data Archive

  • Tim Berners-Lee advocates for open data

    Tim Berners-Lee advocates for open data

    Posted on March 9, 2010 | No Comments
    Sir Tim Berners-Lee speaks at TED2010 about the value of open data.

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  • Be careful where you upload your data, you might not get it back

    Be careful where you upload your data, you might not get it back

    Posted on February 10, 2010 | No Comments
    Wired has a neat little article that talks about something I really don't see mentioned on all those "social media" Web sites: what happens when you want to move your data from Site A to Site B? It's a by-product of moving more and more of our data to cloud-based services:do we retain ownership of our data, and if so, what's the best way to take that data back?

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  • Sprint puts out fact sheet for dual-mode U301 WiMAX modem, release imminent?

    Sprint puts out fact sheet for dual-mode U301 WiMAX modem, release imminent?

    Posted on December 19, 2009 | No Comments
    So Sprint just published an official fact sheet for a U301 USB modem with support for both WiMAX and EV-DO -- it's not accompanied by any press release or product page on Sprint's online store, but we can only assume this means that a release is around the corner. Of course, the dual-mode capability alone doesn't set it apart -- the carrier's existing U300 model already handles those duties with aplomb -- but what seemingly sets the U301 apart is its support for Mac OS. We'd just as soon they'd release drivers for the U300, but failing that, alright, fine, we'll take a new modem. If we're sustaining over 3Mbps down, we'll take a lot of carrier and manufacturer abuse, actually.

    Sprint puts out fact sheet for dual-mode U301 WiMAX modem, release imminent? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • BlackBerry shipments break record in Q3, RIM profits jump 59 percent

    BlackBerry shipments break record in Q3, RIM profits jump 59 percent

    Posted on December 18, 2009 | No Comments
    RIM being a thriving and profitable company is hardly a new story -- as confirmed by third quarter earnings of $628 million off the back of a record-breaking 10 million units sold -- but the way it's making its money seems to be changing. More than 80 percent of new BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter were private customers, marking a distinct shift -- maybe not away from the corporate arena, but definitely toward embracing the consumer market. In an effort to further consolidate its global empire, RIM has also announced a partnership with China Telecom to go along with its earlier China Mobile deal. Oh, and there's the small matter of the 75 millionth BlackBerry being sold, but we're sure the cool cats up in BB HQ aren't counting handsets, they're probably too busy rolling around in piles of money.

    BlackBerry shipments break record in Q3, RIM profits jump 59 percent originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • AT&T to offer ‘incentives’ to customers willing to limit data usage

    AT&T to offer ‘incentives’ to customers willing to limit data usage

    Posted on December 17, 2009 | No Comments
    AT&T exec #1: You know, our network's really getting slammed with all these people using their unlimited data plans to download things and do stuff online all the time. Any ideas how we can fix it?

    AT&T exec #2:     We could put out more WiFi hotspots. People seem to use those. Sometimes.

    AT&T exec #1: Sure, but that's not going to make a dent in places like New York City. I mean, have you used an iPhone there?

    AT&T exec #2: We have these things called MicroCells that people can use at home, if they live in North Carolina. Maybe more people could use those?

    AT&T exec #1: Yeah, that's good. But people like to use their cellphones outside their house too. What happens then?

    AT&T exec #2: Well, what if we offered customers incentives to use less data?

    AT&T exec #1: Now you're talking! What sort of incentives could get them to do that?

    AT&T exec #2: Hmm....

    Well, readers, are there any incentives that would get you to use less data? Feel free to offer your suggestions for AT&T in the comments below. And don't worry about actually paying more for data (yet, anyway), as AT&T 's Ralph de la Vega is now saying that "we have not made any decision to implement tiered pricing," which is a slight backtrack from previous hints to the contrary.

    AT&T to offer 'incentives' to customers willing to limit data usage originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Ericsson demos 42Mbps HSPA Evolution for the laypeople

    Ericsson demos 42Mbps HSPA Evolution for the laypeople

    Posted on December 17, 2009 | No Comments
    Talk about making good on a promise... and then some. Back in March, Ericsson proudly proclaimed that it would be able to make 21Mbps look like child's play by reaching 28Mbps before the dawn of 2010, and now the company is tooting its horn once more after demonstrating 42Mbps equipment to common folk over in Stockholm, Sweden. Reportedly, it's the planet's first 42Mbps HSPA achievement on commercial products, and better still, it's now available for mass deployment. Unfortunately, details beyond that were few and far between -- we're guessing Ericsson just needed an avenue to gloat -- but we suspect carriers like Telstra will be pushing out their own releases once the upgrades start rolling out. Granted, we've seen mobile data rates tickle the 42Mbps mark before, but those showcases were hardly ready for public consumption. Meanwhile, Verizon and AT&T are spending bundles arguing about their comparatively glacial "3G networks." Way to go, America.

    Ericsson demos 42Mbps HSPA Evolution for the laypeople originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • AT&T to Fake Steve: Go on, punk, make my day

    AT&T to Fake Steve: Go on, punk, make my day

    Posted on December 16, 2009 | No Comments
    It's he said/she said time, where maybe like Fake Steve is the She and maybe like AT&T is the he. So like Fake Steve was all like "Let's send nasty texts about AT&T! And then we'll mess with them on Friday." And then AT&T is all like "No way! Nobody does that to me!" Hilarity ensues!

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  • AT&T data outage in San Francisco?

    AT&T data outage in San Francisco?

    Posted on December 11, 2009 | No Comments
    Reports are flying in -- using WiFi, we suspect -- that AT&T's having a bit of a data and SMS outage in San Francisco. Our own personal experiences confirm the data, although text messages are sending and receiving just fine. According to a tweet found by TechCrunch, customer service is saying it'll take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to fix -- sounds pretty extreme to us, and unfortunately we can't get ahold of anyone to corroborate. Let's put it to you, Bay Area readers, how's that iPhone working for ya?

    AT&T data outage in San Francisco? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Palm and Sprint issue statement acknowledging Profile backup issue

    Palm and Sprint issue statement acknowledging Profile backup issue

    Posted on November 25, 2009 | No Comments
    Even in a world full of racket, it seems that the squeaky wheel still gets the grease. In yet another blow to this whole "cloud" agenda, a vocal segment of Palm users began to notice that information transferred from their online Palm Profile was only a fraction of what it should have been. Today, both Palm and Sprint have issued a joint statement acknowledging the issue and promising to work much, much harder in order to avoid having something like this ruin your life once again. To quote:
    "We are seeing a small number of customers who have experienced issues transferring their Palm Profile information to another Palm webOS device. Palm and Sprint are working closely together to support these customers to successfully transfer their information to the new device."
    Between this mess and the T-Mobile fiasco, we're pretty certain we're being forced to stay on the manual backup bandwagon for the foreseeable future.

    [Thanks, Mike]

    Palm and Sprint issue statement acknowledging Profile backup issue originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • AT&T’s new DataConnect Pass plans serve up data a la carte

    AT&T’s new DataConnect Pass plans serve up data a la carte

    Posted on November 23, 2009 | No Comments
    AT&T is following Verizon's lead today with the introduction of new prepaid broadband plans targeted directly at netbook and laptop users who find themselves out of WiFi range (and in desperate need of email) every once in a while. The so-called DataConnect Pass plans exactly mirror Verizon's pricing, which means you can get 75MB as a "day pass" for $15, 250MB as a weekly deal for $30, or a half gig per month for $50. Like Verizon, you're far better off getting the 5GB postpaid plan if you're a heavy user here -- but if you find yourself needing wireless once in a blue moon, this may very well be the way to go. The packages are available now; follow the break for the full press release.

    Continue reading AT&T's new DataConnect Pass plans serve up data a la carte

    AT&T's new DataConnect Pass plans serve up data a la carte originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • UK T-Mobile customer data sold to cold callers, responsible staff to be prosecuted

    UK T-Mobile customer data sold to cold callers, responsible staff to be prosecuted

    Posted on November 17, 2009 | No Comments

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    Let's be honest, who here is actually surprised that underpaid and overworked data workers would sell on our details for a few extra quid? Given the number of uninvited calls to our unlisted phone numbers, we know for a fact that somebody has been dishing our personal contacts to those Nigerian princes and caring loan consolidators, so it's no shock to learn that T-Mobile employees have been fingered for committing the deed and are now facing prosecution. We're told that inappropriately leaked information made its way into the hands of brokers, who then "cold-called the customers as their contracts were due to expire" without T-Mob's knowledge. Disappointed by the failure of current fines to discourage such illegal information trade, British Justice Minister Michael Wills has even called for "custodial sentences" to be levied against the poor slobs responsible. So, if you're scoring at home, that's now two black eyes for T-Mobile when it comes to keeping our data safe. For shame.

    UK T-Mobile customer data sold to cold callers, responsible staff to be prosecuted originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • AT&T’s Data Connect overage rates much lower now, still too high

    AT&T’s Data Connect overage rates much lower now, still too high

    Posted on November 12, 2009 | No Comments

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    In a perfect world, we'd one day all be guzzling from an endless font of virtually free bandwidth, streaming 1080p video straight to our WXGA handsets with stereo Bluetooth beamed straight to implants in our ear canals. Turning our attention back to reality for a moment, though, and the situation is a little more bleak: carriers are plagued with crappy, overloaded networks, backhaul issues, and a 4G rollout that could easily span a decade. To that end, caps are still firmly in place on US carriers' so-called "unlimited" laptop data plans, and overage rates make the occasional slip-up nasty enough to bankrupt you if you're not offered clemency from customer service. The good news is that AT&T's data overage rates have dropped significantly as of November 6, going from 49 cents per megabyte to 5 cents on the $60 5GB plan and 10 cents on the (nearly useless) $40 200MB plan. That still means you're paying over $50 for each gigabyte of overage -- but as AT&T points out, it's a hell of a lot better than the $500 you were paying before.

    [Thanks, Kal]

    AT&T's Data Connect overage rates much lower now, still too high originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Verizon “Mobile Web” service currently down

    Verizon “Mobile Web” service currently down

    Posted on November 5, 2009 | No Comments

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    We've been getting a slow trickle of tips telling us that Verizon's Mobile Web service is currently down nationwide, with no ETA on a fix. That's Mobile Web, the featurephone service, not, you know, big-boy data, so chances are you're fine -- our various VZW smartphones are unaffected. (Although we did have a dropped call and some spotty voice quality on a DROID this morning -- ruh roh.) We'll let you know if we hear further.

    [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

    Verizon "Mobile Web" service currently down originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Verizon jumps on prepaid data bandwagon

    Verizon jumps on prepaid data bandwagon

    Posted on November 5, 2009 | No Comments
    Oh pretty netbook lady, you go about your daily life with your face buried in the goings-on of your hectic corporate lifestyle, unwilling to avert your gaze from the tiny 10.1-inch screen that dictates your graceful movements for even a mere moment in time.

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  • Verizon broadband data goes prepaid

    Verizon broadband data goes prepaid

    Posted on November 5, 2009 | No Comments

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    Heavy users are still going to need the 5GB monthly postpaid option (and really, let's be honest, a lot of us need well more than 5GB), but the occasional "crap, I really have to grab that spreadsheet off the intranet" moment might be well-served by Verizon's new prepaid data option announced today. "Occasional" really is the key word here, because it's not cheap -- $15 per day for 75MB, $30 per week for 250MB, or $50 per month for 500MB -- but hey, we guess we've gotta get Big Red used to the idea of offering a la carte data for a while before it becomes affordable to the masses. In the meantime, it'll be offered bundled with a USB760 modem (pictured) in Verizon and Best Buy locations starting on November 16.

    Verizon broadband data goes prepaid originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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