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| Now That LTE is Here, What's the Future for Sprint's WiMax? | |  In the last few weeks Sprint has rolled out LTE service to a few area. Some have been under the impression that these are "test areas" to examine the viability of LTE. That's not the case. I haven't been able to get word from Sprint about their long-term plans -- not officially anyway, and it's the source of some confusion in the wireless industry. The confusion stems from their other "4G" technology: WiMax, and it's potential future with the company. Running two 4G technologies side-by-side seems like an inefficient use of spectrum. Ironically AT&T is doing something very similar by running HSPA+ and LTE side-by-side, both of which are "4G". (For those of you who disagree with that classification, I'm with you, but I'm using the term in line with the carriers' definition of 4G.) AT&T's move seems more logical: LTE is arguably a larger technological jump from HSPA+ than from WiMax. So why would Sprint run both WiMax and LTE? Is WiMax ripe for the chopping block? I couldn't find a Sprint representative willing to go on the record about either of those two questions, but one was willing to talk, so long as I don't mention his name. According to my source, officially, Sprint is still committed to WiMax, but is getting pressure from consumers who are gravitating to "LTE" rather than "4G" due to successes in marketing from other carriers. To combat that (and for other undisclosed reasons) Sprint is rolling out LTE as well. Is Sprint going to phase out LTE? My source say WiMax expansion will likely slow (or already has) and LTE expansion will likely pick up. Eventually LTE will replace WiMax, but not any time soon. Will Sprint come out with dual-mode WiMax/LTE phones? Not likely. Should owners of current WiMax phones be worried falling back to 3G speeds? Not for quite a while. By then, they'll likely be in the market for a new phone anyway, and Sprint LTE will be in many, many more places at that point in time. |
| The Best Airports and Airlines for Tech-Dependent Travelers [INFOGRAPHIC] | | Thursday, January 12, 2012 9:51 PM | Lauren Drell |
|  Jetsetting from New York to Silicon Valley and everywhere in between helps high-tech travelers gather a wealth of knowledge about life spent in airports and at 35,000 feet. So, if you've got a trip coming up, you'll find this infographic's insights about the most tech-friendly airports and airlines to be incredibly useful. For longer flights, you need to be completely juiced up beforehand ... or have access to outlets onboard. There are 17,000 outlets in the 40 busiest American airports; that may sound like a lot, but it equates to just 5.5 outlets per gate, on average. That's not a very favorable ratio when you consider how many people are traveling with smartphones, eReaders, tablets, laptops or any combination thereof. (Tip: Virgin America has outlets in every row of the plane to keep you charged in the sky, so there's no race to recharge at the gate.) Even when you're all charged up, you might not be able to afford being offline for hours at a time, so inflight Wi-Fi isn't just a nice perk -- it's a must. So it's good to know that AirTran and Virgin America have Wi-Fi on 100% of their aircraft. And when you're managing travel or booking flights, you might think to yourself, "Oh, there's an app for that." But you should know that few airlines have apps that are fully functional -- Delta's is ranked the best among all U.S. carriers, scoring 8 out of 10 possible points. Lastly, in case you didn't learn how to travel efficiently from George Clooney in Up in the Air, there are some handy tips for expediting your trip through the TSA lines at the bottom of the graphic. Want to take it to the next level? This tech-lover's jacket could be a helpful tool. In short, this infographic from OnlineMBA.com highlights pretty much everything you need to know about high-tech travel. Noticeably missing from the airport map are LAX, SFO and Chicago's O'Hare, but we've got you covered with information regarding airport Wi-Fi and Boingo Hotspots. Infographic courtesy of OnlineMBA.com |
| What's Hot in Digital Entertainment at CES? [VIDEO] | | Thursday, January 12, 2012 7:20 PM | Chelsea Stark |
|  This CES Video is presented by Wendy's, where $1 gets you more. Show what you can do with $1 on Facebook during the Wendy's Value Challenge! No purchase necessary. Enter by 1/22/12. To enter and for Official Rules, visit www.facebook.com/wendys. LAS VEGAS -- Mashable Entertainment Editor Christina Warren spent some time at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show chatting with Tekzilla's Patrick Norton on the Revision3 stage. Christina talked about how hard it is to get one of those fancy, giant TVs into a New York City apartment, why 3D technology may not be there yet, and she offers a special message to Justin Timberlake on his Myspace venture. Click out the video above to watch. Also be sure to watch Mashable Editor in Chief Lance Ulanoff's chat with Norton about other gadget highlights from the show. Series presented by Wendy's
This CES Video is presented by Wendy's, where $1 gets you more. Show what you can do with $1 on Facebook during the Wendy's Value Challenge! No purchase necessary. Enter by 1/22/12. To enter and for Official Rules, visit www.facebook.com/wendys. |
| Can Siri Control Your Home? [VIDEO] | | Thursday, January 12, 2012 5:53 PM | Samantha Murphy |
|  A small company in Arkansas is showing an unexpected side to Apple's voice-based intelligent assistant Siri. This YouTube video shows various home appliances being controlled via voice command on the iPhone 4S, from adjusting the thermostat and light dimmers to turning on Blu-Ray DVD players. Little Rock-based Carnes Audio, which custom installs home automation systems, created its own promotional video of Siri communicating with household technologies. For example, the demo shows Siri dimming the lights to 50% and setting the thermostat to 70 degrees after she was told to do so. For most users, Siri is only able to control iPhone functionality. But the company uses Creston AMS-AIP home automation equipment and an intermediary proxy server to take control. SEE ALSO: A Refrigerator That Helps You Diet? LG Unveils High-Tech Smart Appliances "We posted the video to show the capabilities of what our company can do in terms of home automation, and we have since had a lot of interest from companies and individuals about integrating this type of Siri-controlled technology into their own spaces," Matthew Carnes, audio engineer at Carnes Audio, told Mashable. Carnes said the company will be rolling out these services to those that are interested in the future. "We are moving toward connected living in the home and workspace," Carnes said. "There will come a day when many devices in your house have an IP address and sits on your home network. If there's electricity that flows through it, there's a good chance we can control it." Do you think we will be talking to appliances in the home in the future? Which one would you most like to control? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. |
| FCC Chair Tackles Spectrum, Broadband and Weighs in on SOPA [VIDEO] | | Thursday, January 12, 2012 5:44 PM | Lance Ulanoff |
|  This CES Video is presented by Wendy's, where $1 gets you more. Show what you can do with $1 on Facebook during the Wendy's Value Challenge! No purchase necessary. Enter by 1/22/12. To enter and for Official Rules, visit www.facebook.com/wendys. LAS VEGAS -- Federal Communication Chairman Julius Genachowski is a busy guy facing a wide range of technology, communication and competitive issues, but when he sat down with Mashable at CES 2012, he focused on three key areas, all of which could have a significant impact on mobile, connectivity and even the U.S. economy for the foreseeable future: spectrum, rural broadband and SOPA. Wireless spectrum is a "scarce resource," says the FCC chair, but it's also "the oxygen that fuels our mobile economy." Genachowski said that prior to the iPhone, no one could have anticipated the increased demand for spectrum. The simple fact is we're now engaged in far more data-hungry activities and the FCC is fully engaged in trying to solve the "looming spectrum problem." For now, Genachowski and the FCC are focusing on tapping into previously unused spectrum like White Spaces (unused broadcast TV spectrum) and more spectrum license auctions. He wouldn't speak directly to concerns that some wireless companies might misuse licensed spectrum. Instead, he told Mashable, "We need to make sure that that part of the ecosystem stays competitive. Competition will drive innovation and investment." On the subject of rural broadband, Genachowski said, "Ubiquitous, universal broadband is a major strategy." Part of the solution, he said, lies in the modernization of the government's outmoded Universal Service Fund, which originally targeted landline ubiquity. Now it's been redirected to nationwide broadband coverage. Part of the fund strategy, said Genachowski, is "whoever has the best strategy to get broadband to rural America can qualify for funding." The Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) is a hot-button issue that typically elicits some very emotional responses. However when we asked Genachowski if SOPA is "good" or bad," he offered only this somewhat cryptic response, "The issues that are raised with SOPA are very serious and they need to be overcome." You can see our full interview with the FCC chairman in the video (above). CES 2012: Mashable's Photo Coverage From the Ground Check out more gadgets, booths and appearances from our team on the ground at CES 2012. Series presented by Wendy's
This CES Video is presented by Wendy's, where $1 gets you more. Show what you can do with $1 on Facebook during the Wendy's Value Challenge! No purchase necessary. Enter by 1/22/12. To enter and for Official Rules, visit www.facebook.com/wendys. |
| Nuke the Net: How to Get the Mainstream Talking About the Dangers of SOPA | | Thursday, January 12, 2012 5:29 PM | Alex Fitzpatrick |
|  If you're like most Mashable readers, you know plenty about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its sister bill in the Senate, the Protect IP Act (PIPA). And you're probably plenty outraged about it, too. And rightfully so. If enacted, SOPA/PIPA could have disastrous consequences for the basic infrastructure of the Internet. It would afford the Federal government and copyright holders excessive and far-reaching powers to take down sites they deem to be hosting protected content with little regard for the definition of "hosting." If a user of a news site leaves a comment with offending material, that could be grounds for a takedown. And YouTube could be in hot water should it fail to promptly detect a user who uploads copyrighted material. The same problem exists for all community-based websites, which, let's face it, are the vast majority of our favorite sites. It's the punitive actions which SOPA/PIPA call for that are the most troubling aspect of the bills. They take an offending website off the Domain Name System (DNS), a sort of phone book for the Internet. For more on DNS, watch this excellent explainer video posted on The Guardian. By interfering with DNS, the bill could destabilize the foundation of the Internet. And dedicated pirates would find work-arounds. Two Different Media Conversations If you agree with my anti-SOPA stance, then let me assure you, we are in good company. We stand alongside the likes of Google, Facebook, AOL, Wikipedia, Reddit, Mozilla and a host of other giants in the tech industry. But there's work to be done. We know plenty about SOPA/PIPA because we're so active on websites and online communities that are paying attention to the issue. But what about the rest of America? What about your parents, your mailman and your co-workers? They may use the Internet as much as we do, but in very different capacities. We sometimes think SOPA/PIPA has been part of the national dialogue for months, but it hasn't. It's only been a part of the dialogue in niche networks, communities and media sites. Simply put, it's not a mainstream issue yet. But it deserves to be. If SOPA/PIPA are passed, it wouldn't just mean disaster for us. It could severely disrupt the services that casual Internet users enjoy as well. And they represent a much larger swath of America. If we want to fight SOPA/PIPA, we need to educate and inform those casual users as best we can. So far, mainstream media have been largely silent on the twin Internet killers. And our elected officials in Congress? Most don't understand the complexity of the Internet. Rep. Mel Watts (D-NC) said during a markup session that he "didn't understand a lot of the technological stuff," and that he's "not the person to argue about the technology part of this." Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) said that it's time to "bring in the nerds" - which Congress is thankfully doing. It all echoes the late Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens' remark that the Internet is a "series of tubes." Suggestions and amendments proposed by the seemingly few Congressman who do understand the Internet, like Colorado Rep. Jared Polis (an Internet entrepreneur), have sadly been getting shot down by their less-knowledgeable peers. The Power of the Big Three So how can the issues surrounding SOPA and PIPA reach the national discourse? Some sites, including Reddit, Tumblr, Mozilla and others, have already censored parts of their websites in protest of the bills. Reddit is going a step further and replacing their normal website with an anti-SOPA message for a full 12 hours in late January. SEE ALSO: Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh Says His 50-Plus Websites Will Go Black to Protest SOPA That's a good start, but there's a problem with that approach. Those sites are most often visited by people like you and me, who are already in the know about SOPA/PIPA. We need massive, coordinated action on sites that casual Internet users visit. Facebook, Google and Wikipedia. You're the Big Three in this fight. You've already publicly affirmed your opposition to SOPA. Now it's time to really be a part of the fight. If you go dark for even a few hours, everyone will take notice -- Internet aficionados and casual users alike. The effect would be increased exponentially if you coordinated the effort. And what's there to lose? Some ad revenue? If you really believe what you've written about SOPA, that's nothing compared to the consequences the bill could have. Consider any lost revenue your charitable donation to the cause, because the other side has some seriously big money behind it. You're the dominant players in your field, and you won't lose users over such a campaign. Go dark. Shut down your sites. Leave a message about SOPA/PIPA, link out to more information and let people know what they can do to fight the bills. Imagine a casual Internet user who hops on Facebook in the morning to browse his News Feed. On blackout day, he'll see something radically different. And he'll instantly take notice. He'll start talking to friends, family and co-workers. "Did you see what Google did?" asks one to another. "Yeah, Facebook too. It was about some bill in Congress," responds the other. And the conversation begins. Once public interest starts to mount, understanding will follow. The outrage that feels commonplace amongst Internet natives will spread to casual users and public pressure will build, forcing Congress to take a second, much deeper, look at SOPA/PIPA. Should these companies be unable to stomach even a short outage, a prominent banner at the top of each website would probably suffice. But that wouldn't nearly have the same impact. You need to pull out the big guns in this fight. The Internet is an incredible thing and the online community powerful when it unites around an issue. But this issue needs to enter the mainstream. And blacking out the Big Three are the way to do just that. |
| Nuance Announces Voice-Controlled Dragon TV [VIDEO] | | Thursday, January 12, 2012 5:14 PM | Mashable Video |
|  This CES Video is presented by Wendy's, where $1 gets you more. Show what you can do with $1 on Facebook during the Wendy's Value Challenge! No purchase necessary. Enter by 1/22/12. To enter and for Official Rules, visit www.facebook.com/wendys. Nuance debuted at CES 2012 this week a platform for TV that understands voice and natural language. The product, called Dragon TV, also features voice search and social sharing, so you can ask your TV, "When is Dexter on?" and post updates to Facebook with a voice command. "Dragon TV brings an amazing voice experience directly to the living room, similar to what people do every day on their phones and in their cars," said Michael Thompson, senior vice president and general manager, Nuance Mobile. Dragon TV is available now. Check out the video above to learn more about it. Series presented by Wendy's
This CES Video is presented by Wendy's, where $1 gets you more. Show what you can do with $1 on Facebook during the Wendy's Value Challenge! No purchase necessary. Enter by 1/22/12. To enter and for Official Rules, visit www.facebook.com/wendys. |
| 50 Cent Syncs With SMS Audio for Line of Headphones [VIDEO] | | Thursday, January 12, 2012 4:49 PM | Mashable Video |
|  This CES Video is presented by Wendy's, where $1 gets you more. Show what you can do with $1 on Facebook during the Wendy's Value Challenge! No purchase necessary. Enter by 1/22/12. To enter and for Official Rules, visit www.facebook.com/wendys. Rapper 50 Cent unveiled his new line of SMS Audio headphones at CES 2012 this week. The two styles include a wired headset called "Street" and a wireless pair called "Sync." The noise-cancelling Sync costs $399.95 and Street costs $299.95. They're available online and heading to stores. Check out the video above to learn more about the headphones. Series presented by Wendy's
This CES Video is presented by Wendy's, where $1 gets you more. Show what you can do with $1 on Facebook during the Wendy's Value Challenge! No purchase necessary. Enter by 1/22/12. To enter and for Official Rules, visit www.facebook.com/wendys. |
| Google Science Fair 2012: Now More Global | | Thursday, January 12, 2012 4:10 PM | Samantha Murphy |
|  The second annual online Google Science Fair competition is getting even more global this year, allowing teenagers between 13 and 18 to submit entries in 13 languages for projects that could make a practical difference in the lives of a group or community. Touted as the world's largest online science fair, the competition launched in 2011 and raked in more than 7,500 entries from over 90 countries. This year, Google will accept submissions in 13 languages - submissions were previously required to be in English. In addition, there will be 90 regional finalists: 30 each from the Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa, and Asia Pacific. There is also a new "Science in Action" award for a project that addresses a social, environmental or health issue. "It could be a new take on particle physics or game theory," Google said on its event site. "It could be a cost-effective way to provide clean water to a remote community or maybe a project like reducing the carcinogenic properties of grilled chicken (that was one of last year's winning entries). It should definitely be inspired." SEE ALSO: The Teenage Winners of Google's Global Science Fair The Google Science Fair judging panel is made up of an international team of scientific experts from a wide range of fields, from biology, physics and chemistry to computer science. Prizes include scholarships, a scientific trip to the Galapagos Islands and real-life work opportunities, such as CERN - a European organization for nuclear search - in Switzerland. Submissions are being accepted on the site until Mar. 30. Regional finalists will be chosen in May and 15 finalists will be selected in June. The winners will be announced at Google's headquarters on Jul. 23. |
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