a tendency to leak from natural gas plants and is a much nastier greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

The reasons why these companies are teaming up around hydrogen isn’t about saving the planet, but maintaining relevancy. After all, electric cars require far less infrastructure investment than hydrogen and can be significantly cleaner. Not to mention that EVs aren’t directly contributing to oil and gas companies bottom lines. When you look at all those pre-orders for Tesla’s Model 3, you can see why oil company executives are nervous.

Electric vehicles aren’t yet perfect, by any means, since there are still issues around battery capacity and range anxiety that need to be addressed. But all it takes is a little more research into supercapacitors and better fast-charging equipment and any argument for hydrogen falls along the wayside.

President Obama commutes most of Chelsea Manning’s sentence

President Barack Obama on Tuesday commuted the majority of Chelsea Manning’s remaining prison sentence, and she is now scheduled to be released on May 17th, 2017, rather than in 2045. Manning is the former army intelligence analyst who provided hundreds of thousands of classified military files to Wikileaks in 2010, including a video of a US helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed two Reuters journalists. The video and accompanying data catapulted Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange, into the limelight.

In 2013, Manning was convicted of violating the Espionage Act and sentenced to 35 years in Fort Leavenworth prison. Manning is a transgender woman who was known as Bradley when she was an active army analyst. LGBTQ activists and Manning’s lawyers have been calling for her sentence to be commuted, arguing she is in danger at Fort Leavenworth, a male military prison. She attempted to commit suicide twice last year.

Manning is irrevocably tied to Wikileaks and Assange, the organization’s founder who also faces espionage charges in the US for publishing the information that Manning provided. Assange is currently hiding out in Ecuador, which has granted him asylum as he flees authorities in multiple countries: On top of his charges in the US related to Wikileaks, he’s wanted in Sweden to answer allegations of rape and sexual assault.

In September, Assange said that he would turn himself in to the US if Manning was granted clemency or the charges against her were dropped. Additionally, just five days ago, the Wikileaks Twitter account said, “If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ case.”

There’s no word yet on Assange’s plans now that Manning’s sentence has been mostly commuted.

Developing…

Source: The New York Times

LG’s Nexus-like Android Wear watches emerge in a leak

For months, rumors have circulated of Google formally launching Android Wear 2.0 with a pair of flagship smartwatches — not Google-designed, but certainly intended as reference models like Nexus phones used to be. But what will they be like? We might just have an idea — Evan Blass (of @evleaks fame) claims to have details of the two devices, LG’s Watch Sport and Watch Style. Both will reportedly arrive on February 9th alongside Android Wear 2.0 itself. They won’t have revolutionary specs, if the leak is accurate, but they will be showcases for what Google’s latest wearable software can do.

The Watch Style would be the entry-level model with a 1.2-inch, 360 x 360 circular screen, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, a 240mAh battery and connectivity that’s limited to Bluetooth and WiFi. You’d really get it because of its looks (there will be rose gold, silver and titanium colors), swappable straps and smaller casing. Supposedly, the Android Police mockup you see at right is a good representation of its looks.

However, the Watch Sport is clearly the star of the show. It’ll reportedly center around a 1.38-inch 480 x 480 round display (similar to the Watch Urbane 2nd Edition) and carry cellular data, GPS, a heart rate sensor and support for Android Pay. You should get the same 768MB of RAM as the Urbane, although you’ll curiously get a smaller battery (430mAh versus the Urbane’s 570mAh). And as the name indicates, you’ll get a rougher, tougher design. You may be looking at a reasonable facsimile of it on the left.

It’s not certain how much you’ll pay for either watch. Blass hears that they’ll go on sale in the US on February 10th, though. And that’s important. While Casio and New Balance have already shown off Android Wear 2.0 devices that tout more features or will even arrive sooner (in New Balance’s case), the LG watches should arrive quickly enough that it’ll be worth holding out to see whether or not they’re better values.

Source: VentureBeat

AT&T Shuts Down 2G Network and Ends Cellular Connectivity for Original iPhone

AT&T yesterday announced that its 2G wireless network was officially shut down on January 1, 2017, following four years of planning for its discontinuation.

As The Verge points out, the end of the 2G network means the original first-generation iPhone (also known as the iPhone 2G) will no longer receive cellular service from the AT&T network, effectively shutting it down.

Few people appear to have been using the original iPhone as there were no complaints from iPhone owners two weeks ago when the network was shuttered, but going forward, customers who keep the device as part of a collection will only be able to use it on WiFi.

Originally released in June of 2007 and discontinued in 2008, the first iPhone was made obsolete by Apple back in 2013, and it has not received software updates since the 2009 release of iPhone OS 3, later renamed iOS 3.

While the end of the 2G network seems to have had little impact on iPhone owners, it did manage to cause significant issues for the San Francisco Muni bus and train system. NextMuni, used to predict arrival times of buses and trains, ran on AT&T’s 2G network. Muni vehicles without upgraded systems installed don’t show up on NextMuni, a problem that the San Francisco transit agency believes could take weeks to solve.

According to AT&T, shutting down its 2G network frees up valuable spectrum for future network technologies, including 5G. AT&T says the spectrum will be repurposed for LTE.

Tag: AT&T
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Vine Transitions into ‘Vine Camera’ as Original Service Shuts Down

As promised, Twitter today discontinued the original Vine app and service, transitioning it into a new “Vine Camera” app designed to allow users to make six-second looping videos that can be saved to the iPhone’s camera roll or shared directly on Twitter.

Videos posted to Twitter from the Vine Camera app will loop like they did in the standard Vine app, but aside from allowing users to capture and edit looping video, no other Vine features remain.

Existing Vine videos can be downloaded from the Vine website, and all Vines will continue to be available on the Vine.co website, though no new content can be uploaded.

Twitter first announced plans to shut down Vine in October of 2016. The company entertained multiple purchase offers for Vine but then decided to maintain a simpler version of the app that’s now known as Vine Camera.

Today’s app update, the Vine Camera, lets you keep making Vines & posting them to Twitter, where they now loop! 🎥

— Vine (@vine) January 17, 2017

The Vine Camera app, which has a new icon, can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: Vine
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Verizon Cracking Down on Customers Still Using Faulty Galaxy Note 7 Devices

Though Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 has been discontinued for several months because of battery issues, there are still “thousands” of Verizon customers who are continuing to use the devices against the company’s advice.

To put a stop to the rogue Note 7 users, Verizon tells Fortune that it’s prepared to take more extreme steps to disable the devices. Verizon has already issued a carrier update that stops the Galaxy Note 7 from working, but some customers have been able to avoid installing it.

Verizon plans to make it so calls placed on remaining Galaxy Note 7 devices will only connect to the company’s customer service representatives, with the exception of 911 calls. Verizon is also considering charging customers who continue to use the Note 7 for the full retail price of the device, as it has sent out refunds.

“In spite of our best efforts, there are still customers using the recalled phones who have not returned or exchanged their Note 7 to the point of purchase,” a Verizon spokeswoman tells Fortune. “The recalled Note 7s pose a safety risk to our customers and those around them.”

Verizon customers who return a Note 7 device to the company continue to be eligible for a $100 bill credit and no upgrade fee as an incentive to choose a new smartphone.

Samsung has not officially announced the results of an internal investigation it conducted on the Galaxy Note 7, but company sources yesterday told Reuters that Samsung has concluded the battery was the reason behind the fires. Samsung was able to replicate the fires during its investigation, though the cause was not able to be explained by hardware design or software.

Samsung’s official results will be shared on January 23, and the company is also expected to share details on measures it will take to prevent similar battery issues in the future.

Tags: Samsung, Verizon
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