The Federal Communications Commission voted Friday to require U.S. mobile carriers and many text-messaging apps to enable users to text emergency dispatch centers, even after questions about whether the centers will be ready by the deadline. The commission’s vote requires mobile carriers and some texting apps to put emergency text-to-911 functionality in place by the end of the year. Even though the nation’s four largest mobile carriers have all added text-to-911 functionality this year, less than 2 percent of the nation’s 6,800 emergency dispatch centers are ready to receive texts, said Commissioner Ajit Pai. The commission’s action will give smartphone users the impression they can send text to emergency responders, when many will not be able to, he said.
When malware masquerades as a feature enhancement, some users inevitably get duped.
Big Red also made some improvements to the service.
Microsoft's Windows Phone store has hit a new milestone for apps, but still faces some of the same old challenges. According to Microsoft's " Of course, most people don't need nearly that many apps—the average user relies on about
It's a smart way to help those who don't know how to free their devices.
Two months after first announcing the plans, Barnes & Noble and Samsung will show off a new Nook tablet on Wednesday, August 20.
Sierra Entertainment is one of those legendary companies from the '90s that died somewhere in the past decade of industry consolidation. See also: LucasArts, Mythic, Midway, Neversoft, Known primarily for the "Quest" series of adventure games—King's Quest, Police Quest, Space Quest—and also as the publisher of some other classics—You Don't Know Jack, Crash Bandicoot, Half-Life—Sierra's in-house games were legendary for killing or otherwise screwing over the player in brutal fashion. Sometimes it was a matter of
Yahoo is following in the footsteps of Google and plans to implement To get the encryption done, Yahoo will use a modified version of Google's
Intel was the target of an elaborate hoax Thursday that drew attention to its plan to An unknown person sent a fake press release to reporters saying Intel had decided to cancel the investment due to its “corporate responsibility goals.” The release cited the “destruction and loss of life resulting from Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.” The person went to some length to make the hoax look real, building a fake website that looked a lot like Intel’s own news room. The release included the phone number for a supposed press contact who answered the phone to reporters Thursday, assuring them the release was genuine.
Not to be outdone by ultra-thin gaming laptops like the Razer Blade and Origin's EVO 15-S, Alienware announced the Alienware 13 on Friday. And, well, Alienware's still being outdone by Razer and Origin when it comes to ultra-thin laptops, but at least the race is a little closer. Last year's low-end Alienware laptop, the Alienware 14, was a chunky 1.6-inch thick, 6 lb. behemoth, reminiscent of the way gaming laptops I got a bit of hands-on time with the Alienware 13 this week and it's quite a difference—merely an inch thick and 4.5 pounds. That's still not quite as thin as the 0.7" Razer Blade, but it's a
Although sequential growth was flat, Nvidia exceeded analyst expectations as the company's profits and revenue climbed compared to a year ago. Of special note was the company's strength in its embedded Tegra processor business, which grew to $159 million. Although the Tegra represents a bit more than 10 percent of the company's $1.1 billion revenue for the quarter, that business grew by 200 percent compared to a year ago, with 74 percent of that growth in cars. Overall, Nvidia reported net income of $128 million on revenue of $1.1 billion, representing growth of 33 percent in net income, and a 13-percent increase in revenue compared to a year ago. Nvidia reported earnings of 22 cents per share; analysts expected Nvidia to report 20 cents per share and revenue of $1.1 billion.
Do we want bigger iPhones? What makes a "smart watch" truly smart? Is T-Mobile CEO John Legere's act running thin, or is it an act at all? Is Kickstarter completely broken when it comes to marketing tech products? We attempt to answer these questions and more, with special guests Jon Phillips, Philip Michaels, and Susie Ochs.
Say what you will about Satya Nadella’s first six months as Microsoft CEO, but no one can deny the man jumped in with both feet from day one and has led the company with decisiveness. Some of his moves have been met with applause, and others with raspberries. He got a standing ovation weeks into his tenure when the company finally launched Office for the iPad. More recently, many viewed him as corporate villain after he approved a 14 percent staff reduction, the largest in Microsoft’s history, and explained it with what some felt was too much corporate jargon. Throughout it all, Nadella has laid out his vision for Microsoft’s success: pursuing a “mobile first, cloud first” approach to product development intended to yield applications, servers, OSes, tablets, smartphones and cloud computing services that boost productivity for people at home and at work.
