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US Cellular announces 4G, plans to light up LTE by end of year
Just when we're finally basking in the warmth of spring and picking May flowers, US Cellular finds a reason for us to look forward to the cold and dark winter to come. The carrier announced plans to deploy its own LTE network, intent on blanketing two dozen markets (representing 25 percent of its customer base) with blazing-fast 4G service in time for the holiday season. And the party ain't stopping just because the mistletoe comes down and the decorations are put away; the holiday deployment will only be the first phase, with US Cellular continuing its 4G expansion efforts through 2012. Full PR after the break.
Apperian picks up first enterprise iFund payout
The iFund has been pretty influential ever since it was announced a couple of years ago -- it's a pool of money set up by Apple and a few other companies to support and grow companies that are contributing to the iOS ecosystem. It's been growing along with Apple's platform, and now the fund has made its first contribution to an enterprise developer. Apperian is a company that helps enterprises create and deploy their own mobile apps, and it's picked up $9.5 million in a round of funding that includes money from the iFund. We've covered the use of iPhone and iPad in business quite a bit, and Apperian sits squarely in that wheelhouse, consulting with various companies on how to create and securely distribute their own mobile apps. iFund's Matt Murphy says that Apperian is riding the wave of mobile devices that are showing up in the corporate workplace, and that "Apperian's solution is perfectly timed to help enterprises rollout and manage all their applications across their employee base and its wide variety of smart devices." Sounds like a solid plan. It's excellent to see Apple's platform growing in all kinds of different directions.
World of Tanks deploys its second video tutorial
All right, listen here, soldier! You learned all about the garage in the first World of Tanks tutorial. Now it's time to get into the action. Wargaming.net just released its latest lesson about playing this unique MMO. There is a lot to learn, and although the controls may seem familiar at first there are a few twists that may throw you for a loop. This is where the actual fighting starts. By the end of this second World of Tanks tutorial, you should have all the basics down on how to engage an enemy. The step-by-step instructions will teach you how to read the mini-map, target enemies at specific ranges, lock on targets for close ranged battles, and maneuvering your monstrous vehicle. If you are into strategy and war gaming or if you just like to blow stuff up, check out the video after the break, then march on over to the official World of Tanks website to sign up for beta testing. Ten hut! Forward march!
CCP delaying Incursion to ensure excellence
With the Sansha set to descend on EVE Online en masse, a new character creator that is the precursor to Incarna (when all will be blessed with feet), and a plethora of other goodies large and small, Incursion has been garnering a lot of attention from both active and retired capsuleers. According to a dev blog posted today by EVE's Senior Producer, CCP Zulu, the company has made a tough decision about the release date for its eagerly anticipated expansion. Rather than push it out with potential bugs and issues, CCP is opting to split up Incursion into a three-part deployment. The important part is that by doing so, CCP expects to be able to give each particular chunk of the expansion the time it needs to be "excellent." The first chunk, which will release on November 30th, offers a host of requested and needed tweaks. While CCP isn't willing to confirm the exact list of features at this time, the list of potentials is expansive, including changes to rockets, T2 ammo, 80 new storyline missions, faction ships' addition to the market, and more. From there, the second patch will be released in December and will contain wonders that "only Santa knows." January 2011 is when the company plans to release the third chunk, which should deliver Incursion's new character creation tool to the masses. If you're curious about more details on the reasons for the change in deployment dates as well as a bigger listing of all the things to come, pop on over to the EVE Online site and check out the devblog.
The iPad Project documents deploying iPads at school
We've been following the folks at D7 Consulting as they roll out a set of iPads that were awarded to them by Box.net (and keep an eye out later this week for an update on that), but that's not the only group of people attempting to use iPads in a collective space. Frasier Speirs (Mac developer at Connected Flow) is implementing iPads at a school that he works at, and he's documenting the whole process on his blog as The iPad Project. It's an interesting read. Even if you're not trying to follow in his footsteps and implement a large number of iPads across a system, it's intriguing to see how he and his co-workers are trying to squeeze a very consumer-targeted product into a more professional space. Concerns range from setting up profiles and activations on each device to more practical issues like labeling them with names and finding a way to charge them all together. Part of the iPad's charm has been how many different places and ways that people have found to use it. At its heart, it's a reasonably powerful touchscreen computer, and that's a device that's got a lot of potential in a lot of fields. We'll look forward to seeing other implementations in various fields and locations. [via Cult of Mac]
15 Minutes of Fame: Deployed soldier games from Iraq
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft personalities of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, from the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. Ahh, the life of an Iraqi farmer. According to WoW player FallenWolf, currently deployed in Iraq with the U.S. Army (FSC, 7th Engineer Battalion), farming is about all most U.S. military WoW players there can reliably expect to accomplish. Desert sand and insta-cast DoTs have not proven to be particularly compatible for this former (and soon-to-be returning) raiding warlock. We visited with FallenWolf about how he's managed to adapt to being halfway across the world from his guild and his wife (a frequent WoW partner), plus how he copes with an awkward schedule and ugly latency.
Verizon talks commercial LTE deployment details: data devices first, smartphones in '1H 2011'
We just spent a tick talking with Verizon Wireless' Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer Tony Melone (shown speaking) after the company's LTE roundtable here at CTIA, and while we've heard a lot through the grapevine recently, we wanted to set a few things straight for ourselves. For starters, VZW affirmed that data-centric devices would be splashing down on its commercial LTE network first, possibly as early as the end of this year. When we asked specifically what kinds of devices he meant, he stated that "aircards, USB data sticks and MiFi-type devices" would be first out of the chunnel, with smartphones being "about a quarter behind." Naturally, we asked why there would be a delay, and he stated that getting a smartphone onto a new network is more difficult than a simple data-only product; there are obvious voice-related issues to work through that aren't present when you're only sucking down torrents, and it'll take some time before full-on phones join the fray. He assured us the earlier data-only device launches wouldn't be "a public trial," and he noted that a conservative estimate as to when we'd see LTE phones on Verizon would be "the first half of 2011." Though, he did confess that folks would likely be pushing for earlier ship dates, and we may see a few phones drop closer to January than July if all the stars align.
AT&T selects LTE equipment suppliers, 'commercial deployment' planned for 2011
Aw, snap. We knew good and well that the iPhone's exclusive home in America (cue groans) was planning to hopscotch right around HSPA+ and move straight to LTE, but it's always good to see a little confirmation from the carrier, you know? AT&T has today confessed to selecting its two LTE suppliers (Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson), and better still, that it will begin its LTE rollout in 2011. As expected, field trials are slated to get going later this year, and for those of you concerned about the outfit's (admittedly lacking) 3G network, we're hearing positive things on that front as well. Purportedly, 3G equipment delivered to AT&T by the suppliers starting this year will be "easily convertible to LTE," and Ma Bell has assured us that it "plans to make the nation's fastest 3G network even faster in advance of LTE networks and devices scaling." Shame that whole "plans" thing can change without notice, but we won't jump to any conclusions just yet.
AT&T slinging HSPA 7.2 to six cities this year, adding backhaul capacity too
If there's one thing AT&T's network could use, it's more network. Particularly in major cities (we're looking at you and your dastardly street parking situation, San Francisco), AT&T's 3G network is perpetually overwhelmed, oftentimes forcing users to switch to EDGE just to tweet about how awful the coverage is. Thankfully, the operator is making good on its earlier promise to roll out HSPA 7.2Mbps to select cities, with Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami now destined to get lit this year. Potentially more interesting, however, is the deployment of "additional backhaul capacity to cell sites," which will also support LTE when the time comes. All told, around 2,000 new cell sites should be added before the year's end, and at least a half dozen 7.2Mbps-capable smartphones should be in AT&T's portfolio by the same deadline. Feel free to express your joy in comments below -- that is, if you can get comments to load on your existing 3G connection.
Ericsson and TeliaSonera reveals world's first commercial LTE site in Stockholm
Mmm, the sweet smell of mobile data burning up the pipes in the morning. Gets us every time. Evidently, the same aroma does something to the brains of Ericsson and TeliaSonera, who have taken their January agreement to the next level by introducing the planet's first commercial Long-Term Evolution (LTE) site in Stockholm, Sweden. Mind you, we've seen lots of trial runs over the past year and change, but this one's no test. Rather, this site will become part of a commercial network scheduled to go live in 2010, bringing wicked fast mobile transfers to Stockholmers everywhere. Now, let's hope these American carriers get jealous, and fast.
Farewell to a friend: NetRestore goes EOL
Go on, I dare you -- name an individual who has done more to improve the lot of Mac OS X system administrators than Mr. Mike Bombich. Over the course of the past six years, while working both at educational institutions and as an Apple SE, Mike has given of his time and energy in an effort to deliver some deeply useful tools: Carbon Copy Cloner, BootPicker, NetRestore and more. CCC was one of the first effective & free drive cloning tools for Mac OS X; NetRestore set the standard for deployment frameworks and led the way in Boot Camp compatibility for restoring Windows partitions on the Mac.CCC continues on, but we have to say goodbye to the other half of the dynamic duo: Mike announced that he has end-of-life'd the NetRestore utility, citing a lack of time for the necessary work to bring it forward to current standards and future functionality. It's true that the basic capabilities of NetRestore have been replicated elsewhere (particularly Winclone for Boot Camp partitions, and Apple's NetBoot services in Leopard Server for machine imaging over the LAN), but many have built very capable and complex deployment strategies on top of NetRestore's PHP and database support. It's a shame to see it go.If you're shedding a tear at the departure of NetRestore, you might take Mike's advice and give DeployStudio a look -- many of the deployment approaches he had planned for "NetRestore 4" can be found in that free and actively-developed system. DeployStudio will allow you to image machines from a local boot drive or from a NetBoot repository; you can even create an image server for your Windows machines and wipe them remotely. Another option, and one that permits very rapid customization of your image config, is the InstaDMG project.For the latest help and tips on deployment strategies, be sure to visit afp548.com and macenterprise.org.Thanks to Josh Z for the tip.
The admin's freeware friend: DeployStudio
For individual Mac users or small businesses, it's usually not a problem deploying new Macs with a standard image -- as a Mac support specialist, you might just load each machine manually. But imagine if you need to deploy hundreds or thousands of Macs, PCs, or XServes. You'd need a small army of techs or a way to do the job automatically.That's where DeployStudio comes in handy. This freeware tool can be used to create deployment files using Netboot, external USB or FireWire drives, or any AFP, SMB, or NFS sharepoint on the network. DeployStudio works with Mac OS X 10.4.11 to 10.5.3 at this point, and is updated regularly to include new OS versions. The package consists of DeployStudio Server, DeployStudio Assistant, DeployStudio Admin, and diffPackageMaker.DeployStudio Server creates a network based deployment server containing the images. Assistant is used to configure the server and to create the NetInstall sets, while Admin is used to monitor deployments, manage disk images and scripts, enter configurations, and more. diffPackageMaker can look at the difference between two file system snapshots and create installation packages based on what has been changed or added.Detailed documentation PDFs and screencasts are available on the DeployStudio site.
Officers' Quarters: A military solution
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.Starting up a new raiding guild is never easy. There's a lot to think about and plenty of competition for those raid-quality players. It's not easy even under ordinary circumstances. Now try doing it while you're on deployment in the U.S. military! That's what this week's reader is facing.Dear Scott,I've been playing since about a year prior to the release of BC and been through many guilds which time and time again failed to meet my expectations of what a raiding guild should be, mostly centered around the lack of motivation. I'm in the military and 6 months ago was put on deployment so I've been "WoWless" for the last 6 months or so. While out here I made friends with some fellow players and after a few conversations I asked if anyone was interested in starting a guild. They liked the idea but no one wanted to spearhead it, well this sounded like opportunity knocking.
EVE dev blog charts much improved customer support experiences
Long petition queues, particularly related to expansions, has long been a problem in EVE Online. These long waits may very well be a thing of the past, according to GM Nova, Senior Game Master for EVE Online. GM Nova's latest dev blog, "Such stuff as dreams are made on," deals with the deployment of the Empyrean Age 1.1 patch in early September, as seen from a Customer Support perspective. "We at Customer Support, being at the front lines so to speak, are in a unique position to judge or evaluate whether a patch was successfully deployed and if ther is any fallout or unexpected problems involved, as the potential torrent of problems are directed at us to pass on," he said.GM Nova points out how that 'torrent of problems' has slowed down to a trickle, using graph data of the Trinity expansion deployment (predictably an insane amount of petitions), the subsequent Empyrean Age 1.0 patch (so smooth they thought their petition system had crashed), and finally Empyrean Age 1.1. The trend evidenced by the graphs is that their patch deployments are becoming less fraught with complications, meaning happier players in the long run. GM Nova goes on to discuss some of the structural changes made to CCP's Customer Support department that improve petition response time, saying,"We are happy to announce that our average petition age is currently two days with most normal requests handled in hours. We hope our efforts shine through in the level of support we are able to offer." Would you agree with GM Nova's assessment, and have your own petitions of late in EVE Online been resolved in a reasonable amount of time?
Tabula Rasa's Deployment 12 hits public test server
Some potential changes to Tabula Rasa have arrived on the Public Test Server in the form of "Deployment 12," which we recently hinted was on the way. NCsoft has posted the patch notes for Deployment 12 which include changes and improvements to much of the game. One of the more significant updates mentioned is the Omega Labs instance, which is only available to level 50+ players, but numerous other changes to maps and missions are detailed at the Tabula Rasa site. Improved game mechanics, fixed interactions, and enhancements to how shadows and hues are displayed are all outlined in the patch notes as well. The changes on the Public Test Server are extensive, so be sure to see the full breakdown for a look at how Tabula Rasa is gearing up for the next Deployment.
"First" US WiMAX deployment goes live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Bet you didn't see this one coming. With everyone's eyes fixed firmly on Sprint's supposedly forthcoming US WiMAX deployment in Baltimore, Chicago and Washington, DC, DigitalBridge Communications has snuck in to steal a little of the spotlight. As we speak, America's "first" (um, really?) mobile WiMAX deployment has gone live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming courtesy of Alvarion's BreezeMAX gear. The firms are hoping that high-brow tourists that come to tackle the black diamonds of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will also bring their WiMAX-enabled device and / or WiMAX card to send enviable photos back home, but only time will tell if folks find value in the offering. DBC is expected to expand the network's reach in the area (which currently hits 3,000 homes and businesses), and then "add mobile capabilities throughout its 200,000-household footprint."[Image courtesy of TerryDreams]
A preview of Tabula Rasa's Deployment 9
This week's Tabula Rasa Friday Feature is all about Deployment 9, coming soon to the live servers. The primary systems change slated for this next update is called "Squad Merge". Essentially, it will allow players in two separate groups to band together into one group through a simple command. The TR dev team is also working on a content tag: "PTS Only"; this will be applied to certain content that they want explored purely on the Public Test Server. Some of this content may eventually migrate to the live servers, but some might not. They're looking for more testers, and are providing a number of new tools to PTS players who want to try out in-development content. Sign up if you're interested. The first content that tag will be applied to is the new Velon Hollow instance. It's (obviously) going to eventually make it to live. In the meantime, though, the PTS will be the only place you can take on this new 30-32 map just off of the Plateau. Formerly known as Howling Death Burrow, it can be accessed via the "Book of the Velonar" questline in New Velon Village.
