Airbnb has launched a new disaster response tool in an effort to make things easier for willing hosts to offer free shelter to survivors of catastrophes. Activated within 30 minutes or less from the time trouble strikes, the solution will send out emails to local users and ask if they'd like to offer their rooms at no cost. Thoughtful folks will then be able to list their space on a dedicated page where guests can easily find generous souls to stay with. The P2P lodging service was inspired to cook up this plan after its New York patrons opened up their homes to Hurricane Sandy survivors, and it had to cobble together a portal to connect people. With the new system in place, the firm hopes it can quickly reach more hosts and guests and make the process of offering and finding emergency housing more efficient.
Filed under: Misc
Via: Fast Company
Source: Airbnb
Every year, and 2012 is no different, looks much better when it is presented by LEGO recreations of people skydiving from space or Russian punk rockers getting jailed for speaking their mind.
Felix BaumgartnerSkydiving from space? Why not. Baumgartner set a world record by jumping from 24 miles above the Earth, ...
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It's no secret that Hurricane Sandy has worked a number on communications infrastructure, but now a time-lapse video created by Renesys gives us a clearer picture of when and where internet outages occurred as the storm made landfall. Green squares on the map above indicate that 99.95 percent of networks in the area are reachable, while red squares denote that more than five percent of networks are down. In Manhattan's case, Renesys estimates that there was only a ten percent failure, which it considers impressive since power was cut to much of the island. Ten percent may not sound like a huge outage, but the firm points out that population density makes it equivalent to taking a country the size of Austria off the grid. As for the 90 percent of networks in the borough that stayed online, they survived thanks to generator power. If you'd like to witness the playback of outages between October 29th and 30th, head past the jump for the video.
Continue reading Time-lapse map shows internet outages as Hurricane Sandy makes landfall (video)
Filed under: Internet
Time-lapse map shows internet outages as Hurricane Sandy makes landfall (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hurricane Sandy's taken out more than the electricity of hundreds of thousands of Northeastern USers -- it's also pillaged the internet connections of many, leaving our Netflix and Hulu Plus subscriptions unused, and subsequently our Eddie Murphy '80s movie marathons unmarathoned. Comcast understands this to be the dire situation it is, and is offering its Xfinity WiFi service free of charge for folks living in Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Washington D.C., and West Virginia (sans New York City, as there aren't any hotspots in the Big Apple, sadly). Just select "Complimentary Trial" from the landing page and you're in like Flynn until November 7 (when the deal ends).
Or perhaps you're one of our lucky readers unaffected by the crazy hurricane? Apple's got an opportunity through iTunes for direct donation to the American Red Cross, should you wish to help out our friends suffering through worse than just lacking internet. Donation increments range from $5 to $200 -- just sign into iTunes and click the Red Cross advert below New Music.
Filed under: Apple
Sandy got you down? Comcast offering free WiFi to affected regions, iTunes allowing Red Cross donations originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 14:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hurricane Sandy's taken out more than the electricity of hundreds of thousands of Northeastern USers -- it's also pillaged the internet connections of many, leaving our Netflix and Hulu Plus subscriptions unused, and subsequently our Eddie Murphy '80s movie marathons unmarathoned. Comcast understands this to be the dire situation it is, and is offering its Xfinity WiFi service free of charge for folks living in Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Washington D.C., and West Virginia (sans New York City, as there aren't any hotspots in the Big Apple, sadly). Just select "Complimentary Trial" from the landing page and you're in like Flynn until November 7 (when the deal ends).
Or perhaps you're one of our lucky readers unaffected by the crazy hurricane? Apple's got an opportunity through iTunes for direct donation to the American Red Cross, should you wish to help out our friends suffering through worse than just lacking internet. Donation increments range from $5 to $200 -- just sign into iTunes and click the Red Cross advert below New Music.
Filed under: Apple
Sandy got you down? Comcast offering free WiFi to affected regions, iTunes allowing Red Cross donations originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 14:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Communication has been all too spotty across much of New York City and New Jersey since Hurricane Sandy struck the region, and those who can get through on their cellphones have found themselves on particularly crowded networks. AT&T and T-Mobile are providing some much-needed, if temporary, relief: the two have struck a deal to share their GSM and 3G networks in the area with no roaming fees or plan changes while the networks come back, with the best-functioning network taking precedence in any given connection. A return to the normal state of affairs hasn't been fixed in stone and will likely depend on many, many factors, but it's a much appreciated gesture for residents who might not have a choice to relocate for a vital phone call.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, AT&T, T-Mobile
AT&T and T-Mobile temporarily share networks in New York City and New Jersey, shoulder the post-hurricane load originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Julius Genachowski has revealed that Hurricane Sandy has knocked out a full quarter of cellphone towers and cable services in the 10 most affected states. The FCC chief believes that, as more towers expend their battery back-ups and the storm's continued presence, the situation's going to get worse before it gets better. He's also reiterated that users should avoid making non-essential calls and use e-mail or social media to avoid overloading the straining networks. One point of interest in the call, was that land line phone outages were much less widespread -- which might be something to remember if you've ever considered cutting the cord.
Filed under: Wireless, Internet
Hurricane Sandy has knocked out 25 percent of all cell towers, cable services in 10 states originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 06:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Just because Google abandoned its October Android event doesn't mean it's left its users out to dry -- Hurricane Sandy now has its very own Google Crisis Map. It isn't the first time Mountain View has lent its mapping tech to folks in harm's way -- survivors of Hurricane Issac used a similar Crisis Map to track the storm, follow public alerts and find shelters. Sandy's map is no different, providing locals with information on the storm's path, forecast information, evacuation routes, areas of high wind probability and even links to webcams surrounding affected areas. Google isn't the only firm lending a hand, either -- both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are lifting site paywalls during the storm, ensuring the public has access to developing news as long as their internet connection doesn't give out.
Google puts Hurricane Sandy on its crisis map, hopes to help you weather the storm originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Oct 2012 20:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We hope you weren't basing your calendar around Google's big Android event on October 29th. The company has confirmed to us that it's postponing the event to an as yet undetermined point in the future due to Hurricane Sandy, whose East coast arrival will follow so closely before the New York City gaterhing that Google isn't willing to take the chance on its big day. If you're experiencing a sense of déja vu, you're not alone -- Google delayed last year's event revealing the Galaxy Nexus out of respect for the late Steve Jobs. While it's not what we'd call an auspicious start to Google's holiday launches, we can at least hope for an abundance of riches when the company is ready once again. The full statement waits below.
"We are canceling our Monday morning event in New York due to Hurricane Sandy. We will let you know our plans as soon as we know more."
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Google postpones October 29th event over Hurricane Sandy worries originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Oct 2012 13:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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