Last week, the Internet was abuzz of a supposed leaked iPhone, due to hit the hands of consumers this summer. If you are unfamiliar, the story goes as such :
Continue reading "Eric Weighs in on the iPhone "4" Controversy" »
Recently there has been a brouhaha about the iPad—and not that people cannot get their hands on one or that they're targets for theft—but that the Israeli government has banned iPads from entering the country. This comes from the fact that the WiFi chips are not approved for use in the country, which raises a relatively big question: If people travel worldwide, should they be concerned about whether or not the device they take along is approved for use in a country?
With the imminent release of the iPad, many are wondering how Apple will treat it. Since it is available in either WiFi-only or WiFi and 3G models, it could be treated more like the iPod touch or the iPhone. Because of this, examining the licensing agreement reveals that the iPad may require users to pay for major updates (for example, 3.x to 4.x), much like iPod touch users do, as opposed to iPhone users who would get the updates for free.
Continue reading "Accounting Rules & Paid Software Updates" »
Professor Stuart Brotman will be sharing his thoughts in The David Letterman Distinguished Professional Lecture and Workshop Series in a presentation entitled "Can Broadband Save the World?" The event will be liveblogged on this entry, and on my Twitter page.
Continue reading "Liveblog: Can Broadband Save the World?" »
Unsurprisingly, the FCC officially established the National Broadband Plan. The plan is designed to increase access to broadband internet connections, raise awareness of the need for better connections, and offer tools for consumers to learn more about broadband capabilities and getting the most out of their connection.
Perhaps you remember the transition from analog (AMPS) to digital cellular service. (D-AMPS) If not, you may remember the transition from D-AMPS (aka TDMA) to GSM or CDMA2000. Some TDMA networks have been shut down as recently as last year, with Cingular/AT&T forcing people off those networks by charging them more. The transition for GSM users from GPRS (2G) data to EDGE (2.5G) data to 3G data has been rather seamless. Pick up a new handset to get the speed increases, but older handsets still work on the networks. In the next few years, there may be quite a bit of fear, uncertainty, and doubt about the transition to LTE, or Long-Term Evolution networks for AT&T and Verizon.
Continue reading "LTE Coming Soon: How Big of a Deal is It?" »
The FCC banned the distribution and sale of wireless devices that use the 700MHz frequency. Many expected this frequency, freed up with the move away from analog television, to be used with next-generation mobile networks. Sure enough, the disappearance of 700MHz devices clears up the market for 4G phones.
Continue reading "700MHz in the US, Other Countries to Follow?" »
It seems today that whenever people think of technology and handheld devices, their mind makes the jump to music, movies, TV shows, and other electronic media. What about books? With last week's announcement of the Apple iPad, Apple got into the book business to compete head-to-head with Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook. The iPad's books can be purchased and downloaded just like those other items on the iTunes Store. Unlike much of that content, the iBooks (as they will be called) are US-only for now.
Plagiarism is a sensitive subject in academia. I always thought that the supposed plagiarism detection tools that were used as scare tactics in my high school and undergraduate days were fascinating, but I never really researched them much. Being the careful student I was, I always made sure to cite my sources, quote where appropriate, and follow the usual academic guidelines.
It seems that in my many hours of TV watching over Thanksgiving, I've seen more and more commercials from AT&T and Verizon arguing who has the better network. Every so often we see T-Mobile and Sprint try to get everyone's attention by not being AT&T or Verizon. My question is, when are consumers going to start seeing the benefits of this little battle royale?