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Verizon to offer open network details next month
Remember that "minimum technical standard" Verizon promised to detail in early 2008 when it announced its open network initiative last year? Manufacturers, developers, and pretty much anyone else that cares are all finally about to find out what that exactly that means at Verizon's Open Development Device Conference in late March. The specification, creatively titled Version 1.0, may be refined based on input from conference attendees, but it's expected to be largely complete -- enough of a foundation for folks taking the initiative seriously to get started on products that can take advantage of Verizon's goodwill. The show kicks off on March 19 in preparation for a "network-only" plan option that Big Red expects to make available once open access devices start to get real.[Via Phone Scoop]
Microsoft announces new strategy of interoperability, jumps on the "open" bandwagon
Someday in the distant future, your grandkids will be hugging their Microsoft Robot Friend, browsing the Weboverse on Internet Explorer 29, and going to a rock concert held by Steve Ballmer's head, and they'll have never known the evil, nasty Microsoft we grew up with. Starting today, Microsoft has dropped a bit of a bombshell on the computing community by jumping on the "open" bandwagon and altering the way they do business with third-party developers. According to a wordy press release issued by the company, the Redmond giant will begin embracing an open attitude by publishing documentation for all of its "high-volume product" APIs free of charge, will detail patents it holds and applications that cover its protocols (to avoid nasty, Linux-like mixups, we assume), and will provide a "covenant not to sue open source developers for development or non-commercial distribution of implementations of these protocols." Sound like big news? They've got a lot more to say on the matter -- hit the read link and learn all about cuddly new Microsoft.
AT&T says SIM-only service available contract free, 2-year plan was a mistake
Apparently, the news we got (and saw on the company's website) yesterday concerning AT&T's offer of a SIM-only service plan was off the mark... or so says AT&T. According to the telco's reps, a SIM card can be had sans-contract, saying that its attitude towards the service hasn't changed and that pre-paid, post-paid, or any other millions of varieties of arrangements can be made to tap into its sweet service. So move along folks, nothing here to see.
AT&T offers SIM-only service, attempts to maintain "most open" status
It looks like all that shouting AT&T has been doing lately about its "openness" is starting to manifest itself in the way the company does business. It's come to our attention that the mobile telco has started offering a SIM-only plan, thus providing the ultimate in open options. The idea being, of course, that you can bring any random / crappy / salvaged GSM-compatible handset the provider's way, and it'll let you hook a towline onto its satellites. Of course, you could just get one of those cheapo giveaways and pop out the card, but this is so much more open and free, like San Francisco in '69, a car-less road, some land of your own, and a good old-fashioned whiskey on the rocks. Oh, you still have a sign a two-year agreement... enjoy your freedom![Via The Boy Genius Report]
AT&T claims completely open network, too -- "the most open," even!
Who'd have thought the end of 2007 would see US cellphone carrier heavyweights duking it out with PR one-upsmanship to be... open? Seriously, someone pinch us, it's as amazing as it is farcical. So the latest development in big network "openness" has USA Today running off in the opposite direction with AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega's comments that "You can use any handset on our network you want... We don't prohibit it, or even police it. ... We are the most open wireless company in the industry." We think the headline "AT&T flings cellphone network wide open" kind of says it all.The reality of the situation? Nothing has changed between yesterday and today, and, as de la Vega told us a couple of weeks ago, AT&T customers can continue expect the status quo from the nation's largest carrier in terms of their level of openness and flexibility. Granted, it's one thing for Verizon to say they're going wide open (especially being ridiculously closed CDMA carrier they are), but it's quite another for AT&T to lay claims as though it's somehow more open than any other carrier in the world when that argument comes as an extension of its core network technology. Yes, you can take your AT&T SIM, put it in an unlocked device, and run it on their network without much hassle -- but that doesn't make AT&T any more "open" than the final-say testing facility Verizon intends to use in "openly" making approvals (and disapprovals) of devices and software.[Thanks, epi117]
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part LII: AT&T CEO scoffs at Verizon's "Any Apps, Any Device" plan
Even 6 months ago, it would have been inconceivable to imagine the CEO of the biggest cellphone operator in the US sniping at its primary competitor's hints at becoming more open. The key point being that none of the cellphone operators in the US are actually "open" by any objective definition, so maybe AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson should have bitten his tongue rather than stating that his company is "probably one of the most open networks in the world," in a mild rebuke to Verizon's open network plan for 2008. Also Randall, stating that "all of the handsets we sell are Java-equipped" might be a little unwise considering that AT&T's flagship handset, and probably the most widely publicized handset (ever?) is clearly not. At least the debate is moving forward: hopefully his statement that "[all carriers] are all going to be open over time" will come to fruition with a little more gentle prodding coupled with the occasional kick up the arse.[Image source]
OpenMoko Neo 1973 developer kits available July 9
End users still have a while to wait for a final, finished product -- October's the current estimate -- but developers looking to get cracking on OpenMoko's open-source handset need only wait a few more days. July 9 is the chosen date for pushing Neo 1973 dev kits out the door in two configurations: Neo Base for $300 and Neo Advanced for $450. Neo Base will include the first-gen handset plus garden variety accessories you'd expect to find in a retail package (headset, stylus, pouch, USB cable, and the like), while the Advanced package adds in some additional hardware for really ripping the phone to shreds and tricking it out. The goal is to make sure devs have a healthy catalog of apps ready by the time Joe Consumer gets his hands on one in a few months, at which point the hardware will be even better with the addition WiFi, 256MB of onboard Flash, two onboard accelerometers, and a faster core. We're countin' on ya, code heads![Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Apple "wrestles" with 3rd party iPhone apps
Will the iPhone open up to 3rd party apps? Steve Jobs says that Apple is wrestling with the decision, according to Tech.co.uk. Contradicting earlier statements that the iPhone would definitely be a closed platform, Steve Jobs cracked open the door a bit. Supporting this semi-statement is the upcoming Developing Websites for iPhone session at WWDC.Apple may be thinking of web based apps as their third party "in" to the iPhone. Developer Bruce Gee of Gee Three dropped us a note saying that "In many ways, this is a very open approach to getting lots of new functionality on the iPhone. We'll have to wait and see how these apps work over the network, but it could be interesting."
Ubisale at Toys R Us
There have been a lot of sales to report lately! If you picked up a Wii at Toys R Us yesterday, you now have an opportunity to get some relatively good games for a decent price, from now until the 10th.Toys R Us is offering three Ubisoft-published Wii games for the price of two. Your choices are GT Pro Series, Open Season, Rayman: Raving Rabbids, Red Steel, and Monster 4x4: World Circuit. This offer is valid online, but we aren't sure about its status in TRU stores. If there are three games in that list you're interested in, or two games you're interested in and one you think you could get a decent price for on eBay, then you are in luck![Via QJ.net]
Skype to FCC: open up those cellular networks, please
It's painfully obvious just how tight cellular providers have control over how their networks are used, which features are enabled, and what handsets are locked, but Skype is hoping to chip away a bit more at the mighty provider stranglehold by suggesting that wireless networks be made to carry Skype calls. In a recent petition to the FCC, Skype is purportedly "asking regulators to force cellphone carriers to loosen their controls on what kinds of hardware and software can be connected to their networks," essentially paving the way for free calls to be made over costly connections. Skype is asking that the so-called Carterfone rules (circa 1968) be applied to the wireless industry, which basically "allowed consumers to hook any device up to the phone network, so long as it did not harm the network." Unsurprisingly, carriers are less than enthralled about the notion, and a cellular trade group has already reacted by calling Skype's proposal one that "completely disregards consumer benefits provided by a competitive marketplace," which is certainly nominated for laughable statement of the year. As of now, no other companies are putting their collective necks out to join Skype's agenda, but hopefully it won't remain solo for too much longer.[Via ArsTechnica]
Monday man page: open
Just a quick hint for today's man page: the open command does just what you might think. It opens files, directories, applications or URLs; no muss, no fuss. For files, you can specify an application to open them with the -a flag (or just trust LaunchServices to pick the right app). If you want to, the -e flag will force them to open in TextEdit. open ~/Desktop/MyWordDoc.doc [will open in MS Word] open -e ~/Desktop/MyWordDoc.doc [will open in TextEdit] open ~/Desktop/*.doc [opens every Word document on the desktop, in Word] open http://tuaw.com [well, give it a go!] I use open in installation scripts or other situations where I want a GUI application to come up at the end of a process. For example, open /System/Library/CoreServices/Software\ Update.app/ launches Software Update and begins checking for available patches. Sure, you can force an update with 'softwareupdate -i -a' anytime, but maybe I want to give the person sitting at the console an opportunity to select the updates needed, or cancel out of the possibly-lengthy update cycle until it's more convenient. You could also use the URL functionality to take people to a 'readme' website... the possibilities are manifold.
Japanese hardware sales, 27 November - 3 December: You'll Just Have To Watch And Find Out Edition
There isn't much to be said here. You wanted awesome? You got awesome.- Wii: 350,358 [New Entry!]- DS Lite: 176,901 24,477 (12.15%)- PS3: 31,436 1,226 (3.75%) - PSP: 23,917 6,898 (22.39%) - PS2: 23,115 3,148 (11.99%) - Xbox 360: 4,053 2,954 (42.16%) - GBA SP: 1,572308 (24.37%) - Game Boy Micro: 1,252 17 (1.38%) - Gamecube: 821 245 (42.53%) - DS Phat: 140 72 (33.96%) - GBA: 22 5 (18.52%) - Xbox: 11 11 (N / A)[Source: Media Create]
MacLibre
Readers with experience using certain distributions of Linux or Fink under X11 on OS X will be familiar with the concept of package managers. Basically, a package manager is an application or service with allows users to download and install applications of their choosing from a set catalog of software residing on a remote server. MacLibre is a new application developed as part of Google's Summer of Code project, and aims to bring the ease and efficiency of package management to OS X. MacLibre allows users to browse a library of Open Source software which they can then chose to download and install. Although the current selection of software options offered by MacLibre is fairly small compared to the overall Open Source offering for the Mac, I think its safe to expect the number to grow rapidly as developers learn of the existence of this great application. [via UneasySilence]
Shiira 2.0 Preview
Shiira has always been the browser we all have installed, play with when we're bored or need to test site compatibility, but never really use in day-to-day work. Despite the fact that the current version has essentially all the features of Safari, the interface and features always felt a bit unpolished, at least to me. Delusions of Grandeur has a preview of the next version of the open source browser, Shiira 2.0, and it looks to be a refreshing change. Sporting a newly designed interface, multiple ways of viewing tabs, full screen mode, plugin API, and so much more, Shiira 2 will be pretty, if nothing else.
Possible fix for the iPod 'click of death'
JC at Mac Geekery has come across a potential solution to the iPod hard drive's 'click of death' that many owners will likely experience at some point or another (After all it's a hard drive and you walk/run/snowboard around with it all day. It has to throw in the towel some day).After hurling a dead 4G iPod off a 3rd story balcony to test an iPod case, JC discovered that his iPod was suddenly working again - but only for an hour at a time or so. This odd turn of events prompted him to investigate by opening up his iPod, in which case he discovered that his click of death (not necessarily everyone's) was a result of nothing more than an unseated hard drive cable. After putting everything back in its place, JC's 4G iPod is back on top and jamming again.Check out JC's post for more details, but just in case you're in a similar boat, remember: I'm pretty sure opening your iPod is like tossing your warranty out the window and then running it over repeatedly with an SUV, so attempt this stuff at your own risk. If your warranty has already r-u-n-n-o-f-t, however, then you don't have much to lose.[thanks William!]
Stuffit 10.1 finally goes Universal, loses installer
Allume Systems has finally cranked out a (beta) Universal Binary of their 'hate it but gotta have it lying around' free Stuffit Expander. It seems they were going for bonus points with this release, as they removed some of the 'hate it' factor by finally doing away with an installer; it is now a DnD .app from a mounted disk image.This version is also localized into Japanese, French and German, and is available from either VersionTracker or Stuffit.com, though as of this writing that page still says the latest release is 10.0.
