Month: January 2019

AT&T claims it will have 5G in early 2020

CompuScoop Staff January 10, 2019 0

“AT&T already launched its initial mobile 5G network in parts of 12 U.S. cities last December, but it’s now preparing for full nationwide coverage — a dauntingly large task that its millimeter wave small cells won’t be able to handle alone,” Jeremy Horwitz reports for VentureBeat. “This morning, the carrier revealed that it will ‘offer nationwide 5G coverage with our lower band spectrum,’ specifically the sub-6GHz frequencies discussed in our interview with AT&T VP Gordon Mansfield yesterday.”

“In the transition from 4G to 5G, AT&T says that it has brought two interim technologies into more markets than expected: 1Gbps LTE-LAA is now in parts of 55 cities, with its controversially named ‘5G Evolution’ or ‘5G E’ — actually just 4G LTE-Advanced — in over 400 markets, offering roughly 400Mbps speeds on select 4G devices,” Horwitz reports. “Towers with the 5G E hardware will be capable of flipping to actual 5G service in the near future, but until then will confuse 4G users into believing that they’re using 5G technologies.”

Read more in the full article here.

Apple Watch S4 Saves Another life with ECG Feature

CompuScoop Staff January 9, 2019 0

A man from Nashua, N.H. says he is alive because Apple's latest Watch model detected atrial fibrillation —an irregular heartbeat.

Barry Maden originally bought the wearable because of its fall detection feature, according to his wife Tara. Maden earlier experienced a brain injury, and the couple was counting on the Apple Watch to help call 911 if he fell without anyone nearby.

To his surprise however, the Apple Watch eventually popped up a notification about his heart, prompting him to see a doctor, reports WMUR. At a hospital ER he was given a full-scale electrocardiogram, which confirmed the issue. His heart was restarted under sedation.

"It would've probably taken me longer had I not had something actually telling me that something's not right," said Maden, who noted that he initially thought he was just suffering from anxiety related to holiday travels.

The Series 4 is the first Apple Watch to have a built-in ECG feature. By loading a dedicated app and holding a finger on the crown, the device can act as a single-lead ECG.

Watch users don't strictly need a Series 4 to detect atrial fibrillation, since earlier models still have optical heart sensors, but ECG technology can provide better data.

Apple has been eager to market the Watch as a potentially life-saving accessory, calling attention not just to health and fitness but things like Emergency SOS calling.

Via: AppleInsider.com

Microsoft pulls latest Office update

CompuScoop Staff January 9, 2019 0

Software performance tweaks have opposite effect

Microsoft has taken down its latest update for Office 2010 following reports the tweak was causing some versions of Excel to crash.…

Redmond said the KB4032217, KB4461627, KB4032225, and KB4461616 updates, each released on January 2 for PCs running Office 2010, were no longer available.

Redmond notes that those who have installed the non-security patches "may experience difficulties in Microsoft Excel or other applications," and should uninstall the update to return things to normal.

Other versions of Office were not affected by the issues.

While Microsoft did not say what exactly the "difficulties" were that led it to yoink the updates offline, it seems a compatibility error, mostly present on Japanese machines, was causing Excel to freeze and/or crash shortly after startup or be unable to start at all.

Multiple reports from Japanese users say that, after installing one of the four Office 2010 updates, users found Excel would hang or freeze.

Given how essential Excel is to many enterprise operations, it is no wonder that Microsoft would be quick to pull the plug on any patch, particularly a non-security update, that would disrupt normal operations.

Microsoft has not said when a replacement for the patch could be released.

Word of the takedown comes just one day before Microsoft is slated to release its first monthly security update of 2019. The January edition of Patch Tuesday is likely to bring fixes for security holes in Windows, Office, and IE/Edge.

In recent months, Microsoft has been joined in Patch Tuesday by the likes of Adobe and SAP, who have used the second Tuesday of the month to kick out their own scheduled security updates. ®

Via: The Register

AT&T Caught lying to customers about its 5GE on devices and is under file by other carriers

CompuScoop Staff January 9, 2019 0

AT&T has been criticized by rival carriers Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile for attempting to mislead customers by marketing some smartphones as using "5G Evolution" technology and displaying a "5G E" connectivity logo on the screen, despite the devices involved being incapable of connecting to a 5G network.

AT&T has come under fire on social media and in statements following the revelation the carrier has started to update some of the devices it sells with a new connectivity icon. Owners of some Samsung and LG smartphones are starting to see a connectivity icon reading as "5G E," indicating the device is connected to AT&T's "5G Evolution" network.

To read the rest of the AppleInsider article, click here.