With Verizon Wireless`s 4G LTE rollout on track, we`re seeing the first glimpse of a shiny USB data modem for the carrier`s network. As Verizon moves forward with 4G, SIM cards will also be supported and used, and you`ll see the domestic SIM in the LG-made USB modem. The modem itself is glossy and Mac users with those side-by-side USB ports that are spaced closely together may find that their nearby ports may get obstructed with this compact, yet wide dongle.

Permalink: Verizon's USB LTE Data Modem Gets Pictured from Ubergizmo | Hot: iPhone 4 Review, iPad Review

NEXiLUX`s portable gaming guitar has a collapsable neck and body that can detach into two separate pieces so you can bring your rockstar status to a friend`s house and jam out on Guitar Hero or Rockband. The compact design eschews the bulbous guitar body for a more streamlined tubular look that is not unlike collapsable lightsabers. Despite the non-guitar shape, you`ll still have all the controls, including the strum bar. Rockstar or Darth Vader? The call is yours though this NEXiLUX design doesn`t light up and you`ll need to be connected to a gaming console for your tunes to play through. The NEXiLUX retails for $60-70.

Permalink: NEXiLUX Portable Gaming Guitar Lets You be a Traveling Rockstar from Ubergizmo | Hot: iPhone 4 Review, iPad Review

Speaking at its Financial Analyst Meeting, Microsoft told investors that Internet Explorer 9, also known as IE 9, will enter beta this fall. According to Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner, IE9 is slated for beta in September, though spokespeople for Microsoft would not comment on whether it will be a closed beta for developers or an open beta for public trial.

Microsoft, after many years of dormancy in the browser market, is now making a big push with its Internet Explorer browser; as of the end of June, IE had 60.3% of the market.

Permalink: Internet Explorer 9 Beta Coming September from Ubergizmo | Hot: iPhone 4 Review, iPad Review

For centuries, people have tried to pinpoint what makes humans unique. The most current scientific theory suggests that three main qualities separate Homo sapiens from other animals: the construction and use of complex tools, the use of symbolic behavior including language, art, and ritual, and the domestication of other plants and animals. However, in a new paper in Current Anthropology, Dr. Pat Shipman suggests a fourth trait unique to humans.

Shipman cites humans` long history of learning about and understanding animals as a unique trait, calling this tendency "the animal connection." She claims that this relationship is the common unifying factor that underlies each of the other three previously recognized human traits, and has played a major role in human evolution over the last 2.6 million years.

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Recently released FCC documents reveal that Sprint is set to launch what appears to be a new case for the iPod touch that would enable 3G networking on the WiFi-only device. Manufactured by ZTE and called the "Peel," the case is essentially a MiFi-like mobile hotspot that snaps on to an iPod touch, giving it a network connection wherever you can get a Sprint 3G signal.

The Peel has its own 3.4Whr lithium ion battery, which is good for about 40hrs of standby time—there`s no mention of how long it would last in active use, but our guess is perhaps a few hours. In addition to giving 3G network access to an iPod touch, it can also connect other WiFi devices. It doesn`t appear to have a limit to the number of simultaneously connected devices (the manual submitted to the FCC suggests this number is configurable), unlike most mobile hotspots that usually limit connections to four or five. Phone Scoop also notes that the device is only cleared to operate on the slower EV-DO Rev 0 standard, and not the faster Rev A that most current 3G devices use.

We`re not exactly sure what to think of the Peel (Apple, Peel, get it?). It seems that if an iPhone really appealed to you, you wouldn`t have opted for the iPod touch to begin with. Then again, there are some users who would rather have an iPhone with data but no voice, and on a different network. Depending on the pricing and data options—especially if there is a pay-as-you-go option—it might be a nice complement to an iPod touch. The added utility of being able to connect multiple devices—one clear advantage over an iPhone—is offset somewhat by the slower 3G speeds.

Sprint tried to attract Apple device users with a similar tack when the WiFi-only iPad was released, offering users a free iPad case with a pocket that would fit the carrier`s 4G/3G Overdrive mobile hotspot. Still, we`re wondering if there are any iPod touch owners out there excited by this news. If you are, let us know in the comments.

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At a Congressional Internet privacy hearing on Tuesday, a group of middle-aged men had some questions about the `Net. Why was it such a creepy place? How come replying to spammers doesn`t get one immediately removed from their e-mail lists? And what is this talk we hear about websites gaining the rights to one`s immortal soul?

The creepiness was best summed up by the Senate Commerce Committee`s Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who in his opening statement compared the Internet to a deeply disturbing shopping mall. In this mall, there`s "a machine recording every store you enter and every product you look at, and every product you buy. You go into a bookstore. The machine records every book you purchase or peruse. Then, you go to the drugstore. The machine is watching you there, meticulously recording every product you pick up—from the shampoo to the allergy medicine to your personal prescription.

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Vermont already wasn`t exactly a great state for broadband, given the largely rural state is a ROI nightmare for large ISP bean counters. Their broadband fortunes were recently made substantially worse by Fairpoint Communications, who acquired Verizon`s unwanted New England DSL network, then subsequently imploded under the not so watchful eye of Vermont regulators. Vermont`s been tired of waiting for uninterested ISPs to wire them so they`re working hard at wiring themselves.

The result is the East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network, which tells the Burlington Free Press that the 22-town telecommunications network is "well under way," complete with mysterious financiers. We`ve covered this network effort before, noting how it`s the brain child of a gentleman named Tim Nulty, who has repeatedly declared that running fiber to rural areas, if done right, is perfectly economical. This network (which will offer just broadband and phone service but not TV, for obvious economic reasons) is his opportunity to prove it:

Google recently found themselves under fire from privacy regulators in multiple countries for the company`s admission that they had been collecting Wi-Fi user data from unsecured hotspots using Street View vehicles. Google initially stated they only collected publicly available SSID and MAC Address data -- then later acknowledged that they were collecting snippets of actual transmitted data -- though Google insisted they did so accidentally. However, a UK review has found no real privacy harm was done:

Gizmodo notes that several Comcast customers are apparently being told that they need to pay their outstanding balances of $0.00, or they face having their broadband connection disconnected. The website also posts the complaint of a Charter Communications customer who actually did have their broadband service terminated for failing to pay their $0.00 bill. These kinds of errors aren`t that uncommon, and you`ll often see them in other sectors outside of telecom. One user has an explanation for the billing phenomenon:

JD Power and Associates has released their 2010 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study, which tracks how well wireless carriers manage customer complaints using the Internet, phone support, in-store retail assistance, and via automated support systems. According to the standings, T-Mobile came in first place with a consumer care rating of 777 followed by AT&T (757), Verizon (749) and Sprint (734). The industry average score was 753. A few bits and pieces of the data you might find interesting:

• 29 percent of customers visited a retail store to resolve their issue.

• 60 percent still call their carrier to resolve support issues.

• 39 percent of wireless customers contact their carrier due to service and equipment-related issues, while 34 percent contact for billing, 25 percent for incorrect charges, 23 percent for price or cost, 22 percent for call quality, 9 percent for messaging issues, 9 percent for network coverage, and 6 percent for credit issues.

• 90 percent of customers get through to their carrier on their first try, but ten percent of customers are misdirected or are put on hold for too long and must make more than one contact.

• The average wireless customer spends 5.27 minutes on hold when trying to reach their carrier via phone.
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While the two administrations certainly have their differences, the Obama administration is following the Bush administration`s lead on a number of fronts -- specifically in terms of surveillance and privacy in the digital age. According to the Washington Post, the Obama camp is working to make it easier for the FBI to compel your ISP to turn over your online activity records without a court order "if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation:"

Phone Scoop noticed a few documents in the ever-compelling FCC document pile that reference a new and somewhat different product from ZTE that`s set to launch via Sprint. From the documents, it appears to be some kind of sleeve that can be wrapped around the iPod Touch but has no physical connection to the device. Instead, it appears that the device is essentially a tiny 3G hotspot integrated into a case, allowing users to easily connect their iPod Touch to the Sprint 3G network. Like many of these mobile hotspots, this one comes with integrated GPS and supports up to five additional devices via Wi-Fi. Full documents and photos for the device are available here at the FCC website.
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For centuries, people have tried to pinpoint what makes humans unique. The most current scientific theory suggests that three main qualities separate Homo sapiens from other animals: the construction and use of complex tools, the use of symbolic behavior including language, art, and ritual, and the domestication of other plants and animals. However, in a new paper in Current Anthropology, Dr. Pat Shipman suggests a fourth trait unique to humans.

Shipman cites humans` long history of learning about and understanding animals as a unique trait, calling this tendency "the animal connection." She claims that this relationship is the common unifying factor that underlies each of the other three previously recognized human traits, and has played a major role in human evolution over the last 2.6 million years.

Read the comments on this post

Recently released FCC documents reveal that Sprint is set to launch what appears to be a new case for the iPod touch that would enable 3G networking on the WiFi-only device. Manufactured by ZTE and called the "Peel," the case is essentially a MiFi-like mobile hotspot that snaps on to an iPod touch, giving it a network connection wherever you can get a Sprint 3G signal.

The Peel has its own 3.4Whr lithium ion battery, which is good for about 40hrs of standby time—there`s no mention of how long it would last in active use, but our guess is perhaps a few hours. In addition to giving 3G network access to an iPod touch, it can also connect other WiFi devices. It doesn`t appear to have a limit to the number of simultaneously connected devices (the manual submitted to the FCC suggests this number is configurable), unlike most mobile hotspots that usually limit connections to four or five. Phone Scoop also notes that the device is only cleared to operate on the slower EV-DO Rev 0 standard, and not the faster Rev A that most current 3G devices use.

We`re not exactly sure what to think of the Peel (Apple, Peel, get it?). It seems that if an iPhone really appealed to you, you wouldn`t have opted for the iPod touch to begin with. Then again, there are some users who would rather have an iPhone with data but no voice, and on a different network. Depending on the pricing and data options—especially if there is a pay-as-you-go option—it might be a nice complement to an iPod touch. The added utility of being able to connect multiple devices—one clear advantage over an iPhone—is offset somewhat by the slower 3G speeds.

Sprint tried to attract Apple device users with a similar tack when the WiFi-only iPad was released, offering users a free iPad case with a pocket that would fit the carrier`s 4G/3G Overdrive mobile hotspot. Still, we`re wondering if there are any iPod touch owners out there excited by this news. If you are, let us know in the comments.

Read the comments on this post

At a Congressional Internet privacy hearing on Tuesday, a group of middle-aged men had some questions about the `Net. Why was it such a creepy place? How come replying to spammers doesn`t get one immediately removed from their e-mail lists? And what is this talk we hear about websites gaining the rights to one`s immortal soul?

The creepiness was best summed up by the Senate Commerce Committee`s Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who in his opening statement compared the Internet to a deeply disturbing shopping mall. In this mall, there`s "a machine recording every store you enter and every product you look at, and every product you buy. You go into a bookstore. The machine records every book you purchase or peruse. Then, you go to the drugstore. The machine is watching you there, meticulously recording every product you pick up—from the shampoo to the allergy medicine to your personal prescription.

Read the comments on this post