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Cellphones

Submission + - Why AT&T killed Google Voice

Submitted by ZuchinniOne
ZuchinniOne writes: "The Wall Street Journal has a very interesting article about the likely reasons that AT&T and Apple killed the Google Voice application."

"With Google Voice, you have one Google phone number that callers use to reach you, and you pick up whichever phone--office, home or cellular--rings. You can screen calls, listen in before answering, record calls, read transcripts of your voicemails, and do free conference calls. Domestic calls and texting are free, and international calls to Europe are two cents a minute. In other words, a unified voice system, something a real phone company should have offered years ago."

They also go on to discuss why it would be a good thing to "Transition away from "owning" airwaves" and "End municipal exclusivity deals for cable companies" and how all of this would likely strengthen Net Neutrality through a competitive marketplace that anyone could enter.
Government

Submission + - $18M Contract For Transparency Website Blacked Out (propublica.org) 2

Submitted by
zokuga
zokuga writes: "The U.S. government recently approved an $18 million contract for Smartronix to build a website where taxpayers could easily track billions in federal stimulus money, as part of President Obama's promise to make government more transparent through the Internet.

However, the contract, which was released only through repeated Freedom of Information Act requests, is itself heavily blacked out. ProPublica reports:

After weeks of prodding by ProPublica and other organizations, the Government Services Agency released copies of the contract and related documents that are so heavily blacked out they are virtually worthless.

In all, 25 pages of a 59-page technical proposal — the main document in the package — were redacted completely. Of the remaining pages, 14 had half or more of their content blacked out.

Sections that were heavily or entirely redacted dealt with subjects such as site navigation, user experience, and everything in the pricing table.

The entire contract, in all its blacked-out glory, is here"
Government

Submission + - Microsoft's bulk deal with New Zealand Collapses (computerworld.co.nz)

Submitted by
vik
vik writes: "The 3-year whole-of-government deal that Microsoft has been establishing with the New Zealand government since 2000 has collapsed, opening the doors to the wider use of Open Source software in government. The NZ State Services Commission (already a prize-winning user of Open Source) says in a statement that it "...became apparent during discussions that a formal agreement with Microsoft is no longer appropriate". Having lost their discount, individual government departments will now have to put their IT requirements out to tender individually."
Power

Alaska Looks To Volcanos For Geothermal Energy 230

Posted by kdawson from the don't-stamp-so-hard dept.
Iddo Genuth writes "Alaskan state officials have recently announced their intention to begin funding the exploration and surveying of Alaska's largest volcanoes in hopes of utilizing these as a source of geothermal energy. They say this volcano could provide enough energy to power thousands of households, and according to some estimates, Alaska's volcanoes and hot springs could supply up to 25% of the state's energy needs."
The Internet

FCC Commissioner Urges, Don't Regulate the Internet 343

Posted by kdawson from the horse-halfway-out-of-the-barn dept.
Brett Glass writes "In an op-ed in today's Washington Post, FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell makes a case against government regulation of the Internet, opining that 'engineers, not politicians or bureaucrats, should solve engineering problems.' With state governments pressuring ISPs to pull the plug on Usenet, and a proposal now in play for a censored public Internet, McDowell may have a very good point." McDowell is one of the two FCC commissioners who did not vote with the majority to punish Comcast for their BitTorrent throttling.
Puzzle Games (Games)

Have Modern Gamers Lost the Patience For Puzzles? 622

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the get-off-my-lawn dept.
Brainy Gamer has an interesting reflection on old puzzle games and why their style of gameplay seems to be a dying art. According to the author modern gamers seem more interested in combat and seem to have lost the patience for difficult puzzles. "Despite my fondness for the adventure games of yore, it appears the days of puzzles in narrative games have come and gone. Puzzles - especially the serial unlocking variety found in the old LucasArts games - seem to have become a relic of a bygone era. Where they once provided a necessary ludic element to a—clever and often complex narrative - designed to add challenge and force the player to earn his progress through the story - few modern players have the patience for such challenges anymore."
Apple

Apple After Jobs 454

Posted by CmdrTaco from the stuff-to-think-about dept.
recoiledsnake writes "The connection between Apple and Steve Jobs is unlike any other brand and CEO relationship in corporate America, maybe the world. While Bill Gates has successfully transitioned himself away from his day job at Microsoft, can Apple do without Jobs at all? Once word started circulating that Jobs may be ill, Apple stock took a considerable hit, dropping more than $10 a share. And when Mr. Jobs was absent from last week's quarterly earnings conference call, the questions started again — and the stock fell again. What does this mean for corporate users of Apple for whom switching costs are high? Can Apple continue innovating in Job's absence?"
The Internet

China Has Largest On-Line Population 132

Posted by CmdrTaco from the that-didn't-take-long dept.
Smivs writes "China now has the world's largest net-using population, say official figures. More than 253 million people in the country are now online, according to statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). About 95% of those going online connect via high-speed links. Take up of broadband has been boosted by deals offered by China's fixed line phone firms as they fight to win customers away from mobile operators. Despite having a greater number of people online, China's net economy still has a long way to go to match or exceed that of the US or even that of South Korea. Figures from Analysis International said China's net firms reported total revenues of $5.9bn (£2.96bn) in 2007. By contrast, net advertising revenue alone for US firms in 2007 stood at $21.2bn (£10.6bn)."

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