4G

Big Internet service providers don't seem to be interested in applying for federal stimulus funds, but smaller players like Leap Wireless are looking at the grant program as an opportunity to provide wireless service to underserved populations.

Prepaid wireless carrier Cricket Communications, which is owned by Leap Wireless, on Monday filed an application with the nonprofit organization One Economy for $8.6 million to help it expand a program called Project Change Access. This project, which launched last fall in Portland, Ore., has helped low income residents get online to improve their access to education, job training programs, health … Read more

The Web is a great place to learn about hot topics, but Internet memes can't be spotted so easily unless you have some help. On topics ranging from tech to general interest, you can find what's hot at any moment with the following resources.

Blogrunner The New York Times' Blogrunner sifts through all the news hitting blogs across the Web, finds the hot topics, and lists them on the site. The most popular stories at the time are listed at the top of the Blogrunner page. Those that are either older or on their way up are listed below the top stories.

I was happy with the amount of content Blogrunner provides. Unlike some sites that focus solely on one topic, Blogrunner lists politics, world news, tech news, religion, and several other topics to find the hot stories in each category. Sifting through the stories is simple. And thanks to a fine design, you should be happy with the experience. It's not the best tool in this roundup, but it's pretty good.

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed is a user-generated topic finder. The site asks its users to find funny, outrageous, or interesting content across the Web that appeals to a wider audience. The topics they find should have the goal of starting a meme on the Web.

BuzzFeed is filled with funny or outrageous videos and images. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you're trying to find the hottest news at any moment, you probably won't have much luck with BuzzFeed. If you're just looking for some entertainment, you might like BuzzFeed. Your mileage will vary.… Read more

A caller wonders what happens to the Chevy Volt if you have the gas in there too long. Does the gas go bad? Well, it could get gummy. And nobody wants gummy gas. or gummi gas either. Not tasty. We also take the SEC conference to task for trying to ban Twitter and photos during their football games. Seriously? Also China got a Dell phone. But will they want it?

For SEC, tech-savvy fans might be biggest threats to media exclusivity http://www.tampabay.com/news/article1027680.ece… Read more

Verizon Wireless announced Friday that it has completed initial testing of its 4G wireless service in Boston and Seattle.

Using a new technology called Long Term Evolution (LTE), Verizon was successfully able to complete data calls in Boston and Seattle, the first two cities where the company will deploy its service. Verizon is using the 700 MHz spectrum it bought an FCC auction to build the network. The company plans to start offering the service commercially in 2010, providing service for up to 100 million people in 30 markets. The company plans to have the entire nation covered with 4G … Read more

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

Clearwire said Tuesday that it expects fourth-quarter net subscriber additions to ramp as it rolls out its 4G WiMax service into more markets. That tipping point will be critical to the company's success--and possibly its survival.

On a conference call with analysts, Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow said that he was pleased with WiMax uptake in new markets such as Las Vegas. Morrow added that "fourth-quarter net subscriber additions will be higher than all 2009 quarters combined."

That's good since Clearwire projected a cash burn of $1.… Read more

Clearwire, which is using Sprint Nextel's 2.5GHz spectrum to build a nationwide 4G wireless network, announced Monday 10 more markets that will get the company's Clear WiMax wireless broadband services starting September 1.

Eight of the newly announced cities are in Texas: Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Killeen/Temple, Waco, and Wichita Falls. The other two markets are Boise, Idaho, and Bellingham, Wash.

These 10 markets will join four other officially launched WiMax markets: Atlanta, Baltimore, Las Vegas, and Portland, Ore.

Some of the additional markets planned to launch in 2009 include Chicago, Charlotte, N.… Read more

Time Warner Cable will soon be offering a 4G wireless broadband service using Clearwire's WiMax network.

CEO Glenn Britt told investors during Time Warner Cable's second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday that the company will begin reselling wireless service through Clearwire starting this fall in Dallas and Charlotte, N.C.

Clearwire uses a technology called WiMax, which offers faster speeds than current 3G wireless technologies, but offers wider coverage than other high-speed wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi. Clearwire claims that it can provide up to 4 megabits per second for downloads and 500 kilobits per second for uploading, which … Read more

This is the last time we let Wilson choose the show title. Good news--The 404 Wikipedia page is BACK! Edit away, but please don't redirect the page. Today we talk about a fake bus stop in Germany, a "green" iPhone app, the iPhone 4G prototype, the "World of Warcraft" movie, and Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia.

That's right folks, our Wikipedia page is back up, and we're praying it's permanent this time! Big ups to our buddy Darth Paxton for helping us out, so go ahead and edit it all you like (we can't edit it ourselves) with inside jokes, characters, guests, etc., but please don't edit the redirections, those need to stay in place. Whoo! We're notable!!!

Also, do not attempt to adjust your monitor, the photo to the left is indeed our first look at Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia. With those two swords in his hands and that red sash around his waist, he looks more like a chef at a Chinese restaurant than the video game hero.

Speaking of bad video game movies, we're afraid to see what Sam Raimi has in store for the "World of Warcraft" movie adaptation, although it'd be pretty funny to just have a half an hour of peons mining and chopping wood.

A quick disclaimer: there are two stories in today's rundown that some might deem offensive, but although they're both a little dark, the beauty of The 404 is being able to find a lighthearted (and sometimes tasteless) joke in everything! For example, here's a funny story about a fake bus stop in a clinic that's designed to keep its Alzheimer's patients from escaping. Sounds awful, right? I agree--maybe all the money they spent on building this "net" could have been used to pay more nurses and doctors to determine the reason why the patients are trying desperately to escape in the first place!

Anyway, that's the first story. You'll have to listen to the full episode, which also includes news about an eBay auction for an original Sony PlayStation signed by Michael Jackson and a very "green friendly" iPhone app

Sprint customers in Vegas might be claiming "Jackpot!" right now, as they will be among the first in the U.S. to experience Sprint's 4G network starting this August. Sprint claims the 4G speeds are three to five times faster than 3G, with a peak downlink speed of more than 10Mbps and an average of 3 to 6Mbps. Sprint's 4G services are running on Clearwire's WiMax network, which is no surprise considering Sprint's 51 percent stake in the WiMax company.

Sprint first started its 4G rollout in Baltimore in September 2008, then it released … Read more