The last few months have seen several leaks that suggest the next Xbox will require an "always on" broadband connection as a way to counter both piracy and used game sales. Microsoft isn't commenting, but the news -- if true -- is angering a lot of possible customers with they botched launches of Diablo 3 and SimCity (both requiring always-on connections) freshly in mind. Another source this week told gaming blog Kotaku that the next Box will indeed need a persistent connection to run games and apps, and that a troubleshooter launches if a user is offline for a set amount of time:
"Unless something has changed recently," one of the sources told us over email, "Durango consumer units must have an active internet connection to be used." "If there isn't a connection, no games or apps can be started," the source continued. "If the connection is interrupted then after a period of time--currently three minutes, if I remember correctly--the game/app is suspended and the network troubleshooter started."
As already noted, it remains unclear if Microsoft intends to ban used games, but demanding an always-on broadband connection to play games you own presents all manner of obvious issues. In addition to the leaks to news outlets, developers seem to be strongly hinting that the always-on requirement is a done deal.
To make matters worse for itself, Microsoft Studios creative director Adam Orth took to Twitter this week to mock those concerned about the always-on demand. Orth stated he "doesn't get the drama" about devices simply not working without connectivity, and that "those people should definitely get with the times and get the Internet." The comments seem to suggest a certain tone deafness to the issue, though Microsoft's certain to be less glib in May when the console is officially announced and -- assuming the rumors are true -- the backlash begins in earnest.
Update Orth has since proclaimed that he was just trolling a friend, though that doesn't make Microsoft's idea any less problematic -- and he wasn't quite quick enough to prevent himself from becoming a meme.
Comcast told one DC-area grandmother that she could no longer be a Comcast Internet Voice subscriber after she cast an immense amount of votes for an "American Idol" contestant. According to local DC Fox affiliate Fox 5, Comcast sent the notification after the woman called the "American Idol" hotline "several hundred times in an hour." The 72-year-old woman was confused by the termination letter because Comcast advertises its Digital Voice service as unlimited, a word that generally means the exact opposite in telecommunications markets. After the letter was publicized, Comcast claimed the termination notice was sent in error but reiterated their right to warn or terminate excessive voice users.
Around a thousand people submitted this mock ad for "the first honest cable company" to our news queue, and if you haven't seen it yet it's rather amusing. There is some not-safe-for-work-or-kids-or-the-easily-offended language in it, so if you're averse to a little swearing please just keep on walking.
Time Warner Cable hasn't been exactly what you'd call a hero when it comes to furthering national broadband deployment. The company was behind bills in both North and South Carolina banning or hindering towns and cities from deploying their own broadband, even when nobody else will.
Back in May of 2011 we were the first to exclusively report that AT&T would be imposing usage caps on the company's DSL and U-Verse users. Users were told DSL users would see a cap of 150 GB a month and U-Verse users would see a cap of 250 GB a month -- with both sets of users paying $10 for every additional 50 GB of data they use.
The FCC still has around $185 million out of the $300 million broadband funds available from phase one of their Connect America Fund, dedicated to shoring up broadband coverage gaps. While companies like Frontier took $71.9 million to wire some 92,000 homes, other companies like Windstream balked at taking full funding, saying that getting $775 per install wasn't enough for their liking.
Every so often we see a carrier get the bright idea to use modern network technology to inject their ads into website content -- and once publicized they become very short-lived affairs. You might recall that Mediacom got busted for this back in 2011, when they started using deep packet inspection and Javascript injection technology to insert ads into numerous websites -- even those traditionally without ads (like Apple or Google).
Streaming OTA video provider Aereo this week saw another major win in their fight against broadcasters looking to shut the service down. Fox network founder Barry Diller started Aereo trials last year in New York City, the service offering users a $12 a month option for local broadcast television services -- adding an interesting and inexpensive option for those eager to cut the cord.
"After more than two weeks of dismemberment, disembowelment, and all-around good family fun, this year’s Worst Company In America tournament nears its finale, with only four contenders remaining with a chance at claiming the ultimate victory and clutching the Golden Poo," proclaims the Consumerist website. The site's Worst Company in America award has come down to Comcast, Ticketmaster, EA, and Bank of America. For the second year running, AT&T has caught a break by being matched up against the even-more-disliked EA, who could be propelled to victory this year on the back of their SimCity DRM launch debacle. AT&T's decision to hang up on DSL users and con several states into becoming broadband backwaters apparently isn't quite the same headline grabber as crappy game DRM and obnoxious in-game microtransactions.
According to documents obtained by CNET, the DEA is upset because the encryption used by Apple's iMessage foils their ability to snoop on those communications. Even with a warrant (increasingly seen as optional these days by law enforcement and intelligence agencies) and the fact that carriers let the NSA snoop on everything in real time, "it is impossible to intercept iMessages between two Apple devices."
A group of annoyed users have recently launched a Time Warner Cable spoof website that takes aim at the company for poor customer service. Videos posted to the website (like this one) involve the folks behind the website going around New York asking locals what the company can do worse -- as well as rather concise fake letters from Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt (whose $17.4 million in 2012 compensation likely dulls the blows received from such critics substantially).
According to a new survey by the Fiber to the Home Council, running a fiber to the home network isn't just great for consumers and businesses looking for more bandwidth, but it can save a medium or small scale telco up to 20% in savings annually. "On average, respondents estimated those savings to be 20.4 percent, largely because of a decrease in ongoing repair and maintenance," says the group.
According to the Council (which is comprised of companies selling fiber gear), the number of homes that can access FTTH networks has jumped 17.6 percent over the last year to 22.7 million. Granted most small to mid-sized telcos aren't installing fiber -- not because they don't realize potential cost savings, but because they either don't have the funds to do so, or there's such pathetic competition across their footprint there's simply nothing driving them to.
Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam today stated the company is watching T-Mobile's no contract pricing with great interest, and that Verizon will offer no contract wireless if consumers start clamoring for it. T-Mobile is offering users less expensive data plans but no phone subsidies -- users for example paying $100 down for the iPhone 5 and an additional $20 per month for 24 months.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Apple is getting ready to fire up production of two new iPhone models: an updated successor to the iPhone 5, and a smaller, cheaper iPhone to be aimed squarely at more cost-conscious users. Details are scarce, though sources tell the Journal the iPhone 5 successor (iPhone 5S?) should start production in the second quarter for a summer launch. The less-expensive iPhone also being produced may come in a variety of colors but will likely use "a different casing from the higher-end iPhone" and possibly come in a variety of colors.
For some time now rumors have suggested that Verizon was trying to buy out UK wireless carrier Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless after talks of a full merger stalled last December. In an interestering twist, anonymous sources tell the Financial Times that Verizon is now working in conjunction with AT&T to buy Vodafone outright.
The return of "Game of Thrones" to HBO broke all manner of records Sunday night, both traditional and otherwise. The show posted a viewership of 4.4 million, and including the two replays of 6.7 million -- breaking previous records for the show.
The ACLU recently uncovered heavy government use of devices known as "stingrays," which allow law enforcement to trick a user's cell phone to connect to a spoofed device instead of a tower for the purposes of data collection. As Wired explores, the Department of Justice is under fire for using these devices without informing Judges about either the devices, or the fact they could collect data from uninvolved third parties.
Consumer Reports has released their annual rankings of the best providers when it comes to triple play services. The survey of 84,000 Consumer Reports readers measures broadband speed and reliability, TV picture and reliability, and phone call quality and reliability -- and is featured in the May issue of the magazine.
Verizon is working with the Bloomberg administration to speed up the deployment of fiber installs beneath the street of New York City. According to Bloomberg, Verizon will begin testing "micro-trenching" or "saw cutting," which involves cutting shallower-than-usual grooves in the ground for fiber laying (video here). Verizon will test the installation technology in twelve markets then discuss with the city whether to proceed from there. Verizon signed a franchise agreement in 2008 that is supposed to bring FiOS to everyone in NYC by the end of 2014 (they're probably currently at around 50% or less). However, the agreement fine print allows Verizon to buy or wiggle their way out of 100% deployment, which means a lot of people across the five boroughs are going to wind up disappointed no matter how deeply Verizon digs their trenches.
In 2010, Google was busted using their Google Street View cars to collect Wi-Fi data from areas they passed through. The company claimed that the effort was a rogue action of one employee running a test project, and the data collected was largely useless (confirmed by subsequent studies) given the collection vehicles flipped channels roughly five times each second.
While Google's principles may have slid sideways in recent years (their selling out on net neutrality being exhibit A) the company does appear to be putting up a good fight against the government's use of national security letters (NSLs). We've covered for several years the growing use (or in a significant number of proven cases, the abuse) of NSLs, which allow the government to obtain personal user records from ISPs (or banks and other companies), then involve a gag order against the company preventing them from ever mention it -- all with no judicial review.
It was forty years ago today that Martin Cooper (who we often use in the story photo to the upper right) placed the first mobile phone call to a fellow engineer at Motorola. In an older interview with the BBC, Cooper states they knew they had something compelling, but had doubts about massive adoption due to potentially prohibitive costs. As of last year, there were six billion mobile connections globally. "It pleases me no end to have had some small impact on people's lives because these phones do make people's lives better," said Cooper. "They promote productivity, they make people more comfortable, they make them feel safe and all of those things." Let's not forget smartphone fart apps.
Over the air streaming video provider Aereo won their second major legal victory against the broadcast industry yesterday when an injunction was denied and a court again declared the company's $12 a month broadband streaming service does not violate copyright. Obviously the fight is long from over, and according to the Wall Street Journal, the company has been holding talks with pay TV operators including AT&T and Dish Network. Publicly, Aereo will only say the company is looking at developing partnerships related to content, devices or distribution that will "help increase the choice and flexibility for the consumer."
AT&T has confirmed that their implementation of HD voice will be deployed at the end of 2013 (read: 2014). Speaking to AllThingsD, AT&T senior VP Kris Rinne simply stated that "HD Voice is part of our voice over LTE strategy," though he failed to offer any real specifics. Most carrier deployments of voice over LTE (VoLTE) have been delayed due to the fact that the technology is an incredible battery hog, in some cases reducing overall battery life by 50 percent when placing VoLTE calls. T-Mobile has already deployed HD Voice; their implementation doesn't eat battery life and consumes much less bandwidth (12.65kbps), but doesn't offer quite the same audio fidelity as fully fledged VoLTE will.
Last month I noted how CISPA was likely returning for a second try, despite complaints that the bill would significantly erode consumer privacy and expand Internet activity surveillance under the guise of "cybersecurity." Sponsor Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger insisted he was working on fixing the bill so it addressed the concerns of privacy advocates, then immediately proceeded in re-introducing a completely unchanged version of the original. Now the bill is heading to Congress for a closed door debate so that the public can't point out how awful the bill is -- again. About that whole Congress supposedly working for the people thing...
In order to get everyone on board the entertainment industry's recently-launched "six strikes" anti-piracy initiative, the entertainment industry-run group behind the program (the Center for Copyright Information) repeatedly stated that data collection from the program wouldn't be used for lawsuits. While the MPAA and RIAA so far haven't requested that data, that hasn't stopped copyright trolls from doing so.
Our friends over at TMONews point out that T-Mobile will be sending out an over-the-air update from Apple that will provide LTE connectivity for unlocked iPhones on T-Mobile's network starting on April 5. According to the leaked internal screenshot, the over-the-air update will also provide those users with other awaited functionality like visual voicemail and MMS.
Things have been falling apart for copyright troll Prenda Law, who has been gleefully threatening to sue copyrighted porn downloaders if they don't pony up some cash (aka extortion). The porn focused copyright troll outfit didn't bother to show at a hearing earlier this month that was intended to address some of the sleazier things the group has allegedly been up to, including identity theft.
The Navajo Nation is putting the finishing touches on a $46 million broadband improvement project that will connect 30,000 households and 1,000 businesses to improved broadband services. According to Farmington, New Mexico Daily Times, the upgrades are in-large-part thanks to a $32.2 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, with $11.3 million provided by the local utility, and another $2.2 million provided by a regional ISP by the name of Commnet. In addition to wiring homes and businesses, the 550 new miles of fiber and 32 new towers (so far) will help serve 1,100 community institutions, including public safety, health, social services and emergency care facilities.
AT&T's video streaming services have been decidedly "me too" affairs, ranging from a video portal that was effectively a Hulu clone to the U-Verse Screen Pack, which was touted as a "Netflix killer" but suffers from a limited catalog and is only available to U-Verse users for an additional $5 a month. However, a new survey being sent to U-Verse customers indicates AT&T is pondering expanding these options. Variety notes that the survey hints that the service might not be directly run by AT&T:
A customer survey sent out March 14 to AT&T’s U-verse subscribers asked whether they would be interested in signing up for, or even inquiring about, a “new video and Internet service” that would: Stream to customers’ own devices without a receiver box; include local broadcast channels and “popular sports and entertainment” cable channels; the option to bundle one streaming service such as Netflix or Amazon Prime; and better picture quality and shorter wait times for streaming, All this would be offered “at a significantly lower price than traditional pay TV services” and without usage charges for streaming.
A post over at the Skype blog proudly proclaims that Skype users are collectively using the communications platform for more than 2 billion minutes each day. "That’s enough time to travel to the moon and back over 225 thousand times, walk around Earth more than 845 times or travel to Mars more than 5,400 times," proudly proclaims the company. The total of course includes voice, video, and people staring at the screen using instant messaging, so it's likely a very generous number. Skype has certainly had help on numerous fronts, from the death of the PSTN to Microsoft's announcement that they'll be closing Windows Live Messenger.
According to the New York Times, the Russian government has started using a new law that allows it to begin censoring Internet content. The effort, as most Internet filtering attempts do, has originated with the supposed interest in protecting children from harmful content. As such, the government has demanded that Facebook, Twitter and YouTube begin removing content that promotes suicide and drug use. Google is the only one standing up to the request so far, refusing to take down a video that simply showed how to create a fake wound using a makeup materials and a razor blade. This being Putinland, many are of course concerned that the effort is simply the opening salvo of a much larger attempt at Internet censorship.
