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Aereo coming to Chicago on September 13th
Between Chicago Hope, Chicago Fire and, erm, The Chicago Code, the Windy City's got a strong pedigree in television drama. That's why it makes perfect sense that streaming TV service Aereo is coming to the Chicagoland area of Illinois on September 13th. As with Aereo's other launches, users will be able to watch the local ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox (yup) affiliates on your computer, smartphone and tablet -- with DVR add-ons starting at $8 a month. At the same time, we've also heard a rumor that Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia has revealed that the service would launch in Washington D.C. at some point in August, and we'll keep an ear to the ground to see if that's true.
Chicago Sun-Times fires photography staff, tells journalists to use iPhones
Last Thursday my former hometown's newspaper, The Chicago Sun-Times, sadly laid off its entire 28-person full-time photography staff in an attempt to cut costs in an industry that has been seeing a steady decline in subscription numbers and ad revenue as physical newspapers struggle in a digital age. The Sun-Times' contention is that digital video will soon become more important to readers of newspapers instead of photography, so the paper is spending its resources in that area from now on. In a statement, the Sun-Times said: "The Sun-Times business is changing rapidly and our audiences are consistently seeking more video content with their news. We have made great progress in meeting this demand and are focused on bolstering our reporting capabilities with video and other multimedia elements. The Chicago Sun-Times continues to evolve with our digitally savvy customers, and as a result, we have had to restructure the way we manage multimedia, including photography, across the network." Whether or not you agree with the paper's move is one thing (I don't), but the thing all of my fellow journalists agree with is that it's a misguided decision that just 24 hours after the layoffs, the Sun-Times announced to its remaining staff that they will receive training on "iPhone photography basics." The news was reported via a post on Chicago media critic Robert Feder's Facebook page: "Sun-Times reporters begin mandatory training today on 'iPhone photography basics' following elimination of the paper's entire photography staff. 'In the coming days and weeks, we'll be working with all editorial employees to train and outfit you as much as possible to produce the content we need,' managing editor Craig Newman tells staffers in a memo." Forget the fact that most print journalists are not photographers; that most people who write for a living don't have a great understanding about lighting, composition, the rule of thirds or other tenets of photography. Even if they did, it's ridiculous to think that an iPhone (even the latest iPhone 5) is anywhere near as good as your basic DSLR. The technology in the iPhone's camera -- while it may be okay for point-and-shoot pics of your friends at a birthday party -- is in no way equipped to handle photojournalism. Where's the telephoto lens? Where's the high-powered flash? And most of all, where's the speed? The iPhone 5's camera is fine if all your subjects are standing still and already properly lit, but trying to take a photograph of a moving subject (as you often do in photojournalism) is a pain because the camera takes so long to focus. Worse, if the cameraman is moving, the iPhone's camera doesn't have near enough stability control to make your images look presentable. And though the iPhone's camera is pretty sweet for something inside a phone, it doesn't have the processing power of a dedicated DSLR, so taking rapid photos in succession isn't something that can be done with great clarity or accuracy. I love that I have a camera in my pocket at all times, but that camera is not the best-suited one for photojournalism. If the Chicago Sun-Times thinks it is, then it will probably never have a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph again.
Car crashes into Chicago-area Apple store
At approximately 6:30 PM local time on Sunday, January 13, a car crashed through the glass walls of the Lincoln Park Apple Store in Chicago, Ill. The dark-colored Lincoln Town Car was reportedly driven by an elderly individual, according to The Chicago Tribune. The car smashed through the store's glass walls and then came to a stop about five feet inside, near a display holding headphones an other accessories. At first, no one was reported hurt; paramedics were later called back to the scene, however, to treat an individual who was later taken to a local hospital. Right now there are no reports as to why the crash occurred, but "smash and grab" theft does not appear to be a motivation. The crash happened approximately 30 minutes before the store's scheduled close on Sunday. There's no word yet on whether the store will be closed due the accident today, although it seems likely. (Photo via @ericingrum)
Microsoft to provide cloud services for city of Chicago in four year deal
There's a cloud hanging over the second city and it belongs to Microsoft. In a release issued today, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced plans to migrate the city's 30,000 civil servants to a cloud-based solution for email and all desktop applications. Apart from the $400,000 the four-year deal is projected to save taxpayers annually, the move to Microsoft's cloud computing for government platform will also help to bolster efficiency and streamline communication internally, as the city goes from three conflicting email systems to just one. According to the city's Department of Innovation and Technology, this department-wide transition should reach completion by the end of 2013. It's not the Windy City's first big leap into remote storage -- its hosted Department of Aviation data there for some time -- but it does mark Emanuel's commitment to modernization. Hit up the break for the city's official PR. [Chicago photo credit: Nimesh M / Flickr]
Sprint improves Chicago LTE coverage, brings 4G to a few other new areas
Today, Sprint expanded its existing LTE coverage for customers in the Chicago metropolitan area. Not stopping at the Windy City, the carrier dropped six more regions into its high-speed bucket: Indianapolis, Indiana; York and Franklin County Pennsylvania; Santa Rosa California, Vallejo, California; Shenandoah County, Virginia and Southern Puerto Rico. These may not be the highly populated areas that some people are craving, but be mindful that some big city folks have encountered phantom 4G with a promise of the real thing coming soon. As Sprint moves forward with its network development plans, hopefully you won't have to wait too much longer before the LTE train makes a stop in your neighborhood.
Boxee hands out free Boxee TVs to its most eager cloud DVR fans
If you like the idea of the Boxee TV, you'll be glad to hear that Boxee is handing units out like so much Halloween candy... as long as you live in the right areas, that is. Those who've signed up for product notifications and live in the cloud DVR coverage areas of Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, DC can get a free Boxee TV just by filling out a survey. They'll even have the privilege of getting their units ahead of everyone else. Boxee hasn't said if any new sign-ups will qualify, though it can't hurt to try the source link and potentially get a welcome treat.
Zynga shutters Boston, UK and Japan studios, lays off 5% of full-time staff
While Apple was busy introducing new devices and updating its existing ones this morning, Facebook game creator Zynga was apparently relieving itself of several studios worth of employees. Several reports on Twitter indicate that Zynga is cutting its Boston, Austin, and Chicago studios; our colleagues at Joystiq spoke with a Zynga Austin employee who confirmed at least two of his location's teams were let go (The Ville and Zynga Bingo teams). Further reports on The Verge indicate that "more than 100" employees were let go as a result of the Austin layoffs. TechCrunch is reporting the full shut down of Zynga's Boston studio, which was apparently working on an unannounced title before being closed. The company's San Francisco location -- its headquarters -- has yet to be affected, nor have employees heard anything from upper management. Notoriously, Austin-developed The Ville is the root of an ongoing lawsuit between game publishing giant Electronic Arts, wherein EA alleges The Ville too closely resembles its own Facebook game, The Sims Social. Beyond the lawsuit, Zynga's faced declining stock value since its IPO, and the $200 million purchase of Draw Something developer OMGPOP remains a sticking point for investors. The company is slated to release its quarterly earnings tomorrow, which are expected to be down for another quarter. We reached out to the company for comment, but have yet to hear back as of publishing. Update: Zynga confirmed layoffs at its Austin studio, as well as outlining closures at its Boston, Japan, and UK locations. A full letter from CEO Mark Pincus to employees was released by Zynga detailing the layoffs and closures, which we've added below. The company also says it's closing 13 of its games, and "significantly reducing" its investment in The Ville.
Rock Band Weekly: Chicago
Chicago, one of the most successful rock bands ever, adds three tracks to the Rock Band music store next week. From Chicago albums 2, 4, and 10 come "Make Me Smile," "Feelin' Stronger Every Day," and "If You Leave Me Now."All the tracks will also earn double coins for Rock Band Blitz player.
Chicago mayor targets affordable gigabit broadband, free WiFi throughout city parks
If Rahm Emanuel has his way, then Chicago's broadband access may very well give Kansas City a run for its money. The mayor of the Windy City has now revealed a rather ambitious initiative that would (ideally) overhaul the city's broadband infrastructure and provide affordable, gigabit-class fiber internet to areas that primarily serve industry, higher education and entrepreneurial startups. The idea came to Emanuel through Eric Schmidt, who suggested the upgrade be coordinated alongside the city's overhaul of its aging water / sewer system. Before any of this can happen, however, Chicago must first secure commitments from companies that would be willing to install and pay for the new upgrades. As a potential incentive, it's been suggested by Crain's Chicago Business that the city may offer some of its own unused fiber resources on a favorable lease. In addition to the hopes for ultra-fast broadband, Emanuel's project, dubbed the Chicago Broadband Challenge, also seeks to extend low-cost, high-speed internet to underserved areas of the city and to bring free WiFi access to all public spaces such as parks and plazas. Although mostly a token gesture, mayor Emanuel announced the immediate availability of free WiFi in Chicago's Millennium Park. The city is currently soliciting plans and proposals of how to approach the ambitious project, and you're invited to become a bit more familiar with these grand ambitions with the PR and source links below. [Chicago photo credit: Nimesh M / Flickr]
Sprint flipping the LTE switch in Boston and Chicago on September 21st?
Last we heard Sprint was prepping to launch its LTE network in 100 cities in the "coming months." Well, a tipster just sent along a some info that seems to indicate that Chicago and Boston will be online before September is out. According to the leaked memo, towers in the areas surrounding those cities should start lighting up soon, with both metropolitan centers set to become "discoverable" on September 21st. Now, that doesn't mean LTE will officially launch in those cities on that Friday, merely that 4G capable devices may start picking up the signals. From that day forward Sprint will be in pre-launch mode in Boston and Chicago, as they build out infrastructure to support the shift to a new wireless platform. [Thanks, anonymous]
Roto-a-Matic retro vending machine injection molds toys while you wait (video)
The advent of 3D printing is most certainly upon us, and its helped injection molding make the crucial transition from dated tech to a retro novelty. The Roto-a-Matic has recently gone live in toy maker Rotofugi's store in Chicago, and will create a polyethylene plastic figurine for you in under a minute, provided you feed it a token. Rotofugi and product design company Squibbles INK have given the vintage Mold-a-Rama vending machine a new lease of life, and now they are looking for artists to contribute designs for future molds. Currently a one-eyed dragon designed by sculptor Tim Biskup is on offer for Chicago-based hipsters, but for the wind-averse, a token-to-toy video demo resides beyond the fold.
YouTube streaming Lollapalooza festival for those of us who can't be in Chicago
YouTube is plenty busy with a livestream of the Olympics in HD for Asian and African audiences, but it's keeping tabs on the scene in the states, too. The service is running a free, two-channel webcast of Chicago's Lollapalooza music festival this weekend, which features big-name acts such as Jack White, The Black Keys and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. As you may recall, YouTube also offered a live broadcast of the event last year. Click through to the source link to see who's on stage. Hey, it's not the same as being at Grant Park, but it's probably a lot less sweaty.
T-Mobile myTouch and myTouch Q coming August 8th for $50, we go hands-on
T-Mobile's myTouch series is back with a new pair of devices -- a slate and a slideout QWERTY, to be precise -- and the lucky manufacturer this time around is Huawei, following in the footsteps made by HTC and LG in years past. Of course, we can't say that this is much of a shocker, considering we've seen these midrange handsets go through endless rounds of rumors, FCC certification and even our very own hands-ons when visiting Huawei HQ (where the devices are known more officially as the Ascend G312 and G312 QWERTY). But they're finally ready for the final production line and will be available August 8th for $50 after a $50 mail-in rebate. The myTouch will come in black and dark red, while the myTouch Q will be offered in black and white. So what kind of specs can we expect to enjoy (or strongly dislike, depending on your personal preference) on the myTouch and myTouch Q? It's running Android 2.3 on a special customized UI, for starters, which will be a huge disappointment to many potential buyers. Additionally, both devices will offer a 4-inch WVGA screen, 1,500mAh battery, 4GB of internal storage, microSD expansion, 5MP rear camera capable of taking 720p video, 0.3MP front-facing cam, HSPA+ connectivity and an unspecified 1.4GHz CPU (though we reported earlier that it should be a single-core MSM8255T accompanied by 1GB of RAM). Head below to check out our gallery and hands-on video, and then continue reading after the break to hear our first impressions.
Virgin Mobile to carry iPhone from today, Sir Richard does his best Fonz impression
Virgin Mobile is offering the iPhone to its prepaid customers as of today. The Sprint-owned subsidiary is using the event to kickstart a new retail strategy that will see the company open branded retail stores in Chicago -- with a nationwide rollout dependent upon its success. Since all carriers have to make a minimum commitment to Apple in order to receive the handset, it's interesting to see that Virgin's allocation forms part of Sprint's $15.5 billion gamble on the handset that's still yet to pay off. The handset will set users back $650 for a 16GB iPhone 4S, while plans begin at $30 for 300 voice minutes, unlimited messages and data, but only if they commit to automatic monthly payments.
Clearwire's TDD-LTE rolling out in 'early 2013,' coming to NYC, SF, LA, Chicago, Seattle and more
Clearwire's hardly throwing in the towel after that whole "WiMAX" thing; instead, the outfit has its sights firmly set on bringing TDD-LTE to the masses here in America, starting with an initial rollout in early 2013. A release put out today confirms that New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle will be among the 31 cities where the company will launch the aforesaid network, though there's no breakdown on which of those metro markets will be forced to wait until "mid-2013" to get served. Speaking of, Clearwire's making no bones about the fact that "high demand hot zones" will be the ones targeted initially, and in a bid to outshine those LTE networks already live, President and CEO Erik Prusch is suggesting that his firm's 4G network "will show that not all LTE networks are created equal." Bold words, sir.
Uber tackles Taxis in Chicago with Uber Garage experiment
Uber has been making quite a name for itself with its fleet of private Town Cars you can order straight from your smartphone. But, high-end luxury shuttles only account for a tiny fraction of the car service market. A much larger piece of the pie is owned by the humble taxicab. Uber Garage is the company's new workshop for experimental new features and services, and the first product of the labs is a taxi service for UberChicago customers. With more cabs per-capita than anywhere else in the US and the second lowest rates in the nation, it was the logical choice for a launch location. Taxi drivers who take part in the program will get alerts when an Uber user wants a cab. Rather than wave and whistle and wait on a busy corner, a user simply fires up the Uber app and demands a ride. There's no cash to exchange or credit card to swipe -- drivers a paid by Uber direct, and the fare includes a 20-percent tip. Though, that doesn't mean you're not free to tip some cash on top of the default gratuity. If you're in the Chicago area and have taken advantage of an Uber Taxi, let us know how it went in the comments.
Apple drops alert patent in Chicago litigation against Motorola
Apple and other handset manufacturers are involved in so many lawsuits that it's difficult to keep up. Earlier this week, another infringement lawsuit in Chicago that's been around for a while resurfaced because Apple dropped a patent from the lawsuit. Apple was complying with a request from Judge Richard Posner who told the two parties involved in the case to winnow their claims, says a report in FOSS Patents. Both Apple and Motorola are involved in this Chicago case, which started off with claims involving fifteen Apple and six Motorola patents. That number, says FOSS Patents, has been whittled down by one-third. The latest patent to hit the chopping block was U.S. Patent No. 5,566,337 which describes a "method and apparatus for distributing events in an operating system." According to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, this patent was a good choice to remove because it was a longshot that a judge would rule in Apple's favor on that infringement claim.
MacMall opens Chicago retail store, giving away $14K in products
Since 1991, MacMall has been selling just about every product Apple makes as well as an assortment of quality accessories. The retailer has been an online presence for most of that time, although it has three brick-and-mortar stores in Southern California. Now MacMall has spread its wings and opened a new store in Chicago. To celebrate the new store at 329 W. Grand Avenue in Chicago, MacMall is having an official grand opening on Saturday, March 31. There's a ribbon cutting at 10 AM, and MacMall is going to have raffle drawings for over US$7,000 in technological toys. The store will open on Saturday at 9 AM, and the first 500 people to visit will be entered into a drawing to win one of more than 20 Apple-related products. At 10 AM, a new MacBook Air will make it into the hands of a lucky winner, and additional drawings will be held during the day for a Wacom Intuos5 tablet, two iPod touches, a trio of iPod nanos, an HP Officejet printer and other goodies. As if that's not enough, the first hundred folks in line get a free limited edition T-shirt, and the first two hundred people who purchase something get a free gift bag. But wait, there's more: the first thousand customers get a limited edition MacMall 2-in-1 stylus. MacMall is also giving away another $7,000 worth of business-related technology items this week, starting today. Many congratulations to MacMall for providing Apple fans in the Windy City a new place (other than an Apple Store) to browse and buy products.
PSA: Vita meetups begin next week
We don't want you to miss your date with the PlayStation Vita, after it's gone to all the trouble of prettying up, polishing its screen and ... all right, this is getting creepy quick. We'll cut to the chase: the Vita "Social Club" events begin next Tuesday, January 17 in Chicago, Miami and NYC.
AT&T concept store uses iPads, iPhones for checkout
An AT&T concept store opening this weekend in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights aims to "differentiate the AT&T experience," according to AT&T retail president Paul Roth. Roth told AllThingsD that AT&T needs to do more to lure the shopper into its stores now that most mobile phones essentially look the same (blocks of glass with software underneath). To that end, AT&T is borrowing heavily from the Apple Store model. The Arlington Heights concept store has eliminated traditional cash registers in favor of a payment system using iPads and iPhones, just like Apple does in its stores. The store will also feature wide glass windows, so passersby can easily see what's on display inside and feel more "invited" to come in -- another Apple Store trait. Finally, the store will offer "bar stool-style seats and tables to try out the latest devices and services as well as a spot to get in-store support for devices and software," according to AllThingsD. Throw a logo of an atom with swirling electrons on it and you'd have a Genius Bar. Some non-Apple Store features will also be included in the store, including two large touchscreen walls and an entire section of the store dedicated to "emerging devices," such as new Bluetooth and wireless accessories. Expect whatever features of the concept store that are a hit to make it into other AT&T stores in the future.
