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New lawsuit shows your phone is unsafe at American borders
A recent case filed in federal court, in which an American woman had her iPhone seized and cracked by Customs and Border Protection in a New Jersey airport puts a whole new spin on the things we now need to worry about when leaving the country. It appears that now everyone's phones, despite country of origin or cause, are subject to nonconsensual seizure and search -- even if we refuse to give up our passwords. If you're not caught up on the story, news hit this week that a Staten Island mom coming home from a February trip with her 9-year-old daughter from Switzerland had her iPhone snatched, kept for months and accessed for no given reason. Apple did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
New Jersey governor orders ISPs to uphold net neutrality
New Jersey has joined Montana and New York in the growing list of states fighting back against the FCC's decision to repeal net neutrality. Governor Phil Murphy has signed an executive order prohibiting ISPs from blocking, throttling or taking payment to prioritize one web content over others if they sell internet service to state agencies. The order (PDF), which is pretty much identical to the ones signed by Montana Governor Steve Bullock and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, doesn't cover ISPs that don't count state agencies among their customers.
Drunk droning in New Jersey could land you in prison
The law is pretty firm when it comes to drunk driving -- and the consequences are obvious. Now, officials are turning their attention to drunk droning. New Jersey has just approved a bill that, if signed by Governor Chris Christie, would make it illegal to fly one under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
New Jersey town will close streets to fight navigation app traffic
It's no secret that some communities hate traffic-savvy navigation apps like Waze with a bitter passion. A congested highway can send legions of commuters down streets that clearly weren't meant for more than a handful of cars at any given time. And one town has apparently had enough. The New York Times has learned that Leonia, New Jersey will close 60 streets to everyone but residents and workers at peak driving periods (6AM to 10AM and 4PM to 9PM) from January 22nd onward. If you're using a nav app, the town may effectively cease to exist at rush hour.
Vizio tracked and sold your TV viewing habits without consent (updated)
A settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the New Jersey Attorney General will cost Vizio $2.2 million. That sum will settle the charges with both the state and federal agencies after a complaint that Vizio installed software on 11 million smart TVs to track viewing histories without consumers' knowledge. As part of the settlement, a federal court could order the company to disclose its data collection and sharing practices and get express consent from customers before doing so.
New Jersey town's parking solution is free Uber rides
The city of Summit, New Jersey has a bit of an infrastructure issue. The NJ Transit Summit Station doesn't have enough parking for all the people who commute through it. But fear not, the city has a solution: Uber! The city announced on Monday that it is launching a pilot partnership with the ride-hailing company to provide residents with free rides to the station.
New Jersey bill would jail you for texting while walking
There's no question that using your phone while walking can be a problem -- cities have tried everything from dedicated sidewalk lanes to padded lamp posts to prevent collisions with distracted pedestrians. They've even (unsuccessfully) tried to pass laws. However, that isn't stopping New Jersey assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt. She recently introduced a bill that would ban any hands-on use of electronic communication devices while walking on the state's public pathways. Get caught and you'd face the same penalties as jaywalking, which could include up to a $50 fine and 15 days in jail. Lampitt argues that you pose "just as much danger" as a jaywalker, since you may unwittingly smack into a car while you catch up with friends.
The largest planetarium in the West is coming to New Jersey
If you want to see one of the biggest, boldest recreations of the night sky, you might only have to book a trip to New Jersey in the near future. Jersey City's Liberty Science Center says it's building the largest planetarium in the Western hemisphere, the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, thanks to a $5 million donation from its namesake. The move will upgrade the Center's massive IMAX dome theater (88 feet across) so that it can double as a planetarium, adding digital projection in the process. If all goes according to plan, it should be ready sometime in December 2017.
One South Jersey town calls a free Uber if you're too drunk to drive
A southern New Jersey town of 45,000 is testing out a new kind of ride-hailing program, this one targeted at people who've had a bit too much to drink. Uber has partnered with New Jersey's Evesham Township to provide free rides to people who are too inebriated to drive themselves home, Reuters reports. The service is available to patrons in at least 19 bars and restaurants in the area. Another free-ride service, BeMyDD, also went live in Evesham on Friday, and both programs are funded via donations from local nonprofits and businesses.
Tesla can now sell its cars directly to consumers in New Jersey (updated)
Tesla's relationship with New Jersey is a little complicated. After first banning direct-to-consumer sales just over a year ago, then moving to lift the ban, the Garden State is finally following through. CNBC reports that governor Chris Christie has signed a bill into law allowing dealership-free sales of the electric vehicles. This gives Elon Musk and Co. the ability to establish "up to four" locations where Tesla could sell its cars in the state, according to Business Insider. Tesla wouldn't be the only company that can sell vehicles in this fashion, either -- the law applies to any auto manufacturer that doesn't have franchise agreements. We've reached out to Tesla for further detail and will update this post if we hear back. Update: Tesla's response is below.
Tesla opens 100th Supercharger... in a state where sales are banned
You can't buy a Tesla in New Jersey, but now you can Supercharge one up! Tesla's 100th Supercharger just came online in Hamilton, located just a few miles from the NJ state capital of Trenton. The Garden State's very first Supercharger sports six stalls, and, since it's positioned just a few miles from the New Jersey Turnpike, can accommodate Tesla owners traveling down the East Coast, from Connecticut to Florida. Of course, while you can fuel up your Tesla in Jersey, you can't make a purchase -- direct-to-consumer sales are still banned, following a shady (Jersey-esque) backroom deal between politicians and lobbyists just last month.
Your internet is probably slower than advertised
When it comes to internet speeds, "you get what you pay for" is pretty far from the truth a majority of the time. The Wall Street Journal used Ookla's speed-testing data to survey some 800 US cities and 27 ISPs in terms of advertised transfer rates and what customers are actually getting, and the results are pretty surprising. A vast majority of providers give their customers the short shrift on speed (Verizon Internet Services and AT&T Uverse are among the most prominent offenders), while a handful of ISPs including Charter, Earthlink and Midcontinent Communications actually exceed promised speeds by eight percent or more. A probable reason for the latter is because those listed are smaller providers, with likely lighter user-loads than, say, Comcast or CenturyLink.
New Jersey is the latest state to ban Tesla's direct-to-customer car sales
Tesla's direct-to-customer sales model just hit another big roadblock. New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission has voted in favor of a rule banning direct car sales, effectively kicking Tesla out of the state as of this April. For those keeping score, this is the EV maker's third such defeat, following similar moves by Arizona and Texas -- while Tesla won a legislative battle to go dealer-free in North Carolina, it appears to be losing the war. Not surprisingly, the company is furious. It accuses Governor Chris Christie of not just reneging on a promise to delay the rule for the sake of debate, but of speeding things up to please dealerships that fear real competition. Whether that's an accurate representation or just corporate bluster, the ban will undoubtedly hurt Garden State residents who want a wider selection of eco-friendly rides.
New Jersey now requires search warrants for cellphone location data
For all the worries about sweeping US surveillance programs, Americans are claiming at least a few victories in the fight for privacy. Just look to New Jersey's Supreme Court for an example -- it has ruled that police need search warrants to obtain tracking information from cellular carriers. Citing a ruling that requires warrants for GPS tracking devices, the court has decided that attempts to obtain cellphone location data represent searches and fall under constitutional oversight. Cellphone users can expect a reasonable level of privacy when they sign up for service, according to the Supreme Court. While there's no law on the books to restrict tracking, like there is in Montana, the ruling sets a precedent for police monitoring that could extend beyond New Jersey's borders. [Image credit: Jeff Schuler, Flickr]
AT&T and T-Mobile temporarily share networks in New York City and New Jersey, shoulder the post-hurricane load
Communication has been all too spotty across much of New York City and New Jersey since Hurricane Sandy struck the region, and those who can get through on their cellphones have found themselves on particularly crowded networks. AT&T and T-Mobile are providing some much-needed, if temporary, relief: the two have struck a deal to share their GSM and 3G networks in the area with no roaming fees or plan changes while the networks come back, with the best-functioning network taking precedence in any given connection. A return to the normal state of affairs hasn't been fixed in stone and will likely depend on many, many factors, but it's a much appreciated gesture for residents who might not have a choice to relocate for a vital phone call.
Security researchers identify transit system exploit in San Fran and New Jersey, create app to prove it
Mobile security company Intrepidus Group presented evidence during the EUSecWest security conference potentially identifying a major flaw in at least two US transit systems. Creating an Android app named "UltraReset" and using it in tandem with an NFC-enabled Android phone (a Nexus S, in this case), security researchers Corey Benninger and Max Sobell were able to reset and reuse -- free of charge -- transit access cards in both San Francisco's MUNI system and New Jersey's PATH system. Before you go getting any bad ideas, know that Benninger and Sobell haven't released the app for public use, and warned both transit systems in late 2011 (though neither region has fixed the exploit, the duo claim). PATH and MUNI share a common chip access card -- the Mifare Ultralight -- which can apparently be reset for 10 extra rides (as demonstrated on video below) via Android phones with NFC, an OS newer than 2.3.3 (Gingerbread). Starting to sound familiar? Intrepidus is, however, releasing a modified version of the app, named "UltraCardTester." The modified app functions just like its nefarious progenitor, except it can't add time to cards (see it in action below). The app can tell you how many rides you have left, and if a system is open to exploit, but it won't assist you in the act of exploiting. We reached out to both New Jersey's PATH and San Francisco MUNI on the issue, but have yet to hear back as of publishing.
US Army's LEMV spy blimp spotted hovering over New Jersey, may take up cargo duties (video)
The US Army's not-so-secret Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) spy blimp is better at staying hidden than we thought... if unintentionally. Although it was due to fly the friendly skies of Lakehurst, New Jersey in mid-June, Northrop Grumman's usually unmanned surveillance was only just caught floating over the Jersey Shore as part of a maiden flight on August 8th. The conspicuous, delayed test run proved that the LEMV could take off, steer and land smoothly, and started a series of exercises that should culminate in combat trials over Afghanistan at the start of 2013. Northrop's KC Brown Jr. tells Wired that there's a possible (if purely coincidental) consolation for missing another deadline -- the airship could be used in a pinch for carrying as much as seven tons of supplies without getting into harm's way, albeit at a fairly glacial 30MPH. The successful first flight won't be much consolation to Mav6, whose Blue Devil 2 was scuttled at the last minute after technical issues; it's nonetheless a relief for US troops, who may get weeks at a time of constant intelligence on enemy movements. Catch a short snippet of the early LEMV journey after the break.
Go to school, get a Lumia 900: all incoming Seton Hall University freshmen to receive a Windows Phone
Granted, this'll be just one more way for upperclassmen to quickly identify the newbies, but all incoming freshmen to New Jersey's Seton Hall University will be given a Nokia Lumia 900 upon orientation, as a means to integrate technology with the school's curriculum -- quite similar to previous efforts that we've seen for the iPad and iPhone. Not to stop there, university officials hope to make the smartphone a key component of student life with the SHUmobile app and its Freshman Experience hub. Here, freshmen may interact with each other via social media and direct messaging, find peer academic advisors, learn about their future housing situation and get to know their roommates. As for mobile service, it's said that students will receive pre-paid access to AT&T through the fall semester. After that, it seems that freshman will need to pick up the bill or leverage WiFi networks to remain connected. To learn more of how SHU is thinking very differently, just hop the break for the PR.
Visualized: Enterprise cruises around Jersey on its air, land and sea triathlon
On our last episode of "Spot the Enterprise," the grizzled shuttle prototype was being unloaded from a wheeled transporter after a private 747 flight. Now it's arrived on a barge at New Jersey, and onlookers on cruise ships, beaches and Coney Island were treated to a glimpse of the wayfaring craft. After a quick layover, it'll begin the final stage of its comeback tour by sailing up the Hudson River where it'll thrill crowds forever more at Manhattan's Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Big show-off.
Amazon to start collecting sales tax in New Jersey beginning July of next year
Taxes. Taxes. Taxes. That's what you folks living within the Garden State will have to pay on Amazon purchases starting July 2013. The recent news -- which is likely to cause some of you to throw a minor temper tantrum -- comes shortly after Jeff Bezos & Co. settled with the Texas government to also begin collecting sales tax in that state. Similar to the Lone Star deal, though, Amazon's agreed to create about 1,500 full-time jobs by building a couple of distribution centers in New Jersey -- and let's face it, job creation is always good news. Sorry, but looks like the Jersey Shore crew will have to spend a couple extra bucks the next time they place an order for that weekly stock of tanning lotion.
