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Homeland Security doesn’t want Americans' airport face scans after all
Earlier this week, reports circulated that Homeland Security wanted to scan the faces of travelers, including US citizens, as they enter or leave the country. Naturally, critics raised concerns that the practice would violate citizens' privacy and that the "intrusive surveillance technology" could lead to abuses of power. Now, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says that it will allow US citizens to voluntarily participate in the program. In other words, US citizens can opt out.
Priceline says mobile flight bookers like taking it easy
Priceline.com is one of the most well-known flight- and hotel-booking sites out there, and the company recently shared some information with TUAW about how its mobile device-based users tend to set up travel. The company identified three trends for the people booking flights from mobile devices like iPhones and iPads, presumably through the company's iOS app. First, those who booked air travel on mobile devices tended to be younger than the average purchaser of a flight ticket on a desktop. The average age for a mobile booker was around 32, about six years younger than desktop users. That still seems old to me, but it makes sense that the people booking flights tend to be older, as they're most likely to have the money for traveling this way. Mobile air bookers also tend to book things closer in advance, says Priceline, and about half of those booking flights by mobile device only booked one-way tickets, which the company says means those users like to make plans on the move rather than far ahead of time. Finally, mobile bookers had one big advantage: They tended to pay less for their tickets, with an average price of $283 as compared to desktop users' $315. I'm not sure that means mobile bookers have a nose for deals necessarily; maybe it just means that people tend to book pricier flights on the desktop in general. No matter what the reason, it's definitely interesting that there are such clear differences between Priceline's mobile users and those on the desktop.
The Tattered Notebook: How Legends of Norrath influenced EverQuest II
Earlier this week, we reported on a change in the Legends of Norrath. Gold members have received free LoN packs each month, and they would stack up so that even if you didn't log in during a certain month, you'd still receive the pack. Going forward, you have to log in each month or you won't get the pack for that month. It might seem like a small change, but there are a surprising number of players who participate not necessarily for the game cards but for a chance at one of the rarer loot cards. Over the years, Legends of Norrath has actually had several loot cards that created some controversy, and one could argue that LoN helped ease EverQuest II's transition to the Marketplace and even to free-to-play. Let's look at some of the more notable loot cards in this week's Tattered Notebook.
Sony Xperia tipo and tipo dual reach the US in unlocked form, give Americans a taste of dual SIMs
Few of us who live outside of Asia or Eastern Europe know the potential convenience of a dual SIM phone. Own one and you can globetrot, or else keep separate home and work lines without the bulk of an extra device in the pocket. Sony is gambling that enough Americans have that multi-line desire by selling the Xperia tipo dual and its regular, single-SIM counterpart in the US as unlocked GSM models. Neither of the Android 4.0 phones is what we'd call a powerhouse with the same 3.5-inch screen, 3.2-megapixel camera and 800MHz Snapdragon inside, but both can latch on to HSPA 3G on AT&T, refarmed T-Mobile coverage and 2100MHz carriers abroad, even if the single-SIM tipo curiously has 900MHz 3G support that the tipo dual lacks. It's undoubtedly price that Sony is counting on more than anything: at respective contract-free prices of $180 and $190 for the tipo and tipo dual, the pair of Xperias may be sold most often as travel-only phones for the jet set.
AT&T launches new global messaging plans, lets you comfortably roam
The largest GSM carrier in the country is popular amongst travelers because you can use nearly all of its phones anywhere in the world. Messaging whilst abroad, however, has always been an expensive headache since the best option on AT&T was a bundle of 50 SMS / MMS messages for $10. That's a quaint number, to say the least, considering many of us can burn through that many messages in an hour. Beginning today, two more options are available for the more text-savvy roamers: you can get a package of 200 for $30, or 500 for $50. This number only reflects the number of messages you send, which means those received are counted against your US bucket of texts (if you're on a pay-per-use messaging plan, they'll cost 20 cents). Given the company's recent history of streamlining, we applaud the additional choices global jetsetters now have. Enjoy the presser after the break.
Skype Wi-Fi iOS app lets you access the Internet on a per-minute basis
Skype has just released Skype Wi-Fi, a free iOS app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch that allows users to access more than one million paid Wi-Fi hotspots around the world, and pay for them via Skype Access. Here's how it works: Let's say you're in Budapest, Hungary and you've got your AT&T iPhone 4 with you. You've got data roaming turned off because you don't want to get a huge bill, but you're at an airport that offers a Wi-Fi hotspot. However, the Wi-Fi hotspot costs money. Maybe you don't want to enter your credit card info in on the spot for security reasons, or maybe the instructions for how to pay are in a language you don't speak, or maybe the hotspot forces you to buy a day's access for $30. You can bypass all of that with Skype Access. Simply launch Skype Wi-Fi and you'll see a list of paid Wi-Fi hotspots around you, along with their per minute price. Select the one you want to use and tap "Go Online." You've then got Wi-Fi Internet; it's that simple. Once connected, close the Skype Wi-Fi app and you'll be able to access the Internet however you want: through Safari, Mail, or various third-party apps. Best of all, you are charged only per minute the length of time connected, it doesn't matter how much data you use. Also, don't worry if you forget to disconnect. You're automatically logged off every 30 minutes unless you choose to stay connected and you can go offline at any time (even after only a minute). Skype Wi-Fi seems like it might be a great way for international travelers to save a ton of money while accessing the Internet abroad. If you just need to log on to check your email for two minutes, it would only cost you about US$0.12 to do so, versus paying the standard $5-12 fee for connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot for a fixed amount of time at an airport, for example. Skype Wi-Fi is not a universal app (meaning it isn't designed for the iPad) but it does run on the iPad in addition to the iPhone and iPod touch and is available today as a free download. We'll have to test it out going forward and see if it's as terrific a solution as it seems.
International travelers are best off with the AT&T iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G
With the iPad 2, many people are sure to be excited that Apple is offering both AT&T and Verizon versions of the iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G. After all, many out there bemoan the less than desirable 3G service offered by AT&T, so it's nice that those people can buy an iPad 2 which allows them to opt for Verizon's 3G service. However, if you are a frequent international traveler like me, you'll want to make sure you buy the AT&T version of the iPad 2. While you can buy any iPad 2 and use it on Wi-Fi networks when you land in a specific country, you won't be able to buy a data plan in most countries if you have the Verizon iPad 2. The reason for this is simple: the AT&T iPad 2 features a GSM chipset, which is the near-universal global standard. The Verizon iPad 2 3G uses a CDMA chipset, which, globally, is nowhere near as universal as GSM. Of course, I'm assuming that you travel to most places I do, like Europe, Russia, Asia, and South America. If you are going to be traveling to Canada or Mexico a lot, the Verizon iPad 2 will work just fine for you since both those countries have wide CDMA networks. However, for most other parts of the world you're better off going with the AT&T iPad 2. When I leave the US with my AT&T iPad 2 and land in the UK, I can whip out my iPad and buy a 30-day subscription using one of Apple's data partners in the UK. If I had a Verizon iPad 2, on the other hand, I'd be out of luck for 3G data service while in the UK. Just something to think about before you let your frustration at AT&T's service push you into the open arms of the Verizon iPad 2. Click these links for a full list of GSM and CDMA countries. UPDATE: We have confirmed that the iPad 2 will NOT be carrier-locked.
Wasteland Diaries: Faction interaction
The factions in Fallen Earth are a diverse bunch, each one bent on dominating the other five. They all have their reasons to want to impose their will upon the inhabitants of the Grand Canyon Province. They are all also very narrow-minded in their approach to rebuilding society. They are all very intolerant of the other factions and will impede and harass them at every opportunity. Some factions (those on the opposite side of the wheel) espouse downright hatred of their diametrically opposed faction and kill its members on sight. The factions also have sub-factions which usually straddle the beliefs of an allied faction. Each faction in Fallen Earth has one arch-enemy, two enemies, and two allies. The two allies are sometimes called the shoulder factions due to their position on the faction wheel. The allied factions, however, are enemies to one another. This can complicate relations in multi-factional task forces. It can sometimes lead to fighting one allied faction to appease the other. Sometimes the ally of yesterday becomes the enemy of tomorrow. Yes, it makes for some intriguing politics and some excellent canonical roleplaying situations. But when players are interjected into the politics, it can get downright confusing. After the cut, I'll describe the faction mechanics in more detail and the players' effect on the wheel as well.
