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New York speeds up access to its train ticket mobile app
New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority initially promised that smartphone-friendly train ticketing would roll out by the end of 2016, but (unlike some trains) it's ahead of schedule. Governor Cuomo has revealed that the MTA eTix app will be available to all Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad customers by the end of the summer. The rollout will happen in phases. You can already buy tickets for LIRR's Port Washington Branch and the Metro-North Hudson line. By August 22nd, there should be a "full system wide implementation" on both railways -- you usually won't have to worry about carrying physical tickets as long as you have an Android phone or iPhone.
If you text and drive, Long Island will revoke your phone privileges (updated)
A Long Island district country attorney wants drivers caught texting (or just using their phones, in general) behind the wheel to understand the gravity of what they've done. So, she's proposed a five-point plan that includes installing auto-shutdown software on offenders' phones and the use of hardware like breathalyzers that can disable gadgets when they start driving. In fact, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice already wrote to Google, Apple, Microsoft and even Blackberry, asking them to incorporate third-party apps that help prohibit distracted driving to their devices. The idea is for their phones to come with "kill switches" out of the box, as texting while driving has been a serious issue for the past years. Also, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a phone-addicted driver's just as dangerous as someone who's had four alcoholic drinks.
Jersey Shore getting Verizon LTE on May 17th...
...just in time for photos of Snooki's kid to be whisked around the world at 4G speeds. (P.S. - Northern Vermont, Long Island, Cape Cod, Delaware beach communities and the gorgeous Outer Banks of North Carolina are going live soon as well, sans drama.) [Photo credit: Craig Barritt, Getty Images]
Manhasset Long Island Apple store opens
It was freezing this morning as the Manhasset Long Island, NY Apple store opened for business. Employees wearing T-Shirts (they weren't allowed to wear coats), ran up and down the waiting line of hundreds of people both pumping up the crowd and trying to stay warm. The enthusiasm was contagious as orange shirted people shouted out that the store would be open in 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes, and then the doors opened to seemingly dozens of Apple workers handing out T-shirts and applauding loudly as each new group of 20 people or so were let in the huge glass doors. The first 1,000 people were handed black T-shirts that said 'Manhasset' on the front and 'Designed by Apple in California' on the back. The store is free standing and much larger than the one at the Walt Whitman Mall, my usual Apple store. The front and back of the store are glass walls and there is plenty of open space. Hopefully this store will take some of the burden off of the other Long Island stores which are usually crowded and have multi-day waits to get an appointment at the Genius Bar. If you're in the area, check it out at 1900 Northern Blvd, Manhasset, NY.
Apple Store opening this Saturday in Manhasset, NY
The population of Apple Stores in the state of New York will grow by one this Saturday, October 17th. Apple is opening the new Manhasset location on Long Island, about 15 miles east of LaGuardia International Airport. This will be Apple's 14th store in the Empire State, and will have all of the typical features found at the stores -- the Genius Bar, T-shirted employees, an iPhone Activation Zone, and tables full of your favorite Apple toys. Of course, you can always hang out at the store for the free Wi-Fi and genial atmosphere; we're all expecting our very own David Winograd to be a constant fixture at the store. We always love to see photos or video from Apple Store openings, so if you're there on Saturday at 10 AM ET and happen to get us some good shots, be sure to upload your work of art to tuaw.tumblr.com.
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: December 6, 2008
After a light week a week ago, Verizon has taken it pretty easy the past seven days too with just a handful of new FiOS TV expansions. Kicking things off are video franchise approvals in Danvers, Massachusetts and Lackawanna / Atlantic Beach, New York. Next, we're reassured that everyone's working as hard as possible to bring the fiber-based programming service to the City of Brotherly Love. Keep at it, folks -- we'll see you here next week. Same time (roughly), same place (definitely).Read - Massachusetts expansionRead - New York expansionRead - Philadelphia expansion
Doorbusting at Long Island Walmart leads to worker's death
Remember that completely insane crime wave that hit when Sony's hotly anticipated PlayStation 3 finally rushed onto the scene in very limited numbers? Yeah, well that side of humanity is rearing its ugly head again, as an employee perished when legions of crazed Black Friday shoppers blazed through the doors of a Long Island Walmart. The worker was an overnight store clerk who was simply trying to hold back the crowds before the doors officially opened at 5:00AM. According to Jimmy Overby, another employee at the store: "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me." Words to the wise: either do your Black Friday shopping from the safety of your own home, or be careful, cool, calm and collected when you venture out.
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: November 8, 2008
Not only did Verizon pick up nearly a quarter-million new FiOS TV subscribers in Q3, but it's looking to make sure even more Americans have an opportunity to join in during Q4. This week, the carrier has received approval to light up its fiber-based TV service in several more New York communities -- Port Washington North in Nassau County, the Town of Fishkill / City of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County, Schuylerville, Throgs Neck and Edgewater Park in the Bronx, and Sheepshead Bay and Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn. Additionally, it added in 53 new HD channels in Richmond / Hampton Roads, VA, 10 more in Harrisburg, PA and 16 in Rhode Island. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.Read - New York expansion IRead - New York expansion IIRead - Hampton Roads, VA additionsRead - Richmond, VA additionsRead - Harrisburg, PA additionsRead - Rhode Island additions
New York City officially gifted with Verizon's FiOS TV: 100 HD channels
Not quite four months after Time Warner Cable completely and entirely revamped the HD lineup in New York / New Jersey, another big player has entered the Big Apple. NYC residents, meet Verizon. After tons of planning, drawn-out meetings and a bazillion approvals, FiOS TV is now available to order in 108 neighborhoods in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. Better still, the carrier is offering 100 high-definition channels in the area, and if all goes to plan, that number will creep upward even more in the not-too-distant future. Jump on past the break for a (long) list of the communities that can order service today. So, the big question: are any of you NYers making the switch?Read - Official releaseRead - More details
Roslyn Estates, NY becomes next stop on FiOS TV tour
As Verizon prepares to phase out the final analog channels in its New York market later this month, it's not wasting any time stringing FiOS TV to more of the Empire State. Yep, folks camped out in Roslyn Estates on Long Island are one step closer to having access to the fiber-based TV service. Earlier this week, the Roslyn Estates Board of Trustees granted a video franchise to the company -- which claims to be one of the few carriers out there that doesn't compress its HD feeds after receiving them from networks -- and pending a review by the New York State Public Service Commission, service should be rolled out in the not-too-distant future.
Verizon gifts more of New York with FiOS TV access
We know, it's not like outsiders feel that New York really needs any more FiOS TV, but nevertheless, the Empire State is getting additional access courtesy of Verizon. Reportedly, the operator has just received authorization to offer FiOS TV service to residents of the Westchester County villages of Sleepy Hollow and Briarcliff Manor, the town of Ossining and a dozen villages on the North Shore of Long Island. More specifically, denizens in Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kensington, Lake Success, Munsey Park, North Hills, Plandome, Plandome Heights, Plandome Manor, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock and Thomaston can start getting their hopes up, as all that has to happen now is a review by the New York State Public Service Commission. Total number of NY communities now at least eligible for FiOS TV? 92.Read - FiOS TV coming to more of New YorkRead - FiOS TV coming to even more of New York
New Colorado Apple Store confirmed
It looks like an Apple Store may be headed to Flatiron Crossing in Broomfield, Colorado. According to Colorado publication The Daily Camera, a spokesperson for the mall at Flatiron Crossing stated [subscription required] that Apple has indeed signed a lease for a 3,231 square-foot retail space. The lease also includes an option for Apple to open a location at the still unopened Macerich’s Twenty Ninth Street mall. A quick look on Apple's job listing webpage did not yield any information, however.This news comes at the same time as rumors for a new Apple Store in the SmithHaven Mall on Long Island in Lake Grove, NY. Thanks TUAW reader [Lorgio].(Pictured is Colorado's Aspen Grove store).[Via ifoAppleStore]
