China, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan Propose Internet “Code Of Contduct”.

How would you feel if your internet usage habits were governed by an initiative led by China, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan? Yeah, positive words aren’t exactly floating to the top of our minds either. Nonetheless, it could become a possibility if a new proposal by the aforementioned countries submitted to the UN gets ratified. The gist of the proposal:

“curbing the dissemination of information that incites terrorism, secession-ism, or extremism, or that undermines other countries’ political, economic, and social stability, as well as their spiritual and cultural environment.”

Not overly broad at all…. /sarcasm.

It’s worth noting the proposal and its requirements would be voluntary for each and every country which makes any form of governing of actual laws seem a lot less reliable.

But before your nerves get too paranoid, don’t forget that such a decision would require a mountain of negotiations (and concessions) before anything remotely close to a “global internet law” could become official. Not to mention there are some countries that will just never get a long.

When will governments realize the internet cannot be and never will be (hopefully) governed by any one power?

Full proposal can be found here (PDF)

AT&T Outs Global Messaging 200 And 500 Texting Plans For Globe Trotters.

Globe trotters who want to admit to calling AT&T the carrier of choice — Alright, we’ll admit it too… — looking to phone home via SMS can now do so a bit more affordably. AT&T just launched two new global messaging plans
allotment and pricing:

• Global Messaging 200: 200 messages for $30/month

• Global Messaging 500: 500 messages for $50/month

Even if you factor in the 100+ countries covered under said plans as well as the backend deals that must be made to allow messages across networks and physical boundaries, the pricing is ridiculous considering the meager amount of messages you’re allowed. Your best bet is to unlock your phone and swap in a local pre-paid SIM card as needed. But if you’re in a pinch even the above plans are better than pay-per-use rates of $0.50 and $1.30 for each text/picture message.

AT&T

Motorola Atrix 2 Spyshots Leak.

Feast your eyes on the Motorola Atrix 2 (Edison, internally). Specs aren’t yet confirmed but we’d half hazard a guess and say at least a 1.2 GHz dual-core will ship with the device. On top of that BGR has confirmed an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD support and Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread. What won’t be coming to the Atrix 2 — LTE. Of course, AT&T’s LTE network isn’t exactly widely available so the lack of LTE support shouldn’t be too much of a problem (at least for now).

Applaud or yawn?

Instagram 2.0 Launches: 4 New Filters, 4x Larger Photos, And Live Filters!

We’re not going to lie. We’re hardcore Instagram junkies here at GS. And today our most favorite photo/social app just got a major 2.0 update. What did it bring? Hop past the break to find out…

Google Announces 100th Feature: Open Registration. Bonus: Features 92-99; 101-107 Detailed!

Google’s social networking baby, Google+ is officially open to all! Dubbed the “100th feature”, open signups mark the end of the field trial status and start of the official beta period. On top of the open signup announcement Google also revealed many other new features today. Jump on in for the full rundown of features 92-99 and 101-107…

Tegra 2 Successor, Kal-El, Actually Has 5 Cores In 4 +1 Configuration.

Nvidia’s next-gen Tegra 3 “Kal-El” platform has been demoed a time or two before showcasing the brute force four cores will soon bring. The only thing — there’s five cores.

But before you start getting all glassy-eyed, it’s important to note a few things…

[Update 2: Lots Of Indiana Cities] Verizon Planning Another LTE Love Fest For October 20th.

So AT&T just launched their 5-market strong LTE network this past Sunday. Good for them. Verizon has 143 markets covered in LTE goodness. And starting October Update: 20th 21st that list will grow by (an assumed) 21 more. The list of new cities gaining LTE hasn’t been fully revealed just yet, though we’re adding to it as new information becomes available…

New Cities

• Alabama: Birmingham

• Florida: Fort Myers/li>

• Indiana: Bedford, Bloomington, Boonville, Elkhart, Evansville, Goshen, Granger, Jasper, Mishawaka, Mitchell, South Bend, and Terre Haute

• Iowa: Sioux City

• New Mexico: Albuquerque, Sante Fe

• New York: Buffalo/Niagra

• Wisconsin: Green Bay

Expanding Cities

• California: San Diego and Los Angeles

Stay tuned as we’ll fill out the list above as new/expanded cities become known.