cables

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Amazon's Kindle Worlds will pay writers to write fan fiction.

- Hire your favorite musician to write you a song .

- And now a reading from the worst fan fiction I've ever read.

- Follow Russ Frushtick on Twitter.… Read more

More customers are satisfied with Apple's phones than any other handsets, but they're not as happy as they were last year, a new report said.

According to an American Customer Satisfaction Index report issued today, Apple received a score of 81 (on a scale of 100) in terms of customer satisfaction. But the company dropped 2 percent from its 2012 position, and the iPhone lags the customer satisfaction rating of 86 for Apple's desktop, laptop, and tablet business.

At the same time, satisfaction with Motorola phones jumped 5 percent from 2012 to 77, and Nokia grew 1 … Read more

This is an update of a deal I wrote about a couple months ago.

Until wireless charging hits the mainstream (with either Apple or Samsung leading the -- sorry -- charge), we're all slaves to cables.

For example, I'm currently traveling with an older iPhone, a newer iPad, and a Kindle. Because each one has a different power port, I have to travel with three different cables. That's just wrong.

I've seen various hybrid cables that pack multiple charging tips into a single cord, but none with the Lightning connector used by newer iDevices. Until now: … Read more

Six months after wireline telephone operators and trade groups asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to begin shutting down their aging switched networks, the agency responded late Friday, calling for further study.

In a public notice (PDF) issued by an agency task force created in December 2012, the FCC reiterated the importance of accelerating the transition from switched networks to native IP infrastructure. But rather than approving limited trials to test technical and regulatory obstacles to a full conversion, the agency instead raised more questions about the trials and called for more rounds of comments.

The task force also … Read more

Back in March I got the chance to test-flex the Une Bobine, which, despite having one of the worst product names in recent memory, is really cool.

Unlike most sync/charge cords, which just lie there with floppy abandon, the Une Bobine borrows from gooseneck lamps, coiling and snaking into interesting positions. Want to stand your phone upright? You can do that. Angle it sideways? You can do that, too.

Much as I liked the product in concept, in practice I found it a little disappointing, if only because it proved not quite stiff enough to hold my iPhone in … Read more

John McCain wants to make it easier for consumers to buy only the TV shows they want to watch.

On Thursday, the Arizona senator introduced legislation that would force cable operators and other TV providers to split up their so-called programming bundles and instead offer TV shows in smaller, more affordable packages and as a la carte channels. His legislation, called the Television Consumer Freedom Act, also would require sports leagues that use publicly financed stadiums to broadcast home games within their local markets. Now many home games are blacked out in an effort to encourage fans to go to … Read more

Android users who employ the TWC TV application will soon have far more functionality available to them.

Time Warner Cable announced on Tuesday that the upgrade to its Android application will deliver access to more than 4,000 On Demand TV shows and movies. The app will also allow for out-of-home access to some On Demand programming and live TV viewing over a Wi-Fi connection. Time Warner Cable says mobile users will have access to over 1,100 On Demand shows and movies and live television from "a dozen or so" news, sports, and entertainment channels.

Time Warner … Read more

Some audiophiles swear that cables can make or break the sound of their hi-fis, while others poo-poo the idea and use the cheapest hardware store wires. The debates have raged for years, but the only way to really know for sure is to try a set of high-end cables in your system. When I sold hi-fis for a living, I convinced a lot of reluctant customers to buy a set of cables, with the promise I'd refund their money if they didn't hear a difference. The majority of them kept the cables; even some of the most skeptical … Read more

Though Time Warner Cable's free Wi-Fi hot spots are nothing new, there is something perhaps more than coincidental about the timing of their launch in Austin, Texas.

Did someone say Google Fiber?

Well, actually, Time Warner itself did. In its announcement Thursday that it's bringing free Wi-Fi hot spots to its Austin customers, the company said it was Google launching its superfast Internet and TV service in the Texas capital that gave Time Warner momentum.

"We've been rolling out our free Wi-Fi network across our footprint for some time now, as part of our larger strategy … Read more