AT&T responds: No online NYC iPhone sales because of “fraud”. [Update]

**Update: They’re back…(see below) If there was ever a more obscure and BS answer, this would definitely take the cake for #1. It was only yesterday that we found out about AT&T’s blacklisting of any NYC online shoppers from ordering iPhones. The most obvious (and likely reason) to those with even a small shred of common sense is AT&T performing some damage control. With the holidays no easing and iPhone usage still skyrocketing (as is data usage) something had to be done to keep AT&T’s NYC network from imploding.

Most of us would assume a massive network upgrade. But that would of course eat into carrier profits as such an upgrade would cost tens of millions if not hundreds of millions — all for one city. But this is one of America’s biggest and most densely populated cities. It needs to be done. AT&T however things a more fitting option is to simply block any iPhone sales via online methods when potential customers input a NYC zipcode. Stupid? Yes.

That was yesterday, Sunday, a day in which the AT&T PR team is enjoying some much needed R&R. But today is a new day and a Monday morning at that. What exactly do they have to say for themselves? According to numerous CS calls, chats, and conversations, AT&T is calling the iPhone of NYC blacklist a result of “increased fraud”. Riiiight. I could almost believe that back in 2007 right after AT&T and Apple made in-store purchases mandatory, creating a hot ticket, hard to get item. But in 2009 when iPhone’s are almost as easy to find as a candy bar at gas station? Come on AT&T, you certainly can throw together a better response than that can’t you?

Red flags to this answer include such questions as:

• If fraud is such a big deal, why can I still buy iPhone’s online with other zipcodes as well as within NYC at brick-and-mortar stores?

• Why are other high-end smartphones not seeing the same NYC/online purchase ban?

• Going back to the first point, what the hell does fraud in a local region have to do with online sales?

Online fraud can be committed anywhere at any time regardless of location. Highlighting that, it’s hard to see AT&T “fraud” claims having any real merit.

I’m chalking this one up to the obvious: AT&T’s NYC network is getting worse by the day. They’re desperate beyond all hope…

**Update: NYC online iPhone sales are back up.

All Things Digital

Current HDMI 1.3 hardware to support 3D afterall. Oh yes, there’s a catch…

I haven’t been too vocal about the whole HDMI 1.3/1.4/3D thing because frankly, I didnt really care much. 3D didn’t really leave me gasping for air because it left me choking on my own drool — that is, until I saw Avatar. Since seeing Avatar, my whole outlook on 3D has changed.

With that said, for many consumers looking to buy a Blue-ray player, the more tech minded individuals have done their part to warn people of the dangers of buying now obsolete equipment (HDMI 1.3) with HDMI 1.4 (and full 3D support) just around the corner. And it made sense. If you wanted 3D you’d have to sell your current Blue-ray gear and pony up — again — for HDMI 1.4 compliant hardware.

But don’t get too discouraged too quickly or hastily go and sell all of your current Blu-ray gear. The HDMI Licensing group has come forth with some extremely valuable information that should help you better judge the market. Should you keep your HDMI 1.3 hardware or buy that now cheap 1.3 gear? Regardless of if your source player is HDMI 1.3 or 1.4, you’ll still be required to have an HDMI 1.4 tv with dual-scanning capabilities. The dual scanning technology is the whole meat behind the 3D image — no dual-scanning support = no 3D for you.

Also to take into consideration is resolution. HDMI 1.3 WILL NOT offer full 1080p 3D support. The resolution will actually vary depending on the source. For instance, if you’re using a full 1080p source such as a satellite receiver, Blu-ray, etc., etc, you’ll be presented with dual 1080i streams. Drop down in quality to a cable box and your 3D image suffers as well — down to a measly 540i. Yuck.

In the end, the resulting difference in images between HDMI 1.3 and 1.4 devices (1080i vs. 1080p) will be roughly that of the difference between DVD and Blu-ray. Noticeable to some extent on certain media, but certainly not a deal breaker. Now if you’re rockin’ 540i 3D, that’s another story.

Of course, if you’re HDMI 1.3 gear isn’t BD Live compatible you can forget about any 3D support as the firmware on that “old” equipment cannot be upgraded via internet updates as there isn’t any internet connection/support on non-BD Live hardware. Oh the pains of early adoption…

So what are you going to do: pick up a heavily discounted HDMI 1.3 setup or wait for HDMI 1.4 gear to drop?

Dvice

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Oh the horror: Firefox 3.6 and 4.0 get delayed.

I thought the holidays were supposed to be happy times? If you’re a Mozilla/Firefox, this certainly won’t be the case as Firefox 3.6 and 4.0 have gotten fresh “delayed” stickers slapped across their faces. Bugs and other under the hood hoopala is no doubt the root cause. (What else would it be?) Unfortunately, a late 2009 release for 3.6 has now become “Q1 2010″ with Firefox 4 looking even more disappointing — “late 2010/early 2011″. Dear god.

I’m all for quality, double and triple checking, and refinement, but come on Mozilla. You guys were once the fastest moving 3rd party browser that was constantly churning out new and exciting features before anyone else. Now everyone else is pushing those new features and running laps around you.

As far as speed goes, Chrome and Safari are blinding fast. Easily the top two. Firefox in my opinion falls into third here. Opera comes in 4th a little further down the line. Though recent announcements by Opera concerning their new javascript engine and goals show an insatiable appetite for perfection.

Features? Sure Firefox is still in the top heap when new features are concerned, compared amongst the other top browsers. But in all honesty, Chrome, Safari, and Opera as of late have been pumping out the geeky newness that keeps us interested with Firefox taking a more IE approach of catch up. Just one small example: separate tab processes. Chrome has had them since day one. Firefox isn’t slated to get the feature until 4.0 — late 2010/early 2011. Again, not all popular browsers support separate processes for each tab, but for a market leader such as Firefox, one would think the feature would be a staple part to brag about.

Firefox is far from dead so don’t misunderstand me. I still love and use Firefox daily. To me anyway, it just seems as if Mozilla hit the snoozer one too many times. I think I can speak for most of the tech crowd in saying that I hope Mozilla gets that fire rekindled beneath their feet. It’d be a shame to see IE — of all options — surpass Firefox now wouldn’t it?

Cnet

“iTablet” to feature iPhone OS or full blown OS X? Portability and apps or power and expandability?

I stumbled on a thought provoking article on MacDailyNews that really got my mental juices flowing…

iPhone OS

Looking at the title above and taking into account the various bits of information surrounding a so called Apple tablet that has been beaten and flogged across the digital waves the last year would lead most to believe that any actual device would feature an iPhone-esque OS. I mean, why not? If you want to keep things simple and battery friendly while also tapping into the app store, staying inside of the iPhone ecosystem is a must.

OS X

On the flip side, I couldn’t find myself paying $600+ for a glorified (and bigger screened) iPhone/iPod Touch. Many others have this same feeling. With that said, would Apple see this problem and instead push OS X onto the “higher end” 10″ tablet that is also reported to be in development? You see, it’s a tricky thing to speculate on. Ease and apps or power and expandability?

Both?

Those hoping for both don’t have much to look forward to I’m afraid. Apple isn’t one to stratify their own products or cause undue confusion. A smaller 7″ iPhone-like device and a bigger 10″ OS X device would erect a large immovable barrier between the two sister devices, effectively killing any cross device support.

What about iTunes and App Stores?

One other thing that I’ve thought about would be a revamped App Store, including not only iPhone/Touch apps but also these new OS X/Tablet inspired apps. Of course if the tablet runs OS X in full garb, would Apple move the entire library of OS X software into the App Store/iTunes?

It’s bittersweet. Having all Apple software for iPhone and desktop under one roof is highly beneficial. At the same time, iTunes needed a drastic weight loss multiple versions ago. Asking it to take on more makes me want to puke. Still, if executed correctly, the nausea can at least be dampened.

Personally, I’m on the fence. I would really like full blown OS X on a tablet device. Though the iPhone OS is a looker (if a bit dated) and is far more finger friendly. Guess I’ll just have to be surprised.

Which One?

So which way is it going to go and how will Apple market/position the device(s)?

MacDailyNews

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LG LS680 to bring Android and WiMax(?) to Sprint. CES tells all…

A few days back we touched on Sprint and LG’s exciting announcement planned for CES 2010. Oh my, what could it be? For many, a WiMax device is all but certain. The OS however was sorta kinda up in the air. WinMo or Android? Both are very well possible and probably certain at some point. For the next few days at least, Android has the nod as a new screenshot sent to BGR this morning shows an LG Android device sittin’ pretty in system computers. The only thing we do know is that the $1 place holder will not debut at CES. Sad, I know. For the rest of the goods such as…anything…we’ll have to wait a few more days until CES cracks this mystery wide open. See you there!

**What do you think this phone will come as: Full Touch or Touch + hardware Keyboard?

BGR

Portable USB 3.0-to-SATA adapter the best $48 ever spent…

Think that old, decrepit dying hard drive you tossed in some box never to look at again is still useless? Think again. With as cheap and plentiful as hard drives are becoming these days, trashing an old drive simply because it’s too small is all too common. But those precious bits you’ve tossed aside have so much more potential.

One possible idea is to slap it in an enclosure or hard drive dock to make an external hard drive out of it. But who needs another USB 2.0 external hard drive? (I have 6…) It is that very question that Unitek has answered. Brando and Unitek to be exact. Now before you get all nervous by hearing the word “Brando”, make a mental note that this gadget is far from a onetime use, novelty gadget. The Unitek USB 3.0 to SATA Adapter is pure ingeniousness.

As one can gather from the name, the device is a simple adapter that attaches directly to the back of that old SATA hard drive and gives it USB 3.0 superspeed abilities. Super! There are a couple other such devices already on the market. However, those other devices require a large dock to get the bits flowing at super speeds.

Now all you need is a computer with one or more USB 3.0 ports and the motherboard to support it and you’re golden. Who says old things can’t be fast…

[Product Page]

Engadget

USB 3.0 powered DisplayLink displays to be ready by Christmas ’10

Getting the most of HD content on your computer means having a HD monitor — hard concept to grasp, I know. However, with all of those extra pixels often comes a fairly high pricetag. Not to mention, powering all of those pixels, especially those demanding top performance from their computer hardware know that the whole shebang can be quite costly. For now, going multi-monitor means spending excess sums of cash on grossly overpriced cables just to connect a monitor(s) to your computer. Their’s an easier way: DisplayLink.

DisplayLink is an evolving technology that allows you to pair up multiple monitors to your computer with via USB alone, drastically reducing the amount of money you spend on cords and adapters as well as giving your meager one display setup an instant and easy boost to 2 or more.

So far, some have voiced concerns over bandwidth limitations with USB 2.0 when driving HD and ultra HD monitors in higher numbers, saying that USB 2.0 can’t even keep up. Thankfully the advent of USB 3.0 — which should finally start seeing widespread adoption in 2010 — will make the move away from proprietary or more “closed” formats such as DVI, HDMI, etc. a thing of the past.

Coupled with the fact that USB 3.0 will gain some form of following in 2010 as well as DisplayLink enjoying equal opportunities, USB 3.0/DisplayLink displays can be expected *fingers crossed* to drop just in time for the 2010 holiday season. I for one can’t wait.

How many monitors will you tack on to your setup with DisplayLink?

TechChee > HotHardware

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