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Several states join the Justice Department in probe of Comcast and Time Warner Cable merger
The future of Comcast's plans to bring Time Warner Cable's subscribers under its umbrella are still very much up in the air. The Senate is planning hearings about the merger later this month and now several states are joining the Justice Department (DOJ) in its probe of the buyout. The attorneys general in Florida, Indiana and other states are working with the DOJ to determine if the deal would violate antitrust laws. Each state is also looking at how the combination of two of the biggest cable providers in the US would effect local markets. While it's not unusual for states to join the federal government in antitrust investigations, it does give the DOJ additional resources to work with. At the moment the exact number of states joining the probe is unknown, but we're sure all will be revealed in time.
Beamz by Flo is the perfect gift for those that can't play an instrument
If you're looking for a gift for the music lover, I highly recommend you check out Beamz by Flo, an interactive laser-based bit of kit that allows you to make music by waving your fingers through one of four laser beams. No, that's not a joke. And as ridiculous as it sounds, Beamz by Flo is crazy fun. It's also the perfect gift for those who want to make music, but don't know how to play an instrument. The Beamz itself is a stationary music station about the width of two 13-inch MacBook Airs. Two pylons are stationed at either end and they both shoot two beams of lasers to a pylon in the middle. When the user runs his fingers or hands through the lasers, a sound is made. The Beamz system plugs into your Mac via USB and works with the Beams OS X software, which allows you to use your Beamz system with 29 interactive songs from Flo Rida, Adele, Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Pink, Lady Gaga, Carrie Underwood and more. As the songs play, the user waves his hands through the Beamz's lasers, which trigger sound effects and instruments that accompany the backup track. I played around with the Beamz for a day and though there is no way I would allow anyone to record video of me using it, I had to admit it was really fun. As someone who can't play a musical instrument, Beamz held an attraction for me -- even if that attraction was only something akin to amazement that my air guitar could produce a sound. Beamz by Flo is in no way a gift for someone who is actually into music (by that I mean: "can play an instrument"), but I can see this being a huge hit with younger kids and teens who want a laugh. At the end of the day, it's a lot of fun. Beamz by Flo is on sale now for US$200.00. There's also a companion app that costs $12.99 and lets you use Beamz with your iPad or iPhone, as well as offering additional tracks and features.
Comcast's X1 availability widens, mass-deployment still planned by year's end
Comcast's advanced cable-box footprint keeps getting bigger. While currently you can only get the X1 set-top box in 18 of its service areas, that's growing, as it's come to several new markets recently. A company spokesperson recently told us that the cable giant is still on track to have the new unit as an option for all of its customers by year's end. As of now, new and current Triple Play subscribers in Nashville and Knoxville, TN; Jacksonville, Sarasota and Naples, FL; Baltimore and Frederick, MD and Brunswick, GA can snag the hardware as a free upgrade with select programming packages. Or, if you're patient, you could wait for the X2.
Apple publishes development job postings in Florida
Apple is beginning to recruit engineers in the Orlando, Fla., area for the designing, building and testing of custom chips, according to a post today on AppleInsider. The job postings included seven positions focused on development and testing of processor hardware, as well as others for driver development on graphics processors. AppleInsider notes that several other positions are open, including one for a reference model engineer specializing in modeling GPU hardware. Another job posting describes running iOS on "pre-silicon platforms." These listings do not seem to be associated with recent job postings for Apple's "Melbourne Design Center," which appears to refer to the headquarters of AuthenTec, a recently acquired fingerprint-scanning technology company located about an hour's drive southeast of Orlando. Instead, the positions appear to be in line with Apple's designs for custom processors, which began in 2010 with the A4 and continues in iOS products with the powerful A6X used in the current iPad with Retina display.
Sprint LTE also live in parts of Florida, New York City and Washington, DC (updated)
Sprint was clearly up to something good when we noticed LTE in parts of San Francisco. It turns out that this was just the tip of the iceberg -- the carrier has since confirmed that it's also flicking the switch in New York City, parts of New York state, Washington DC, and Florida cities that include Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa. The faster access is going live on a site-by-site basis in given areas rather than all at once, which bears out what we're hearing from readers and a Sprint spokesperson we reached for comment: LTE appears to be available in pockets in at least New York City and San Francisco. Sprint won't have a formal news release until it believes the coverage is complete, but we suspect most customers will be too busy testing the speed of their long-underused EVO 4G LTE or iPhone 5 to notice. [Thanks, Derek and Revie] Update: The full Sprint statement is after the break.
Another used games retailer in Florida is selling their business on eBay
Remember a couple weeks ago, when Shane Butcher tried to sell his entire material life on eBay, including the chain of games resale shops he owns? Well, it turns out no one took him up on his $3.5 million "American dream," but that hasn't stopped the owner of a competing chain of Florida resale shops from deciding to do the same thing.Rather than selling an entire life's worth of cars and property along with the stores, "Buddy and Dave" will only be selling the three existing Gamers HQ locations in Belleview, Inverness and Gainesville, Florida for a cool $2.6 million. All three locations are profitable and have been since day one, according to the eBay listing.Both Buddy and Dave will stay on as consultants for three months after purchase, with an option to help open a fourth location that is already in the planning stages. Additionally, 10 percent of the listing's final sale price will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "This business succeeds thanks to children and giving back to them will be our first step if sold," reads the listing.The chain of stores reportedly makes over $400,000 a year and prospective new owners can expect to earn a monthly take-home income of around $4,000, but if you can afford to spend $2.6 million on something, you're probably earning more than 50 grand a year anyway.
Inside NASA's Launch Control Center at Kennedy Space Center
At the dawn of the Space Shuttle program, NASA's Launch Control Center (LCC) was placed off limits for public tours. On June 15, however, busses embellished with Kennedy Space Center (KSC) decals began whisking visitors off to the control complex for the first time in more than three decades – nearly a year after the final shuttle mission last summer. More Info NASA opens up Launch Control Center for public tours The end of an era: what the space shuttle means to Engadget Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off one last time (video) After clearing a security checkpoint, our bus wheels its way deep into Kennedy Space Center, NASA's 240,000-acre property on Merritt Island, Fla., that doubles as a wildlife refuge. The monolithic Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) comes into view and grows larger as we approach. Referred to by NASA employees as the heart of the operation, the VAB houses spacecraft as they're pieced together. Once complete, a 6-million-pound crawler-transporter sidles up to the structure, gets fitted with the craft and ferries it over a gravel roadway to the launch pad 3.4 miles away. The LCC, which staff dubbed the brains of the system, is adjoined to the VAB by a slim corridor protruding from its boxy, white exterior.
CableWiFi ties up 50,000 WiFi hotspots for cable subscribers to share
When it comes to supergroups, The Traveling Wilbury's haven't got anything on these guys. Bright House, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox and Time Warner are teaming up to share around 50,000 metro WiFi hotspots for their customers, under the banner of "CableWiFi." New York City and the Tri-State area, Los Angeles, Tampa, Orlando and Philadelphia will be among the first to get the service, with growth to more cities pledged for the future. If nothing else, it should be a good way to stick it to the man when he snatches your unlimited data plan.
Mobile Miscellany: week of March 12th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, we've seen T-Mobile expand its network coverage and take an argument to the FCC regarding interoperability requirements of the 700MHz band. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of March 12th, 2012.
Florida Apple Store to triple in size
Apple's retail business continues to roar along, as new openings and remodels continue. Now, a Florida Apple Store is being redesigned, the result of which will triple its current size. ifoAppleStore reports that Apple Store Florida Mall in Orlando will grow as neighboring Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn vacate their spaces and Apple occupies those locations. It's unknown when the additional space will become available or when work will begin. Once completed, however, the revamped Apple store will sport a 90-foot storefront (it's 30 feet now) and grow from 2,700 square feet to 8,640. If you see construction or that familiar black barrier, let us know!
RuneScape warms our hearts with subscription deal
Is the frigid winter closing in, encasing your life in ice and gaming frustration? Or, for those of you who live in Florida, do you have to suffer the indignities of wearing a windbreaker when you go outdoors? Jagex is here to help by offering a sunshiny deal on a six-month subscription to RuneScape. Until January 4th, 2012, RuneScape players can sign up for six months of membership for the price of four, which basically gives two free months of premium service. As if that wasn't enough, Jagex is also handing out spiffy reversible ice masks -- with angry and happy sides -- to those who snag this deal. RuneScape's membership starts at $5.95 a month, and upgrades the free-to-play title with additional quests, landscape, minigames, player housing, and no advertisements.
Verizon Wireless gives birth to first LTE COW in Florida, we're still waiting for a celebratory cigar
They're not keen on providing milk, and we've never found evidence to suggest that Verizon's COWs are indeed happy COWs, but Big Red has welcomed a new arrival to its family: the company's first LTE-equipped cell-on-wheels. Measuring in at 1,080 inches tall and weighing a stunning 24,000 pounds, the self-powered transmitter will begin rolling across Florida to handle demand spikes during major events and to serve as a backup communications solution for emergency response scenarios. Although just an infant, it's capable of handling hundreds of simultaneous calls and data transmissions. Spoken like a thrilled papa, Verizon gushed, "We're very proud of this new baby, and glowing about our 4G LTE services around the state." You'll find all the carrier's cheers in the PR after the break.
New Southgate, Florida Apple Store confirmed
The Herald-Tribune is reporting that Apple is planning to bring a retail store to Southgate Mall in Sarasota, Florida, which could open by December. Currently Southgate Mall is going through major renovations, the end of which will bring 30 new stores to the mall. Westfield, who owns the mall, is moving two of its current tenants, LensCrafter and GNC, from the number 14 and 15 spaces in the mall in order to accommodate the new Apple store. When completed the new Southgate Apple Store will be 42-feet wide, with a total square footage of 4,100 feet. As noted by ifoAppleStore, the Southgate Mall store will fill an Apple store in the area of Florida's west coast south of Tampa that has no stores.
Apple faces infringement lawsuit over fast booting patent once owned by LG
Apple's facing yet another patent infringement lawsuit -- this time, in Florida, where a company called Operating Systems Solutions (OSS) is taking aim at OS X's fast booting operation. According to court documents, the plaintiff alleges that Cupertino's function (most prominently displayed on this year's MacBook Air refresh) violates at least one protected claim, which details a four-step method for speedy booting, and involves files like config.sys and autoexec.bat (seriously). Interestingly enough, the patent in question was originally granted to LG Electronics, back in 2002, but is currently owned by the little-known OSS. It's still unclear whether or not LG has any involvement with the suit, but we'll bring you the details as soon as they emerge. In the meantime, you can hit the coverage link below to dig in to the full complaint. [Thanks, Lucian]
ModernWarfare3.com owner outed by GoDaddy
Miami, Florida resident Anthony Abraham has been sitting on a very valuable URL for approximately two and a half years at this point. And though he'd hidden his identity through his URL registrant, GoDaddy.com, via its "Domains By Proxy" hiding service, a domain dispute from Modern Warfare 3 publisher Activision dissolved that shield this past weekend. Abraham is the owner of ModernWarfare3.com who has been seemingly trolling Activision for days now. The publisher filed a domain-name dispute with the National Arbitration Forum, claiming that the site owner violates Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. Rather than stand by Abraham, GoDaddy instead lifted the electronic shroud hiding the URL registrant's name, opening him up to direct contact with Activision (and by extension, we imagine, Activision's legal team). Currently, the ModernWarfare3.com URL brings up nothing more than an error, though over the weekend it redirected to both Battlefield 3's main site as well as a spoof site lampooning Modern Warfare 3 (featuring the video seen above) Activision has yet to publicly comment on Mr. Abraham's actions, instead choosing to let its UDRP complaint act as representation. The publisher believes Abraham "has no right or legitimate interest in the Domain Name," and argues that it's entitled to control given its history with the Modern Warfare IP.
Hawaii, Miami Apple Stores to be remodeled
Apple's retail improvement and expansion continues in both Hawaii and Florida. The Ala Moana store in Hawaii is slated for a complete overhaul starting soon. The retail outlet will be moving several doors down to a temporary location that will house the Apple Store until construction on its permanent home is completed. The project will cost US$250,000 but it's money well spent as the Ala Moana store is located in one of the top U.S. malls for foot traffic and per-purchase totals. Upgrading an Apple Store is not always smooth sailing, though. Apple recently pulled a proposal to demolish and move to a new building near its current Miami Beach, Florida location. According to the proposal, Apple would move from its current store on 738 Lincoln Road to a new store at 1001. The move was derailed by the city's Historic Preservation Board which rejected the plans because they wanted the new building to be smaller and match the historic architecture of this district in the Florida city. [Via Macnn]
Apple in talks for Sarasota, Florida retail location
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is reporting that the owner of the Westfield Southgate retail mall is attempting to lure an Apple Store to the Florida location, possibly by the end of 2011. Mall owner Westfield Corp. cited the results of recent customer surveys, which indicated that visitors to the shopping haven wanted an Apple Store more than any other retail outlet. For Sarasota residents, having a local Apple Store would eliminate a 55-mile drive to either the Brandon Town Center or Tampa International Plaza stores, or further to the two stores in the vicinity of Naples, Florida. As the newspaper notes, analysts maintain that the Sarasota area possesses "plentiful discretionary income." We can only hope that Apple retail officials decide to help Sarasota residents part with some of that income in exchange for shiny electronic goods.
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off one last time (video)
NASA's Endeavour shuttle marked its final launch today, lifting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, a fortnight after an initial takeoff was scrubbed over concerns surrounding an auxiliary power unit heater. A six-member crew lead by commander Mark Kelly and some tiny satellites are on-board for the STS-134 mission, which involves the delivery of the massive cosmic ray-collecting Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and some spare parts to the International Space Station. NASA's 134th flight is the penultimate mission for the current fleet of shuttle -- Atlantis will liftoff for a final time in July. Video of the smoke-filled majesty after the break.
Naked Florida man opens fire on SWAT bot with AK-47, no kidding
"Investigators say they've never dealt with a naked man attacking a robot before." So starts perhaps the most insane local news story we've ever heard. According to an ABC affiliate in Florida, a disgruntled man, sporting nothing more than his birthday suit and an AK-47, opened fire on a robot last week, after threatening to shoot himself and anyone who crossed the threshold of his home. The $65,000 SWAT bot was sent in to investigate, and captured every inch of the man on video before being pumped full of bullets. Deputies say the man eventually surrendered fully-clothed and was taken for a mental evaluation. No word yet on when or if the footage will be released in a Robo COPS: Disrobed and Dangerous Special Edition. For now, you can check out video at the source link below.
University of Central Florida's miniature laser diode aims to speed up networking
The use of laser as a means of data transmission is hardly anything new, but the current crop of laser diodes can only handle so much stress, provided that they don't fail in the first place. Luckily, the geniuses over at the University of Central Florida are about to deliver a smaller yet more intense and more reliable diode, which will lead to many more potential applications even beyond the scope of networking -- think cheaper, more effective hair removal. Little is said about how Professor Dennis Deppe's team made this possible, but once they work out how to optimize the operating voltage for better efficiency, Deppe reckons we'll see diode-embedded high speed, high bandwidth cables in the shops in four or five years' time. Seriously, we'd do anything to keep our latency low for some HD gaming action.
