sandy

As Sandy surged, Internet use spiked

In the run-up to Hurricane Sandy, Internet usage on the East Coast was 114 percent above the typical traffic for a Monday in October, according to a Canadian networking equipment company.

Sandvine, a deep-packet inspection provider to Internet service providers, detailed in a blog post how the traffic in one unnamed city on the Eastern Seaboard reacted in regards to Internet usage just before Sandy hit -- around the time the storm hit New York City on Monday evening.

From around 8.00 a.m. ET on Monday, Internet traffic rocketed above the typical usage -- shown in blue -- … Read more

Get a great deal on the Powerocks Magicstick mobile charger

Editor's note: This temporary deal has expired and is no longer available.

One key lesson we can all learn from Hurricane Sandy: you can never have too much backup power, especially when you're relying on your mobile phone for communication, information, or even just light.

Actually, backup power comes in handy in all kinds of situations -- like, say, when you need to show your electronic boarding pass at the gate and your phone just ran out of juice.

Most mobile charges are flat, black, and ugly. Not so this CNET Exclusive: through tomorrow, November 1, you can … Read more

Sandy video: Falling trees. Fire. 'Apocalypse'

It begins with: "This is the apocalypse."

A video shot by YouTube member Imasharky seems to offer a very realistic flavor of the drama and fear engendered by Hurricane Sandy.

Trees crash down on cars. Fires ignite. Fear abounds. (Yes, the word "s***" does appear a couple of times, but is that surprising?)

Sharky describes himself as a 16-year-old from the "good old Empire State" and Mashable was first to spot his film's dramatic nature.

Some might find it moving that -- in the face of so much destruction -- the family reacts … Read more

Wireless service after Sandy -- what you need to know (FAQ)

Hurricane Sandy has affected millions of people up and down the East Coast. Now the storm, which was downgraded just before landfall Monday night in New Jersey, has moved westward to wreak further havoc on communications networks in its path.

Because I have been getting so many questions from friends, family and readers about what is going on with the wireless networks in these areas, I put together this Frequently Asked Questions or FAQ for my Ask Maggie readers. If you have additional questions, please send them my way, and I will try to answer them. Also, if you want … Read more

Google challenges Apple's Siri

While CNET's New York office works to get power back after the storm, we're bringing you the Update show from our San Francisco office. Tuesday's top tech stories include:

- Superstorm Sandy has knocked out power, Internet and phone service across the east coast. Nearly 8 million people were without power as of Tuesday.

- Google introduced new gadgets: The Nexus 10 will go head-to-head with the iPad. It has a 10-inch screen with higher resolution than the iPad. (But these screens are so good, the difference may be imperceptible to most of us.) And Google released … Read more

FCC on Sandy: Cell service likely to get worse before it gets better

Cellphone service in superstorm Sandy's path is likely to get worse before it gets better, the Federal Communications Commission said today.

"This was and still is a devastating storm with a serious impact on our nation's communications infrastructure," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said during a conference call with press this afternoon. "The storm is not over. And our assumption is that communications outages could get worse before they get better, particularly for mobile networks because of the flooding and loss of power."

Genachowski said that as of 10 a.m. ET today, 25 percent … Read more

New York Web sites remain offline following Sandy

Hurricane Sandy may have passed the Mid-Atlantic region, but its effects are still being felt online.

The storm knocked out power and caused severe flooding across the Northeastern United States. New York City power companies pulled the plug on parts of lower Manhattan yesterday, shutting down Web sites without redundant servers. Many of those data centers remained down today, and power provider Con Edison said power likely won't be restored to Manhattan for about four days.

Those in Bk and Manhattan should have power back w/in 4 days. All others in areas served by overhead lines will take … Read more

Hurricane Sandy disrupts wireless and Internet services

Residents in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy all up and down the East Coast awoke this morning to downed trees, flooding, and in some cases, no wireless, Internet, or home phone service.

Areas around New York City seemed to be most affected with millions of residents throughout the states of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut without power.

All four of the major cell phone companies said subscribers in patches of their territories hit by the hurricane have been experiencing outages. In New York City, residents in downtown Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn and Queens complained that AT&T'… Read more

Newark mayor takes to Twitter to help amid Sandy

Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, N.J., took to the streets and the tweets over the last couple of days to help the city make it through Superstorm Sandy.

Booker spent much of yesterday and last night driving around in an SUV loaded with diapers, water, and other supplies for citizens in distress, personally enforcing curfew on some roaming teenagers, and coordinating crews to move the homeless to shelter. Along the way, Booker was communicating with citizens via tweets and direct messages:

When one man tweeted at Booker that a tree had fallen on his aunt's house, the mayor apparently sped to the scene:… Read more