service

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Hasbro let the Internet choose the new Monopoly token and this is what they picked.

- Pebble watch gets growing pains.

- USPS to stop Saturday mail delivery.

- "Walkie Talkies" are shoes you can use as phones.

- Beyonce's publicist desperately wants these removed from the Internet.… Read more

It costs me around $80 per month to operate my iPhone 4S, which will soon be out of contract.

When that joyous day comes, I will very likely ditch AT&T in favor of something like Solavei, one of a growing number of companies offering cheaper, no-contract mobile service.

Specifically, Solavei gives you unlimited voice, text, and 4G data for $49 per month. OK, there's an asterisk next to "unlimited": the 4G data bounty ends at 4GB, after which Solavei throttles you back to 2G-level service. More on that in a bit.

Unlike Walmart's AT&… Read more

Uber, the on-demand driving service, has temporarily resolved an issue it's been facing with California, the company announced yesterday.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which regulates some driving services in the state, last year issued citations and fines against Internet-based Uber for allegedly operating a "charter-party carrier" service that failed to include insurance coverage and enrollment of its hired drivers in a substance abuse program. CPUC also argued that Uber failed to provide evidence of workers' compensation insurance.

Two other driving services, Lyft and SideCar, were also included in the citation, which fined all three companies $… Read more

Uber is headed toward another obstacle from city officials, and this time it's in Denver, Colo.

The state's Public Utilities Commission is proposing changes to the rules that regulate motor vehicle transportation, which could essentially shut UberDenver down.

The transportation startup announced today that it's going to fight to keep its service in the state. Uber has created a petition for Colorado residents to sign in support of Uber. The company is also urging locals to e-mail the state's governor, John Hickenlooper, and the chairman and director of the Public Utilities Commission.

"Since our launch … Read more

Since a single type of document can often be opened by many different programs, OS X has a feature called Launch Services that centralizes document-handling associations.

When you add a program to the system, Launch Services will make it available as either the default handler of its associated document types (the program that will open documents of that type by default) or as an alternative handler. For instance, if you have Microsoft Word installed then it will be the default program for opening DOC files, but Apple's TextEdit program can also read DOC files, so TextEdit is available as … Read more

One of the safest and simplest computer-security measures available is also one of the least used. Two-factor authentication adds a layer of protection to the standard password method of online identification. The technique is easy, relatively quick, and free. So, what's the problem?

Critics are quick to point out the shortcomings of two-factor authentication: it usually requires a USB token, phone, or other device that's easy to lose; you sacrifice some privacy by having to disclose your telephone number to a third party; and it is subject to man-in-the-middle and other browser- and app-based attacks.

Still, for online … Read more

Many Facebook users in the U.S. are apparently having a hard time getting onto the social network.

Twitter is abuzz with user comments that Facebook isn't working for them. And, the site downforeveryoneorjustme.com is also reporting the social network is down. According to The Next Web, users from Texas to New York have complained of intermittent access. Many users have not been affected by the outage, however.

While the site is down for many people, mobile notifications seem to be working, as is the mobile site m.facebook.com.

The loved ones of Internet activist Aaron Swartz are holding a memorial service Saturday in New York City "to celebrate his life and remember their beloved friend, sibling, child, and partner," according to a press release.

Swartz's suicide last week spurred criticism over the U.S. prosecutor's handling of his computer fraud case, with critics accusing the feds of unfairly trying to make an example of the 26-year-old hacker.

Swartz was accused of stealing 4 million documents from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Jstor, an archive of scientific journals and academic papers. The authorities claimed … Read more

Uber began operation in Germany today, giving Berliners their first taste of the fast-growing private car-summoning service.

The service, which the company said is being conducted by "Secret Ubers," is in the testing phase, with more drivers being added each day, Jena Wuu, an international launcher, wrote in a company blog post today. The new service, which allows users to request rides via their smartphones, will apparently be limited to the capital, at least initially.

Interestingly, the service's first passenger was Alexander Ljung, cofounder of the steaming audio host SoundCloud, who was mysteriously "spotted" and … Read more