Reports: Apple set to fix iPhone 3G connectivity in update
Apple may attempt to alleviate what iPhone 3G users have perceived to be connectivity problems by way of a software update instead of a recall, which would take a significant chunk from its profits.
Earlier in the week, Swedish engineering magazine Ny Teknik reported on tests from unnamed iPhone 3G users showing its signal sensitivity was well below levels specified in 3G standards. That report indicated that there may be a hardware issue somewhere between the antenna and the amplifier. If either or both parts aren't operating properly, it could lead to poor connectivity and slower speeds.
Verizon Wireless seizes top spot from T-Mobile in J. D. Power rankings
No longer will bragging rights be claimed by T-Mobile, which held the top spot in the J. D. Power & Associates survey since 2004. Meanwhile, across the entire industry, time spent by wireless customers on hold continues to rise.
In the latest J. D. Power & Associates Customer Care Performance Study released yesterday, Verizon scored a 103, followed by Alltel with a 102 and T-Mobile with a score of 100. The industry average was said to be 96.
Subway agency wants to keep MIT students quiet over hack
10:30 am EDT August 15, 2008 - A federal judge has sided with the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, ordering the students to continue to stay quiet beyond the original Tuesday expiration of their restraining order.
Presiding Judge George O'Toole, Jr. scheduled a hearing for that same Tuesday to debate the order's merits, and will decide then whether it should be modified or lifted altogether. As was reported initially early Thursday, copies of the presentation continued to be available on the Internet.
Facebook's global growth catapults it to #1 worldwide
New independent data shows Facebook enjoyed 153 percent growth year over year, while MySpace remains essentially flat. The site's growth is biggest overall outside of the US.
Overall, Facebook attracted 132.1 million unique users in June, compared to 117.6 million for MySpace, according to data from comScore released this week. Another site that saw impressive growth was Hi5, which doubled its unique userbase to 56.4 million.
California legislature moves on cyber-bullying measures
If a bill now being considered by the California State Senate and Assembly becomes law, schoolyard bullies who use the Internet and text messaging to intimidate others may be expelled from school.
California Democratic Assemblyman Ted Lieu of Torrance, a Los Angeles suburb, introduced a measure to the Legislature in January 2007 in an effort to combat cyber-bullying, which he says has become an increasingly large problem with the pervasiveness of social networking.
Twitter cuts off tweets by SMS in the UK over costs
It appears as if Twitter was unable to reach agreements with UK carriers to keep costs of its SMS tweets down. While users will still be able to send updates to a phone number, they will no longer be able to receive them on phones.
With Twitter's text option, a user's blog update could turn into dozens of text messages depending on who is following that particular user, which the Twitterer was not paying any additional fee for.
MobileMe users targeted by new phishing scam
While the service may have fixed its downtime issues for the most part, it now appears that phishers are attempting to trick subscribers into divulging personal information.
Some subscribers are receiving an e-mail that looks like a legitimate e-mail from Apple. Towards the end, its text reads, "We were unable to process your most recent payment. Did you recently change your bank, phone number or credit card?"
In-car wireless Internet to become a reality with Chrysler
An EV-DO-enabled hotspot will be installed as an option in 2009 models of Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge vehicles, as well as some earlier models, the auto maker announced yesterday.
Chrysler itself will not install the Mopar-produced devices direct from the factory, instead it would be made available at the dealership. The new router will be mounted in the trunk much like CD changers and satellite radio receivers already are, and hardwired into the car's electrical system. Users will be able to use Wi-Fi at distances from the car comparable to current home-based wireless routers.
Best Buy becomes first US retailer to stock iPhone
The leading US electronics retailer will begin selling the hit phone on September 7 in 970 stores, including all the stores where Apple has launched its "mini-store" pilot program.
Best Buy said it would sell iPhones through its Best Buy Mobile shops that it has begun to open across a little over a dozen cities nationwide. Those smaller versions of the bigger retailer focus primarily on mobile phone sales.
Fire may have damaged key Apple R&D building
A three-alarm fire swept through a building at the Cupertino company, damaging the roof and the second floor of the building known as "Valley Green Six."
Approximately 60 firefighters battled the blaze, which was first reported to the authorities around 10:00 pm local time Tuesday. The fire was contained about 2 1/2 hours later.
Internet firms admit to tracking users' behavior for advertising
Responses to a congressional inquiry into targeted online advertising indicate that some companies were indeed tracking their users without first asking their consent.
In letters to the House Energy and Commerce Committee released Monday, several companies admitted to the practice. Altogether, some 33 companies were queried last August 1 about their position and actions surrounding targeted advertising.
New iPhone app makes it a wireless storage device
With a multitude of applications now available from the App Store, few stand out. Vieosoft's DataCase may be one of those that does.
The $6.99 app was released on Monday, and essentially leverages the flash memory of the iPhone as a wireless storage device. Currently the application supports Microsoft Office, PDF, Text, image, HTML, audio, and video file transfer.
Twitter sets 'following' limits to combat spam
Twitter's new limits, which some are discovering just today, seems to have been made effective since the middle of last month, but don't appear to be fixed in stone.
The way Twitter works, each user's chain of posts may be "followed" by others, and a user selects the feeds, or "twitters," he chooses to follow. For the average user, it would appear the limit on the number of feeds he can follow is 2,000, although that number may increase as more users follow his own feed. Some with high traffic, but whose follow-to-follower ratio is more balanced, appear able to follow more feeds.
MobileMe mail service goes down for the count again
A new batch of problems for the already plagued service seem to have started in the late morning for some, including intermittent timeouts and issues accessing the accounts on desktop mail.
The majority of the problems seemed to be for most between about 3:00 and 6:00 pm EDT Monday. During that period, a message also appeared on the MobileMe status page, saying "MobileMe members may be unable to access MobileMe Mail. Service will be restored ASAP. We apologize for any inconvenience."
Microsoft to stop boxed sales of Money
Although it has been offering its financial suite in a downloadable version for quite some time, beginning with the 2009 version of Money Plus, it will no longer be sold through retail channels.
Microsoft pointed to the fact that last year's sales of its Money personal finance software outpaced in-store sales for the first time in the products history, and more than 50 percent of sales of Money now come from online downloads.
Ed's Bio
Ed Oswald is a freelance journalist from the Reading, PA area. Although he has written across a variety of subjects, Ed’s passion and focus has been on technology and gadgets. His work regularly appears on tech news sites BetaNews, PCWorld, and Technologizer, and has been syndicated to eWeek, Time’s Techland blog, VentureBeat and the New York Times.
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