Category: News

Consumers seeking a commitment-free mobile service will now have another option next month when AT&T launches their ‘All In One’ prepaid brand.  Plans are still tentative, but it’s probable that AT&T will offer a tiered-plan system dependent on the type of phone.

Pricing for feature phones will likely start at $35 a month, and smartphones will start at $50 a month.  This type of plan will provide customers with unlimited talk, text, and a 2GB data cap.  There are rumors of another plan being added on that will offer 5GB of mobile data for $70 a month.

If the above estimates hold true, this new ‘All In One’ brand will provide significant savings when compared to their current GoPhone prepaid service.  It is also expected to undercut the price of T-Mobile’s prepaid plan.  There is no information on hotspot capabilities right now, but AT&T would have to include some kind of package in order to compete with T-Mobile’s hotspot offering of 2.5GB of data for $60 a month. There is also the question on if these will work with LTE phones.

If these rumors become a reality, AT&T will be reeling in customers left and right who are no longer willing to deal with long-term contracts.

source: FierceWireless

Come comment on this article: AT&T releasing ‘All In One’ prepaid plan in June

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IER provides future levelized costs of electric generating technologies based on analyses from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) for the Annual Energy Outlook 2013 here. Levelized costs represent the present value of the total cost of building and operating …

The guys at StuntBear have put together, “Aussie Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Bloke,” promising “deep SW references” throughout. Which ones can you find?

If you enjoyed that, they also have a Cantina Band rock cover on SoundCloud.

[via reddit]

Facebook has settled year and a half-long litigation with Timelines.com, according to a recent filing with the SEC.

The case involved Chicago-based Timelines.com, which lets users to create interactive “timelines” based on historical events. Back in October of 2011, they sued Facebook for trademark infringement just weeks after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the new Timeline profile page at the company’s f8 conference. Soon after, Facebook countersued, saying that the word “timeline” was generic and did not deserve trademark protection. The trial was supposed to have begun on April 22nd, but was delayed at the last minute.

Here’s the pertinent bit from the filing:

We are also party to various legal proceedings and claims which arise in the ordinary course of business. Among these legal matters, in two cases, Summit 6 LLC v. Research in Motion Corporation et al. , and Timelines, Inc. v. Facebook, Inc., we have reached agreements to settle the matters. The cost of settlement in each case, which is included in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2013, was not material to our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

Facebook adds that they expect no adverse effect from the settlements:

Although the results of these other lawsuits, claims, government investigations, and proceedings in which we are involved cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not believe that the final outcome of these other matters will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

That’s all we have right now. I’ve reached out to Facebook for additional info and will update this article accordingly.

[Form 10-Q via Inside Facebook]

A man climbing a power tower in Seattle has died, but not for lack of climbing ability.

According to an Associated Press report, the man was climbing a 200-foot power tower when he touched a high-voltage power line and was electrocuted, falling to a platform that was around 150 feet off the ground. The incident occurred around 12:30 am PDT on Friday morning.

The man remains unidentified and the Seattle fire department has not yet determined why the man was climbing the tower.

The fire department called in a helicopter to help ascertain the situation after it received reports of a fire on the tower. Witnesses had reported seing a bright flash and sparks. After finding the body, Seattle’s power company cut the power to the lines so that the fire department could recover it. The AP report stated that a “cap” and cellphone were found near the body.

The DoD has tested and approved The BlackBerry Z10, Q10, PlayBook 2.0 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 for secure use on DoD networks. The agency is the largest employer in the world with over 2.13 servicemen and civilians.

Regarded as having some of the strictest security requirements in the world, the DoD’s approval of these products and services should pave the way for other government agencies to consider a BlackBerry 10 deployment of their own.

There’s no way you’ve ever seen skills like these with a remote control helicopter.

Just nuts.

[via reddit]

Work on growing organs is progressing smoothly, but slowly, thanks to the help of 3D printers. That same technology has now enabled scientists to create entire external body parts, like ears.

Phys.org reports that researchers at Princeton University have created a 3D printed ear made out of biogel. The ear contains a small antenna that’s able to pick up radio waves, and hear stereo sound when two are combined. What makes this particular feat more interesting is that the researchers were able to merge the electronic antenna with the biogel tissue in a way that’s at least somewhat natural.

“In general, there are mechanical and thermal challenges with interfacing electronic materials with biological materials,” said Michael McAlpine, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton and the lead researcher. “Previously, researchers have suggested some strategies to tailor the electronics so that this merger is less awkward. That typically happens between a 2D sheet of electronics and a surface of the tissue. However, our work suggests a new approach — to build and grow the biology up with the electronics synergistically and in a 3D interwoven format.”

This isn’t the first time that external body parts have been made with a 3D printer. Earlier this year, we brought you the story of the two designers that made a functioning hand for a boy born without one with the use of a 3D printer.

The difference between the two is that the hand was merely a prosthetic. Princeton’s bionic ear belongs to the rising trend of smart prosthetics, or artificial body parts that can replicate the function of the original. In this case, the electronics in the ear would allow one to hear again. It could also be used to enhance hearing by allowing humans to pick up radio signals without the use of additional hardware.

If you want to read more about Princeton’s research, check out the study at Nano Letters.

[Image: Frank Wojciechowski]

In writing about the plethora of startups, devices and strategies that companies large and small are throwing at the internet of things, I’ve been thinking about market size. Cisco says it will generate $14.4 trillion in profits by 2022. GE says it will add $10 trillion to $15 trillion in GDP by 2030. These numbers are hard to be believed. For example the federal government only brought in $2.45 trillion in tax revenue in 2012.

But there’s also the question of how to measure the market or the value. Do we count the devices themselves? The dollars spent on platforms and services that tie connected devices together? What about subscriptions to wireless networks? In GE’s case it’s counting dollars saved by implementing better data gathering systems. But the whole idea of trying to measure what is fundamentally a technological shift as a market baffles me.

There’s no question the internet of things is going to be big, but to separate the reality from the hype its worth looking for hard data. If not at market size or potential profits, then let’s just try to see where people are in terms of interest in the products. For example, check out these numbers from a March Yankee Group survey of about 2,300 people.

That seems like a relatively small percent of the population planning on buying a new connected device in the next six months. And the numbers are somewhat odd, in that I don’t think even 5 percent of users are planning to buy a new smart meter –something utilities tend to provide. So I’m taking this data with a grain of salt, but I am looking for good ways to think about the market size and understand how rapidly people and companies are adopting connected devices into their homes and business processes.

This is a real trend, but it’s clear we’re still at the beginning of the massively hyped shift that will lead to real value creation. I just don’t know how to measure how much.

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Herocraft has released Ant Raid for the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet. The game uses interesting touch mechanics and looks like an action-packed tower defense.

Ant Raid has you command a small army of ants while larger enemies attack from all sides. Divide your forces well and get powerups to survive. Play through the game’s story mode or play survival mode for endless waves of enemies.

Click here to buy Ant Raid for PlayBook for 99 cents from BlackBerry World.

Our minds and bodies constantly master lessons from our surroundings. In other words, we seem to have a natural inclination to learn. That is the idea behind this week’s TED Radio Hour: “Unstoppable Learning,” brought to you by NPR. This episode explores that dynamic experience of learning that begins in the womb and how recognizing this essential nature will revolutionize the way we teach.

What happens when you stick a computer in a wall, three feet off the ground, in a slum without so much as running water? “Unstoppable Learning” kicks off with TED Prize winner Sugata Mitra, who found that he had stumbled upon a new method of education — self-directed, with no adults around. He found that the children in the slum, who had little access to education, were able to teach themselves English and even biology just from a computer.

In the next segment, science writer Annie Murphy Paul asks, “When does learning begin?” She shares a startling answer: that learning begins not in preschool or kindergarten, but in the womb. Alison Gopnik then continues to examine the learning that happens during infancy — she finds that despite the drooling and baby talk, these little ones may in fact be geniuses.

Finally, teacher Rita Pierson — the star of today’s talk — expresses the value of establishing strong relationships between student and educator. This begins by being a positive presence, constantly inspiring students to look towards their potential. On Tuesday, May 7, this inspiring teacher will also appear in TED Talks Education — our first televised special — alongside Sir Ken Robinson and Geoffrey Canada. Make sure to tune in to PBS at 10/9c to see her in action.

To hear TED Radio Hour’s “Unstoppable Learning,” check your local NPR schedule to find out when the show airs today. Or listen to it via NPR’s website »

Head to iTunes, where the podcast is available now »

Final Book Now Available

Changes in the 21st century security environment require new analytic approaches to support strategic deterrence. Because current adversaries may be deterred from the use of nuclear weapons differently than were Cold War adversaries, the Air Force needs an analytic process and tools that can help determine those Air Force capabilities that will successfully deter or defeat these new nuclear-armed adversaries and assure U.S. allies. While some analytic tools are available, a coherent approach for their use in developing strategy and policy appears to be lacking. Without a coherent analytic approach that addresses the nuances of today’s security environment, Air Force views of its strategic deterrence needs may not be understood or accepted by the appropriate decision makers.

A coherent approach will support Air Force decisions about its strategic force priorities and needs, deter actual or potential adversaries, and assure U.S. allies. In this context, the Air Force in 2012 requested that the Air Force Studies Board of the National Research Council undertake a workshop to bring together national experts to discuss current challenges relating strategic deterrence and potential new tools and methods that the Air Force might leverage in its strategic deterrence mission.

The workshop consisted of two 3-day sessions held in Washington, DC on September 26-28, 2012 and January 29-31, 2013 and was attended by a very diverse set of participants with expertise in strategic deterrence and a range of analytic tools of potential interest to the Air Force. U.S. Air Force Strategic Deterrence Capabilities in the 21st Century Security Environment summarizes this workshop.

[Read the full report]

Topics: Conflict and Security Issues

Windows Phone remains well behind its biggest competition, iPhone and Android. But Microsoft is continuously looking for ways of changing the mobile landscape. A recent ad for the platform went viral and the company’s app store continues to grow, along with new devices being released.

In fact, Microsoft’s Todd Brix  claims the company is “seeing strong results for the ecosystem since the launch of Windows Phone 8 with more than a 100% increase in app downloads and nearly 140% increase in paid app revenue”.

Now Microsoft attempts to woo developers with new enticements. First it points out that the Nokia’s Lumia 720, along with the 520 and 521 phones, are shipping around the world, giving potential Windows Phone customers additional choices for form factor, capabilities and pricing.

The company also recruits developers in six new markets — Afghanistan, Iraq, Montenegro, Serbia, Timor-Leste and Ukraine. Those looking to develop for those markets will be able to submit both free and paid apps to the Windows Phone Store and reach customers across all of the 191 markets. The company even announces a simpler and more streamlined app submission process.

Brix even touts that “We have added 15 new mobile operator billing partners since August 2012, bringing the total number of supported partners to 25 in 19 markets, surpassing Google Play”.

While Windows Phone handsets continue to be top-rated devices on Amazon, Microsoft still struggles to find its place in the market. Perhaps these continued efforts can pay off in the long run. The competition is certainly a good thing for consumers.

One of the popular videos on reddit today comes under the headline, “I went to check out Google Palestine, entered random Arabic letter and clicked ‘I’m feeling lucky’. This is the result.”

One user comments, “Thank you so much op. I have been searching for this video for years.”

Another responds, “Same here. I’ve never seen it before though.”

Well done, Google.

Oct. 10, 2007 is the day I threw off the chains locking my music. I purged the last DRM-protected file from my personal catalog — and not by stealing. I purchased every track, and getting them Digital Rights Management-free wasn’t easy six years ago. The base collection started from CDs. The problem: Songs purchased from iTunes, starting in April 2003. Later, Apple offered facility to remove copyright restrictions. Meanwhile, I repurchased some tunes, or just did without them.

But chains remain. Every video purchased or rented for download is DRM-protected. Far worse are ebooks. There, the unsung hero — your advocate and champion — is JK Rowling. In late April 2012, she released the entire Harry Potter series as ebooks, DRM-free, baby. Rowling is more than a hugely successful writer; she stands up for readers, too.

HTML5 Ruin

You can take a stand also. May 3rd is “International Day Against DRM“. That’s right, today. There is good reason now, as rights protection is headed to HTML5, and it’s helluva controversy, too.

“There is a proposal currently before the World Wide Web Consortium‘s HTML5 Working Group to build DRM into the next generation of core Web standards”, Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Peter Eckersley and Seth Schoen explain. “The proposal is called Encrypted Media Extensions, or EME. Its adoption would be a calamitous development, and must be stopped”.

GNU Project founder Richard Stallman calls DRM “Digital Restrictions Management”. In a post on the GNU website, he asserts:

Allowing a few businesses to organize a scheme to deny our freedoms for their profit is a failure of government, but so far most of the world’s governments, led by the U.S., have acted as paid accomplices rather than policemen for these schemes. The copyright industry has promulgated its peculiar ideas of right and wrong so vigorously that some readers may find it hard to entertain the idea that individual freedom can trump their profits.

Price-Fixers

He’s spot on. Publishers demand onerous digital rights mechanisms that defy fair use-laws that prevent people from sharing content they purchase for personal use. Take ebooks, for example. If I buy hardcover or paperback, I can share with family, or even friends. But not ebooks. DRM restricts usage to a single user account. If my daughter at college wants to read the same book, she must buy another copy.

Isn’t that a form of price fixing, a practice that U.S. antitrust law prohibits, since DRM compels even members of the same household to buy more than one copy of a title when using separate accounts on different devices. Buyers can read Kindle books on any device running Amazon’s software, for example, but rights restrictions limit or prevent sharing the titles with, say, family members on their separate accounts.

In a competitive market, particularly a growth one, competition should loosen rights. That’s what happened with digital music, where DRM ruled early on but today is all but gone. Consumers benefit from the ability to share music within a household. Ebook publishers generally grant no such rights. Same applies to Hollywood-produced movies and TV shows.

U.S. antitrust and trade laws are supposed to protect consumers from harm. What’s not harmful or anti-competitive about onerous DRM? If rights restrictions come to HTML5, music freedom could give way to chains. Again.

Stop EME

The Free Software Foundation’s “Defective by Design” campaign asserts:

EME would be an irreversible step backward for freedom on the Web. It would endorse and enable business models that unethically restrict users, and it would make subjugation to particular media companies a precondition for full Web citizenship. Just as Flash and Silverlight are finally dying off, we should not replace them with the media giants’ latest control fantasy.

Furthermore, EME contradicts the W3C’s core values. It would hamper interoperability by encouraging the proliferation of DRM plugins. It would fly in the face of the W3C’s principle of keeping the Web royalty-free — this is simply a back door for media companies to require proprietary player software. It is willful ignorance to pretend otherwise just because the proposal does not mention particular technologies or DRM schemes by name.

I agree. If you do, too, sign FSF’s petition “We don’t want the Hollyweb”, opposing EME.

Photo Credit: Nomad_Soul/Shutterstock

Publisher Sourcebooks and digital library distributor Overdrive believe that ebook lending through libraries increases an author’s overall book sales and name recognition. Now they are setting out to try to prove it.

Sourcebooks and Overdrive are running a two-week pilot program called “Big Library Read.” From May 15 to June 1, Overdrive’s 35,000 library clients worldwide have the option to feature a Sourcebooks title, Michael Malone’s The Four Corners of the Sky, on their ebook lending homepage (at no charge to the library). As Library Journal reports:

“Sourcebooks, which has worldwide rights to the book, will chronicle the impact on sales not only for this particular title but also the effect on the other seven books that Malone has published with Sourcebooks. The Amazon rankings will also be monitored (as of today, Four Corners of the Sky had an Amazon Best Sellers Rank of 149,512).”

OverDrive will also track “how many patrons sampled the book, how many checked it out, how many pages were read, and will invite patrons to follow Malone on Facebook and Twitter in order to see how the pilot impacts the author’s social media presence.”

“It has always been an assumed ‘given’ that library support helped drive author success, both short- and long-term,” Sourcebooks CEO Dominique Raccah tells Library Journal. “Seeing if we can provide data around that assumption is fascinating.” Many publishers fear that making ebooks available to libraries will cut into paid book sales, so if the experiment shows increased sales for Malone, publishers could find the result reassuring.

Sourcebooks and Overdrive will present their findings from the program at Book Expo America in June.

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Games for the Weekend is a weekly feature aimed at helping you avoid doing something constructive with your downtime. Each Friday we’ll be recommending a game for Mac, iPhone or iPad that we think is awesome. Here is one cool enough to keep you busy during this weekend.

Star Command ($2.99, Universal) is a mission-based space game where you are responsible for the safety and well-being of your ship and its crew. However, as captain, your primary objective is to stay alive. This is a game where the ship goes down with its captain.

From the very start, you spend a series of colored tokens to add different types rooms and crew members to your ship. The more rooms you have, the more crew you will need to operate these rooms. Each colored token represents a different capability.  Red represents tactical for your weapons room and security team.  Next is blue; it represents science, this is for your medical team.  Finally there is yellow, which represents engineering.  Striking a balance between the three is essential as the game progresses.  With no in-app purchases to bankroll a fully manned ship, you must earn your tokens as you travel through the galaxy by completing a series of missions.

The ship you start with is basically empty. You need to add weapons, engineering, and medical rooms. Each room will cost you three tokens. Hiring crew members is your responsibility as well. Crew members can only be added on earth and will cost you one token each.  When it come to weapons on board the ship, each crew member wearing a red uniform is equipped with a standard issue laser pistol.  Once your ship is built and your crew is on board, you are ready to take on your first mission.

Throughout the game you will encounter alien battles both in space with ship-versus-ship combat, as well as on the board with crew-to-crew combat. In ship-to-ship combat you can only use the weapons and defenses from rooms that have crew members assigned to them. You only fire your weapons when they are fully charged. Once charged, each weapon has its own mini game you need to play in order to get the weapon to fire and hit its target. These mini games only take a few seconds to play and look like something you would expect to see on the console of a weapon’s targeting system.  As the battle progresses, your attention is focused on when the enemy is about to fire, what levels the enemy’s shields and hull integrity are at, and how long it takes your ship’s weapons to fully charge.  There are enough things going on all at once to keep you on edge.

In crew-to-crew combat, enemy aliens teleport onto your ship and start tearing it apart from the inside. You will have to hunt them down and destroy them before they kill all of your crew. Situating your security team a safe distance from the intruders, you find that you are constantly adjusting their position to keep them from getting overrun. You also need to reposition your teams when more aliens teleport onto your ship. If you are fortunate enough to have a medical room staffed with the necessary personnel, you will also start rotating your security teams in and out of the infirmary as they get hurt. When moving your crew around to fight the alien invaders, be sure not to leave one of the ship’s critical weapons rooms understaffed, or else you will leave your ship more vulnerable to attack.

The rooms on your ship can be upgraded, as can the crew members. At the end of each victory, you will be awarded tokens, which can be used to hire more crew members, add new rooms, or upgrade existing rooms. Also at the end of each victorious battle, each crew member that played a role in the battle will earn experience points based on what action they took in the battle.

There is a lot going on with each battle. While you are managing each crew member individually, you are also keeping track of each weapon to see when they are fully charged and ready to fire. At the same time you are also need to pay attention to the enemy’s weapon system in order to try to dodge an attack at just the right time.  Leaving a fully charged weapon sit idle too long, missing an opportunity to dodge an attack, or allowing just one crew member lose too many health points in a shootout could be the difference between winning or losing the battle.  If you feel like you are up to the challenge this weekend then consider joining Star Command as captain of your own ship.

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