Technewsbuzz.com

Topics: iPhone What kind of Christmas present is this? The Consumerist is reporting that AT&T has stopped selling the iPhone in the New York metropolitan area , at least via the company’s website, due to high data congestion (or possibly due to online fraud ). Stephen in Brooklyn says he made the discovery while shopping on AT&T’s website for an iPhone today: I was on the AT&T Wireless website trying to get an iPhone. However, when I put in my zip code 11231, the site says the iPhone is unavailable. This seemed a little odd so I started punching in other famous zip codes: 90210, 60609 (spiegel catalog), 02134 (zoom, an old children’s show). For theses cities, LA, Chicago, Boston, iPhone is available. Then I looked up some…

Recently my local paper, the Boston Globe, was lucky enough to explore the abandoned sections of our sometimes working subway system. As reporter Noah Bierman described it, the experience played out a lot like film noir, compete with wingtip shoes. Anyway, we call it the T here in Boston, but to anyone else outside the city and state, you can just think of it as the oldest subway system in the U.S., because it is. One of the older stops, at Boylston Street, was built back in 1897 as part of the now abandoned Tremont Street Subway line, during a time when the streets above had become too congested. So they went underground, and history was made…

Brussels-based Attentio , a startup that markets a robust software suite for brand monitoring and analysis of conversations that are happening in social media, has raised €525,000 (or $786,000) in financing from the city’s regional investment firm SRIB/GIMB . The financing consisted of an equity investment of €400,000 and a loan of €125,000. This brings the total of capital raised by the company to about €3 million , according to co-founder and CCO Simon McDermott , although this is the startup’s first round of institutional funding since its inception in 2004.

It’s been well over a year since we last saw the laser-guided, self-docking wheelchair developed by folks at Lehigh University, and now the team is back with an altogether more ambitious project. According to associate professor John Spletzer, the recipient of a five-year CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation, the goal is to “extend the autonomy of the wheelchair so it can navigate completely in an urban setting and take you wherever you need to go.” This will be done by equipping robotic chairs with laser and camera sensors (which the team developed for the 2007 DARPA Grand Challenge ) as well as…

Microsoft’s move to cut pricing on a number of its online services wasn’t unexpected, but could put pressure on its channel partners, according to an analyst. The price reductions are an extension of a promotion that already was garnering success. “It’s not much of a surprise,” said Rob Sanfilippo, research vice president for Directions on Microsoft. “The interesting thing about it is that it is cutting margins even more.” Big Cuts Microsoft announces updates to its online services every 90 days. The price cuts, on a per-seat, per-month basis, ran across several products and the comprehensive Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) offering as a whole. Exchange Online was reduced from $10 to $5, SharePoint Online from $7.25 to $5.25, and…

Remember the guy who got a DWI after crashing his motorized La-Z-Boy ? While he’s serving a 180-day jail sentence, the City of Proctor, Minnesota is putting his tricked out chair onto eBay, “Hell yeah, it’s fast” bumper sticker and all. During Dennis LeRoy Anderson ’s trial the chair was considered a vehicle for legal purposes and because of that it ended up as city property. Since there didn’t seem to be a use for it, it went onto the auction block: Known as the world famous DWI Motorized La-Z-Boy style Chair, year built unknown. This is a unique vehicle located in Proctor Minnesota…

The low-budget horror film “Paranormal Activity” has been in limited release for two weeks and has been performing quite well, given its tiny budget. Now, Paramount (the studio distributing the film) is using social media to build buzz and garner support for the film. The studio has launched a campaign using Eventful to get would-be-watchers excited about a potential wide-release and sharing their enthusiasm across social media sites. If 1,000,000 people demand to see “Paranormal Activity,” the film will get a wide release. From the fine print: “Paramount Pictures retains the final right of approval over the cities to be ultimately selected, due to theater and exhibitor requirements …

Move over, Gundam , your time has passed. It’s now Gigantor’s turn to protect Japan from alien intruders. Based on the giant robot from the anime that was first aired in the 1960s in Japan, the city of Kobe in central Japan is now the proud home of a 18m high statue of the Tetsujin 28 (Iron Man 28), which is the robot’s name in Japan. The dedication ceremony was held on Sunday, October 4th, following several months of construction work . It took $1.5 million to complete the so-called Kobe Tetsujin Project [JP], with the money coming from the city of Kobe, a handful of corporations and individual Gigantor fans. The statue was designed and erected under the supervision …

In cities like New York , where bikers ride right alongside heavy traffic, bike helmets are a must. Trouble is, apparently plenty of riders don’t like wearing them because of vanity — most bike helmets aren’t exactly attractive, if you haven’t noticed. Well, the City of New York’s commissioned Projectfuse helmets — that combine safety with an attempt at decent stylings. The helmets feature a two-fold design, with an inner protective polystyrene, which is then covered with a customizable soft fabric that attaches with straps. No, you cannot buy them yet, and we don’t know anything about pricing or availability yet, but we do know that you can score one for free — yes…

Google’s Mountain View, Calif., Wi-Fi network was supposed to mark the search giant’s evolution into an ISP when it was unveiled three years ago, delivering free Internet access to people as a way of getting more of them to see its ads. Instead it’s stayed confined to Mountain View. And when I spoke with Karl Garcia, the current head of the project, he was pretty ambivalent about both its impact and its future; there was no talk of expansion or any of the usual Google enthusiasm for taking this model and using it to change the world. The contract with the city isn’t up for another two years, but Garcia didn’t disclose when negotiations for furthering the project or…