AT&T vs. the consumer: The throttling
controversy grows

post from Apple on 15 March 2012 03:04:01 PM. © Apple

Last month, AT&T fought and lost a lawsuit over whether its highly controversial throttling policy violated the terms of ?unlimited? smartphone contracts. Matt Spaccarelli was awarded $850 for his efforts, but neither side is letting the issue drop.

AT&T is appealing the decision, while Spaccarelli is taking his cause to the Internet, joining up with PublikDemand in hopes of creating a viral campaign to force AT&T to stop throttling its remaining unlimited customers, all of whom were grandfathered into their plans when AT&T introduced tiered pricing in 2010. AT&T isn?t too pleased with the unwanted attention, and is seeking to settle the case to keep Spaccarelli quiet, according to the Associated Press. Spaccarelli, however, claims that AT&T?s settlement offer is more a demand and that the carrier has threatened to shut off his mobile service if he doesn?t play ball.

AT&T, however, claims that?s not true. In a letter (available on the PublikDemand site as a pdf), AT&T writes that Spaccarelli is tethering his iPhone to other devices in violation of his contract. ?As the result of your tethering, AT&T has the right to terminate your service,? the letter reads. ?Nevertheless, and as we discussed, AT&T is interested in hearing any concerns you would like to raise about AT&T, and AT&T wants to discuss with you the concerns it has about your data usage.?

There definitely seems to be an implied threat, though AT&T doesn?t connect the dots completely. We reached out to Ma Bell and were told by a spokesman that AT&T never threatened to shut off Spaccarelli?s service in the letter. AT&T was making the point that Spaccarelli was violating his contract, which would normally be grounds for termination, the spokesman said.

The rest of the letter is boilerplate for AT&T?s non-disclosure agreement, which AT&T would require Spaccarelli to sign if he agreed to settlement talks. In that agreement, AT&T does say it would terminate Spaccarelli?s service if he revealed any information about his negotiations with AT&T. But the spokesman said that would be the case only if Spaccarelli agreed to the legal contract and then violated the terms.

Either way, one of the stipulations of the agreement is that Spaccarelli not reveal its existence, so it?s pretty much void as it stands now. If AT&T really plans to shut off Spaccarelli?s iPhone we?ll find out soon enough. Most likely, AT&T would try to force him to change to a tiered plan or tethered data plan, which it has done with customers in the past.

A public relations and a legal nightmare

It doesn?t seem like Spaccarelli is interested in a settlement in any case. Instead he wants to publicly shame or legally force AT&T to stop its throttling practices. ?I need the money, but for me, this case is not about money at all,” Spaccarelli told the The Associated Press after the original court case. “You don’t tell somebody ‘you have unlimited’ and then cut them off.”

The controversy surrounding AT&T?s throttling policies only appears to be growing ever since the initial reports surfaced that AT&T was slowing down speeds on customers after they used as little as 2 GB in their monthly cycles. Two GB might seem like a lot, but not when you consider that AT&T is selling its tiered-plan customers 3 GB for the same price as an unlimited plan. AT&T has since revised its policies so that throttling doesn?t kick in until after 3 GB of usage on HSPA+ and after 5 GB on LTE.

Meanwhile, the Spaccarelli ruling is creating new problems for AT&T. The award was only $850, but it could just be the initial crack in the dam. Here?s what my colleague Jeff Roberts wrote on our sister site PaidContent about the possible implications:

A judge?s decision in small claims court doesn?t create a legal precedent that others must follow. Ordinarily this type of case would lead to a class action suit (allowing everyone to sue at once), but AT&T short-circuited that option by banning these types of lawsuits in its customer contracts. This is a controversial tactic, but a divided Supreme Court agreed it was legal last year.
? AT&T?s ?no class action? rule helped to stifle consumer lawsuits, but a wave of small claims filings could open a new can of worms. To stop this, the company will likely go all out to shut down Spaccarelli as a way to deter others. ? The bottom line is that new lawsuits are for now likely to be a trickle rather than a flood. This could change if Spaccarelli wins the appeal.

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'Chalk' promo video for Magnetic Billiards:
Blueprint

post from prMac on 15 March 2012 01:32:00 PM. © prMac

The Pickford Bros has launched a video revealing how they designed the game with little more than a piece of chalk and a chalkboard. The hit game was based on a blueprint laid down by the Pickford Bros' great-great grandfather in 1888. The brothers spent a number of years adapting the principles behind the design of an ancient, mechanical, magnetic billiards machine to work as a modern, mobile, touch-screen video game.

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Tower Siege, Unique Tower Defense, Updated to get
Tons of New Features

post from prMac on 15 March 2012 01:00:00 PM. © prMac

Synaptic Wave has updated Tower Siege for iPad to introduce new enemies, new Special Weapons and new visuals. Tower Siege for iPad is a revolutionary mix of a tower defense and an arcade so it creates a unique player experience. You will exercise both strategic and tactical skills. Between the rounds you will build up your defense the way you do in ordinary tower defense games. But instead of leaving your defense to the AI you will control the tower discharges.

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Minotaur Maze - New Roguelike RPG Game for iOS
Devices

post from prMac on 15 March 2012 12:41:00 PM. © prMac

TSS Studios introduces Minotaur Maze 1.0 for iOS. A pixel-art retro-styled role-playing game, "Minotaur Maze" casts the player in the role of a Hero who explores the deadly labyrinth in search of treasure and glory. Minotaur Maze is an old-school roguelike RPG with simple controls and fast-paced random gameplay that promotes replayability. The mechanics in "Minotaur Maze" are simple yet familiar, and let the player pick up and play the game instead of managing a set of statistics.

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Singular Software Brings Its Latest Editing
Software to NAB 2012

post from prMac on 15 March 2012 12:10:00 PM. © prMac

Singular Software, a developer of workflow automation applications for video production, has announced its plans to exhibit at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) 2012 show, held in Las Vegas, NV from April 16 - 19. Located in the Plug-in Pavilion, booth SL2426, Singular will be showcasing its multi-award winning PluralEyes and Singular Software Presto, as well as the popular DualEyes synchronization applications.

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Graphic Node Updates the First Collection of
Themes for iBooks Author

post from prMac on 15 March 2012 12:10:00 PM. © prMac

Graphic Node, a graphic design company that produces high-quality, robust designs for Mac apps, announces the update of 20 new and fashionable templates for the recently released Themes for iBooks Author. The entire collection includes 70 templates that allow anyone to easily become a new-generation author. In this Themes for iBooks Author update, the emphasis is placed on entertainment writings in order to satisfy Graphic Node users' requests.

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Have fun and learn: Oscar and His Curious
Adventures app for iPhone/iPad

post from prMac on 15 March 2012 12:05:00 PM. © prMac

Oscar and His Curious Adventures is the first in a series of original animated storybooks for children aged 7 to 11, developed for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The series aims to teach children a range of exciting scientific facts within an absorbing and entertaining storyline. Beautifully styled backgrounds combine 3D and 2D techniques building Oscar's quirky world. The app contains an original animated short film which is presented in chapters.

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Will the iPad spark a new video creation
revolution

post from Apple on 15 March 2012 12:04:32 PM. © Apple

Quick question: How many times have you seen someone using a tablet to capture video or take pictures? The odds are likely that most people will say “never,” but with the introduction of Apple’s new iPad, I think that answer is about to change for three reasons. The new iPad’s combination of a large, high-resolution screen, excellent camera sensor and updated editing software could change the way we think about creating video content with tablets.

For the past two years, people have suggested that taking video with a tablet simply looks stupid. That makes sense to a point. But to some, having a conversation with your phone about today’s weather looks stupid too. And holding up an iPad for a FaceTime chat isn’t the sexiest-looking activity either. Yet we’re still doing both. Why? Because these are both effective solutions. At some point, what used to “look stupid” can become the norm if it works well.

Strange looks aside, I think the new iPad will become a far more useful tool for video and pictures than people yet realize. Sure, our smartphones are superb for capturing images and sharing them as well; that’s why the No. 1 camera used on Flickr is a phone. Handhelds are generally always with us, making it easy to capture the moment. But editing can be a chore on the small screen and its limited number of pixels.

That changes with a 9.7-inch screen with 2048 x 1536 resolution. Think about it: You have an portable editing palette with 50 percent more resolution than even the best HDTVs currently available. Add in the updated iMovie software — and the new iPhoto app for still shots — and the editing process is favored on a tablet over a smartphone. Both software titles also work on Apple’s iPhone, where I’m sure they’ll be used as well, but if given a choice, I’d rather edit on the larger, higher-resolution display. I’d also prefer to show that content off on the iPad over a smartphone as well.

The other factor here is the camera sensor itself. Few tablet makers have invested the effort and cost to integrate a rear camera that’s worth relying on. The new iPad re-uses the sensor from its iPhone 4, which is very capable in all lighting situations.

If you have an iPhone 4, you know how much of an improvement that sensor was over the iPad 3GS camera. Besides the boost to 5 megapixels and support for HD recording, the camera has five optical element layers and a back-illuminated sensor. Even though the iPhone 4S improves upon this, the top camera used for Flickr is still the iPhone 4.

Whether it looks stupid or not, the new iPad has all of the tools to morph the tablet into a stellar video content creation tool. If Apple didn’t think so, I can’t see why it would have boosted the camera sensor and created richer editing tools for this very purpose.

Image courtesy of Flickr user, atmtx

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MoneyWiz for iPad update adds retina artwork for
the new iPad

Just few days before the new iPad hits the stores, MoneyWiz for iPad is already prepared with new, retina artwork. We invite you to take a look at the most beautiful personal finance app. MoneyWiz consists of 189 separate images, and 192 icons. If we didn't optimise the artwork for the new display, and you see it on the new iPad, the iOS will automatically scale the images to fit your screen, but the picture will be pixelated, because the current images are just much smaller.

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iOS 5.1 Supports Self-make Text tones and Longer
than 40-sec Ringtones

Bigasoft iPhone Ringtone Maker updated to support iOS 5.1. Now it is so easy to create unlimited fresh ringtone within 30 seconds or longer than 40 seconds, make new text tones and assign to different contacts. It is an easy-to-use iPhone ringtone creator which helps you easily convert music and video to iPhone ringtone. The Ringtone Creator enables iPhone users to make and transfer unique ringer to iPhone with great ease.

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http://prmac.com/release-id-39724.htm

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