Well Shucks, AT&T Apoligizes for C&D Threat

I don’t think AT&T likes bad press. The story reported earlier concerning Girogio Galante’s being threatened with a Cease & Desist letter has concluded with an AT&T senior VP contacting Galante and providing a sincere apology.
Here’s what AT&T has officially released:

We are apologizing to our customer. We’re working with him today to address his questions and concerns. This is not the way we want to treat customers. From Facebook to significant customer service channels, AT&T strives to provide our customers with easy ways to have their questions addressed. Because of this incident, we are reviewing our entire process to ensure a situation like this does not happen again.

Giorgio says he’s still leaving AT&T and switching to the Evo 4G on Sprint’s network. Hopefully for him they aren’t the first to jump on the pay-per-byte bandwagon.

You’ve Got to be Kidding Me: James Cameron asked to Help With Oil Leak Ideas

The people in charge are so inept that they’ve turned to movies to solve their problems with the BP Oil Leak.

From AP:

“The “Avatar” and “Titanic” director was among a group of scientists and other experts who met Tuesday with officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies for a brainstorming session on stopping the massive oil leak.

The Canadian-born Cameron is considered an expert on underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies. “Avatar” and “Titanic” are the two highest-grossing films of all time.”

They’re saying that because he was able to direct the camera men how to shoot movies underwater he has some mystical knowledge that the scientists don’t? That must be great for the guys who have spent decades studying in their specific fields- “Oh don’t worry Professors, the guy who directed that long boring movie about some old chick throwing a blue rock off a boat is on his way. He’ll know what to do! He can Imagine Good!”.

I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that they’re getting a director of Fictional Movies to assist with ideas on how to fix the leak, or the fact that this looks a whole lot like that movie poster up there.

(via CBS news)

update:

I’ve figured out whats worse – That if this is in fact life imitating art, the American public will likely believe it.

update 2:

Reuters:

Film director and deep-sea explorer James Cameron said on Wednesday that BP Plc turned down his offer to help combat the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Over the last few weeks I’ve watched, as we all have, with growing horror and heartache, watching what’s happening in the Gulf and thinking those morons don’t know what they’re doing,” Cameron said at the All Things Digital technology conference.

Well that was quick. Cameron has said that his ideas for handling the spill were “graciously” turned down by BP. Surprise surprise, he got turned down. I wonder if it’s because his ideas sounded something like – Hey, just make a robot to walk down to the bottom and send off a signal to the aliens down there to fix it.

I’m kidding, really.

It probably had more to do with him knowing people who work in extreme depths on a regular basis and not listening to the B.S. about why they can’t fix it. That and/or his proposal had to do with adding cameras and monitoring equipment, enabling the world to get a better view of the catastrophe. They aren’t even letting people take pictures of the beaches the oil has washed up on, what was he thinking?

(via yahoo)

Warner Bros. Being Sued for Piracy – Hello Mr. Pot

After years of chasing down people who’ve illegally downloaded their films, Warner Brothers is being sued for software piracy. Medien Patent Verwaltung, a company based out of Germany, claims they created the method of marking film reels that Warner Bros. uses to discern which theater had played a pirated film originally.

“We disclosed our anti-piracy technology to Warner Bros. in 2003 at their request, under strict confidentiality, expecting to be treated fairly,” MPV says in a statement. “Instead, they started using our technology extensively without our permission and without any accounting to us. However, we had taken care to obtain patents to protect MPV’s technology, and we are now in a position where we must assert our rights.”

In Warner Bros. defense, they are all the way in Germany. Hell, most small businesses I know of pirate the hell out of Microsoft Word and Microsoft is right here. I know this will get settled out of court, but I at least it gets some main stream press too.

(via TowerGaming)

Do You Recognize This Guy?

No? Well you should. His name is Ghyslain Raza and he’s a bad-ass Canadian. Raza is the president of the Patrimoine Trois-Rivieres and holds a law degree from McGill University in Montreal. That isn’t the reason you should know who he is though. Raza’s earliest claim to fame was a low-rez, less than two minute film of him posted to the internet by his so called friends.

Recognize him now?

That’s right kids, Ghyslain Raza was the ‘Star Wars Kid’. Don’t make fun of him though, after the release of that video, Raza, sued the parents of the kids who released the video. Why? Well Ghyslian understandably became depressed – dropped out of school – and entered a psychiatric hospital. It would have been a sad story if he hadn’t gotten his confidence back and returned to school. Good job kid, good job.

You can see the classic YouTube video here.

(via Cinematical)

Israeli Commandos Kill U.S. Citizen

Furkan Dogan, 19, a Turkish-American was shot and killed along with eight others when Israeli Commandos boarded a ship heading to the Gaza Strip. Furkan was shot four times in the head and once in the chest, all at close range according to a forensic report given to the Anatolian news agency. Furkan was born in the United States and moved with his family to Kayseri at the age of two, but still retained a U.S. passport. His body was returned to his family in Turkey today.

What the hell? Israel, the little niece of the Good ol’ U-S- of-A is shooting our citizens in the face? Israel’s response/excuse for the attack and deaths aboard the Mavi Marmara is that the passengers were attacking their soldiers. Have you seen what these people were using to attack? The small arms the passengers were wielding were nothing against fraking machine guns. Why shoot a 19 year old kid in the face? He could have easily been taken down with the butt of the rifle, but no, four bullets to the face was easier. Perhaps it was just to make a point to the world- Israel has no problem killing anyone at any age because the U.S. will never punish us for anything. I would never take a side in this absolutely pointless argument between the Palestine and Israel, they’ve both committed horrendous acts for whatever reasons they decide to believe, but come on, really? Really? Nobody is going to do anything about this?  At all?

You can read a more detailed article here, here and here.

(via Reddit)

ATT CEO Doesn’t Care to Hear Your Opinions

As I informed you yesterday, AT&T is going to change their Data Plans to a pay-per-byte format. Well a dissatisfied AT&T customer, Giorgio Galante, decided to get in touch with AT&T’s CEO, Randall Stephenson, via email. No Mr. Stephenson’s email address isn’t public, but if you can’t find it with Google, you probably don’t care much about the data price change anyway. Most would think that an email from an end user to the CEO of a company as large as AT&T would get lost in the clutter, but Mr. Galante did get through and even received a response. One of AT&T’s “executive response team” called and left him a voice mail thanking him for his feedback and then proceeded to inform him that any more attempts to contact the CEO will result in a Cease and Desist letter being sent to him.

Now what did Giorgio say in his email to trigger this response?

Just this:

Thanks for making the switch to a Sprint HTC Evo an even easier decision. I don’t think even Steve Jobs can spin 2GB for $25/month as a good thing for the consumer. I may not use 2GB/month today, but the point of these devices (iPad 3g, iPhone 4G, etc.) is that we’ll be able to do more and your network either can’t handle it, or you’re just trying to squeeze more money out of your customers. The $15/month 200MB plan is just a crappy anchor price that makes the $25 plan look like a better deal than it really is, given that the $30/”unlimited” plan goes away.

Please don’t have one of your $12/hour “Executive Relations” college students call me – I’ve found them to be generally poorly informed (Engadget.com readers know more than they do about AT&T) and they have little authority to do anything sensible.

This is simply a soon-to-be former customer feedback.

Regards,

Giorgio G.

Now that didn’t appear to be particularly nasty or even distasteful. Sarcastic, yeah, distasteful or threatening, definitely not.

In fact, he made some pretty good points. When I called AT&T yesterday to get some info on the story, I had to go through three representatives before I got a hold of anyone who even knew about the change, much less the rules AT&T made for those already contracted. Also, he’s dead on with the $15 a month for 200 MB plan being nothing but an anchor to push customers towards the $25 a month plan.

Now what are the AT&T customers to do? They don’t want or care to hear how their customers feel about the new rate changes. So much so that they will threaten to send C&D orders to anyone who attempts to contact someone at AT&T with the ability to make changes. Lets see how this plays out.

You can check out Giorgio’s full story here:
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

(via Geekosystem)

UPDATE:
Apparently there is more to the story. The email that I posted above was the second email sent to AT&T, below you can read the previous email sent by Giorgio Galante, (or at least what he’s willing to share), below.

I’ve been a customer since the iPhone 3G came out (2 years ago). My current eligibility date for a new phone is sometime in March of 2011. I’d consider sticking around if AT&T bumps up my eligibility date such that I can get an iPhone 4G on its launch day.

In general I’ve not been the happiest AT&T customer (ahem…tethering was promised to be available in early 2009 and finally AT&T is getting around to offering it as an option.) You’re bumping your ETFs to $325 for new contracts as of 6/1. Not only do I spend $80 a month with you on the iPhone, but I also throw another $30/month at you with my iPad 3G.

Android is now becoming a compelling option, and Sprint is rolling out their 4G network. I’ve contacted your customer service department and they’ve stated there’s nothing they can do to change my new phone eligibility date. Fair enough – customer service reps rarely have the authority to make the right business decision.

If you want to keep my $110/month flowing, bump up my eligibility date. Otherwise I will go to Sprint and no longer require any of your services (3G iPad included since the HTC Evo is a hotspot for up to 8 devices.)

Bump up his eligibility date? All of this is over a better price on the iPhone4G? I guess Giorgio doesn’t realize just how much money AT&T loses on iPhone sales.

You’re Singing it Wrong

Apparently this has been up for a year, but I just came across it for the first time. You’ve all seen the video giving the translation of what the Ewoks were saying in their victory over the Empire song, well now, you can sing along with them in the correct language. I give you, Ewok Karaoke.

(via: Rob Tyler)

Piracy Legal in Isreal?

The Israeli Army is running a blockade on the Gaza Strip and commandeering supplies intended for Palestinian refugees from any ship attempting to pass through International Waters to the “closed” area. This has been going on for a while, but only recently received media attention here in the States.

Glen Greenwald:

Israel is now not only detaining the victims of its aggression, but also threatening to prosecute and imprison them. Israeli Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said yesterday: “All those who lifted a hand against a soldier will be punished to the full extent of the law.” So when Israel seizes ships in international waters and kills anyone who resists (and others standing near them), that is an act of noble, plucky self-defense. But those who fail to submit completely to this lawless and barbarous act of aggression are the Real Criminals who will be prosecuted and imprisoned “to the fullest extent of the law.” In other words, not only is Israel — which seized ships in international waters and killed civilians — the Real Victim, but the Real Criminals are those on the ship. But doesn’t the victim of a crime usually want media coverage of what the criminal did? How odd for the victim in this case to take such extreme steps to ensure that the world cannot hear from the witnesses.