Archive for the 'Technology' Category
November 16th, 2009, 2:43 pm by Jayson Peters
 Terry Goddard Vonage must alter its marketing practices, honor consumer cancellation requests and even provide refunds to some customers under a settlement announced today by Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard that also involves 31 other state attorneys general.
Customers had complained of difficulty dropping their service due to incentives Vonage offered employees who prevented cancellation, as well as confusion over the cost of the company’s equipment and services.
“We cannot allow companies to ignore their customers’ legal rights. Consumers must be treated with decency and not put off or prevented from canceling their phone service,” Goddard said in the announcement, which you can read in full after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Technology • Arizona • consumer rights • Law • Litigation • Terry Goddard • VoIP • Vonage | Post a Comment »
November 11th, 2009, 12:34 pm by Jayson Peters
Courtesy of Kotaku, here are the PC system requirements for Cryptic’s Star Trek Online, set for release Feb. 2 in North America and Feb. 5 in Europe.
System Requirements
- OS: Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista / Windows 7 (32 or 64-bit)
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 Ghz or AMD Athlon X2 3800+
- Memory: 1GB RAM
- Video: NVIDIA GeForce 7950 / ATI Radeon X1800 / Intel HD Graphics
- Sound: DirectX 9.0c Compatible Soundcard
- DirectX: Version 9.0c or Higher
- HDD: 8GB Free Disk Space
- Network: Internet Broadband Connection Required
- Disc: 6X DVD-ROM
Recommended System Configuration
- OS: Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista / Windows 7 (32 or 64-bit)
- CPU: Intel E8400 Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2 5600+
- Memory: 2GB RAM+
- Video: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 / ATI Radeon HD 3850+
- Sound: DirectX 9.0c Compatible Soundcard
- DirectX: Version 9.0c or Higher
- HDD: 8GB Free Disk Space
- Network: Internet Broadband Connection Required
- Disc: 6X DVD-ROM
Posted in: Gaming • PC • RPGs • Star Trek • Technology • Atari • Cryptic • Star Trek Online | Post a Comment »
November 11th, 2009, 12:08 pm by Jayson Peters
 “I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.”
Information Week is reporting that Microsoft has banned up to a million gamers from Xbox LIVE, claiming the booted users have modified their Xbox 360 consoles to play pirated games.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Business • Gaming • Nerd rage • Piracy • Technology • Xbox 360 • Xbox LIVE | Post a Comment »
November 11th, 2009, 11:57 am by Jayson Peters
Opposition seems to be growing to the use of Amazon’s e-book reader in an academic setting.
 Two universities this week said they will shun the device unless Amazon makes changes to make it more accessible to the visually impaired.
In June an ASU student, backed by the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind, sued Arizona State University over the use of the Kindle DX for textbooks, saying its lack of a nonvisual user interface locks the blind out of the new technology and puts them at a competitive disadavantage.
Not long after that, Amazon made waves (and provoked a lawsuit) with its decision to yank purchased content from users’ Kindles because it consisted of unauthorized editions of literary classics. (Amazon later settled the rights issues and attempted to make it up to consumers.)
See also:
Posted in: Books • Business • Technology • Amazon • e-books • Kindle • lawsuit • Litigation | Post a Comment »
November 10th, 2009, 10:15 am by Jayson Peters
If you’re going to be traveling this holiday season, you can thank Google for the free Wi-Fi.
 The ubiquitous tech giant is offering free wireless Internet service at 47 airports and on every Virgin American flight. All you need is a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop or mobile device.
There’s a catch: Google will hit you up for a charitable donation that they will match, up to $250,000. And they’ll probably monitor everything you do and say while online, and record it for posterity or the inevitable government takeover of your life.
But hey, it’s FREE!
Phoenix Sky Harbor is NOT among the participating airports … but they already have free Wi-Fi.
Via CNN Money
Posted in: Business • Free stuff • Internet • Technology • Google • Travel | 2 Comments »
November 9th, 2009, 4:42 pm by Chris "KeL" Adams
 Eisner-award winning comic book scribe Brian Michael Bendis announced on his Jinxworld forum that he will be teaching a class at Portland State on writing graphic novels. All I have to say is where was this class when *I* was in college? I thought it was pretty sweet that students were getting to read graphic novels in school. Now they get one of the greatest comics writers of the modern age as a professor? I’m jealous!
Bendis certainly has the pedigree to teach this course. He spent years toiling away doing independent comics (Torso, Jinx) before moving up to the big leagues as part of Ultimate Spider-Man. Since then he’s become the premier writer at Marvel Comics.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Comics • Technology • Bendis | Post a Comment »
October 29th, 2009, 8:30 am by Jayson Peters
 Is the new Nintendo DSi already about to get a makeover? (UPDATE: Yes it is.)
If rumors in the Japanese press are true (UPDATE: And they are), a version with a 4-inch display will debut in that market this year, in response to demand from older users who find the portable gaming system’s 3.25-inch screen too small. (It’s actually going to be 4.2 inches, according to Kotaku. Plus, Nintendo tells the Gawker network gaming site that the device, known as DSi LL in Japan, will come to the West as the DSi XL early next year.)
And the kids who use them play their music too loud and don’t respect their elders these days — but I’m sure Nintendo is working on that, too.
Original post: Oct. 27; updated Oct. 29
Posted in: Gaming • Nintendo • Technology • DSi • old people • rumor | Post a Comment »
October 26th, 2009, 8:28 am by Jayson Peters
 Starting next month, PlayStation 3 owners with Netflix subscriptions will be able to stream movies right to their consoles, according to Sony.
To make it work, you’ll need a free, Netflix-issued Blu-ray disc that you can order here.
Via The Associated Press and Kotaku
Posted in: Gaming • Movies • PlayStation 3 • Technology • Netflix • Sony | Post a Comment »
October 23rd, 2009, 3:48 pm by Jayson Peters
 (Paul Connors, AP) Yesterday’s grand opening of Microsoft’s first retail store at Scottsdale Fashion Square, and the accompanying release of the new operating system Windows 7 — generated a lot of media buzz. And, I’m afraid, some media bias.
I considered joining the hundreds of people who waited in line, some as long as 12 hours, to get their first look at the software giant’s first retail operation.
Then I realized that would mean standing in line with hundreds of people. Or at least dealing with corporate PR types on their Big Day.
But lo and behold, I found a way to blog about it anyway.
On the drive home Thursday, listening to National Public Radio’s All Things Considered like the loyal liberal media elite-type that I am, I was surprised at just how harshly host Melissa Block was grilling Microsoft representative Mika Krammer. Today I was wondering whether I imagined it, so I asked some colleagues. One of them had heard the same report and was also left with the impression that it went too far. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Apple • Business • Scottsdale • Technology • Xbox 360 • Media • Microsoft | Post a Comment »
October 22nd, 2009, 2:04 pm by Jayson Peters
 Amazon announced today that it will release a free software application for Windows PCs that will read the same e-books as its $259 Kindle device.
The application, which was announced the same day Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system debuted at the company’s first retail store in Scottsdale, will be available in November, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Books • Business • PC • Technology • Amazon • e-books • Kindle | Post a Comment »
October 19th, 2009, 9:38 pm by Jayson Peters
 Chad, we hardly knew you.
As Tribune reporter Ed Taylor writes today, Verizon Wireless has completed its assimilation of Alltel’s stores and billing systems in the Valley.
While this of course means Alltel customers will now be served by Verizon personnel, perhaps more visibly for consumers it will literally change the face of mobile phone advertising.
No more will we be subjected to calls to “join the Circle” or be entertained by the four wily nerds’ attempts to outwit the perfectly coiffed Alltel pitchman known as “Chad.”
The cruelly well-adjusted slick talker, who had the gall to let slip that he didn’t know Dungeon Masters don’t have levels (dork!), will fade from out TV screens, just as the bumbling Sales Guy characters, each of whom represented one of Alltel’s competitors, have been phased out since Verizon began its acquisition of Alltel this year.
Posted in: Business • Nerd rage • Technology • Television • Advertising • Alltel • Chad • Chadvertising • Media • Verizon | Post a Comment »
October 8th, 2009, 1:08 am by Jayson Peters
 Amazon has lowered the price of its Kindle e-book reader to $259 and unveiled an international model, according to PC World … but Canada is still Kindle-less due to a lack of wireless distribution agreements for the device’s bookish content, reports the Globe & Mail.
If you’re reading this, O Canada, here’s some of the fun you’ve been missing:
Posted in: Books • Geek gear • Holidays • Technology • Amazon • e-books • Kindle | Post a Comment »
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