Rapid City Going 4G

Verizon Wireless has just announced their latest round of markets scheduled to get their 4G service and Western South Dakotan's should be happy to hear that Rapid City has made the list.

On or before November 17th Verizon will flip the 4G switch on the following markets:

Appleton, WI
Des Moines, IA
Cedar Rapids, IA
Lincoln, NB
Rapid City, SD
Kansas City, MO
Springfield and Branson, MO
Orange County, NY (Newburgh, Montgomery, Middletown, etc.)
Roanoke, VA
Greater Providence
Lexington, KY
Little Rock, AK
Savannah, GA

5 other markets will be expanding at the same time though unfortunately Sioux Falls isn't one of them so I will still be missing out on the 4G love at the old homestead by a mere 10 miles or so...

Happy Birthday World Wide Web!

Today marks a significant day in the history of the internet. 20 years ago on August 6th 1991 Tim Berners-Lee published the first Web page on a server at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The page, viewed on the Berners-Lee developed  web browser called WorldWideWeb was met with little fanfare but 20 years later one might wonder what life would be like without Berners-Lee's creation.

Berners-Lee's 1990 concept for what would eventually become the World Wide Web:

HyperText is a way to link and access information of various kinds as a web of nodes in which the user can browse at will. It provides a single user-interface to large classes of information (reports, notes, data-bases, computer documentation and on-line help). We propose a simple scheme incorporating servers already available at CERN.

The project has two phases: firstly we make use of existing software and hardware as well as implementing simple browsers for the user's workstations, based on an analysis of the requirements for information access needs by experiments. Secondly, we extend the application area by also allowing the users to add new material.

Phase one should take 3 months with the full manpower complement, phase two a further 3 months, but this phase is more open-ended, and a review of needs and wishes will be incorporated into it.

The manpower required is 4 software engineers and a programmer, (one of which could be a Fellow). Each person works on a specific part (eg. specific platform support).

Each person will require a state-of-the-art workstation , but there must be one of each of the supported types. These will cost from 10 to 20k each, totalling 50k. In addition, we would like to use commercially available software as much as possible, and foresee an expense of 30k during development for one-user licences, visits to existing installations and consultancy.

We will assume that the project can rely on some computing support at no cost: development file space on existing development systems, installation and system manager support for daemon software.

Spotify Launches In The US

The latest music streaming service to hit the US has opened it doors this morning. Spotify, already a popular choice in Europe, is a service that lets users stream unlimited music on demand to your PC, Mac, or cell phone, and also build and share playlists. What makes Spotify different from some of the other options out there such as Pandora and Slacker is that you can search for and play specific tracks and even import your own MP3's which means you aren't necessarily a slave to the service's algorithm.

Where Spotify falls short though in my opinion is their availability. The free ad supported option and even the $4.99/mo unlimited plans do not allow you to stream to your mobile device (sync only) which will still make the other services a better option for some. That convenience will cost you $9.99 a month.

Hello America. Spotify here.

Spotify, the largest and fastest growing music service of its kind, is available from today in the US. We’re massively excited to be here.

Spotify is a new way to manage your music, discover new tracks and share songs and playlists with your friends. Now you can enjoy music whenever and wherever you like.

More than 10 million Europeans can’t be wrong, surely?

OK, so they are wrong when it comes to spelling ‘favourite’ and ‘doughnut’. But they know a great music service when they see it.

Spotify was launched in Sweden in 2008 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, out of a desire to develop a better, more convenient and legal alternative to music piracy. Spotify is now the second single largest source of digital music revenue for labels in Europe (IFPI, April 2011), making sure that artists get a fair deal.

Spotify has more than 10 million registered users and more than 1.6 million paying subscribers across 7 countries in Europe; the US marks the 8^th territory. With a ratio of well over 15% paying subscribers to active free users, Spotify is the largest and fastest growing service of its kind.

One lean, green, music machine

• Spotify gives you on-demand access (with no buffering) to a library of more than 15 million songs. What’s more, you can import the MP3s you already own with just one click, to create a mighty music player. And with Spotify, there’s no need to skip tracks you don’t like. Why? Because you choose the music in the first place.

• It’s super simple to create and manage all your playlists with Spotify – our users have made and shared over 250 million of them so far. You can also discover the most popular playlists on sites like www.sharemyplaylists.comand www.bbcify.com, or use clever sites like www.spotiseek.com to create playlists of new music based on your favorite artists.

• Music is made for sharing. Simply drag and drop music to your Spotify friends, or share with them via Facebook, Twitter, email and SMS. See your friends’ top tracks, artists and playlists via their Spotify profiles, subscribe to their playlists and drop tracks into their Spotify inbox. How very sociable.

• Take your music with you by installing Spotify on your cellphone or iPod Touch. Wirelessly sync your MP3 playlists to listen offline and subscribe to Spotify Premium to combine your own music with access to our catalogue of over 15 million tracks. It’s the perfect music player.

The Land of the Free, the Unlimited and the Premium

During our invite-only beta phase, Spotify offers three great services, from absolutely free to paid subscriptions. All of Spotify’s services include the features listed above.

• Spotify Free – the unsurpassed free music service. With an invite, enjoy on-demand, buffer-free access to over 15 million songs on your computer, great social features, manage your own music files through Spotify, and sync with your cellphone or iPod. Features occasional advertising.

• Spotify Unlimited – all the special features of our free service but with uninterrupted, ad-free access to Spotify on your computer. All for only $4.99 a month.

• Spotify Premium – the all-singing, all-dancing, top-of-the-range Spotify experience. Premium gives you access to all the music, all the time. Listen online or offline, on your computer, your cellphone and a whole heap of other devices. Enjoy enhanced sound quality and access to exclusive content, competitions and special offers. Premium costs just $9.99 a month (that’s the equivalent of a few fancy coffees).

Daniel Ek, Founder and CEO of Spotify, said: “We believe that music is the most social thing there is and that’s why we’ve built the best social features into Spotify for easy sharing and the ultimate in music discovery. Even if you aren’t a total music freak, chances are you have a friend who is and whose taste you admire. I’m looking forward to connecting with some of you in Spotify and discovering some cool new tracks.”

Spotify’s US launch is in partnership with some of the biggest and most pioneering brands in the world, who want to help us spread the word of Spotify in the USA. Our exclusive launch partners are Coca-Cola and Sprite, Chevrolet, Motorola, Reebok, Sonos and The Daily. These brands will all be launching innovative campaigns in partnership with Spotify in the coming weeks and months.

Ken Parks, Chief Content Officer and Managing Director of Spotify North America, said: “Spotify was founded as a better, simpler alternative to piracy. So making sure that the people who create the music prosper is hugely important to us. We have full catalogues from all the major labels and a raft of independent labels including those represented by Merlin, which means all of their artists are being fairly compensated for their creativity every time people enjoy music through Spotify.”

The free plan is still invitation only but if you just can't wait, signing up for the Unlimited or Premium plans will give you immediate access. 

Now That's A Price Hike Netflix!

Ok, I understand costs are rising everywhere and that price hikes are inevitable but raising them in some cases up to 60% in one fell swoop?

For those that were unaware, Netflix announced yesterday that it was revamping its plans which among other things removed streaming from their standard DVD plans making it a separate add on starting on September 1st.

Netflix's love letter from my inbox:

Dear Robert,

We are separating unlimited DVDs by mail and unlimited streaming into two separate plans to better reflect the costs of each. Now our members have a choice: a streaming only plan, a DVD only plan, or both.

Your current $11.99 a month membership for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs (including Blu-ray access) will be split into 2 distinct plans:

Plan 1: Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month
Plan 2: Unlimited DVDs (including Blu-ray), 1 out at-a-time (no streaming)
for $9.99 a month

Your price for getting both of these plans will be $17.98 a month ($7.99 + $9.99). You don't need to do anything to continue your memberships for both unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs.

These prices will start for charges on or after September 1, 2011.

You can easily change or cancel your unlimited streaming plan, unlimited DVD plan, or both, by going to the Plan Change page in Your Account.

We realize you have many choices for home entertainment, and we thank you for your business. As always, if you have questions, please feel free to call us at 1-888-357-1516.

–The Netflix Team


To say I am unhappy is an understatement but to say I am going to cancel completely is not something I am ready to say yet at least until I hear more from Netflix on what if any improvements come along with this massive hike. But if the 1000's of comments I am seeing on Neflix's blog and Facebook page are any indication, many other people have already decided.

Obviously any price hike is going to be met by some sort of backlash and this is a free market society so Netflix can do whatever they wish but I am wondering if they were actually prepared for this huge of a wave of negative comments?

As for me, I have a month and a half to figure out what I am going to do as I am having a hard time swallowing the idea of paying $18 on September 1st for the same level of service I was getting for $12 on August 31st. Right now I would have to say that unless Netflix improves their streaming service to include more new releases between now and then, my already limited entertainment budget will be spent elsewhere.

HTC/Verizon Shafts Us Poor Thunderbolt Owners Once Again

Ok, not only do Thunderbolt owners still have to put up with piss poor battery life, crappy GPS performance, and the ever present re-booting issues, we now find out that the HTC Droid Incredible 2 is poised to receive Gingerbread (aka Android 2.3) before the supposed flagship Verizon 4G phone. You know the handset that was released over a month earlier than the refreshed non-4G and $50 cheaper Incredible.

Of course I have long since given up waiting for the long ago promised T-Bolt Gingerbread update from Verizon which was supposed to be released last quarter and have moved on to BAMF's wonderful Sense 3.0 ROM on my rooted T-Bolt but I think we can now officially say that HTC and Verizon have totally ruined what could have been an awesome phone.

So while the T-Bolt continues to languish in Verizon hell, I hope all you Incredible 2 users, my wife included, enjoy your soon to be Gingerbread infused phone.

UPDATE: I guess Thunderbolt users aren't being left completely out of the loop. Droid Life has details of a T-Bolt update being pushed out as early as tonight that hopes to fix the random re-booting issue they likely caused or made worse with their last update. It also includes a few more items but obviously, no Gingerbread.

Oh, and if you are rooted, it is suggested that you do not accept this update.

Unhappy With Verizon? Now May Be Your Chance To Leave Them

The Consumerist writes today that a small $.03 increase in a regulatory fee that Verizon plans to implement on July 1st could be your chance to get out of your contract with Verizon without being charged their "early termination fee" which could save you up to $350 per line.

They claim that the fee increase from $.13 to $.16 falls under the "materially adverse change of contract" clause in the agreement you signed the last time you renewed.

From Verizon's customer agreement:

Can Verizon Wireless Change This Agreement or My Service?

We may change prices or any other term of your Service or this agreement at any time,but we'll provide notice first, including written notice if you have Postpay Service. If you use your Service after the change takes effect, that means you're accepting the change. If you're a Postpay customer and a change to your Plan or this agreement has a material adverse effect on you, you can cancel the line of Service that has been affected within 60 days of receiving the notice with no early termination fee.

Now I am guessing there will not be many takers here in South Dakota as our choices for a Verizon replacement aren't the greatest but if you have been looking to leave, this may be your chance as long as you act within 60 days of the fee implementation. The post over at the Consumerist has all the details as well as some helpful stories from those using similar situations to terminate their contracts early.

The End Of Unlimited Data On Verizon

The era of unlimited data on Verizon is coming to an end as the news has leaked, and has since been confirmed, that starting July 7th Verizon customers signing a new contract will no longer have the $29.99 data option. What hasn't been confirmed yet but is being widely reported is that you will still be shelling out at least 30 bucks for your data plan, but now that will be the cost of their minimum option and will only get you 2GB of bandwidth.

Here is the rumored data pricing structure:

2GB – $30/month
5GB – $50/month
10GB – $80/month

And if this wasn't bad enough, Verizon also thinks that you shouldn't be able to use your bandwidth how you chose and will implement a "required" data plan for those that like to tether for the "bargain" pricing below:

4GB – $50/month
7GB – $70/month
12GB – $100/month

Why exactly does it matter how I use my bandwidth especially since it is no longer unlimited?

All above plans include a $10 per GB overage charge and a bottle of Vaseline to ease the pain when you bend over. (1 hour streaming Netflix will eat up around 1gb for those wondering)

If you are a Verizon smartphone user in South Dakota, what does that mean to you?

As long as you happen to spend most of your time along the I29 corridor and don't travel to points west very often, you still have the option of telling Verizon to pack sand and sign up with Sprint. They have a very good selection of Android and Blackberry phones (no iPhone) and still offer true unlimited data for those of us that tend to use our phones like they were intended to be used. But if you are like me and spend a lot of time outside of Sioux Falls, Sprint is not an option.

That just leaves new South Dakota resident AT&T. Unfortunately, they have long since done away with their unlimited data programs after finding out that their crappy network couldn't handle the traffic. They do have somewhat better pricing plans, averaging about $5 a month less plus they have a much more wallet friendly plan for those that are small time data consumers but if you plan on streaming a lot of music or video with any carrier other than Sprint, plan on taking on a 2nd job.

200MB – $15/month
2GB – $25/month
4GB – $45/month

Where does that leave current Verizon customers that often use over 2GB a month?

If you are currently enjoying unlimited data, you should continue to do so and will until you sign your next 2 year contract. If you are eligible for an upgrade but were just waiting for Verizon's next super phone i.e. the Bionic, you either continue to wait and then get hit with the new data pricing or you chose one of Verizon's current offerings before the 7th and get locked in under the old pricing. If you aren't due for an upgrade until sometime after the 7th, you either keep your current phone, pay full price for one now, or bite the bullet after the 7th and use wi-fi wherever possible. So far no word on what will happen to those who are month to month and chose to pay full price for their phones yet.

Finally, what if you are like me and being told that you will effectively be required to pay more for less doesn't sound very palatable? 

That remains to be seen for me as I just renewed and have 2 years to decide but that old Motorola Razr in my desk drawer is looking a lot better as does saying goodbye to Verizon altogether.

(via DroidLife)

UPDATE: It now looks like customers already on Verizon's $29.99 unlimited data plan as of 7/7/2011 will be grandfathered in for the foreseeable future even after renewing their 2 year contracts. The rumors now point to only those buying new lines or moving to smart phones for the first time having to choose a tiered data plan.

(4Z66TKHF8X3D)

AT&T Propaganda In The Capitol Journal

I came across an interesting article this morning in the Pierre Capitol Journal that had to be something originating right out of the marketing department of AT&T. The piece covers the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile and how it will do nothing but benefit customers of both companies.

Putting aside for the moment that the only person cited in the article is AT&T's regional vice president of external affairs, the article fails to touch any of the many problems that this merger could cause. I especially loved this line from AT&T that specifically addresses South Dakota:

“We are really excited about it,” Canuteson said. “It is going to be great for a state like South Dakota with small, rural, metropolitan areas where 4G technology wouldn’t necessarily come for a long time without something like this.”

Really? So buying out T-Mobile, which doesn't even have a presence here will some how magically allow AT&T to upgrade our technology? Considering that AT&T just finished building their network in South Dakota from the ground up after buying Alltel's assets and built it using older 3G technology instead of their already sub par "4G" system why do I not believe you? And in regards to our so-called small rural metropolitan areas not seeing 4G, they somehow failed to mention that Sioux Falls is already enjoying the technology...on the much faster Verizon network.

AT&T merging with T-Mobile will surely have some benefits, mainly for T-Mobile's share holders, but for consumers I see little to cheer for. We already have very little competition with only 4 major carriers (only 2 with a significant presence here) and cutting that down to 3 won't help especially considering T-Mobile has the cheapest plans on average of the big 4.

So what is really behind all the merger propaganda coming from AT&T and published by the Capitol Journal without even once throwing the much needed BS flag?

I'm guessing AT&T is starting to worry that the merger is in trouble and is hoping to win the support of consumers before it is too late to which our local papers' advertising departments "news" department seem to be more than happy to oblige. After all if it doesn't get approved and the deal falls apart, AT&T will be on the hook to T-Mobile for $6 billion in cash and prizes. Ouch!

That's a lot of unavailable ad dollars iPhone sales...

4G Goes Live In Sioux Falls

Verizon had promised that 4G would go live by June 16th and they have made good on that promise. Pulling into the Sioux Falls Regional Airport this morning I noticed the beautiful sight of the 4G icon for the first time on my Thunderbolt.

Enjoy Sioux Falls, it is about time we were able to get onboard with new technology before it had already become obsolete.

21 4G Markets To Go Live June 16th [Updated With Some Sioux Falls News]

Will Sioux Falls finally go live this time around?

Verizon has just announced on their Twitter page that they will be hitting the 4G switch in 21 new markets on June 16th. As per usual, the tweet doesn't give any details but rumors have the following cities being some of the chosen few. [UPDATED to include more markets]

• Ann Arbor, MI
• Flint, MI
• Grand Rapids, MI
• Lansing, MI
• Indianapolis, IN
• Fort Wayne, IN
• State College, PA
• Erie, PA
• Harrisburg, PA
• Dayton, OH
• Springfield, OH
• Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
• Hartford, CT
• Madison, WI
• Milwaukee, WI
• Racine, WI
• Kenosha, WI
• Wisconsin Dells, WI
• Sacramento, CA
• Sioux Falls, SD!

Those of us in the Sioux Falls area shouldn't give up hope for the 16th just yet as the above does not represent the complete list and mid-June does correspond with the summertime launch we were told to expect when 4G service was first announced for the Sioux Falls area.

UPDATE: It is official. Verizon has just announced that Sioux Falls will go live by June 16th!

Verizon Wireless To Launch 4G LTE In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, By June 16

Customer Inquiries

For customer inquiries, please call 800-922-0204 or go to
Contact Us

Media Contact Info

Karen Smith
Karen.Smith@VerizonWireless.com
763-595-2511
http://twitter.com/KarenVZW


05/23/2011

SIOUX FALLS, SD —

Verizon Wireless announced today that it is bringing the world’s first large-scale 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network to Sioux Falls, S.D. by June 16. Residents in the City of Sioux Falls, including north to Dell Rapids and south to Beresford on Interstate 29 as well as east to Brandon and west to Hartford on Interstate 90 that have 4G LTE smartphones, laptop modems and hot spots will be able to take advantage of speeds up to 10 times faster than the company’s 3G network.

“Our 4G LTE network is revolutionizing the way people communicate, and we know this connectivity will be a key communications and technology enabler for many years to come.” said Seamus Hyland, president–Great Plains Region, Verizon Wireless. “ We are proud to bring the ability for South Dakota consumers to move large files faster and enjoy smooth mobile video conferencing. But, this is only the beginning, and the opportunities with 4G LTE are limitless.”

In real-world, fully-loaded network environments, 4G LTE users should experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink. Verizon Wireless began introducing the globe’s first large-scale LTE network on December 5, 2010, covering more than 110 million Americans, and is quickly expanding national coverage, currently offering service in 55 metropolitan areas. The company is rapidly building out its 4G LTE network, and is on course to deliver 4G LTE to its entire 3G wireless footprint by the end of 2013.

As the first wireless company in the world to broadly deploy game-changing 4G LTE technology, Verizon Wireless is committed to building its 4G network with the same performance and reliability for which it has long been recognized. Verizon Wireless’ consistent focus on reliability is based on rigid engineering standards and a disciplined deployment approach year after year. The company’s 700 MHz spectrum gives Verizon Wireless specific advantages with 4G, including a contiguous, nationwide network license.

Visit www.verizonwireless.com/lte for more information about Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest, most advanced 4G network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 104 million total wireless connections, including more than 88 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

####

Is It Time For Google To Step In?

News around the net yesterday revolved around an exploit discovered by German researchers that opens up over 99% of the Android devices in the wild to a security breach when on an open wi-fi network.

Android applications can acquire a security token from the ClientLogin authorization process. This token (known as authToken) is then passed back to the device and with its presence the device is authorized to make changes to the user’s Google account. The problem is that this authToken can then be sent from other applications, unencrypted allowing for the authToken to be “sniffed” and stolen over an open WiFi network. The authToken is valid for a whole 2 weeks and is not bound to any specific device, service, or session. Therefore once the token is taken, a “hacker” could potentially steal, modify, or erase the user’s Google contact and calendar data

The exploit which was patched in the latest version of Android is just the most recent example of what is wrong with Google's operating system as it is now and it doesn't necessarily reside solely with Google. Like I said the issue was patched by Google but unless you have one of the few Google branded phones out there (like .3% of the Android phones) you haven't seen the update yet and many of us likely never will. And there is where the problem is.

Google updates Android quite frequently, in fact that latest version of Android, Gingerbread, has been out for almost a year and updated several times since then. Unfortunately though if you were to look through Verizon's stable of Android phones, not one is available with Gingerbread installed including their wallet busting 4G "super phones" the Charge and the Thunderbolt. Ouch...

As an outsider looking in it appears that the OEM's seem to be more concerned with putting their update killing Skins on a phone, ie. Motorola's Blur, Samsung's Touchwiz, and HTC's Sense, than keeping the operating system they run on current. Then if they do get around to updating we still have to wait for the cell carriers to test and add their bloatware before finally get around to pushing it out to our phones. Finally  the OEM's are doing their best to make it more difficult for us to do what they seem unwilling to do, update the OS on our own because of their decision to lock down the boot loaders making root access difficult if not impossible. Sounds like a malicious hacker's dream situation, an immensely popular operating system that is rarely updated.

So what is a Verizon Android lover to do? We don't have access to a Google Nexus phone with it's consistently updated operating system and even buying a new phone doesn't guarantee getting the latest OS (is it really a new phone if it runs an outdated OS?). All we can hope for it seems is that Google uses its considerable clout to steer the OEM's and cell carriers towards doing what they should already be doing, updating their products.

If and until that happens security flaws like the one exposed yesterday will continue to be an issue even after being exposed and Google will sooner or later become a security joke on par with Microsoft of years gone by. Eventually, and it truly pains me to say this, the security conscious among us might be forced to embrace the closed system provided by that company with a fruit logo.

Please Google, help us.

UPDATE: Google says it will be sending out a server side patch to fix this latest security issue.

Sunday Rant - Asking For Too Much From Verizon? [UPDATED]

As I was standing in line at the Verizon corporate store in Sioux Falls yesterday waiting to replace my Thunderbolt (for the last time!) it hit me. Are we really asking for too much when we buy a phone to actually get a product that works?

Obviously any phone you choose will make and receive phone calls out of the box, though some may dispute even that notion, but considering we pay anywhere up to $300 for a phone and then an extra $30 a month for a pipe to the internet, shouldn't we get a finished product in return?

Take my HTC Thunderbolt for instance. From day one it seemed obvious to me that this thing was not ready for prime time. Sure it looks great and is one of the fastest phones on the market but shouldn't one expect a $249 along with a 2 year obligation "portable" phone to actually be portable? How is being tethered to a charger because of a 5-6 hour battery life portable? Believe it or not my workday is a bit longer than that so shouldn't my portable phone at a minimum be able to get me through that workday? I guess not

Also shouldn't one expect one's internet enabled smart phone to actually be connected to the internet? Again apparently HTC thought that wasn't the case as my Thunderbolt would decide at various times during the day that it's data connection wasn't needed and for some reason would shut down requiring a reboot to turn it back on.

Speaking of reboots, besides the fact that a reboot with the Thunderbolt is a seemingly endless process taking several minutes to complete, HTC has made it easy for you to perform that action.The Thunderbolt does it all for you rebooting several times a day all on its own usually at the worst times imaginable, you know like in the middle of a phone call.

Now before someone says the obvious that it was just a bad phone, let me say that forums are full of people all with the same complaints and after going through 2 phones myself with the same problems I would have say that it is not an isolated issue. In fact HTC just pushed out an update that was supposed to fix the data connection issue, which in my experience it didn't by the way and actually made my rebooting issue worse!

So there I was at the Verizon store once again trying to find a phone that meets a certain set of standards. You know something that gets me through a full day without having to charge it, makes phone calls, stays connected to the internet, and above all stays turned on. Is that asking for too much for ones money? We'll see.

I now have my Thunderbolt sitting on my desk doing what it does do well, being a paperweight, while I setup its replacement, the Incredible 2 which believe it or not early on is also giving cause for concern besides the obvious fact that I just wasted my last available upgrade only a little over a month after using one. I'll give HTC's latest Verizon phone a few days before getting too worried but stay tuned for more on that in the near future.

Anyone want to buy a paperweight Thunderbolt?

UPDATE 5/23: Further highlighting the issue, my Incredible 2 would lose cell signal consistently at my house so back it went to Verizon. Instead of pressing my luck with a different Incredible or another handset I decided to root my Thunderbolt and loaded the BAMF Remix v1.6.3 ROM. So far I have yet to experience 1 reboot and my battery life has been amazing (Ok, not really but by Thunderbolt standards it has been).

Verizon Is Teasing Us Once Again

Last month Verizon sent out a cryptic tweet announcing that a "mess" of new cities would be going live on their 4G network within a day or so. Their idea of a mess ending up being like 5 or 6 cities, none of which were Sioux Falls.

Fast forward to today and Verizon's latest tease intimating another batch of new 4G cities going live. Of course at the time of this writing the link given doesn't give us even a hint of which markets they are talking about so if you are in Sioux Falls and have either the Thunderbolt, the Droid Charge which is supposedly on sale starting today, or one of the 4g modems, keep your eyes peeled and cross all your fingers and toes.

Still More AT&T Issues

To say it hasn't been a smooth transition here in South Dakota for AT&T would be an understatement. Confusion by former Alltel customers trying to convert to the new system, equipment failures preventing customers from making calls and now we are learning that  AT&T customers can't connect to South Dakota's 511 systemwhich gives drivers information on current road conditions. Some callers are even being connected to the North Dakota system by mistake.

The South Dakota Department of Transportation and AT&T Mobility are working to resolve an issue that has prevented some AT&T cell phone customers from connecting with the 511 Traveler Information Service.

Callers in some locations have received messages saying, “Your call cannot be completed as dialed." Others have been connected to North Dakota’s 511 service instead of South Dakota’s.

Of course with the numerous complaints over AT&T's coverage issues when compared to Alltel's, making a phone call of any kind seems to be a much bigger issue for many...

Thunderbolt Update Today?

Rumor number 2 has Verizon Wireless releasing an update for their 1st 4G phone the HTC Thunderbolt sometime today. (my review)

The update supposedly includes enhanced data connectivity for 3G, proper storage of SMS and MMS messages, and improved timing for device activation. The update will also fix the bug causing "Backup Assistant" to display improperly in the app menu as well as data-centric applications such as Facebook, and Yahoo Mail receiving stability improvements. Lastly it should fix the issue of the weather app finding the correct location.

You will notice though, nothing is mentioned about the update doing anything to fix the ridiculously horrific battery life...

UPDATE: Verizon confirms on Twitter.

New iMacs Coming Today?

For you Apple fans out there, the Apple Store is down this morning and the rumor is that a refresh of the iMac line will be forthcoming. According to the aforementioned rumor, the new all-in-one desktop will come in four basic configurations: 21.5-inch, 2.7 GHz quad-core; 27-inch, 2.7 GHz quad-core; 27-inch, 3.1 GHz quad-core; and 27-inch, 3.4 GHz quad-core. All units will start out with Quad-Core Sandy Bridge processors, 4GB ram, and a 1TB hard drive and as is usually the case with Apple, will require that you mortgage your house to get one.

Anyone excited?

UPDATE 7:45am: The store update is complete and the new iMacs have arrived. Press release below

Apple Announces New iMac With Next Generation Quad-Core Processors, Graphics & Thunderbolt I/O Technology

CUPERTINO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Apple® today updated its signature all-in-one iMac® with next generation quad-core processors, powerful new graphics, groundbreaking high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and a new FaceTime® HD camera. Starting at $1,199, the new iMac is up to 70 percent faster and new graphics deliver up to three times the performance of the previous generation.*

“Our customers love the iMac’s aluminum enclosure, gorgeous display and all-in-one design,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With next generation quad-core processors, powerful new graphics, Thunderbolt technology and a FaceTime HD camera, we’ve made the world’s best desktop even better.”

The new iMac features quad-core Intel Core i5 processors with an option for customers to choose Core i7 processors up to 3.4 GHz. These next generation processors feature an integrated memory controller for an amazingly responsive experience and a powerful new media engine for high-performance video encoding and decoding. With new AMD Radeon HD graphics processors, the new iMac has the most powerful graphics ever in an all-in-one desktop.

iMac is the first desktop computer on the market to include groundbreaking Thunderbolt I/O technology. The 21.5-inch iMac has a single Thunderbolt port while the 27-inch model features two ports for even greater expansion. Developed by Intel with collaboration from Apple, Thunderbolt enables expandability never before possible on an all-in-one computer. Featuring two bi-directional channels with transfer speeds up to an amazing 10Gbps each, Thunderbolt delivers PCI Express directly to external high performance peripherals such as RAID arrays, and can support FireWire® and USB consumer devices, and Gigabit Ethernet networks via adapters. Thunderbolt also supports DisplayPort for high resolution displays and works with existing adapters for HDMI, DVI and VGA displays. Freely available for implementation on systems, cables and devices, Thunderbolt technology is expected to be widely adopted as a new standard for high performance I/O.

iMac includes a built-in FaceTime HD camera and Apple’s innovative FaceTime software for crisp, widescreen video calling the whole family can enjoy. The new camera supports high definition video calls between all FaceTime HD-enabled Macs and standard resolution calls with iPad® 2, iPhone® 4, the current generation iPod touch® and other Intel-based Macs. The iMac continues to feature its signature aluminum and glass design, gorgeous IPS LED-backlit high resolution display, SD card slot and comes with Apple’s innovative Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad.

Continuing Apple’s commitment to the environment, Apple’s desktop line is a leader in green design. The iMac meets stringent Energy Star 5.2 requirements and achieves EPEAT Gold rating.** iMac features LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. iMac uses PVC-free components and cables, contains no brominated flame retardants, uses highly recyclable materials and features material-efficient system and packaging designs.

Every Mac comes with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard®, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife®, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for creating and sharing great photos, movies and music. Snow Leopard builds on more than a decade of innovation and includes the Mac App Store℠ for finding great new apps for your Mac. iLife ’11 features iPhoto® with stunning full screen views for browsing, editing and sharing photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use tools to transform home videos into fun theatrical trailers; and GarageBand® with new ways to improve your playing and create great sounding songs.

Pricing & Availability

The new iMac is available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The 21.5-inch iMac is available in two configurations: one with a 2.5 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 500GB hard drive for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US); and one with a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6770M and 1TB hard drive for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US). The new 27-inch iMac is available in two models: one with a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6770M and 1TB hard drive for a suggested retail price of $1,699 (US); and one with a 3.1 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6970M and 1TB hard drive for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US).

Configure-to-order options include faster Intel Core i7 processors up to 3.4 GHz, additional hard drive capacity up to 2TB, a 256GB solid state drive, additional DDR3 memory and AppleCare® Protection Plan. Additional technical specifications and configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/imac.

*Testing conducted by Apple in April 2011 using preproduction iMac configurations. For more information visit www.apple.com/imac/features.html.

**Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA ENERGY STAR 5.2 energy database as of April 2011. EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website (www.apple.com/pr), or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

© 2011 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, FaceTime, FireWire, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Snow Leopard, iLife, App Store, iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, Apple Store and Apple Care are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

HBO Hits Your Portable Device

HBO Go has been available on your laptop and desktop computer for a little while now but A new app for your Apple iPhone/iPad and select Android devices (No Android tablets running on Honeycomb yet) has just been released that will now allow you to watch a variety of original HBO programming on your mobile device.

Currently the service is available only to HBO subscribers on a limited number of cable and satellite providers and based on the graphic below, South Dakotan's on DirecTV and Dish Network are the only ones that can take advantage of it at the moment.

With the new HBO GO App you can keep up with your favorite HBO movies, sports, comedies and every episode of the best HBO shows, including True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, etc and most importantly, all 3 season of Deadwood!

I have it running right now on the wife's iPad and my Thunderbolt and can say it looks to be a winner. Check out HBO's promotional video below.

Read This Before Buying Your Next HDMI Device

A long time pet peeve of mine deals with the accessory up-sell you often get pitched when purchasing a piece of technology. Did you forget your $300 full tilt/swivel wall mount kit for the $150 19" LCD set you just bought? How about that $10 a foot speaker wire for those $50 bookshelf speakers you picked up on sale? And with the advent of the HDMI standard and its adoption in high definition audio/video, the accessory vultures have been relentless.

Go down to Best Buy some day and pick up the latest and greatest high def TV and then try to find an HDMI cable to hook it up to your high definition source. Of course the salesman will be happy to show you to their cable aisle for a nice selection of $75 and up cables all while telling you that this one with the gold connectors or that one with the low loss cabling is needed to fully experience your new toy.

Don't believe them.

If you walk into your typical electronics store to buy an HDMI cable, you're likely to see prices upward of $50 with promises of better performance and faster speeds. Do you really need to spend that much money on a single HDMI cable?

Absolutely not--those cables are a rip-off. You should never pay more than $10 for a standard six-foot HDMI cable. And despite what salesmen and manufacturers might tell you, there's no meaningful difference between the $10 cable and the $50 cable. Unless you see something obvious, such as dropouts or a flashing screen, the digital information transmitted by both cables is exactly the same--no cable can make the picture any better or any worse. We've used cables from many different companies in the past--such as Belkin, Accell, Monoprice, Monster, and SimplayHD--and have not run into any consistent issues with any brand of cable. With working cables and solid connections, we've seen no dropouts and "sparklies"--just consistent, dependable, high-quality audio and video. It's that simple.

So what should you do as last I checked most big box stores don't carry these low priced cables? I would highly recommend that you go on over to Monoprice and pick up 2 or 3 now so that the next time you impulse buy that sweet 50" set you call tell the salesman no thank you when he points you to the cable section.

That $1000 high def beauty doesn't have to also mean a $100 cable.

Incredible 2 Available Tomorrow

Not a bad week if you are in the market for a cell phone. Today the illusive white iPhone goes on sale at your local Best Buy and tomorrow not only does Verizon's latest 4G phone the Samsung Droid Charge come out, word has hit that the sequel to the exceedingly popular Droid Incredible also goes on sale.

The HTC Incredible 2 ups the feature list from the original with a 4-inch Super LCD display, a 1GHZ Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, and 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and at $199 on contract it will be a full 100 bucks cheaper than the Droid Charge. Disappointingly though it will release with Android 2.2 not 2.3 and is missing a 4G radio which here in South Dakota would only be an issue for those of us near Sioux Falls.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF INCREDIBLE: DROID INCREDIBLE 2 BY HTC DELIVERS STYLE AND PERFORMANCE TO VERIZON WIRELESS

DROID Incredible 2 by HTC Available Beginning April 28

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Wireless and HTC today announced that DROID Incredible 2 by HTC, exclusively from Verizon Wireless, will be available beginning April 28 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.

DROID Incredible 2 by HTC follows in the footsteps of the popular DROID Incredible by HTC and features the Android™ 2.2 platform, a crisp 4-inch super LCD display, next-generation 1 GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon® processor and 3G Mobile Hotspot that can connect up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Equipped with the hallmark HTC Sense™ experience, DROID Incredible 2 by HTC offers advanced personalization options, consolidated email capability and unique camera effects and filters. With its sleek, all-black design, DROID Incredible 2 by HTC combines functionality and speed into one stylish package. DROID Incredible 2 by HTC is a global-ready Android smartphone, allowing customers to enjoy wireless voice and data service in more than 200 countries, with more than 125 with 3G speeds.

Additional features include:
· 8.0-megapixel main camera with dual LED flash
· 1.3-megapixel front facing camera
· 720p HD video capture plus DLNA® to share multimedia content with a compatible TV
· Adobe® Flash® Player
· SRS WOWHD™ surround sound
· Automatic face detection for more accurate pictures
· Integrated noise-cancellation technology

Verizon Wireless customers that purchase DROID Incredible 2 by HTC will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and a smartphone data package. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access and an unlimited smartphone data plan is $29.99 for monthly access. Verizon Wireless customers traveling outside of the United States should contact Verizon Wireless’ global customer support team at 1-800-922-0204 before embarking on their trip to ensure their phones have the right features for global usage.

For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

Playstation Network Still Down, Sony Clueless

Last week Sony's Playstation Network was the target of an external hacking attack and in response the company shut it down completely. Since then Sony has been tight lipped about not only the extent of the "intrusion" but also whether their customer's credit card information was accessed.

Sony has yet to determine the full scope of an attack on its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services that has left more than 75 million people without access for more than four days.

The company is conducting a "thorough investigation" into the outage, said Satoshi Fukuoka, a spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment in Tokyo. He declined to provide more information about the nature of the problem, which Sony has blamed on an "external intrusion" into the network.

He also said the company has not yet determined if the personal information or credit card numbers of users have been compromised, but that Sony would promptly inform users if it found that was the case.

You really got to love the security of companies you trust with your private information. First your bank's mailing list gets compromised and now your gaming network possibly gives away your credit card information and can't even tell you for sure if they did. You'd almost think that the US Government was handling their security...

Mythical White iPhone Rumored To Be Coming This Week

Being from South Dakota we had been insulated from most iPhone issues until recently leaving them to the majority of the US that AT&T chose to serve. One of those issues revolved around the mythical white iPhone 4 whose existence has been discussed and debated pretty much from the day that the latest phone from Apple was announced.

According to Apple Insider, that unicorn has finally been spotted in the wild and is on its way to retailers here and could be for sale as soon as Wednesday in both AT&T and Verizon flavors.

According to people familiar with the matter, Apple's U.S-based retail stores began receiving promotional information overnight that features the white iPhone 4, expected to launch for both Verizon and AT&T subscribers "within the next week."

In addition, several stores are said to have received shipment notifications for the various white iPhone 4 SKUs and have been instructed to hold those shipments in the back of the house until further notice. All indications point to an official announcement by Wednesday, April 27th.

So given that the iPhone 5 could be only months away and as we are already 9 month's into the iPhone 4's lifespan, is this too late or will you be in line this week to get yours?

UPDATE: It is confirmed, Best buy will be be selling the white iPhone starting on Wednesday for both Verizon and AT&T.

Twitter Going Hollywood With #Fringe and #DoctorWho Hashtags

Twitter has been around for 5 years or so now and for many of those 5 years it has been a place where geeks primarily hung out. Then the likes of Ashton Kutcher made it cool and from there the service hasn't looked back, now boasting millions of members.

Obviously business and Hollywood have noticed with many now having some presence on that hugely popular social medium often advertising their Twitter handles everywhere possible. What is new, at least I hadn't seen it before, is what I noticed last night on the Fox TV show Fringe and all day today on the BBC America show Doctor Who during their marathon leading up to the season premiere. Both had Twitter specific hashtags posted prominently on the screen near the now all too familiar station identification "bug".

For those unfamiliar with the hashtag concept on Twitter, a hashtag is a keyword or phrase (without spaces) beginning with the "#" symbol and is added to tweets so that others can easily search for and follow certain topics. For instance last night one searching using the #Fringe hashtag would have been taken to a page containing all the tweets using the tag specifically advertised during the Fringe broadcast allowing you to join in or watch others talk about the show while it was on. Social media at its finest.

The question I have though is this additional distraction so visibly displayed on our valuable TV real estate too much or is it the wave of the future that will become just another thing we ignore while watching our favorite shows? I'm leaning towards the latter but I guess we will see.

By the way speaking of Twitter, feel free to follow me @GreatPlainsTech