In Room With No Cell Service, Verizon Works On Future of Mobile

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In Room With No Cell Service, Verizon Works On Future of Mobile

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday October 9, 2013 @11:53AM from the app-of-tomorrow dept.

alphadogg writes "If you think your house has bad cellular coverage, Verizon Wireless has you beat: A small, windowless room high up in a San Francisco office building gets no service at all. That's not because carriers are neglecting the bustling South of Market business district where the room is located. Instead, it's because Verizon is paying so much attention to what's going on there. The room with zero bars is in the heart of the Verizon Innovation Center, where Verizon network and business experts help developers of new wireless devices and apps to turn their ideas into products."

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can you hear me now? by themushroom · 2013-10-09 11:55 · Score: 2, Funny

I said... can you hear me now?

--
Laughter is the Spackle of the Soul.
1. Re:can you hear me now? by negRo_slim · 2013-10-09 12:34 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Not a bad response to a post that walks and quacks like a fucking advert. This is some really bottom of the rung shit.
  
  --
  On the Oregon Cost born and raised, On the beach is where I spent most of my days
2. Re:can you hear me now? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 12:56 · Score: 0
  
  The "bottom of the rung" is normally pretty clean, the shit comes off the shoes and they contact the top of the rung. Now, "bottom rung" means something else entirely.
3. Re:can you hear me now? by coryhamma · 2013-10-10 04:41 · Score: 1
  
  It's a shielded room or Faraday cage. I can't believe this drivel made it to the front page -- there are thousands of these rooms, worldwide. We had one in my high school, to run spark-gap radio demonstrations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage
hmmm... by Connie_Lingus · 2013-10-09 11:58 · Score: 0

that "...small, windowless room high up in a San Francisco office building (that) gets no service at all." sure has one hell of a view according to the pic in TFA.

--
never bring a twinkie to a food fight.
1. Re:hmmm... by KiloByte · 2013-10-09 12:01 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  They just took a picture of a room that gets no Verizon service at all. You can find oh so many of them.
  
  --
  The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
2. Re:hmmm... by mythosaz · 2013-10-09 12:05 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  that "...small, windowless room high up in a San Francisco office building (that) gets no service at all." sure has one hell of a view according to the pic in TFA.
  The shielded room, about the size of a walk-in closet, only has space for a small desk, a couple of chairs and a bank of network equipment. It isn't meant to stay wireless-free. Instead, Verizon engineers use current and emerging wireless gear to create special radio environments for testing.
  The "shielded room" is a small part of the VIC.
3. Re:hmmm... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 12:08 · Score: 0
  
  "...The shielded room, about the size of a walk-in closet...lets product developers test out how their devices or apps will work in different situations, such as...traveling at high speed through a certain type of network,.."
  Traveling at high speed through a closet sized room? What, do they throw the device against the wall?
4. Re:hmmm... by dyingtolive · 2013-10-09 12:09 · Score: 2
  
  Maybe they meant that is has no TCP window?
  
  --
  Support the EFF and Creative Commons. The war is coming, and they're supporting you...
5. Re:hmmm... by FatdogHaiku · 2013-10-09 13:00 · Score: 1
  
  that "...small, windowless room high up in a San Francisco office building (that) gets no service at all." sure has one hell of a view according to the pic in TFA.
  it get's even more interesting when the ground starts moving...
  
  --
  You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
6. Re:hmmm... by drkim · 2013-10-09 13:12 · Score: 1
  
  that "...small, windowless room high up in a San Francisco office building (that) gets no service at all." sure has one hell of a view according to the pic in TFA.
  That's not the room.
7. Re:hmmm... by WarJolt · 2013-10-09 13:51 · Score: 2
  
  RF chambers feel like coffins and definitely are not for the claustrophobic. Additionally they are not that rare . Anechoic chambers are in practically every place that does RF testing or RF engineering. See if you can find one at your local University. This article was clearly not written for scientists or engineers.
8. Re:hmmm... by GigaplexNZ · 2013-10-09 14:43 · Score: 1
  
  The room stays put while the signal "moves".
9. Re:hmmm... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 15:49 · Score: 0
  
  Go anywhere on the dessert for one. Nothing like driving 100miles on a dangerous road with no signs of civilization anywhere when you need 911 the most. Well, that's only half true come to think of it. You need verizon coverage the most when you accidentally find yourself in the boonies and the only carrier available is T-Mobile.
10. Re: hmmm... by Mabhatter · 2013-10-09 15:51 · Score: 1
  
  I used to work at a contractor that built radio based stuff. It was intended for at-sea use, so the devices were overpowered and overlapped with regular radio and TV so testing needed to be contained. We had whole labs 20x30 and bigger with copper mesh under the cheap tacky paneling, even the doors had mesh seals so the rooms were a perfect Faraday's cage.
  It's been 10 years since I worked there... Those would be Awesome for NOT getting signals now!
11. Re:hmmm... by drkim · 2013-10-09 15:58 · Score: 2
  
  RF chambers feel like coffins and definitely are not for the claustrophobic. Additionally they are not that rare . Anechoic chambers are in practically every place that does RF testing or RF engineering. See if you can find one at your local University. This article was clearly not written for scientists or engineers.
  Right you are. People also forget that every MRI machine, in every hospital, everywhere in the world, is in a totally shielded room (and much, much larger than the little test closet in the article.)
  So reading about a room (closet really) that "Oh my golly gosh - has NO cel service!!!. Imagine that!!" is kinda lame.
  MRI RF Shielding specifications Copper soldered RF shielded enclosure for MRI scanner SECTION 13095 RADIO FREQUENCY SHIELDING FOR MRI SOLDERED COPPER RF SYSTEM PART 1 - GENERAL 1.1 DESCRIPTION The purpose of RF and magnetic shield construction is to create an enclosure in which radio frequency (RF) and/or electromagnetic interference (EMI) is contained and/or prevented from entering. This environment is necessary to ensure proper performance of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) equipment. ...more:
  http://www.national-mri-shielding-specifications.com/
12. Re:hmmm... by steelfood · 2013-10-09 16:27 · Score: 1
  
  Hey! That image looks really familiar! It fact, it looks just like where I work!
  They must have the wrong place. There's no innovation or new ideas around my office.
  
  --
  "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
13. Re:hmmm... by gl4ss · 2013-10-09 18:18 · Score: 1
  
  and stories like this are ran every year.
  every radio developer and most bigger operators have such rooms and cages, usually with equipment to simulate wireless coverage of varying qualities.
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
14. Re:hmmm... by philip.paradis · 2013-10-09 19:30 · Score: 1
  
  Go anywhere on the dessert for one.
  I stood on a few pies to test this hypothesis, but I still had signal. Am I doing it wrong?
  
  Nothing like driving 100miles on a dangerous road with no signs of civilization anywhere when you need 911 the most.
  Why are you doing such a thing without, at minimum, an emergency kit in the trunk consisting of a spare tire and tools, basic first aid supplies, a couple of blankets, flares, a firearm, some ammunition, and a jug of water? I don't travel for any significant distance in remote country without everything on that list. Even in town, most of that is still in the vehicle.
  
  --
  Write failed: Broken pipe
15. Re:hmmm... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 21:04 · Score: 0
  
  I'd wager most higher education institutes that have electronics research have these also, they are not expensive or hard to build. Getting signals in and out is a bit more tricky, but it's very much a solved problem. Don't see the news value here. Unless the news was that verizon actually has something to do with some real research & development, instead just offering bad services.
16. Re:hmmm... by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · 2013-10-09 22:26 · Score: 1
  
  These rooms are common for anywhere people build radio products. We had dozens in an auto radio group I worked in. You also need them so you can run test broadcasts without it escaping to mess with the real world.
  
  --
  (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
17. Re:hmmm... by justthinkit · 2013-10-10 01:17 · Score: 1
  
  This is that room.
  
  --
  I come here for the love
18. Re:hmmm... by Crudely_Indecent · 2013-10-10 01:42 · Score: 1
  
  8 years ago, I worked for a wireless manufacturer in San Diego - and we had a room like this. It's an amazing new (177 year old) invention called a Faraday cage.
  
  --
  
  "Lame" - Galaxar
19. Re:hmmm... by stiggle · 2013-10-10 02:36 · Score: 1
  
  This is Verizon we're talking about - so its about on par for them catching up with modern tech :-)
Eh? by djupedal · 2013-10-09 12:00 · Score: 1, Insightful

Is there a good reason why the blurb for this is so poorly worded/written?
1. Re:Eh? by Mitreya · 2013-10-09 12:13 · Score: 0
  
  Is there a good reason why the blurb for this is so poorly worded/written?
  The editors must be furlough-ed?
  Please pass the budget or /. will have poorly worded summaries!
2. Re:Eh? by AK+Marc · 2013-10-09 12:21 · Score: 0
  
  Rather than summaries in the summaries, they put the first two paragraphs of the article as a summary. The same thing submitted with an actual summary would probably have been rejected.
  
  --
  Learn to love Alaska
3. Re:Eh? by Lumpy · 2013-10-09 12:58 · Score: 0
  
  "The editors must be furlough-ed?"
  Editors?
  You must be new here. Slashdot has never had editors.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
4. Re:Eh? by Darinbob · 2013-10-09 14:39 · Score: 0
  
  Probably because the article that the blurb is about is also poorly written.
Please, please, please, please... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2013-10-09 12:02 · Score: 3, Insightful

Let us hope that the work they do there comes to nothing, and is overwhelmingly forgotten. It's a more charming approach than simple brute force and lobbying; but this is also an extension of Verizon's work to stave off becoming a dumb pipe, and reap the rents that doing so allows. That isn't good news for anybody except them, and possibly their favored app and/or device buddies.

Not only are they surprisingly bad at it (hands up, everyone who ever had the pleasure of a phone with a fully Verizoned ROM, or a Comcast-rented cable box UI); but the conflicts of interest inherent between offering a product or service and controlling the infrastructure over which that offering is delivered are irreconcilably dangerous.
1. Re:Please, please, please, please... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 15:55 · Score: 0
  
  I bought my phone from verizon and prior to their lobbying efforts in februrary to mandate their ROM and anyone that tries otherwise is breaking the federal law. Stupid I know right? But this law does not apply to any purchases prior to when that law went into effect, meaning I bought my phone a year before and they forced my rooted phone into unrooted and bricked some important features through their silent mandatory updates. According to the FCC, it violates some kind of airwave law (I forgot which one) but they are being pricks about it and won't return my phone to the original stock so I can root it and install my own ROM. Talk about illegal, maybe I should talk to an attorney and have them talk to them in court. I'm sure they would love to get their hands on a class-action lawsuit like this. I'm not the only one with this issue either.
Faraday Cage by condition-label-red · 2013-10-09 12:09 · Score: 3, Insightful

It is called a Faraday Cage and it works very well at blocking RF signals. Pix....
I helped assemble one many years ago. There was an FM radio inside the cage that would receive the local campus station quite well...until the cage door was closed, then would just hiss.

--
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
1. Re:Faraday Cage by GumphMaster · 2013-10-09 13:24 · Score: 1
  
  I studied your pix and was intrigued by one that seemed out of place... In six months, when Verizon shuts down the innovation centre after if fails to return 1 bajillion dollars for every thousand poured in, they could rent the room to this lady: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2236215/Woman-51-spends-15-hours-day-a-Faraday-cage-claims-intolerant-modern-technology.html At least then she'll have what is likely to be a real Faraday cage.
  
  --
  Patent litigation: A doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction... in which everyone seems willing to push the button
2. Re:Faraday Cage by Darinbob · 2013-10-09 15:04 · Score: 1
  
  Different frequencies get blocked though. One at work being built with ferrite tiles for a large amount of money because of the frequency range that needs testing. It's one thing to be in a typical shielded room that has a wire mess, a bit more claustrophobic to be in one with tin plated walls, but creepy to be in a room covered in dull black squares.
3. Re:Faraday Cage by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 21:16 · Score: 0
  
  Have you ever been in silent room? I mean acustivcally silent and echoless, not electrically silent? That is spooky as hell, you can actually hear your own blood circulation in your ears, all speak sounds toneless and silent, clapping your hands sounds really weird etc. You are standing on a metal net up in the centre of the room, walls, roof, and floor is covered with some soft cones that suck all the sound energy.
A room with no service? by used2win32 · 2013-10-09 12:17 · Score: 1

The downstairs bathroom at my house gets no Verizon reception, zero bars. The rest of the house does, just not that room. Other providers work fine, go figure...

--
Procrastination; I'll think of a sig tomorrow.
1. Re:A room with no service? by lkernan · 2013-10-09 12:41 · Score: 1
  
  You should rent it to them for testing purposes.
Commercial Radio Studios by bitpyr8 · 2013-10-09 12:17 · Score: 3, Insightful

Are typically RF shielded as well. There is nothing new, exciting, or exotic about a Faraday cage. Why is this article even here?
1. Re:Commercial Radio Studios by Lumpy · 2013-10-09 13:01 · Score: 2
  
  If you go to your home improvement stores, you can buy "magnetic paint" that significantly attenuates RF. Two coats and running the paint over a copper strip that goes to the outlet ground will make a HUGE dent in RF penetration into a room. It has an incredibly high iron content and it is decently conductive.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
2. Re: Commercial Radio Studios by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 14:31 · Score: 0
  
  They should paint airplanes with it.
3. Re: Commercial Radio Studios by Lumpy · 2013-10-09 23:59 · Score: 2
  
  I agree, or make airplanes out of metal. I am so tired of these wood and cloth airplanes that Delta has been flying.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
what about gps by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 12:19 · Score: 0

I remember building a new training center forPacific in long beach, and we would fire up the gps to find something for Lunch and for sreason GPS thought we were in corona.....
1. Re: what about gps by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 12:27 · Score: 0
  
  I've also noticed that's bank vaults with 12 inch thick concrete panels get no service either
where Verizon network and business experts ... by Jane+Q.+Public · 2013-10-09 12:31 · Score: 2

"... help developers of new wireless devices and apps to turn their ideas into LOCKED-DOWN products THAT GOUGE USERS."

There. FTFY.

Come on, Verizon. Charging EXTRA to tether when they're ALREADY paying for the data?

Booooooooo.
1. Re:where Verizon network and business experts ... by GoodNewsJimDotCom · 2013-10-09 15:04 · Score: 1
  
  What I hated about when I had Verizon was that a good 50% of my calls would be dropped, and most of my calls were shorter than 5 minutes long.
  I asked to get out of contract because they weren't holding up their end of the service and they wouldn't let me go. Apparently Verizon gives one sided contracts where they don't have to provide a service on their end, but you need to still pay them. PS: A Faraday's cage isn't impressive technology, they teach undergrads and possibly highschoolers how to make em. As other people have said, this reeks of advertising. Is this because DICE owns Slashdot now? Is Slashdot on its way to becoming Digg 2.0 2.0?
  
  --
  God spoke to me
translation by phantomfive · 2013-10-09 12:34 · Score: 1

A small, windowless room high up in a San Francisco office building gets no service at all...... because Verizon is paying so much attention to what's going on there.

If you're wondering, that means that they've built a faraday cage the size of a room. They're a lot of fun if you can get one.

--
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
1. Re:translation by artor3 · 2013-10-09 13:56 · Score: 2
  
  If you're wondering, that means that they've built a faraday cage the size of a room. They're a lot of fun if you can get one.
  In what way? Every company I've ever worked at has either had one, or bought time in one. They suck. They're poorly ventilated, noisy & hot (from all the equipment running in a confined space), and if you forget to leave your phone outside, they'll kill your battery.
2. Re:translation by phantomfive · 2013-10-09 14:28 · Score: 1
  
  They're fun because they block signal. Almost as fun as a jammer, but not quite.
  
  --
  "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
3. Re:translation by kwbauer · 2013-10-09 18:39 · Score: 1
  
  and just turning your phone off is cheaper and just as fun.
4. Re:translation by phantomfive · 2013-10-09 18:41 · Score: 1
  
  it's really not just as fun and doesn't have the same effect.
  
  --
  "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
wow by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 12:50 · Score: 0

wow, something every European telco around the globe has had for over the last 30 years...
Holy shield room, Batman! by TheloniousToady · 2013-10-09 13:00 · Score: 5, Insightful

Anybody who develops or tests radio receivers of any kind (including cell phones) has one or more shield rooms - it's no big deal. As a more economical (though less effective) alternative, many also have screen rooms, which are little rooms built out of two-by-fours that are surrounded with copper screening. It's about as amazing as the fact that Ben & Jerry's R&D department has a freezer.
1. Re:Holy shield room, Batman! by fermion · 2013-10-09 14:25 · Score: 1
  
  I have seen these rooms on tours of universities. About the size of big walk in closets, or a good size bathroom. Close doors, most radio signals are attenuated to zero. For certain experiments we built a Faraday cage out of a grounded metal box.
  
  --
  "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
2. Re:Holy shield room, Batman! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 14:27 · Score: 0
  
  Hmmmm.... I'd rather work *in* the Faraday cage; but I'd rather work *next to* the freezer. I guess we can't have everything.
3. Re:Holy shield room, Batman! by Darinbob · 2013-10-09 15:06 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  "In Room With No Heat, Ben & Jerry's Works On Future of Ice Cream"
4. Re:Holy shield room, Batman! by Nimey · 2013-10-09 15:17 · Score: 1
  
  No heat? What are you talking about, it must be 250 kelvins in there.
  
  --
  Hail Eris, full of mischief...
  
  E pluribus sanguinem
5. Re:Holy shield room, Batman! by TheloniousToady · 2013-10-09 16:17 · Score: 1
  
  "In Room With No Heat, Ben & Jerry's Works On Future of Ice Cream"
  Good one, wish I'd thought of that. :-)
6. Re:Holy shield room, Batman! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-10 00:29 · Score: 0
  
  Seriously...
  In other news, Verizon can afford to wrap a small windowless room in chicken wire...
Willing to wear shirt and shoes by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 13:00 · Score: 0

I can see getting a room with no cell service, but a hotel without any bars at all.
That's.... inhuman!
No Bars, no problem! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 13:02 · Score: 0

I used to work for Motorola. We used to build phones that would make calls, and connect data (at low data rates) when 0 bars were showing (as long as the device didn't display "No Service".
Then Google bought us, and the new CEO (an M&A lawyer by trade) decided that network connectivity wasn't that important, and de-funded my team and research. With RAZR HD, Moto X and it's follow ons, it really shows-> shitloads of hand effects...
So, I work elsewhere now.. I can see why VZW would spend this type of coin to do something like this.
What will they come up with next? by ChangeOnInstall · 2013-10-09 13:23 · Score: 1

Recent innovations include:

* Innovative means of continuing to maintain a completely locked down network, even in the face of FCC regulations regarding LTE, in the name of security.
* Forcing device manufacturers to lock down bootloaders such that only Verizon can issue security updates.
* Failing to issue said security updates, creating insecure devices, forcing customers to upgrade.
* Requiring upgrading customers to obtain a downgraded (limited) data plan in order to qualify for subsidized phones. (You're always paying a subsidized price, whether or not your contract is currently subsidizing a phone.)
* Introducing a marketing strategy where eager users can pay twice for their subsidized phones if they'd like to upgrade early. (Do the math, it's not friendly, and is difficult to understand by design.

I'm sure there are plenty of legitimate innovations coming from Verizon. But it doesn't nearly make up for the harm they're doing to the future of mobile. Their primary mission is control, not customer satisfaction. They have a lot of customers, a lot of money, and most importantly, a lot of cell towers, which keeps us "happy enough" as customers.

--
What has *science* done?!? -- Dr. Weird (ATHF)
1. Re:What will they come up with next? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 18:35 · Score: 0
  
  Recent innovations include:
  * Innovative means of continuing to maintain a completely locked down network, even in the face of FCC regulations regarding LTE, in the name of security.
  * Forcing device manufacturers to lock down bootloaders such that only Verizon can issue security updates.
  * Failing to issue said security updates, creating insecure devices, forcing customers to upgrade.
  * Requiring upgrading customers to obtain a downgraded (limited) data plan in order to qualify for subsidized phones. (You're always paying a subsidized price, whether or not your contract is currently subsidizing a phone.)
  * Introducing a marketing strategy where eager users can pay twice for their subsidized phones if they'd like to upgrade early. (Do the math, it's not friendly, and is difficult to understand by design.
  I'm sure there are plenty of legitimate innovations coming from Verizon. But it doesn't nearly make up for the harm they're doing to the future of mobile. Their primary mission is control, not customer satisfaction. They have a lot of customers, a lot of money, and most importantly, a lot of cell towers, which keeps us "happy enough" as customers.
  Geez...must be "that time of the month" for "ChangeOnInstall"
makes me think of a meme by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 13:56 · Score: 0

after reading the blurb, all I could think was wat
http://justpo.st/post/19570
Rogers by JustOK · 2013-10-09 14:04 · Score: 1

That's nothing. All of Canada is blocking Rogers cell service

--
rewriting history since 2109
No servoce in Canada, room not needed by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 14:04 · Score: 0

Could save a lot of $$$ moving to Canada. Rogers (Also Fido, Chattr) service is out this evening in Canada.
Who need a 'ROOM'?
Hardly beat by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 14:08 · Score: 0

I helped build the sound isolation chamber for cochlear implant testing at a research lab, for signals being sent directly to human nervous systems. *THAT* room blocked RF, audio, and was a !@#$!@#$ to get just the right electronic signals for connecting to jacks wired to people's auditory nerves into. Harsh lessons involved the inability to "shield" 60 cycle signals that crept in on any powered equipment, we simply had to use a wood desk and a laptop LCD screen instead of the old green screen monitor we'd started with.
Perhaps they could steal some innovation by ArhcAngel · 2013-10-09 14:30 · Score: 1

What they really want to do is figure out how to charge you for using your phone over WiFi like you can do with properly equipped T-Mobile phones.

--
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
Not even trying... by The_Star_Child · 2013-10-09 15:09 · Score: 0

They're not even trying to hide the Slashvertisements anymore. So much for, "You must be new here."
why didn't they just come over to my house? by jsepeta · 2013-10-09 15:23 · Score: 1

the bars I get on my verizon iphone 4 are there for looks only. the moment i step into my house, all bets are off. I can go from 4 to 0 to 1 to 4 and back, just sitting in the same fucking location.

--
Remember kids, if you're not paying for the service, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT THAT IS BEING SOLD.
1. Re:why didn't they just come over to my house? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 18:37 · Score: 0
  
  the bars I get on my verizon iphone 4 are there for looks only. the moment i step into my house, all bets are off. I can go from 4 to 0 to 1 to 4 and back, just sitting in the same fucking location.
  I didn't know they allowed cell phones in prison. Ooops! Sorry! Shouldn't of said that.
  Now 'the screws" will comme for ya and perform multiple cavity searches looking for your hone.
my living room... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 15:23 · Score: 0

is about 4km from their test room, and has zero bars. Verizon -- whatever you're paying in soma, I'll rent you my living room for 50% of that.
[sent from one of the small crenellated valleys in Bernal Heights]
Because it's an advertorial? by dutchwhizzman · 2013-10-09 17:10 · Score: 0

Because it's an advertorial? It's not as if it's news for nerds, or stuff that matters, is it?

--
I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
Re:Sponsored posting brought to you by Verizon. by Pikewake · 2013-10-09 19:51 · Score: 1

I don't think it's bad advertising. It shows they make an effort to understand their customers' experience. ;)
You don't need shielded rooms. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-09 21:18 · Score: 0

AT&T can go to downtown Miami, and stand by a window on the 8th floor to get the same experience. I still don't understand why I get zero bars there. I can literally see cell towers across from me but I guess they are for a different provider. Maybe if they stopped testing in shielded rooms and started testing in actual real environments they would understand the problem a little better.
iPhone user by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-10 00:10 · Score: 0

Apple took my bars away from me...now, all I have are dots...
WiFi Is The Answer by EronCohen · 2013-10-10 01:14 · Score: 1

Unless they're talking about service in an uninhabited, isolated place, the obvious answer is wiFi. At my house there is no decent cell service from any of the major carriers. This is one of the reasons we have been using Republic Wireless' "hybrid" service--it uses wiFi for data and texting when you're near a known hotspot and mobile service from Sprint (or its roaming partners) when you're not, and it includes unlimited data--all for $19/month ( review here: http:///www.longmeadcrossing.com/republicWireless.htm ). Verizon can pretend that this sort of thing doesn't already exist but meanwhile their market share will fall and they'll deserve it. I think a windowless room is the perfect metaphor for their position.
spam spam spam by X0563511 · 2013-10-10 01:35 · Score: 0

spammity spam!
Fuck off, Samzenpus.

--
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
BFD by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-10 02:46 · Score: 0

BFD, I work at IBM and can't get cell service either. Not a difficult acheivement.
Have you seen Apple's version of a testing room? by ghoustonla · 2013-10-10 04:56 · Score: 1

It's just a bit more impressive --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mXY-AQ9zHU