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Senator Schumer blasts OnStar for 'brazen' privacy violation, calls for FTC investigation
Last week, OnStar issued a privacy notice informing customers that it would continue to collect data on vehicles still connected to its servers, even for those who have already canceled their subscriptions. The move elicited a chorus of protests from Democratic privacy advocates in the Senate, including Chris Coons, Al Franken and, most recently, Charles Schumer, who wrote a letter to the FTC yesterday calling for an investigation into what he sees as a bold violation of consumer rights. "By tracking drivers even after they've canceled their service, OnStar is attempting one of the most brazen invasions of privacy in recent memory," the New York Senator said. "I urge OnStar to abandon this policy and for FTC to immediately launch a full investigation to determine whether the company's actions constitute an unfair trade practice." Find out more about OnStar's new policy, after the break.
Apple's new CEO Tim Cook addresses employees in staff letter
With less than 24 hours under his belt as the new CEO of Apple, Tim Cook has sent a letter to the company's staff this morning, thanking his predecessor, and predicting bright things for Apple's future. The note reads, in part, I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is. Read the full text of the letter after the break.
Leaked FCC document details AT&T's 4G LTE rollout plans, talks up T-Mobile merger
On Friday, a law firm accidentally posted a letter to the FCC website, detailing AT&T's confidential 4G LTE rollout plans and explaining how they would be bolstered by a merger with T-Mobile. Arnold & Porter LLP, which is helping design the deal on AT&T's behalf, quickly removed its partially redacted document, but the folks over at Gizmodo have gotten their hands on it once again and recently posted it for our viewing pleasure. According to the document, AT&T plans to extend its US coverage to 70 million consumers by the end of this year, before ramping that figure up to 170 million by the end of 2012 and a full 250 million by the end of the following year. The carrier plans to achieve this by upgrading a full 44,000 of its nodes to LTE over the course of the next three years and, once its merger goes through, hopes to cover 97 percent of all Americans within the six years following approval. The letter goes on to explain how the economics behind the TIA-approved deal would help facilitate these aspirations, while confirming that the merger is indeed as expensive as earlier reported -- a whopping $3.8 billion, to be exact. To read the document in full, hit up the links, below.
RIM gets handed open letter from disgruntled employee, quickly responds in kind
One of the blessings -- and curses -- of this World Wide Web is that it creates a forum for open discussion, where we can communicate anything that our heart desires and feel like someone is listening to us. BGR published an open letter reportedly written by a senior executive at Research in Motion, chastising upper management for its inability to make bold business decisions as it continues to consistently lose market share. The anonymous author listed out several suggestions on how their company could improve its status and work its way back up to the top of the smartphone totem pole. As it turns out, the disgruntled employee was successful in that RIM published a response to the anonymous communication. What exactly were this employee's suggestions, and how did the folks in Waterloo respond? We'll break down the letters after the break.
EPA's letter grade automobile stickers could bring QR codes to car windows in 2013
Ever wonder how the world would still turn after MPG stickers were updated to take hybrids and EVs into consideration? Wonder no more. Purportedly, the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to decide by July's end whether it'll require "emissions grades" on all new vehicles. We're told that said stickers would resemble those shown above, complete with a QR code that could be scanned by any smartphone for more detailed information on how a grade was decided upon. As the story goes, cars would be graded from A through D, with a score of F presumably omitted for political correctness. If implemented, it wouldn't require automakers to slap these onto their rides until the 2013 model year, but as you'd expect, said car companies aren't exactly pumped about the idea. As of now, 40 percent of the vehicles on American roads would receive Cs or Ds, and Ohio's own Rep. Steven LaTourette had this to say about it: "Those who live in Planet Reality might need a minivan or SUV to haul around four kids in child and booster seats, and have room for luggage and a family dog. Thanks to the EPA, they'll be lucky to find a vehicle that gets a C." In truth, he's dead right, but there's always two sides to every story. To counter the obvious, automakers are instead backing "a more modest labeling redesign" that's not quite so jarring to consumers. Ah, the wonders of compromise.
Senator Chuck Schumer writes open letter to Steve Jobs, world is officially doomed
Look, we get it. There's a problem with the iPhone's antenna. But was the open letter to Jobs calling for a "clearly written explanation of the cause of the reception problem" and a "public commitment to remedy it free-of-charge" really necessary? What, you don't have better things to do? The full press release (and the Senator's letter) is after the break.
Cosmetic armor and more promised in Warhammer Online's May producer letter
The recent release of patch 1.3.5 has brought with it the complete death of Warhammer Online, if you equate a more active city siege environment with "complete death." Even though it came late in the month, it's certainly a major point of discussion for executive producer Carrie Gouskos, and it's addressed in the most recent producer letter for May. But that's the least of what needs to be discussed, and the talk starts with a reversal of the prior announcement that 1.3.6 would allow players to create characters of both realms on the same server. Fan reaction was negative enough to change the decision. Moving along, the producer letter promises the introduction of armor appearance separate from armor stats, similar to how Lord of the Rings Online allows players to wear a purely cosmetic set. There's also the promise of major updates to the Runepriest and Zealot careers, to make both of them more active and engaging to play in either healing or damage. Fans of Warhammer Online should take a look at the full producer's letter to see more discussion about what's coming around the bend for the game.
Time Is Money: Hate mail from competitors
Welcome to Time Is Money! This is the column where Basil "Euripides" Berntsen is occasionally allowed to post stuff that's too short for Gold Capped, but too long for Twitter. Have comments or questions about the in-game economy? Email Basil! We received a note from a reader this week, and I felt it was appropriate to get the Drama Mamas involved. While this is a situation somewhat unique to auctioneers, it certainly has dramatic potential!
The near-death of caravan escorts in Age of Conan's expansion
Rise of the Godslayer is coming on May 11th, and if you're an Age of Conan fan the day probably seems like it can't come fast enough. While the developer letter for the end of April doesn't help hurry the date forward any, but it does highlight one of the smaller but interesting portions of the development process -- the sort of thing that can get lost between the more major systems. And interestingly enough, it was an element that director Craig Morrison originally looked at and declined to leave in the expansion! Originally, the design team had included a feature where you could either hand over money and be automatically transported to and from Khitai, or you could volunteer your services as a caravan guard and make the journey for free. The trade was that as a guard, you would be expected to defend the caravan against assaults, resulting in a small instanced encounter. Morrison felt that the encounters weren't really adding anything that wouldn't be better served as a part of Khitai proper. The full story of the process and the change in philosophy can be found in the director's letter, certainly a nice tease for Age of Conan players.
Craig Morrison's latest AoC letter discusses guild features in Update 6
As July is coming to a close, Age of Conan's game director Craig Morrison has weighed in with his letter to the community for the month. The biggest discussion point this time around is a new 'Guild Renown' system that will be introduced with the next major content patch, Update 6. This system will allow members of a guild to contribute to its reputation on two separate scales. A guild's Renown Level will be increased by members earning Valor points (from PvE activities like questing and killing NPCs), Glory points (PvP) and Artisan points (crafting). Higher Renown Levels will mean access to better guild city vendors and other bonuses -- even a brand new building type that Morrison does not elaborate on in this letter.
Nvidia offering up a chance to go to BlizzCon
The chances to head off to BlizzCon are coming fast nowadays -- Nvidia is the latest company in on the race, as they're offering up an all expenses paid trip to Anaheim in August for the winner and a guest to experience Blizzard's big show. To enter, they say you have to buy a qualifying Nvidia card, and then use the promo code inside the package to enter. Which might make you think, as we did, that it's a pretty lousy deal -- you have to buy a new graphics card just for a chance to win? But their official rules say "no purchase necessary," So we did the work for you: if you want to enter without buying a card, you have to send a letter or postcard to "NVIDIA "BlizzCon 2009" Sweepstakes – Entries by Mail (USA & Canada), NVIDIA Corporation, 2701 San Tomas Expressway, Santa Clara, CA 95050, U.S.A," and include your full name, your email address, mailing addresses, your telephone number, and "a short paragraph (100 to 250 words), written or typed in English, stating why you like or have an interest in the 'World of Warcraft' game or Nvidia or its products."Not exactly a lot of fun, but then again, it's cheaper than buying a new graphics card, and their rules say that mail-in entries have the same chance at winning that the coupon codes do. We're behind you, readers -- we hope you win.And if you do make it to BlizzCon, keep an eye out for WoW.com -- we're gonna have a nice big shindig on Thursday night (location still TBA, but soon!), and we'd love for you to be there.
NCsoft's open letter to the Aion community targets all players of NCsoft games
It's not everyday that we find a letter addressed to an entire company's audience when it's posted on a specific game site, but that's what NCsoft West's executive producer, Lance Stites has done with his recent letter to the Aion community.To sum up his letter, it's been a busy series of restructuring the company and preparing for their next big release: Aion. While much of the focusing has been on Aion, the company isn't looking away from Lineage, Lineage II or Exteel. Those are still high on the company's priority list, according to Stites.But things are going along smoothly for Aion, as more voice overs are currently being recorded, the localization is continuing smoothly, and tutorial videos are in production. It sounds like Aion really is the golden game of the studio, but it's also nice to hear about all of the staffing changes going on with the other games.For the full letter and all of the nitty gritty of what's going on with the studio, head on over to Aion's website and check out Stites's report.
Checking in with Age of Conan's Game Director
The changes coming to Funcom's Age of Conan have really been picking up steam. While this update is more of a teaser for things to come, the breakdown of the new RPG system does give players a first look at how new stat breakdowns will change things down the road. From what they're saying, you'll want to be sure you stay on top of getting the best armor and gear! Also, they've added a new character sheet to better display all the new armor attributes and how they will impact each character as they progress through the wild lands of Hyborea. While it's only a bite-sized look at some of the changes coming to Age of Conan, it's definitely welcome. Among the other things players have to look forward to is further changes to feat trees, skills and spells, as well as a new gem system that will be implemented as time goes on. For the full breakdown of how all of these new attributes will affect your characters, be sure to head over to the AoC forums and check this month's Game Director's letter out!
Raph Koster answers a letter from a 12-year-old
Pretty darn cool of Raph Koster to answer this letter from a 12-year-old kid on his blog. And though we've heard the guy talk before, it's fun to see him boil down exactly what he's doing into language a younger kid would understand. It's one thing to talk about "complex server cluster architectures," but it's another to hear Koster explain what an "Integrated Development Environment" is in simple terms.And I like his characterization of programming, too -- I've always told someone I'm trying to teach to use a computer that they "don't do what you want them to do, only what you tell them to do." That's the crux of a good programmer -- he or she knows how to tell the computer do to the right things.Definitely a good read for insight into the mind of an MMO maker, whether you're 12 or 112.
Jobs reassures Apple investors
With Apple's stock plummeting from just shy of $200 to $130.01, as of closing today; AppleInsider is claiming to have gotten a copy of Steve Jobs' letter to investors that he issued last week. In the letter, Jobs urged investors to "Hang in there." "Wow... what a remarkable last few days," Jobs said. "Our stock is being buffeted around by factors a lot larger than ourselves."Jobs went on to say that he believed in Apple's fundamentals. He highlighted Apple stores, Apple's focused strategy, and forthcoming products as reasons why people should worry too much about Apple's stock. Apple does have $18 billion in the vault, as it were, so the company can certainly weather some rough quarters.Jobs is currently the second largest Apple shareholder, behind only Fidelity Investments, with a reported 5.54 million shares. He has, no doubt, been hit hard by the recent happenings on Wall Street; but then again, who hasn't been?
The VC Advantage: Dear Mike
The internet has made it easy to find cheats for games, but we miss the tips pages from game magazines, when the discovery of a new code could inspire you to go back to an old game. These codes aren't exactly new, but oldness is the essence of the Virtual Console! We're bringing back the classic codes every week on The VC Advantage. Chances are, even if you've never played StarTropics, you have heard about its gimmick. The letter included in the box is by far the best-known aspect of the game. Nintendo may be able to get away with changing the name of the basic weapon in the Virtual Console release, but there was no way they could excise the letter and get that by us. As much fun as playing the actual game is (and it really is the nearest successor to Zelda on the NES), this addition made digging around in the box even more fun. In case you've been exiled on a remote island for the last seventeen years, we'll refrain from spoiling the game -- until after the break. Then it's on.
The DS Life: Dear Santa 2: Judgment Day
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handhelds and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.As every successful endeavor requires an unexceptionable sequel, we've created just that with this installment of The DS Life! We're revisiting last week's theme of "Dear Santa" notes, promising a production packed with more laughs, more special effects, and most importantly, more letters. We actually can't guarantee those first two points, but we're almost absolutely sure we'll deliver on that third one!To streamline the gift-wishing process, the kindergarteners at Buckeye Valley North Elementary were provided with crayons and a simple form to illustrate their hearts' desires. What follows are a few of the results from the school's "Dear Santa" project.
Funcom: cool stuff coming for AO in 17.8
Craig Morrison, the director of Funcom's Anarchy Online, wrote up a letter to the game's player community describing what's to come in the 17.8 update.17.8 will bring a new team-based instance encounter that continues the Dust Brigade storyline, a complete overhaul of PvP titles, and a separate "social" tab in the inventory system so players can equip items specifically for their appearances without completely replacing the stat bonuses of existing gear. Also, Funcom's focus is shifting back to the pre-Shadlowlands world in terms of new content development.Morrison said information about upcoming holiday events and the graphics engine upgrades is forthcoming. The updated engine is still in alpha testing but should be ready "mid to late next year." Fans of the game can expect to see some footage of the changes "very shortly." We don't think a graphics update is likely to incite a surge of new players for this industry dinosaur, but hey, if you're already an AO player, it's still exciting.[Via WarCry]
The DS Life: Dear Santa
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handhelds and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.Watching too much television ruined the surprise and magic of St. Nick for me. Though I'm not sure which exact program it was that unbagged the Christmas cat, it's kind of hard for a pragmatic kid to not figure out the great conspiracy on his or her own, given enough time to think about the inconsistencies. That didn't stop me from writing my wishlist to Santa every year, though, as I was still too young to break the fashionable habit. But since I knew the letters would always find their way to my mother's hands no matter what North Pole address I scribbled on the envelope, I only asked for trivial things, G.I. Joe figures and NES games, instead of the impossibilities I prayed for every night, the pitiful petitions that served no good to ask out loud -- a girlfriend to hold hands with at school, a father who'd come back home to us after years of estrangement, or a home that wasn't a cramped apartment in dirty, dilapidated downtown Detroit.So, that was my "Dear Santa" experience. If you need something to lift you up out of the depressive state I've put you in, read on for a much more cheerful (and adorable) letter.
Japanese hardware sales, Apr. 16 - Apr. 22: Civil War edition
Camp Lincoln Keokuk IowaOctober the 23rd, 1862To Miss Dorothy W. SullivanMy darling Dorothy,I will inform you that I am well at this time, in this God Forsaken regiment. Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I am to be no more. Death is coming, Dorothy, I can feel its stench in the blood-soaked battlefields on which we stand, in the eyes of my comrades as they see the fallen friends who once laughed and drank alongside.Would I were back with you, dear Dorothy, that all happiness should come to us as it once did. My country hath borne me on these winds away from you, and unseeing with my one eye 'gainst your two, I tread as they so commanded. Your bright smile still warms me as I lay in drought, and those who would care care not about me, and those who do not pay as much mind as they did.My forefathers have fallen, and yours live strong; our children might not remember the lineage which I bestow. O Dorothy! Do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again.- Percy Sullivan- DS Lite: 172,359 39,034 (29.28%)- Wii: 77,913 2,154 (2.84%)- PSP: 29,459 4,609 (18.55%) - PS2: 11,398 1,474 (11.45%) - PS3: 11,000 948 (7.93%) - Xbox 360: 2,307 593 (20.45%) - GBA SP: 860 206 (31.50%) - Game Boy Micro: 449 168 (27.23%) - Gamecube: 266 99 (59.28%) - DS Phat: 81 65 (44.52%) - GBA: 55 29 (111.54%)[Source: Media Create]
