white

The Federal Communications Commission is close to finalizing rules for the use of unlicensed white space spectrum, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper on Tuesday reported that top aides to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski have met with TV broadcasters and others in recent weeks to discuss how to get the spectrum freed for use by technology companies and wireless operators.

White space is unused spectrum that sits between TV channels. The 300MHz to 400MHz of unused spectrum is considered prime spectrum for offering wireless broadband services because it can travel long distances and penetrate through … Read more

Those users choosing to do their photo editing in Apple's Aperture 3 may find that when ordering a book they have created, the order window may turn white, resulting in a failure to process. This issue generally occurs after filling out the order form and clicking the "Place Order" button. … Read more

How do you make a drag racing, Nissan GT-R beating monster out of a 1970s vintage Datsun 1200? If you're John "Plasma Boy" Wayland, you start by yanking out the almost 40-year-old internal combustion engine and all of its support systems. In its place, Wayland installed a lithium ion battery pack that sends 355.2 volts to an electric motor with a 2,000-amp controller.

The end result is the White Zombie, an EV that makes 772 foot-pounds of instant-on torque, hits 60 mph in less than two seconds, and tears up the quarter mile in 10.… Read more

Apple says white iPhone 4s are coming later this year. But some people don't want to wait, and for those people, there's a WhiteiPhone4Now.com. The Web site sells a kit that lets iPhone 4 owners turn their regular black iPhone into a fancy white one.

To be sure, the procedure is not for the faint of heart, as it requires taking your iPhone apart, which voids the warranty. The Web site features two kits: one for $135 that's just the back panel and one for $299 that includes the panel, the front panel, a Retina display, … Read more

During the last 24 hours or so, official Washington has erupted with volcanic denunciations of Wikileaks, the document-sharing group that released about 75,000 military reports regarding the war in Afghanistan on Sunday.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called it "alarming" to find so many "top secret documents" publicly available on the Web. (See transcript.)

National security adviser James Jones "strongly" condemned the release in a statement that was reprinted on the U.S. Embassy Web sites for Afghanistan and Turkey.

Over at the Pentagon, spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said it could take weeks … Read more

Apple announced this morning that shipments of the white iPhone 4 will be delayed until "later this year."

Though Apple did not discuss specific reasons for the delay, the company said in a typically concise statement that building the handset "is more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected." It also promised that availability of the black model will not be affected.

This is not the first time that the white model has been delayed. Exactly one month ago today, and just before the iPhone 4's June 24 release date, the company pushed back the white model … Read more

Though Steve Jobs, after handing out free Bumpers to current iPhone 4 customers, assured users waiting for the white version of the iPhone 4 that the device is still on schedule to ship at the end of July, reports around the Web suggest Apple could see some major supply issues and availability could be limited.

Translated from Chinese newspaper 21st Century Business Herald, manufacturing issues for the white iPhone 4 are apparently related to problems with painting the glass surfaces of the device at the Lens Technology manufacturing plant (where iPhone 4 glass is processed, pressed, and painted).

According to Engadget, &… Read more

Ace reporter Caroline McCarthy of CNET's The Social blog joins The 404 today, while Justin is apparently out on a road trip with his little brother and jumping out of airplanes. We have a (chill) blast with her on today's show, because we are not outside! It's one degree colder today in New York City than it was yesterday, but it's still a balmy 99 degrees outside!

Caroline surprises us with the FitBit, which apparently is "clipped to that thing." The FitBit is a sleep and activity monitor that clips on to the user. … Read more

The technology sector has a lot at stake in the ongoing debate on immigration reform.

While much of the debate in the media surrounding immigration has been about legalizing illegal immigrants, for technology companies, the biggest issue is making sure that they have access to enough skilled legal immigrants, especially as the U.S. economy rebounds from a recession. More so than most industries, technology companies rely on foreign-born workers, many educated in U.S. university systems, to fill key roles that enable them to innovate and grow.

As immigration reform legislation winds its way through Congress, large tech companies, … Read more