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Google donates 17,000 Nexus 7 tablets to help New Yorkers still affected by Hurricane Sandy
A year has passed since Hurricane Sandy came ashore, but the northeastern US is still feeling its impact through closed facilities and lost jobs. Google hopes to tackle some of those longer-term challenges by donating 17,000 Nexus 7 tablets to the New York State Community Action Association. The non-profit will primarily hand out the Android slates to community centers, libraries and business development groups for both education and job training. Some devices will go to senior centers, where they'll help older residents communicate with friends and family that would otherwise be out of reach. While the donation won't have as much of an immediate effect as direct aid, it could be useful to New Yorkers who need more than just the basics to get back to normal.
New book highlighting Hurricane Sandy to feature only iPhone photos
Yes, the iPhone can take serious photographs. An upcoming book, #Sandy shows the destruction and hardship Hurricane Sandy brought to the East Coast of the US last year, and all the photos were taken by iPhones. The hardbound book has about 100 images by photographers Benjamin Lowy, Stephen Wilkes, Richard Renaldi, Hank Willis Thomas, Lyle Owerko, Wyatt Gallery, Ruddy Roye, Craig Wetherby and Michael Christopher Brown. I interviewed Lowy for TUAW last year about using the iPhone under extreme circumstances. The book is being published by Daylight Books for US$50.00 and is expected to be out this fall. All royalties will be donated to Occupy Sandy to support rebuilding efforts in the New York City area. The book is an Indiegogo project, and publication depends on meeting funding goals. Check the book website for some sample photos. Sandy was the most destructive hurricane of the 2012 season and the second costliest in US history. It affected 24 states, with most of the damage to New York when a storm surge hit on October 29. Total damage in the US is estimated at about $65 billion.
Airbnb's disaster response tool to help survivors find free housing (video)
Airbnb has launched a new disaster response tool in an effort to make things easier for willing hosts to offer free shelter to survivors of catastrophes. Activated within 30 minutes or less from the time trouble strikes, the solution will send out emails to local users and ask if they'd like to offer their rooms at no cost. Thoughtful folks will then be able to list their space on a dedicated page where guests can easily find generous souls to stay with. The P2P lodging service was inspired to cook up this plan after its New York patrons opened up their homes to Hurricane Sandy survivors, and it had to cobble together a portal to connect people. With the new system in place, the firm hopes it can quickly reach more hosts and guests and make the process of offering and finding emergency housing more efficient.
Google Maps adds images for three historic parts of New York City (video)
While Google has practically blanketed New York City with eye-level imagery, few would doubt that there's still ground left to cover. The search giant is filling in some of those gaps with new Google Maps galleries for a trio of historic areas. A collaboration with Historypin lets the curious glimpse photos and videos of regions affected by Hurricane Sandy; those who want to visit the 9/11 Memorial, meanwhile, can see Street View panoramas of both the North and South pools. Google is also expanding its Street View coverage of Central Park to include its many legendary trails, not just the roadways. If you've been meaning to pay a virtual tribute to any of these three spots, they're waiting for you at the source links.
Sandy got you down? Comcast offering free WiFi to affected regions, iTunes allowing Red Cross donations
Hurricane Sandy's taken out more than the electricity of hundreds of thousands of Northeastern USers -- it's also pillaged the internet connections of many, leaving our Netflix and Hulu Plus subscriptions unused, and subsequently our Eddie Murphy '80s movie marathons unmarathoned. Comcast understands this to be the dire situation it is, and is offering its Xfinity WiFi service free of charge for folks living in Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Washington D.C., and West Virginia (sans New York City, as there aren't any hotspots in the Big Apple, sadly). Just select "Complimentary Trial" from the landing page and you're in like Flynn until November 7 (when the deal ends). Or perhaps you're one of our lucky readers unaffected by the crazy hurricane? Apple's got an opportunity through iTunes for direct donation to the American Red Cross, should you wish to help out our friends suffering through worse than just lacking internet. Donation increments range from $5 to $200 -- just sign into iTunes and click the Red Cross advert below New Music.
You can now use iTunes to support Hurricane Sandy relief
Apple and the American Red Cross are making it easy for you to donate towards relief efforts in the wake of the this week's devastating Hurricane Sandy. Simply by clicking on the American Red Cross tile that now appears on the main iTunes Store screen in iTunes, you can pledge from US$5 to $200 using your Apple ID on the dedicated donation screen that's been set up. This isn't the first time Apple has teamed up with the American Red Cross to enable charitable donations via iTunes. The two have partnered up for other major disasters including the tsunami that struck Japan in 2011 and the massive Haitian earthquake of 2010. Amazon has also added a Red Cross donation link to its homepage. Of course, you can donate directly via the Red Cross website. [via 9to5Mac]
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.
Hurricane Sandy has knocked out 25 percent of all cell towers, cable services in 10 states
Julius Genachowski has revealed that Hurricane Sandy has knocked out a full quarter of cellphone towers and cable services in the 10 most affected states. The FCC chief believes that, as more towers expend their battery back-ups and the storm's continued presence, the situation's going to get worse before it gets better. He's also reiterated that users should avoid making non-essential calls and use e-mail or social media to avoid overloading the straining networks. One point of interest in the call, was that land line phone outages were much less widespread -- which might be something to remember if you've ever considered cutting the cord.
Hurricane Sandy propels emergency apps to top of App Store
It's difficult to determine just how useful your iPhone could be in an emergency situation until that circumstance descends upon you. In the last 48 hours, millions of people living along the East Coast have looked to their smartphones for a bit of assistance and nowhere is this more apparent than on the App Store. TechCrunch noticed today that three of the top six free apps on the marketplace are tools that could prove useful for those in Hurricane Sandy's path. The Red Cross Hurricane app has rocketed up the charts to the number two spot, followed immediately by a top-rated flashlight app. Then, in the number six spot is The Weather Channel app. Further down the list you can find yet another flashlight app, and a second hurricane tracker. To reshuffle the top of the free charts -- which is normally occupied by Facebook and free game apps -- these apps have to be getting some serious download numbers. We can only hope they are making life a bit easier for those still feeling the effects of Sandy.
Daily Update for October 29, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
East Coast Apple Stores batten down for Hurricane Sandy
Just like most everyone else on the East Coast of the United States, Apple Stores in five states, D.C. and Canada are making preparations for "Frankenstorm" Hurricane Sandy. ifoAppleStore.com reports that between 35 and 50 stores may close in the northeastern US and Canada (if they haven't already), as they are either within the expected landfall zone of Sandy or just outside it. One of our readers has confirmed that Rhode Island and Boston area stores are shut. Meanwhile, two of Apple's flagship New York City stores have surrounded themselves with sandbags, with the Fifth Avenue store even wrapping Macs and other products in plastic bags as an extra precaution against water damage. All of this goes to show that if Apple isn't taking chances with this megastorm, neither should you. If you live in the area expected to be affected by Hurricane Sandy, please take every precaution possible. Forewarned is forearmed.
Google puts Hurricane Sandy on its crisis map, hopes to help you weather the storm
Just because Google abandoned its October Android event doesn't mean it's left its users out to dry -- Hurricane Sandy now has its very own Google Crisis Map. It isn't the first time Mountain View has lent its mapping tech to folks in harm's way -- survivors of Hurricane Issac used a similar Crisis Map to track the storm, follow public alerts and find shelters. Sandy's map is no different, providing locals with information on the storm's path, forecast information, evacuation routes, areas of high wind probability and even links to webcams surrounding affected areas. Google isn't the only firm lending a hand, either -- both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are lifting site paywalls during the storm, ensuring the public has access to developing news as long as their internet connection doesn't give out.
Google postpones October 29th event over Hurricane Sandy worries
We hope you weren't basing your calendar around Google's big Android event on October 29th. The company has confirmed to us that it's postponing the event to an as yet undetermined point in the future due to Hurricane Sandy, whose East coast arrival will follow so closely before the New York City gathering that Google isn't willing to take the chance on its big day. If you're experiencing a sense of déja vu, you're not alone -- Google delayed last year's event revealing the Galaxy Nexus out of respect for the late Steve Jobs. While it's not what we'd call an auspicious start to Google's holiday launches, we can at least hope for an abundance of riches when the company is ready once again. The full statement waits below. "We are canceling our Monday morning event in New York due to Hurricane Sandy. We will let you know our plans as soon as we know more."
