iTunes, activation outages are rendering new and old iPhones inoperable
BetaNews correspondents in Maryland and Michigan are seeing first-hand problems as a result of significant system outages affecting both AT&T and iTunes. Many buyers still can't activate their phones hours later.
2:30 pm EDT July 11, 2008 - Six and a half hours after the launch of the iPhone 3G, Apple and AT&T continue to struggle with activation problems, leaving many without any sort of working phone. Although they may be able to get their new AT&T service active, iPhone 3G buyers must still activate the device via iTunes, and Apple's servers can't seem to handle the load.
CheckPoint issues fix for ZoneAlarm problem after DNS patch
BetaNews has confirmed through testing that CheckPoint's latest build of ZoneAlarm, issued yesterday in response to a problem arising from a Microsoft patch to a major DNS security problem, fixes a major problem with Internet access.
When Microsoft issued a major fix on Tuesday, to the way it handles the Domain Name System, that fix was necessary in order to avert a possible severe exploit of the entire Internet. Microsoft was cooperating in a joint effort, which also involved Linux distributions, to upgrade the world's DNS servers.
Sony gets more in-game advertising support
Sony Computer Entertainment America and Europe have announced another partnership in the PlayStation's growing advertising platform.
In October, Sony Computer Entertainment America announced it had formed a division strictly for developing in-game advertisements for all of the PlayStation platforms, including the PlayStation Network.
FCC to push for Comcast sanctions over throttling
Chairman Kevin Martin says that the cable provider has run afoul of regulations that guarantee open access to the Internet, and should be punished.
Martin used a September 2005 policy statement from the Federal Communications Commission as the basis for his position, which was intended to ensure that broadband networks were open and affordable. It did however allow for "reasonable network management."
Apple runs into troubles with MobileMe
After briefly going online this morning, Apple's replacement for .Mac has gone down yet again, with tests showing just about the entire service as unresponsive.
Visitors to the MobileMe site are being redirected to a maintenance page that says the service is "unavailable." Apple says that the transition is taking longer than expected.
Now you can find your cell phone...when it screams, 'I'm lost!'
The next time you lose your cell phone, you might hear it scream something like "I'm stolen!" or "I'm lost - take me home," through new location-based technology now under development by a company called Yougetitback.com.
NEW YORK CITY (BetaNews) - From its Web site, the start-up already offers software dubbed Cellphone Superhero, aimed at letting users lock misplaced cell phones remotely, in addition to storing photos, e-mails, and contact information of friends and co-workers securely in a private online vault.
New York Attorney General's child porn crusade expands
After an investigation of newsgroups that uncovered large amounts of underage pornography, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo began a large-scale expulsion of the material at the ISP level. Now there's an official Web site for the effort.
Last month, a statement from the Attorney General's office announced that agreements with Verizon, Time Warner Cable, and Sprint had been made to "purge their servers" of sites and Usenet groups that were found to contain child pornography.
Tales from the iPhone 3G launch lines
It seems that even though excitement is high for the 3G iPhone in the suburbs, for fans of the device, waiting in line is just a natural part of the whole experience.
In many instances, lines of folks awaiting the next big consumer electronics purchase have an air of panic about them. Customers often have a notion that the product they're waiting for could potentially be unavailable if they do not stake an early claim.
Activation problems delay sales during iPhone 3G premiere
9:50 am EDT July 11, 2008 - Customers at Apple Stores across the country were told to wait, as it appeared that Apple's iTunes system it is using to activate the iPhones on AT&Ts network crashed.
Unlike last year's premiere, all 3G iPhone activation must take place in-store, rather than enabling customers to activate their phones manually. Transactions are having to be re-run and are still failing, report customers from inside Apple Stores in Maryland and Michigan.
Eager iPhone 3G buyers begin all-night wait outside stores
The second-generation iPhone won't go on sale for another 9 hours, but some intrepid souls are already lining up outside AT&T and Apple stores to be among the first to use the device. We spoke with two as they began their night-long wait.
At an AT&T store in downtown Baltimore, which saw early morning lines form before last year's nighttime iPhone launch, was preparing for big crowds. Shortly after the close of the store at 8pm, plastic posts and chains were being setup to guide the expected line.
Yahoo to offer free ad-supported games
Yahoo has announced that it will be offering ad-subsidized versions of popular casual games for download, and anticipates as many as 400 will be available by the end of the year.
Yahoo Games prominently features games with unlimited free trial versions as well as for-pay downloads. Today, the company announced it will be adding free, ad-supported versions of those downloads.
German ruling may clear victims of legal liability for Wi-Fi theft
A court in the country has ruled that Internet users who are victims of Wi-Fi theft cannot be held responsible for illegal P2P activity if it occurs as a result of that incident.
The development could lend support to efforts elsewhere to clear victims of any liability when it comes to copyright infringement. The argument that router owners are indeed liable, has been used by Davenport Lyons in its work with the industry in the UK.
Samsung Instinct tops Best Buy sales
Best Buy announced this week that the Samsung Instinct from Sprint has become the retailer's best selling handset of the last two years, apparently outselling all 95 other phones the retailer carries.
It's quite an understandable feat, though, since Best Buy is the device's exclusive non-Sprint retail provider.
Clearwire launches new WiMAX beta in Portland, Oregon
With beta tests of WiMAX in Baltimore/Washington and Chicago under way, Clearwire is now conducting a test in Portland, Oregon, and preparing commercial deployments in Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Grand Rapids for 2009, BetaNews has learned.
Clearwire is readying WiMAX wireless deployments in four more US cities this year which will use equipment from Motorola, said Jeff Orr, a senior analyst with the Maravedis market research firm, during an e-mail Q&A with BetaNews this week.
Japan gives up on efforts to tax digital music players
Known locally as "the iPod tax," the Japanese government has been pushing for the levy since at least 2005. But now it appears as if the idea will be permanently shelved.
A tax of anywhere from 1 to 3 percent of the total media player purchase price would be tacked onto purchases. The measure is similar to proposals in Canada and elsewhere, where levies or taxes are used to compensate for losses due to piracy.
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