AT&T sues Nashville in bid to stall Google Fiber

Enlarge (credit: Google Fiber)

AT&T has sued Nashville to stop a new ordinance designed to accelerate the deployment of Google Fiber.

The lawsuit (PDF) was filed in US District Court in Nashville yesterday, only two days after the Nashville Metro Council passed a “One Touch Make Ready” rule that gives new ISPs faster access to utility poles. The ordinance lets a single company make all of the necessary wire adjustments on utility poles itself, instead of having to wait for incumbent providers like AT&T and Comcast to send work crews to move their own wires. Google Fiber says it is waiting on AT&T and Comcast to move wires on nearly 8,000 poles.

AT&T’s lawsuit claims that the ordinance is preempted by Federal Communications Commission pole attachment regulations and violates AT&T’s 58-year-old pole attachment contract with Nashville. The company seeks a declaration that the ordinance is unlawful and a permanent injunction preventing the local government from enforcing it.

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AT&T sues Nashville in bid to stall Google Fiber

Lauren Kate's 'Fallen' movie has potential to be YA sensation

The first trailer for Fallen, a movie adaptation of Lauren Kate’s popular YA book series, finally landed online this week, immediately drawing comparisons to The Twilight Saga. Whether it can repeat the success of that franchise is another question, seeing as its release date still remains up in the air.

It wasn’t immediately clear which company posted the trailer, which circulated among Fallen fans (aka Fallenatics) after a low-quality copy was uploaded to YouTube.

Relativity is currently listed as Fallen’s U.S. distributor on the film’s IMDb page, and the company’s CEO, Ryan Kavanaugh, encouraged his 155,000 Twitter followers to spread the word and help the trailer go viral on social media earlier this week. However, a spokeswoman for the studio told Mashable on Thursday night that she could not immediately confirm whether Fallen was, in fact, an official Relativity release at this point. …

More about Relativity, Ryan Kavanaugh, Jeremy Irvine, Lauren Kate, and Addison Timlin – Source

Lauren Kate's 'Fallen' movie has potential to be YA sensation

Infrastructure as code: What does it mean and why does it matter?

The emergence of software-defined hardware has given rise to the phrase “infrastructure as code” to describe the way these environments are managed – Source

Infrastructure as code: What does it mean and why does it matter?

Micromax to launch four smartphones with Google Duo pre-loaded

According to a Press Trust of India (PTI) report, domestic handset maker Micromax will launch four 4G smartphones in India for the festive season. The company has partnered with Google to preload the latter’s video calling app, Duo, on these smartphones.

These budget smartphones will be priced under $100, and the ‘video series’ will help users discover video calling with Duo.

“Video calling is perceived to be a very urban phenomenon and niche but at Micromax, we believe that there is a huge potential to massify the service by taking it beyond the tier 1 markets where Micromax has an unmatched edge,” Micromax co-founder Vikas Jain told PTI.

According to research firm IDC, 15.4 million 4G smartphones were shipped in January-March 2016 quarter – a growth of more than six times over the same period last year. Sales of 4G smartphones have grown significantly in India as operators expand their high-speed Internet services (4G-LTE) networks in the country.

The Duo app, first announced by Google at its I/O developer conference earlier this year, was launched last month for Android and iOS users and aims to compete against apps like FaceTime and Skype by offering seamless, one-to-one video calling. It allows users to connect using their phone numbers without the need for a separate account.

See also: Why Google Duo has very little chance of succeeding187

Google claims that Duo has been built to be fast and reliable, so that video calls connect quickly and work well even on slower networks – something that is relevant for the Indian market. Within the first month, Duo saw over 10 million downloads with US and India being the top countries in terms of downloads. However, 5 million of these downloads were in the first week, implying the buzz tapering off after the launch.

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Micromax to launch four smartphones with Google Duo pre-loaded 

Deadly snake keeps it basic this season by hiding in an Ugg boot

Ugg boots are pretty good for fetching Starbucks in. To hell with their bad rap for being a staple of the “basic girl” wardrobe. They’re cosy and warm, and you can bet snakes think so too.

Like this guy — an eastern brown snake, who huddled itself into the wool-lined footwear belonging to a woman in the Australian city of Adelaide.

SEE ALSO: Baby snake holding tiny toy donut is unexpectedly cute

The folks at Snake Catchers Adelaide posted a picture of it on their Facebook page Wednesday, after they helped to remove the snake from the boot.

Apparently the snake had disappeared into the iconically ugly Aussie shoe on a particularly chilly day, after encountering the shoe’s owner. …

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Deadly snake keeps it basic this season by hiding in an Ugg boot

Samsung Galaxy A8 (2016) leaked manual shows Galaxy Note 7's Grace UX

The Galaxy A8 (2016) is one of Samsung’s upcoming Android smartphones. The device emerged for the first time weeks ago when it’s been spotted in AnTuTu’s database. A set of pictures showing the unannounced handset leaked online as well, so we know pretty much everything about the Galaxy A8 (2016) aside from price tag and release date.

One other piece of information that you might not be aware of recently popped up and we’re here to report about it. The manual that comes with the Galaxy A8 (2016) has been published online and some of the pages describe what appears … – Source

Samsung Galaxy A8 (2016) leaked manual shows Galaxy Note 7's Grace UX

John Legere celebrates four years as T-Mobile's CEO, turning the industry inside out

Four years ago yesterday, T-Mobile introduced its new CEO and things were never the same again in the industry. From eliminating two-year contracts, introducing Data Stash, Music Freedom, Binge On, T-Mobile One and more, John Legere has helped T-Mobile change from an also-ran into the most innovative of the four major stateside carriers.

Under Legere, T-Mobile leapfrogged Sprint to become the nation’s third largest carrier. The number of subscribers has doubled from more than 33 million to 67 million. During that time period, T-Mobile started building out its 4G LTE signal as coverage soared … – Source

John Legere celebrates four years as T-Mobile's CEO, turning the industry inside out

Facebook's Bad Year Just Got a Lot Worse

While Facebook’s stock has continued to boom

throughout 2016, this year has been full of PR nightmares for the world’s most popular social network, which, among other things, has been accused of censorship

, grilled by the US Senate

and sued by the IRS

in recent months. On Thursday, however, that bad press finally became something that could hurt its bottom line when news broke that Facebook juiced a key stat to advertisers, inflating it by “60 to 80 percent” for years.

…

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Facebook's Bad Year Just Got a Lot Worse

Hardware store caught selling a declared weed as a cute garden plant

Imagine buying up a bunch of good-looking plants from you local home and garden centre, only to discover three days later that they were damaging weeds.

SEE ALSO: Good news, stoners: Study links daily marijuana use to lower BMI

Well Australia’s Bunnings Warehouse has been left red-faced after they were caught selling a fast-spreading weed as a fancy potted plant.

The plant in question, Sagittaria (not to be confused with the courageous but impatient Sagittarius) was incorrectly labelled as a “Melon Sword” by the Northern Territory superstore.

Regional weeds officer Roni Opden told …

More about Weed, Australia, Sagitarria, Bunnings, and Watercooler – Source

Hardware store caught selling a declared weed as a cute garden plant

Ice Cube is ready to kick Charlie Day's ass in the first 'Fist Fight' trailer

Chances are you saw a fist fight break out between students in the cafeteria, back in high school. But what about teachers?

That’s the premise of the comedy Fist Fight, which pits mild-mannered English teacher Andy (Charlie Day) against his colleague Ron (Ice Cube).

They’re joined by Tracy Morgan, Jillian Bell and Christina Hendricks.

Day’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia collaborator Richie Keen directed the New Line movie, which hits theaters on Feb. 17.

Postmodern Jukebox gives ‘Scars To Your Beautiful’ a soulful remake

9 things you didn’t know about ‘The Lion King’

Japanese ad showcases people who are really freakin’ good at their jobs

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Ice Cube is ready to kick Charlie Day's ass in the first 'Fist Fight' trailer

Sorcery! 4: The Crown of Kings concludes the game-book series with numerous possible endings

We’ve highlighted each entry of the Sorcery! series as they’ve arrived on Android, because each has been a compelling blend of a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure” book with a tabletop RPG. Sorcery! 4: The Crown of Kings has arrived, and now it’s time to see how your particular story is going to end.

Each Sorcery! release contains sketched artwork, stylish animations, a skeuomorphic interface, and oodles of charm. The games are based on the pen and paper game-books of the same name from Steve Jackson, and the inspiration is clear.

Read More

Sorcery! 4: The Crown of Kings concludes the game-book series with numerous possible endings was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Sorcery! 4: The Crown of Kings concludes the game-book series with numerous possible endings

5 top smartphones in the 48-hour Amazon Unlocked Event

For the next 48 hours, Amazon will be hosting a sale event with crazy deals on a number of unlocked smartphones. The key word here: unlocked.

There are several benefits to purchasing an unlocked smartphone. The major one is the flexibility and freedom customers have across carriers and distances. Unlocked phones are not tied to any provider and recognize SIM cards from all networks, which allows for international calling free of roaming charges.

SEE ALSO: Unlocking Your Phone in the U.S. Is About to Get a Lot Easier

Most smartphones today are purchased “locked,” meaning they are limited and only work with a specific mobile carrier’s SIM card. Plus, locked phones often have complicated payment plans. With unlocked phones, you usually pay the whole cost upfront — meaning that once you pay the Amazon sale price below, there is no need to fork over additional payments in the future (aside from your phone bill, of course). …

More about Sale, Smartphone, Unlocked, Amazon, and Tech – Source

5 top smartphones in the 48-hour Amazon Unlocked Event

Samsung asked to extend Galaxy Note 7 refund period in its home turf

South Korea was the first country where the Galaxy Note 7 made it to shelves. To be more precise, Samsung’s flagship smartphone went on sale on August 19, so customers who bought it have been using the Galaxy Note 7 for the longest time.

However, South Koreans did not have the same amount of time that customers in other countries had at their disposal to exchange the potential faulty Galaxy Note 7 units.

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, the government agency responsible for product safety and recalls, asked Samsung earlier this week how long it could extend the refund … – Source

Samsung asked to extend Galaxy Note 7 refund period in its home turf

YouTube puts $1M behind Creators for Change

YouTube might be one of the only communities on earth more eccentric than Silicon Valley. You can find videos of cats pretending to be people, people pretending to be cats, and whatever the hell this is. That said, the site has been home to some incredibly moving and world changing content. While most of us immediately think of videos like the pepper spraying of students protesting at UC… Read More

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YouTube puts $1M behind Creators for Change