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Clubhouse is blocked in Oman, but the exact reason is unclear
A regulator said the app lacks a permit, though critics claim the move is an attack on free speech.
Oman lifts restrictions on secure video chats
In an effort to help businesses and schools function remotely, Oman is lifting restrictions on some video calling services. Its Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) tweeted that it will allow Skype for Business, Google Meet and Zoom, so that organizations can better communicate "during this exceptional period."
Encrypted chat app Signal sidesteps censorship in Cuba and Oman
Signal, the messaging app that prides itself on circumventing government censorship, has a few new places where its flagship feature works. Last week it was Egypt, and now users in Cuba and Oman can send messages without fear of them being intercepted and altered by lawmakers. As VentureBeat reports, the domain fronting feature is only available on Android now, but, like the Egypt update, it should arrive on iOS shortly thereafter. Given Cuba's penchant for censoring what its citizens see, and its launch of state-sponsored home internet service, the timing is perfect.
FaceTime goes missing in Saudi Arabia, much of Middle East
Update 9/24: It looks like the early indications may be correct. One of the UAE's carriers tweeted that FaceTime will not be available there. Update 8am Tues: Several commenters have raised points about this story, most of which fall into two categories: "I already have an iPhone in Country X and FaceTime works fine" & "I work for the cell carrier in Country Y and we're not blocking FaceTime." We appreciate the feedback, but neither of these data points is directly connected to the story. For users who already have iPhones in the affected countries, you didn't buy them there -- at least not officially -- and gray-market or unlocked phones from other regions would naturally have FaceTime. From the cell carrier perspective, 'not blocking FaceTime' is irrelevant, since FaceTime is Wi-Fi only and does not transmit over 3G. One point that may be relevant: restrictions on VoIP technology in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which could create a regulatory block for FaceTime. --- Looking forward to that new iPhone 4 in Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Yemen? If the preview pages on the various international editions of Apple.com are any guide, you may be missing a key new feature. A Facebook thread from SaudiMac points out that the website graphics for all those countries, plus several others in the Middle East, have lost their FaceTime graphic. You can see the before & after versions of the Saudi site above. This adjustment to the product sites -- just ahead of the anticipated late September launch of the phone in these countries -- may represent merely a cosmetic tweak, keeping the cultural sensitivities of these largely Islamic countries in mind. Or it might mean the feature itself is going to be blocked for iPhone users there; note that it's not just the image that's changed, the current versions of the iPhone pages omit the description of FaceTime as well. We don't know yet, and although we have an email in to Apple's media relations team for comment, chances are we won't hear anything official. If you've got a line to an Apple reseller or cellphone carrier in one of the FaceTime-redacted locales, please send us a quick heads-up. Thanks Khaled
Massively's hands-on with End of Nations' PvE and PvP
You know that scene in Contact in which Jodie Foster is looking out at the cosmos, telling the folks at mission control that they should have sent a poet? All the while I was playing End of Nations at Trion World's Gamer's Day event, I kept thinking, "Massively should have sent a StarCraft guru!" I initially felt very much out of my element. MMOs and RPGs are my shtick; I only rarely dive into turn-based strategy games. And RTS games? Forget it. They don't agree with me. If it doesn't have a pause button, I probably don't have time for it. I'm too easily distractible, too impatient, and too exhausted after a work-day of multi-tasking to spend my playtime multi-tasking even more. There's just no time for cooking meals, browsing lolcats, and chatting with the spouse when you're neck-deep in an RTS. RTS games are serious business; they require my undivided attention and concentration, and I don't like doing things halfway. And yet maybe that makes me just the right person to try out an MMORTS hybrid like Trion's EoN. Most people who give it a spin when it hits the market will probably have a lot in common with me -- they'll be loyalists to one side or the other, not to both. Maybe an RTS novice is just the sort of person who can test out the game, present it to MMO gamers, and explain just what the heck this game thinks it's doing playing around in our end of the pool. Or maybe I'll end up sobbing amidst the charred remains of my tank minions. You'll never know if you don't hit the break! %Gallery-99563%
