Verizon Voice Link plan for Fire Island approved by NY commission

By Samantha Bookman – State officials found themselves in a tough spot on the issue. As Memorial Day weekend looms, signaling the start of the summer season at Fire Island–a popular vacation spot–the PSC needed to get communications up quickly. At the same time, Verizon stated that the cost of replacing poles and lines on the island was too high to get a return on its investment, due to the low number of year-round residents. more> http://tinyurl.com/o2jx4xf

Related>

• Wireless Home Phones: A Plan Strikes a Chord, Patrick McGeehan, NYTimes.com

Does My Phone Dream?

By Cary Chin – Nearly all of our recently introduced smartphones have had similar problems (iPhone 5, Nexus 4, Galaxy S4, Lumia 900) running on virtually all operating systems (iOS 6.x, Android 4.2.x, Windows Phone 8). All of these energy consumption issues, even when the device is inactive, and presumably asleep. It really makes you think about the question, “Does my phone dream?”

From a technology standpoint, we can explain most of the causes of phantom phone drain—information being pushed to the device, background maintenance tasks, poor communications signal strength, inefficient software design, poor HW/SW interaction and even battery/charging issues can contribute. more> http://tinyurl.com/awcgyf9

Related>

• Smartphone security in the workplace a tough issue with BYOD, Tom Kaneshige, PCWorld

Embedded education

By Colin Walls – How do you acquire the specialist skills needed to develop software for embedded systems?

Learning at college may be difficult, so many engineers pick up the skills on the job, starting with an electronics or computer science background. An intelligent engineer can learn a lot from more experienced colleagues. Indeed this is largely how my own career started and I have mentored quite a few younger guys who had come out of college with few clues. more> http://tinyurl.com/amyc6ft

Related>

• Renesas Electronics America, Micrium and IAR Systems Bring Expanded RTOS and Middleware Bundle to Embedded Developers on IAR Systems Tools Platform, BusinessWire/Yahoo! News

Vodafone $100 Billion Stirs Payout, Deal Dreams: Real M&A

By Amy Thomson – Vodafone Group Plc (VOD)’s investors have ideas for the $100 billion or more that the company stands to pocket for its stake in Verizon Wireless: first, a fat dividend — then, deals.

After Vodafone lost more than half its value since Verizon Wireless began offering mobile services in 2000, shareholders such as Ignis Asset Management say Vodafone’s priority should be to return a large amount to investors. Even if Vodafone gave stockowners half of the at least $100 billion in proceeds, the carrier still will be left with $62 billion, including current cash. That would be enough firepower to buy Germany’s largest cable operator Kabel Deutschland Holding AG (KD8) and John Malone’s Liberty Global Inc. (LBTYA), KBC Asset Management said. more> http://tinyurl.com/q3ty8bz

Related>

• Vodafone’s decision time over US partner Verizon, Christopher Williams, telegraph.co.uk
• Vodafone keeps Verizon payout to make up for European slump, Kate Holton and Paul Sandle, Reuters

Yahoo! Board Approves Billion-Dollar Tumblr Deal

By Sam Gustin – Tumblr has long been considered a major prize, so it’s no surprise that Yahoo! isn’t the only one interested in the company. Tumblr has also reportedly held talks with both Facebook and Microsoft, according to Forbes. Of course, Tumblr CEO David Karp may decide to hold out — he’s reportedly raising a new venture capital round that values the company at $1 billion. Or he may opt for a “strategic investment,” in which Yahoo! or some other big company invests in Tumblr, which would then remain independent. Tumblr has already raised $125 million at an $800 million valuation. more> http://tinyurl.com/cmjo8aw

Related>

• the Net economy, tumblr.com
• Yahoo buying Tumblr for $1.1 billion, vows not to screw it up, Reuters
• What Is Tumblr? Doug Aamoth, TIME
• Yahoo-Tumblr: It’s Not What You Buy, It’s What You Do With It, Harry McCracken, TIME