service
Latest
Tesla details service plans, software updates for Model S
So you drop $50,000+ on a Tesla Model S -- then what? The all-electric automaker offered some more details on what folks can expect in the ensuing years on its blog this week, detailing service plans and software updates, and what it'll all cost. On that latter point, you can expect to pay $600 for a basic one-year service plan, or opt for a four-year package that'll set you back $1900 -- on-site visits are available for an extra $100, or as part of a four-year, $2400 plan that includes unlimited on-site visits. To provide that service, Tesla has also announced that it's nearly tripling its number of service centers, which it says will mean there's a service center within 100 miles of more than 90 percent of Model S reservation holders. What's more, it's also offered some details on what those owners will see in future software updates, including an optional "creep" mode that will mimic the slow, forward roll of a car with an automatic transmission. You can find more details and a full list of service centers at the links below.
OnLive sells company, lays off about 50% of staff
Just in case you didn't hear over the weekend, the cloud computing service OnLive experienced a little bit of a crisis: On Friday morning, the CEO of the company spoke to staff to essentially tell them all that they were fired, and that the assets of the company were being bought by another investor. The good news here is that the OnLive service hasn't gone down at all, and it reportedly isn't going down any time soon. But the bad news is that many of OnLive's employees have lost their jobs, and any investments in the company's potential future that they might have had. What does this mean for those of us on Mac and iOS? Right now, not much -- both OnLive's gaming service and the OnLive Desktop service (which provides a free streaming Windows computer and Microsoft apps) are still working just fine. The former employees of OnLive went through a rough situation, and for that reason you may not want to support a company like this going forward, but if you've come to depend on either one of those services, you're fine for now. The future of the company is definitely in question, or at least more question than it was before. Some of the news coming out of the whole event says that OnLive averaged only about 1800 users, which would make the service much smaller than anyone had thought. CEO Steve Perlman also reportedly has turned down previous offers to buy the company, instead hoping that OnLive's patents and other assets would eventually be worth much more. OnLive showed us an iOS app at one point, and even released an actual Bluetooth controller to work with the iPad, but while the company has released an Android app, it's never been able to get the iOS version approved. There is still an OnLive Desktop app on the store, but that gaming version wasn't ever released. We'll see how the company comes out of this situation going forward -- if things don't get any better for OnLive, this could end up being a service that simply arrived before its time.
OnLive on rumors of closure: 'of course not' [update]
InXile Entertainment's Brian Fargo tweeted this morning that he heard from someone inside Onlive that it was closing down, and has now posted that everyone on staff has lost their jobs, and that "a new company will be formed" soon after. A Mashable report from an anonymous source alleges the same. Joystiq reached out to OnLive directly to ask about the rumors, and Director of Corporate Communications Brian Jaquet replied to us with a blunt denial: "We don't respond to rumors, but of course not." "The exciting news is that the first VIZIO Co-Stars (Google TV stream players) with the OnLive app built-in have just arrived in customer homes," he continued, "and our second of three 'Indie Giveaway Weekends' is going on now. OnLive users can get a free copy of the award-winning games Space Pirates and Zombies and SpaceChem." So it sounds like OnLive is still open for business. Joystiq followed up to ask if there were any layoffs at the company this morning at all, and Jaquet could only confirm that "the OnLive service is not shutting down." We'll update this post with any more details if we can get them. Update: Kotaku is now hearing from "a source inside OnLive" that there in fact was a meeting this morning where CEO Steve Perlman told the staff that the company was filing for bankruptcy, and that no one would be employed by the current OnLive going forward. We're still researching this story, and will provide more information when we get it. Update 2: IDG's Martyn Williams reports via Twitter that he's outside OnLive's headquarters in Palo Alto, CA, and that he's seeing "employees leaving OnLive headquarters with moving boxes." It's looking more and more like there were layoffs at the company today. Joystiq is continuing to follow up. Update 3: OnLive laid off "at least 50 percent" of its staff this afternoon, and the company is being taken over by an unknown third-party. More through this link.
Twitter acquires Clutch.io, service essentially getting open sourced
Clutch.io is a service that allows iOS and mobile developers to easily and quickly do app testing, which helps them track just how customers use their apps. The service has been helpful in the past for a number of app developers and their products, but Clutch has now flipped over to just one client: The company has been acquired by Twitter. Clutch says it will work on the same type of work at Twitter, aiming to grow the company on a worldwide scale. As for developers using Clutch now, there's both good and bad news. The bad news is that the service is getting shut down -- it will be supported until November 1, and after that Clutch's servers will no longer work. But the good news is that Clutch is basically open sourcing the whole thing. The company says it will release all of the necessary documentation and software for devs to continue to run the testing service on their own servers. And any currently running tests are designed to "fail gracefully" should Clutch's servers go down, so there shouldn't be any issues with end users at all. All in all, it sounds like a good move for Clutch, and that developers who might be affected will at least have a way to deal with that. As for us Twitter users, I'm curious to see how this affects Twitter's mobile experience going forward. Twitter's one of my most-used services, so anything that makes it even better sounds good to me.
Yahoo confirms Mail / Messenger outage, working on a fix
Google Talk and Twitter had their moments last week, and now it's Yahoo's turn. As noted by a flood of readers -- and confirmed by the company itself -- the exclamation marked mail service is currently experiencing some issues. Yahoo Mail is prompting users to accept its terms and then just sort of conking out. We reached out to Yahoo for comment and received the following response: Yahoo! Mail, Messenger and other areas of Yahoo! may currently be inaccessible or slow to respond to some users in certain locations. We are working to correct the issue and restore all functionality immediately. We know that this may have caused some inconvenience and we apologize to our users who might be affected. We'll update you when things are back to normal. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: Phew, everything seems to be back in working order.
Republic Wireless reopens its unlimited $19 per month beta, starts offering Motorola Defy XT
Republic Wireless is finally ready for more customers on its low price cellphone service, announcing today that it's reopening signups for its beta and offering customers a new phone. The new hardware is the Motorola Defy XT, an Android 2.3 device with a 3.7-inch display, 1GHz CPU, 1650 mAh battery, 5MP camera / VGA front camera, 1GB of ROM and microSD slot. It can be your for $249, which may seem pricey for a Gingerbread phone in 2012, however Republic Wireless' truly unlimited $19 / month plan hopes to make up for it on the back end. Those who signed up for the service and are slotted in Wave B are welcome, while Wave A customers rocking the launch LG Optimus are being offered $100 off the price of an upgrade to the new phone. Check out a few more details after the break in the press release.
Twitter confirms site issues, working to resolve things (update: Twitter apologizes and explains)
It's a rough day for internet communication. First Google Talk, now Twitter. The microblogging service confirmed that it's currently having some issues -- a fact independently verified by our frustrated staff -- adding that "Our engineers are currently working to resolve the issue." We'll let you know when you can safely return to your regularly scheduled tweeting. Update: Everything seems to be back to normal. You know what to do. Update 2: Twitter just posted an apology and explanation for the outage on its blog. Turns out, tweets weren't making their way to the web because both a primary and back-up system in Twitter's data centers failed simultaneously, leaving us bereft of 140-character nuggets of wisdom for about two hours. Rest assured, VP of Engineering Mazen Rawashdeh and his team have apologized for the inconvenience and are working to prevent the problem in the future.
O2 apologizes for 'unprecedented' outage with 10 percent refunds
O2 is sorry for last week's service issues. Really, really sorry. Like, giving you back 10-percent of your bill sorry, if you happened to be among the affected. The UK operator noted in a blog post today that it has identified all those users who were impacted by the "unprecedented" downtime and will be offering up 10-percent off of their July subscriptions, to be applied to their bills in September, the monetary equivalent of three lost days. Pay & Go members, meanwhile, will also be getting something back in September: a 10 percent bonus on their first top-up that month. The company's also offering up customers a £10 O2 in-store voucher, available during the month of September. More info and apologies in the source link below.
Twitter confirms 'on-going' site issues, millions resort to verbal communication
Sorry microbloggers -- looks like we're not fully out of the woods yet. After confirming that its users "may be experiencing issues" via its Status Blog roughly an hour ago, Twitter has added that the concerns are "on-going." Don't worry, though, engineers are on the case, so your #followfriday plans should be largely unaffected.
Reading Rainbow app coming tonight, will be subscription-based (updated)
If you're right around my age (a couple years past 30), you'll probably also have fond memories of watching Levar Burton's Reading Rainbow program on PBS all those years ago. Burton, in addition with his work on Star Trek, has remained a pretty well-known figure for both Trekkies and those in education. Late last year, he announced that Reading Rainbow would be coming back as an iPad app, and the app is arriving on the App Store this evening. The app isn't quite live yet as of this writing, but it will be a subscription affair for kids. For $9.99 a month (or slightly cheaper if you buy in six-month installments), the app will deliver books, interactive educational content, and other videos and information. Some of the books included (which have been supplied by a number of various educational partners) will be read by Burton himself, while some will be performed by other speakers as well (just like the original TV show). It might be a bit much for simple nostalgia, but if you have kids currently looking for this kind of content, it sounds like a great deal. The Reading Rainbow app is set to go live later this evening. Update: The app's now out, so head over to the App Store and check it out!
Daily iPhone App: Songza streams music with style
The streaming-music app mini-industry is interesting: I'm guessing at this point that if you use an app for music streaming, you might have found your winner already. Personally, I tend to use Slacker more than others. I've found the selection there pretty good, and the iPhone app has been challenging my music-filled iPod for listening to tunes in my car. But I will admit that the interface for most of these music apps is lacking. It's basically a series of menus to let you look up the song you want. That's where Songza is trying to grab some users: Songza's interface is actually impressively simple and clean. And what I especially like is that if you don't have a particular song in mind to play, Songza will help you choose. Rather than going through a list of stations, the app asks what kind of mood you're in or what kind of situation you need music for and populate a playlist based on that. I can't vouch for Songza's library at all, unfortunately, given that I've only spent about a half hour testing the service for this writeup. And the app's biggest black mark is that there's a full banner ad across the bottom of the screen -- understandable for monetization issues, but some users don't appreciate that, and there's no option to turn them off (though they do keep ads out of the audio feed, which other services don't do unless you subscribe). Songza has also just recently released an iPad app, and it's very well done as well. If you haven't settled on a streaming music service yet or just like checking around and keeping your options open, Songza is a free download on the App Store now.
Midtronics GRX-5100 simplifies servicing hybrid and EV batteries
As we move away from traditional fossil fuel-burning automobiles towards hybrids and EVs, we're presented with new challenges -- namely servicing those vehicles and their high-voltage batteries. When it comes time for transport, in the event of an accident or when components need to be serviced individually, it's necessary to completely drain the cells on board, and that's where Midtronics' GRX-5100 comes in. The vehicle battery service and de-power tool is wrapping up field testing at GM and may soon find itself in "reclamation yards" (read: junk yards) as well as your local mechanic. With testing out of the way Midtronics plans to ramp up production before the end of the year, and its updateable firmware means it will be able to handle future vehicles with nothing more than an upgrade loaded on a USB key. For more info check out the PR after the break.
Cox and Verizon Wireless join forces, launch service bundles in Oklahoma
It's a moderately good day to be an Oklahoman. Wireless subscribers living near Oklahoma City or Tulsa will be among the first to reap the benefits of a new collaboration between Cox Communications and Verizon Wireless that bundles services from both companies, letting customers sign up for packages that include video, internet and voice services from Cox, and wireless service from VZW at a discounted rate. They'll also be eligible to receive debit cards valued at $100-400 if they make the switch to a co-sponsored bundle. You can head over to select retail outlets from either company to sign up, or hit up the source links past the break for more info.
Microsoft reminds users of Windows Mobile Marketplace's imminent demise
It truly is the end of an era. In just under two weeks, Microsoft will follow through with its plan to shutter the Windows Mobile 6.x Marketplace for good. In a cautionary email, Redmond asked that those still using a WM device "install any available updates in advance of the [...] shut-down," scheduled for May 17th. Not all hope is lost for the antiquated mobile operating system, though, as the announcement reminds technology holdouts that application updates can be acquired directly from developers (good luck with that). If you're out on the town this evening having a few drinks with friends, remember to pour one out for Windows Mobile, a true OG smartphone operating system.
Rdio grows its European presence, hits France and the UK starting at £4.99 per month
The hottest tech news of the day in Europe will undoubtedly be the next Galaxy phone, launching tonight in London. Music fans on that side of the pond woke up to another surprise, however, with the launch of Rdio's online streaming service in France and the UK. Pricing starts at £4.99 (about $8) per month for unlimited web streaming, jumping to £9.99 (roughly $16) when you add mobile support. Ready to rock? Hit up the source link below for a six-day free mobile trial, without any need to hand over those precious credit card deets.
Box releases new API, more OneCloud apps
Cloud filesharing service Box has released a brand new version of its API, allowing iOS and Mac developers to make even easier use of Box in their apps. There several new features in the update, including Instant Mode, which lets developers instantly create and use Box accounts on behalf of their users, smoothing the process for everyone. You can learn more about the API in the video below, and devs interested in using it can find more info on the official blog. Box has also announced fifteen new iPhone and iPad apps for its OneCloud program. OneCloud highlights apps that can pull files from Box's cloud, edit them, and then send them back, where they can be accessed from anywhere else. Among those apps are a device-to-printer solution called Breezy and a sales catalog app called Handshake. All of the apps added to OneCloud can be found in the full updated list inside the official Box iOS app.
Gmail down for many, Hotmail users feel free to gloat (update: back for some!)
Having trouble accessing your Gmail? You're not alone. Far from it, as a matter of fact. Widespread reports of "Temporary Error 500" are sweeping the Twittersphere and, indeed, many fine members of Engadget are seeing the above when attempting to log in. We've seen numerous outages of Google's insanely popular email service in the past but this one seems to take the cake. Google reports that it is "investigating reports of an issue with Google Mail." You can check out the source link for more information -- or just keep on hitting F5. Update: Seems to be working again for some, and Google has posted an update: "Google Mail service has already been restored for some users, and we expect a resolution for all users in the near future. Please note this time frame is an estimate and may change."
Sony Online Entertainment offers an updated ProSiebenSat.1 FAQ
If you're in Europe and playing EverQuest II, DC Universe Online, or many other Sony Online Entertainment games, you're probably aware that a major change is on the horizon. The company has signed an agreement with ProSiebenSat.1, giving that company a great deal of control over the publication and operation of SOE's games in the region. There was some backlash over the change, as players were in particular concerned about being forced to play on specific servers. While some of the details have already been addressed, SOE seeks to remedy a variety of player concerns with an updated FAQ detailing exactly what will take place when the service changes hands. Worth noting is that Station Cash will be converted into a similar but proprietary currency and all customer service issues will be handled by ProSiebenSat.1. Players will also need to make a new account with ProSiebenSat.1, although their old SOE accounts will still be used for certain games, such as the original EverQuest. If you're one of the many players affected by the change, there's no time like the present to take a look at what you can expect.
Sony to add photo editing to PlayStation 3's repertoire this week?
Limber up those thumbs gaming gurus, because a new challenge may be on its way to your PlayStation 3 console: photo editing. PCWorld is reporting that Sony will be rolling out some new "photo editing software" for the PS3 early this week. Tweaking photos aside, the software's ultimate purpose will be to provide access to and allow the sharing of digital stills through the company's PlayMemories Online (and your other Sony portable media devices), which is set to launch later this year. The report states that the software will be on sale here in the US on Tuesday and carry a price tag of $18 -- a 30-day trial will also be available. What say you PlayStation Legion? Are you ready to retouch your stills with a D-pad?
TiVo Premiere 500GB coming Sunday along with lower prices for service, XL and Elite DVRs
The new TiVo Premiere featuring an upgraded 500GB hard drive (65 percent more hours of HD storage than the old 320GB unit) that we spotted this morning is official, and will start shipping March 25th -- but that's not it. As we also noted, it only requires a one year service agreement at $14.99 per month or $12.99 for users with multiple boxes, which is cheaper than last year's $19.99 / month package (Lifetime Service is still available as well). If you need more hard drive space, THX Certification or more tuners then you're also in luck, as price cuts are in order for the 1TB Premiere XL (down $50 to $249) and the 2TB Elite models (down $100 to $399). The new pricing should let multi-TiVo homes compete even better with cable company DVR offerings, and once the new multiroom boxes arrive this summer things should only get better. Stake out various online retailers or your local Best Buy to snag one or three on Sunday, but until then check out the press release after the break for all of the numbers.
