WashingtonState
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LiDAR strips landscapes down to their bare glory
LiDAR is having a moment right now helping self-driving cars and robots not hit things, but don't forget about what else it can do. In a study called The Bare Earth, scientists from the Washington Geological Survey used it to image the ground right down to dirt and rocks. Stripped of trees and other distractions, the images provide not only valuable geological survey data, but stunning, otherworldly views of our planet.
Researchers take small step towards proving carbon capture
Researchers believe that they have made a major step towards proving carbon capture and storage is viable. A team in Washington State injected liquified CO2 into a basalt formation -- rock that forms after a lava flow has cooled. Two years later, and it's claimed that the carbon dioxide has solidified into Ankerite, an inert material that should, theoretically, lock the carbon away forever. According to Scientific American, it was originally believed that it would take hundreds of years for the process to occur. The fact that it took just 24 months gives hope to the notion that the technology is workable.
Washington state sues Comcast over its 'deceptive' service plan
Comcast doesn't have a stellar reputation for delivering what you pay for, and Washington state is taking the cable giant to task for that shoddy service... if not quite in the way you expect. It just filed a lawsuit against Comcast demanding more than $100 million over the allegedly "deceptive" nature of the provider's Service Protection Plan. The $5 monthly package ostensibly saves you from technician fees when you ask for a non-essential house call, but the company conveniently didn't tell most customers that the plan doesn't cover cable wiring inside your walls -- you know, the most common wiring there is. Customers reportedly lost "at least" $73 million in wasted subscription fees as a result.
The 'catch' in T-Mobile's iPhone plan
Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson isn't happy with T-Mobile's recently instituted plans to replace the traditional two-year contract for an iPhone with an installment plan. Ferguson's main beef with the magenta network? That although T-Mo tells customers on the new plan that they can cancel their service at any time, the company has not made it clear that customers have to pay the remaining cost of the phone if they cancel service. TUAW has discussed the no-contract Simple Choice plans previously. A T-Mobile iPhone 5 can be purchased for a US$99.99 down payment plus $20 monthly payments for 24 months, or a customer can choose to purchase the phone outright for $579.99 (for a 16 GB iPhone 5). Only if a customer has paid for the phone up front can they just walk away from T-Mobile's plan without any form of cancellation fee. Notification of the need to pay the "device loan balance" upon cancellation has been on the T-Mobile website since the first day of sales. Ferguson felt that the company wasn't making that stipulation clear enough in their advertising, and as you might be able to see in the image above, it was rather well-hidden in the fine print at the lower center of the store description. Ferguson's complaint has had a positive impact on Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile USA. The company has agreed to warn customers across the USA about the lump-sum phone purchase payments since they can end up being higher than the early termination fees charged by other carriers for cancellation. In addition, T-Mobile USA has agreed to issue full refunds upon request to any customer in the country who bought a phone from the carrier between March 26 and yesterday.
Engadget's next reader meetup happens in Seattle on October 29th!
Get ready, Seattle, we're coming for you! You asked for it and you've got it -- we'll be in the Emerald City in October, hosting a meetup as part of the annual Seattle Interactive Conference (SIC), the self-described "intersection of technology, creativity and emerging trends." Whether or not you're a show attendee, you can join us on October 29th, for an evening of Engadget-led events, including conversations with tech luminaries, product demos, giveaways and lots, lots more. We'll be revealing more information about the festivities in the very near future. In the meantime, if you're interested in sponsoring the event, drop us a line at sponsors [at] engadget [dot] com, and for more information on SIC, check out the source link below.
Washington to become first US state to enroll voters through Facebook
Washington state has commissioned a Facebook app to provide another avenue for its residents to register to vote. Officials will soon post the software, developed by local company Microsoft, on the Secretary of State's page and allow users to like it in order to spread the word. Once it's ready, residents looking at using it will need to allow Facebook access to their personal info and provide a driver's license number or state ID number, which the social network will use to put them on the voter rolls -- but it would have no access to government databases, according to an election director. The state's current online system already saves up to $2 per voter registration, so on top of getting more out to vote, the new effort should keep even more dollars in the coffers.
RealNetworks to refund $2 million, 'guilt' box stays un-ticked
Paid for subscriptions from RealNetworks you didn't ask for a few years ago? You may be eligible for a refund. Washington State's Attorney General sued the company over a free trial of its Rhapsody music service, which had a pre-ticked box for additional content that went unnoticed by many who signed up. When clients stopped the trial without also canceling the extra options, charges often accumulated in the hundreds of dollars before being seen. While admitting no wrongdoing, RealNetworks agreed to discontinue the boxes, comply with federal laws and give refunds to any customers who signed up that way between January 2007 and December 2009. If that might be you, expect a postcard from RealNetworks or check their website to apply for a refund. Hopefully you'll be less, um, ticked.
No Comment: Washington State borrows Bodega's icon, with a tweak
Eagle-eyed reader Jeff spotted this icon in use over on the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries website, and it looked a little familiar to him, as a user of a certain unofficial Mac App Store app that has been around even before Apple's software distribution solution. Minus the actual name, it does look kind of familiar, no? Jeff emailed the Bodega app folks, who told him that nope, "They absolutely do not have the rights to that icon," and that he was "free to start publicly shaming them." Hey, you didn't hear it from us! Come to think of it, though, that Calculator at the bottom of the page also looks a little familiar. Maybe someone over in WA is just a Mac app fan?
Washington State to put quick chargers on scenic byway, allow tourists to top-up their EVs
A few weeks back we learned that the US would be getting 310 quick-charging CHAdeMO stations, 480V AC/DC converters that can get a Nissan Leaf to 80 percent charge in under 30 minutes. Most are destined for major metropolitan areas, but we were intrigued to find out that Washington State is going to put two or three of them out in the country, on a 120 mile scenic portion of Route 2 that runs over the Cascade Mountains. It's a popular tourist destination and, with EVs becoming more popular in the area, soon even tourists with cutting-edge transportation to enjoy the ride. After all, everybody likes a good view.
Poor customer service earns DirecTV a lawsuit in Washington State
It isn't hard to find someone that has at one time or another felt deceived by a big corporation -- which is why the bank commercial with the pony is so funny -- but usually consumers don't elevate the issue to the court system. Evidently there have been so many reports of deception by DirecTV that the Attorney General in Washington State has filed a suit against the nations largest DBS provider because it has "built deception into their business model." We have to say that this doesn't come as much of a shock to us as we've taken more than a few punches at DirecTV's PR department for making claims that were so outlandish that we could see where one might argue they were down right lies. In this particular case, most of the issues are around billing and commitments and while we agree that some of them seem underhanded, we're sad to say it is pretty much par for the corporate America course. So in other words don't sign anything without reading the small print first.
