| Apple Thunderbolt Software Update causing sporadic errors, frozen boot screens Jun 13th 2012, 05:05  Software updates can be a bit of a mixed bag -- just ask anyone who's ever been on the other side of a botched firmware install. While many users react with itchy trigger fingers to download the goods, the more prudent (read: hardened) prefer to hold off in the event potentially crippling bugs creep on out. So, it comes as no great surprise that Apple's recently issued Thunderbolt update version 1.2 -- intended to add support for a Gigabit Ethernet Adapter -- is subjecting a portion of frustrated users to unexpected errors and frozen boot screens. Currently, the only officially sanctioned remedy seems to be a fresh install of OS X Lion. So, if you haven't already taken the plunge on this minor feature add-on, you'd be well advised to wait it out. Apple Thunderbolt Software Update causing sporadic errors, frozen boot screens originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 01:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  9to5Mac |  TidBits, Apple, (2) | Email this | Comments | | DOJ looking into whether Comcast, other TV giants are unfairly (knee)capping Hulu, Netflix Jun 13th 2012, 04:32  The Department of Justice may have taken Netflix chief Reed Hastings' net neutrality complaints about Comcast as a lot more than just sour grapes. It's reportedly conducting an investigation into whether Comcast, AT&T and other TV providers are anti-competitive in their data restrictions. The Wall Street Journal cites primary concerns that Comcast's Xfinity TV cap exemption might unfairly punish competing services, but also claims that officials are worried the caps themselves steer viewers away from internet video, helping the incumbents cling to legacy TV for just a little while longer. On top of its cap anxiety, the DOJ may be looking into policies requiring traditional TV subscriptions just to watch online. None of the involved parties have commented on or confirmed the investigations, so there's no guarantee of any full-fledged lawsuit. Still, while TV operators insist they're being fair and need to keep data use in check, that might not deter legal action when the DOJ has supposedly questioned Hulu, Netflix and other relative newcomers who feel they're being squeezed. When Sony postpones its IPTV goals after fretting over US data caps, it's hard to imagine that there aren't at least a few raised eyebrows in Washington. DOJ looking into whether Comcast, other TV giants are unfairly (knee)capping Hulu, Netflix originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Wall Street Journal | Email this | Comments | | TecTiles: programmable NFC stickers for select members of Samsung's Galaxy Jun 13th 2012, 04:01  NFC's a curious thing. That once heavily buzzed about feature's found a home in many of the handsets that occupy Android's swiftly rotating throne, but eager users wielding those enabled devices haven't been given much to do with it. Visa's payWave aside, Samsung's finally cooked up a means of making the near field tech a more integrated and efficient aspect of our modern lives -- well, the lives of other Galaxy S III, Galaxy S II (T-Mobile only), Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S 4G and Galaxy S Blaze 4G owners, to be precise. Enter: TecTiles. In tandem with its flagship's impending US launch, the company's going to be offering packs of branded NFC stickers at retail that can be programmed with useful actions and placed wherever adhesive is welcome. Need to set up a seamless Foursquare check-in for your place of business, leave a message on the fridge for members of your family, effortlessly transfer your contact info or even silence your phone automatically at a meeting? That's where Sammy's stickers come in handy, sidestepping the multitude of taps it normally takes to enter data or navigate a mobile UI with a simple close encounter of the NFC kind. If the implementation sounds eerily familiar, that's because you may have seen it before in the form of Smart Tags -- Sony's own spin on the communication tech. As you might imagine, there's an app to manage each individual TecTile's settings that will be made available after an initial pairing. And, according to one of the company's reps, each unlocked sticker can be programmed up to 100,000 times, a high enough ceiling that should get you plenty of mileage, glue willing. Naturally, there's a limit to this initial rollout's NFC-love and that's where things could get pricey, given that each TecTile can currently carry only one function at a time. Plans are underway, however, to expand beyond this limitation by enabling multi-functions in future iterations of the tacky tech -- whenever version 2.0 touches down. For now, though, you'll have to make frugal use of the stickers, considering they'll be marked at $15 for a pack of five. So, if you're still standing undecided on a Galaxy S III purchase despite its litany of capabilities, then this long-overdue feature could very well prove to be the wallet-tipping point. Continue reading TecTiles: programmable NFC stickers for select members of Samsung's Galaxy TecTiles: programmable NFC stickers for select members of Samsung's Galaxy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Samsung | Email this | Comments | |
