| DOJ, FCC clear Verizon buyout of cable companies' spectrum, require giving up some airwaves Aug 16th 2012, 15:15  Verizon has been fighting hard to get its acquisition of cable companies' wireless frequencies past legal hurdles, and it just surged over the most important of the bunch: both the Department of Justice and the FCC have signed off on the agreement. To get the $3.9 billion deal through the door, Big Red will have to offload some of its spectrum to other companies. The DOJ, meanwhile, is more concerned that Verizon is getting a little too cozy with Bright House, Comcast, Cox and Time Warner Cable in terms of marketing and reselling bundles that include cellular and cable access. Closing the deal also requires setting up a new joint venture in technology research. We're still working to learn the full details of the deal, but the spectrum handover will likely give a swift kick to Verizon's 4G capacity -- and anger a few rivals who wouldn't have wanted any handover to go through. Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless DOJ, FCC clear Verizon buyout of cable companies' spectrum, require giving up some airwaves originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 11:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  CNET |  DOJ | Email this | Comments | | Google teases hackers with $2 million in prizes, announces Pwnium 2 exploit competition Aug 16th 2012, 15:12  The folks in Mountain View are starting to make a habit of getting hacked -- intentionally, that is. Earlier this year, Google hosted an event at the CanSecWest security conference called Pwnium, a competition that challenged aspiring hackers to poke holes in its Chrome browser. El Goog apparently learned so much from the event that it's doing it again -- hosting Pwnium 2 at the Hack in the Box 10th anniversary conference in Malaysia and offering up to $2 million in rewards. Bugging out the browser by exploiting its own code wins the largest award, a cool $60,000. Enlisting the help of a WebKit or Windows kernel bug makes you eligible for a $50,000 reward, and non-Chrome exploits that rely on a bug in Flash or a driver are worth $40,000. Not confident you can break Chrome? Don't let that stop you -- Google plans to reward incomplete exploits as well, noting that it has plenty to learn from unreliable or incomplete attacks. Check out the Chromium Blog at the source link below for the full details. Filed under: Internet, Software Google teases hackers with $2 million in prizes, announces Pwnium 2 exploit competition originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 11:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Google | Email this | Comments | | X-51A WaveRider hypersonic mission doomed by bum missile fin Aug 16th 2012, 14:26  The latest attempt to go past Mach 5 with the X51A has finished badly again, as a broken fin caused the missile to lose control before its air-breathing "scramjet'" motor could even kick in. It happened just after the booster rocket phase, which accelerates the craft to at least Mach 4, a high enough velocity for the hypersonic scramjet to work. The craft ended up in the Pacific shortly afterwards instead, and this latest affair may end up dunking the entire $300 million program. The Air Force initiative is already short on funding, and the previous two tries were equally dismal failures -- meaning a fourth missile, already built, may end up a museum piece. Filed under: Transportation, Science X-51A WaveRider hypersonic mission doomed by bum missile fin originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Inhabitat | Wired Danger Room | Email this | Comments | | Huawei Ascend D Quad XL hits the FCC with North America-friendly 3G, 12MP camera mention Aug 16th 2012, 14:04  We'd been hoping that Huawei's flagship Ascend D Quad would roll by the FCC, hinting that the long-in-waiting hardware was soon to become a reality. It's here, and it looks to be the XL version we were promised back in Barcelona, with no mention of the LTE that some US carriers love so well. Like the Ascend D1, though, it's carrying pentaband HSPA+ that would let its 3G fly at full speed on any North American GSM carrier. There's a slight surprise in the camera. Schematics mention a 12-megapixel sensor as a possibility alongside the officially announced 8-megapixel shooter -- that said, whether it's a quiet upgrade, a regional variant or just a discarded dream isn't made obvious here. More certain references can confirm video out through HDMI and MHL as well as the increasingly de rigueur NFC. We don't need the FCC to confirm launches that start late this month in China and October in Europe, but the approval guarantees that there won't be rude surprises for the release or for any imports, whether they're unofficial or through a carrier deal. Filed under: Cellphones Huawei Ascend D Quad XL hits the FCC with North America-friendly 3G, 12MP camera mention originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | FCC | Email this | Comments | | Stream TV strikes deal with Hisense, outlines plans for real glasses-free 3D display Aug 16th 2012, 14:01  Stream TV has been touting its Ultra-D glasses-free 3D tech for quite some time now, but we've still yet to see anything resembling a marketable product. The company's already snagged one manufacturing deal, but in the latest announcement of a partnership with Hisense it's revealed the specs of an actual device -- a 42-inch 1080p display. If you think the details end there... well, you'd be right, although the numbers do suggest something tangible is indeed in the pipeline. We might find out more at IFA 2012 where Stream TV will be showing off its latest gear, so here's to hoping. And, if you'd like more info on the Stream TV / Hisense agreement, the full PR is available after the break. Continue reading Stream TV strikes deal with Hisense, outlines plans for real glasses-free 3D display Filed under: Displays Stream TV strikes deal with Hisense, outlines plans for real glasses-free 3D display originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
