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San Fran buses to get cameras for ratting on bus lane parking offenders
Sure, everybody's done it at one point or another, but San Francisco is trying to put the kibosh on traffic-chocking illegal bus lane parking with new cameras the city will be mounting on public transport buses -- Big Brother style. The cameras are mounted behind the windshield and bus drivers can use them to automatically photograph offenders. During the trial phase, parking baddies will get off with a warning, but in a month San Fran will start issuing $100 tickets. Better get that shopping done soon! [Via AutoblogGreen]
Meraki promises free, citywide WiFi network for San Francisco
It looks like the folks at Meraki are angling to the fill in the WiFi gap left after San Francisco pulled the plug on the much-hyped Google / Earthlink deal, although, conveniently for them, that doesn't amount to them doing anything all that different than what they've always been doing. Still, with a fresh $20 million in funding, the company is certainly better positioned to put the citywide mesh network into place, which they say could eventually use as many as 15,000 wireless antennas to bounce WiFi signals around the city (quite a boost from the 500 repeaters now providing service to a few neighborhoods). If the network spreads as far as the company hopes, it would apparently be the largest mesh network in the US and, obviously, be quite the showpiece for the company to use to attract business elsewhere.[Thanks, Paul B]
Trains and burgers: Sprint launching NFC trial in Bay Area
For whatever reason, phone-based contactless payment systems have been incredibly slow on the uptake stateside, while others -- those on NTT DoCoMo's well-received Osaifu-Keitai system, for example -- have had no qualms about turning their handsets into wallets. Every so often we catch wind of a trial in the works, though, which gives us hope that we'll eventually all be able to whip our cellies out of our pockets and clog our arteries in one deft motion. Case in point: Sprint has teamed up with Jack in the Box and San Francisco's Bay Area Transit Authority to offer fare and food payments with a tap of a phone in a trial that runs from January through May of next year. Strangely, the pictured phone appears to be the somewhat ancient A920 clamshell, so we're guessing Sprint is modifying the devices for the trial; Boost Mobile customers should be able to get on the action in some capacity as well. If you live in the area, ride BART at least once a week, and are willing to sacrifice that Touch for a trial phone, go sign yourself up -- just take it easy with the bacon burgers, k?[Thanks, Allan]
Thanks for coming out tonight, San Francisco!
We're floored! Over a thousand people braved lines to join us at tonight's Engadget reader meetup in San Francisco, our biggest ever event by far! We're completely humbled, but you're not out of the woods yet. Do us a favor and share your photos and video from tonight, would you? We'll post 'em up tomorrow for everyone to check out. Thanks again, SF!Please add your pictures to the Engadget Flickr pool here.And please add your videos to YouTube with the tag engadget2007sf.We'd also like to thank the premium event sponsor of our San Francisco event, the Bluetooth SIG, who really helped us make this whole thing happen!
Reminder: San Francisco reader meetup tonight!
Tonight's the big night, SF bay area! Our FREE and ALL AGES reader meetup goes off at 7PM at UCSF Mission Bay, where we'll have: Free food and drinks Product demos Audience Q&A with execs and Engadget editors ... and will be giving away literally hundreds of devices -- tens of thousands of dollars of gadgets. Hit the read link for details -- hope to see you there!We'd also like to thank the premium event sponsor of our San Francisco event, the Bluetooth SIG, who've been instrumental in getting this thing off the ground!
Reminder: San Francisco reader meetup tomorrow at UCSF
Just a reminder to everyone in or visiting the SF bay area about our reader meetup that's going on tomorrow night, 7PM at UCSF Mission Bay! We'll have product demos, audience Q&A, free food and drinks, and will be giving away literally hundreds of devices -- tens of thousands of dollars of gadgets -- on the spot. Hit the read link for details -- hope to see you there!P.S. -Also, a note to the local hackers in the audience! We'd like to try out the "lightning talks" round here in the US -- let us know if you have something interesting and electronic that you might want to show off! (Email us at event att engadget dawt com.)
San Francisco reader meetup details, note: location has changed!
Last week in Tokyo was pretty amazing, but this Wednesday's reader event in San Francisco promises to be possibly our most amazing yet. Here's a bit about what you can expect: We're giving away literally tens of thousands of dollars in gear, including... A free Sandisk Sansa Connect (4GB with WiFi) to the first 200 people! (And free Flickr Pro accounts for the next 250 people.) We'll also have free food and drinks! Live Q&A session with Engadget The event is ALL AGES and FREE ADMISSION As well as giveaways from: Drobo, Motorola, Nokia, OQO, Plantronics, Samsung, SanDisk, Sling, and others! When: Wednesday, October 10th, 7:00PM - 10:00PM [Listing on Upcoming] Please note, however, that we have changed our event location! We are no longer holding the event at Mighty, the event is now at the Mission Bay Conference Center at UCSF. 1675 Owens StreetSan Francisco, CA 94158866.431.UCSF Also, a note to the local hackers in the audience! We'd like to try out the "lightning talks" round here in the US -- let us know if you have something interesting and electronic that you might want to show off!We'd also like to thank the premium event sponsor of our San Francisco event, the Bluetooth SIG, who've been instrumental in getting this thing off the ground!Oh, and please leave us a comment if you're thinking of attending so we can at least try to estimate how many to expect. See you there! (Map, directions, and full list of companies at the event after the break.)
Engadget event locations: Tokyo (Oct. 4th) and San Francisco (Oct. 10th)!
Tokyo, San Francisco! We're coming to town to hang out, so please join us THIS WEEK in Tokyo as we host our first ever Japanese readup in Google / YouTube Japan's offices. Next week in San Francisco we'll be at Mighty. Directions and info below.Both events are ALL AGES and FREE ADMISSION (as usual).Tokyo - October 4th, ~6:30PM - 9:00PM, Cerulean Tower (7th floor) [map]Please note we have limited capacity, but we will do our best to accommodate everyone that shows up!San Francisco - October 10th, 7:00PM - 10:00PM, Mighty [map] We'd also like to thank the premium event sponsor of our San Francisco event, the Bluetooth SIG, as well as our host in Tokyo, Google Japan!Note: If you're thinking of coming to the Tokyo event please let us know in comments! It helps when we're figuring out catering and all that stuff. (Don't worry about San Francisco, we'll have more reminders on that one soon. And for everyone else who wants Engadget to come to your town, we'll do our best next time!)
Camera-equipped buses could automatically ticket San Franciscans
Not long after hearing about England's newfangled auto-ticketing system comes word that San Franciscans could soon be facing something similar. If signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger, "forward-facing digital video cameras would be installed on city buses," which would then be used to automatically ticket the owners of vehicles that are caught "blocking buses." The cameras would presumably be used to photograph vehicles that are in bus-only lanes, and interestingly enough, the proposed law also authorizes Municipal Transportation Agency "employees to access sensitive personal data" from the DMV for ticketing purposes.
Sonic.Net aiming to provide another WiFi option for San Franciscans
For those paying attention, you'd know that betting the farm on San Francisco's muni WiFi project ever coming together wouldn't exactly be the best move, but it appears that Sonic.Net is stepping in to provide an alternative. The California-based ISP has reportedly conjured up an initiative to bring an ad-supported MuniFi model to San Franciscans, and would utilize hardware from Meraki. Apparently, Sonic.Net customers can snag a Meraki wireless mesh router "at a subsidized cost," which would enable them to share "up to 500kbps" of their DSL line. Users of the service will spot a Google ad bar atop their browser, and there's even mention of ad revenues being shared with customers in order to reduce their monthly bill in the future. Notably, the platform could even expand to "other areas" outside of SF if it proves successful.
San Francisco pulls the plug on Google / Earthlink's citywide WiFi... for now
It looks like the people of San Francisco are going to have to wait a little bit longer before they can spam their friends with memes while sitting in the middle of Golden Gate Park. The WiFi blanket deal which would see Google and Earthlink teaming up to deliver a citywide network to the Bay-area has ground to a halt after a round of somewhat "unfriendly" statements from Earthlink concerning the plans. David Noyola, speaking on behalf of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (which has been overseeing the project) said that the network's rollout has stalled "in the shadow of comments," made last week by Rolla Huff, the internet provider's CEO, who expressed reservations over municipal wireless deals. Breaking points in particular seem to be the city's request for changes in data speed and privacy controls, and its desire to downsize Earthlink's contract on the network from 16 years to eight (significantly reducing the company's time to earn a profit). The internet provider now claims that they are doing a "detailed review," of their business model regarding the project, which the company says will not provide "an acceptable return." Obviously a lose-lose situation for the laptop-toting citizens of the City by the Bay.
Hilton's Sight+Sound suites deliver DirecTV, HD niceties
As the HDTV movement continues to reshape the average hotel room experience, Hilton has made sure it doesn't get left behind. Recently, the chain launched 25 "home theater-like" Sight+Sound rooms at the Hilton Chicago O'Hare International Airport, while 30 guest rooms at the Hilton San Francisco received the makeover. Among the amenities are a 42-inch LG plasma, Yahama's YSP-800 Digital Sound Projector, Monster cabling, DirecTV programming including 14 HD channels and a number of XM radio stations, and a high definition menu system from LodgeNet. Additionally, guests can hook up their DAPs or external audio sources to a unique "connectivity panel," and just in case you forget to pack an extra bag of cables, the specially equipped rooms should provide all the copper you need. Notably, this here setup sounds like one of the most fully-featured HD offerings found in a "standard" hotel, and now that it's been available for a few months, have any of you had an opportunity to indulge?
Line forms anew at San Francisco Apple Store
By 10:10AM local time -- just 10 minutes after opening -- this was the scene at Apple's downtown San Francisco outpost. You know, hundreds of iPhone owners waking up this morning and saying to themselves "zomg I need accessories" or "zomg this thing sucks, I'm returning it." Think of it as the "day after Christmas" effect.
Not much going on at San Fran's Apple Store
So far, the throngs of iPhone-demanding humanity beating on the glass shells of Apple Stores across the globe haven't materialized -- at least not here in Apple's backyard. At this point, the line consists of about one woman, four gentlemen, and three clowns. For whatever reason, we were expecting more (way more) people and generally fewer clowns. Are the contract requirements and price keeping the buying public at bay? We'll know tomorrow! Stay tuned for more updates live from the San Francisco outpost.%Gallery-4371%
Final Fantasy party tonight in San Francisco
This evening Square Enix is having a little Final Fantasy 20th anniversary bash at the PlayStation store in San Francisco. Early attendees will receive T-shirts and be able to purchase FFI on PSP. They'll also be able to play FFII which releases July 24. The event starts at 6PM.Final Fantasy I is only the first in a bunch of Square Enix games and franchises waltzing to the PSP. Star Ocean, FF: Tactics and a little bit of Sephiroth will also be coming to the system in the near future. If you don't feel like picking up a PSP and paying $30, we're pretty sure you can pick up Final Fantasy I - II: Dawn of Souls for Game Boy Advance in a bargain bin close by. Hey, we never say no to a party though. Open bar and Chocobo burgers anyone?[Via PlayStation Blog]
TUAW Video: Bently Holding loves Macs
Click To Play Yesterday we made a trip to 240 Stockton Street, a gorgeous old art deco building overlooking Union Square in San Francisco. A short elevator ride up and we were taken on a quick tour of the Bently Holdings SF office-- an office that runs everything on a Mac. They are really serious about it too (check out the posters). We also got a sneak peek inside one of the most exclusive spas in town: Kamalaspa. Very swank, and in true fanboy form their fish tank is stocked with the fish from Finding Nemo. Take a look at the video for what might be the holy land for you Mac techs out there.
Your Mac Stories
If you're a Mac user in San Francisco next week we're going to be around to take your picture. In fact, what we'd really like to do is tape your story. We're on a hunt to hear as many Mac stories as possible. What's a Mac story? Anything positive or remarkable about your Mac experience. That time you showed a coworker how they can save as a PDF, or how cool you thought Sherlock was back when it was released, or how the Chooser changed your life. We'll be hovering around Moscone all day Monday through Wednesday and would love to hear the tale. And if you're not in San Francisco? Dial up your favorite video-sharing service on the internets and tag the video with TUAW. Post a link below if you like, and we might just feature it one day. Nothing about how you stopped the alien invasion with your PowerBook, OK? Oh, and we're looking for Mac stories, which means we'd rather not have a zillion "my iPod is teh awesomes" videos. The Mac is the truly definitive Apple experience, which is why we're itching to hear how the little platform that could serves you best.
Rumor: Marketers head for the hills, a fond farewell to Kaplan and Harrison
It's a wild week in the world of Nintendo's upper management in marketing ... we think. Recently, Nintendo's marketing department was told they'd need to ship off to either New York or San Francisco from their current homes in Redmond. According to Game Informer, as astounding 90% decided to remain in the area and take severance pay. What's even more shocking are that Beth Llewelyn (senior director of public relations), Perrin Kaplan (vice president of marketing and corporate affairs) and George Harrison (senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications) are among the dearly departed. From Nintendo, we mean.Those are some big names dropping from Nintendo's ivory towers, and we've got to sad we're sad to see them go. George was always a nice, candid fellow, and who can forget drunk Perrin (pictured above)? Now that was a classic. We would like to reiterate that Game Informer's claim has not yet been corroborated, so we'll post an update with confirmation or denial when we get it.[Thanks, Jensonb!]
Guitar Zeros rock out with Guitar Hero axes
Making music with today's newfangled controllers is nothing new, but the Guitar Zeros are taking things a step further by actually forming a band that uses non-modified Guitar Hero controllers and a good bit of programming to please crowds. The San Francisco-based four-piece utilizes a standard drum kit and set of pipes, but opts for a much more digital approach to the guitar and bass. Both guitarists use Guitar Hero axes that are hooked up wirelessly to a Windows XP laptop, and thanks to some serious coding efforts within MAX/MSP, the controllers are able to emulate acoustic sounds, electric wailing, and mind-blowing lead lines without being plugged into a game console. Of course, the end result is purely a matter of taste, but the science behind the strumming is what's really impressive. So if you're interested in seeing a music video, just click right on through, and be sure to hit up CNET for a more technical look of how the magic happens.[Via CNET]
Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta event - San Francisco
Located in San Francisco's Mission District, where the trendy mingle with the low-income (or at least cross paths), the swank Foreign Cinema is playing host to the West Coast's Halo 3 event tonight. Much like our friends out East, we've got a few open bars, lots of random milling around with other game writers, and tiny, fancy hors d'eouvres. (You know the only thing better than mini-hamburgers? Regular-sized hamburgers!) People who got to the event early or rushed the multiplayer area after check-in landed a spot with a 360 controller and a giant HDTV. And they're still going strong, hours into the Halo 3 multiplayer beta. The rest of us (read: losers) are getting to know how many drinks it takes our neighbors before they start leaking... secrets. San Francisco has played host to several individual game events in this anniversary of E3, and the assembled crowd is a who's who of gaming dorks journalists. %Gallery-3089%
