WiWavelength

I have posted something similar to this before -- maybe even in this thread -- but I will post it again. Google is backing the wrong horse. Google Voice, not Google Hangouts, should be the primary service. Add chat and MMS to Google Voice instead. The Google Voice web site may be plain, but it is great. It does what it needs to do on the desktop -- send/receive SMS and collect voicemail. Meanwhile, Google Hangouts on computer requires a bullshit Chrome extension. Hey, I may have Chrome on my desktop, but I would rather continue with Safari for personal use and Firefox for professional use. And then there is the Google Hangouts mobile app. With integration, are SMS being sent/received via actual SMS protocol or via data transport? I have no idea. I want transparency and redundancy. With an SMS app, I use SMS via actual SMS protocol -- no data usage. With Google Voice, I use SMS via data transport. I get to pick and choose between the two based on circumstances. SMS protocol is great while roaming; data transport is great while on Wi-Fi. Finally, Google Hangouts is an awful name. I am sure it is cool if you are a 17 year old girl or a Magenta hipster, but it does not sound appropriate if you are an adult professional. If Google wants a "central" service for all messaging types, go back to GrandCentral -- the name of the service that Google acquired to become Google Voice. Grrr, Google Hangouts can go hang itself. AJ

You need to take into account what proportion of USCC subs are in its major markets: Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Tulsa, Knoxville, Des Moines, etc. USCC already competes against the big four in those markets -- except for Omaha, where T-Mobile has just pussyfooted around for over a decade. AJ

I did not mean to imply that you were a USCC sub. I was not certain of that, only that reciprocal "unlimited" data could entice many USCC subs with a mindset similar to yours to port to Sprint. That would be an unfair situation for USCC. Sprint already ran into that issue previously with its Sprint Rural Alliance members. People who lived in SRA pseudo native coverage were signing up with Sprint, then using SRA partner coverage nearly 100 percent of the time. That was bad -- not for the subs but for the operators. And it may be why the SRA program basically bit the dust, transitioning from pseudo native coverage to roaming coverage. AJ

Well, let us define "reciprocal" roaming. It does not necessarily entail pseudo native coverage, "unlimited" data, nor even included roaming. Rather, it just means that two operators have bilateral roaming agreements. They roam on each other. For a counterexample, T-Mobile allows roaming on AT&T in places where AT&T prohibits roaming on T-Mobile. So, what is USCC's current roaming data policy? It has capped native data. Is roaming data usage allowed all the way up to that cap? Or is roaming data subject to a lower quota? AJ

I do not expect that -- because I do not think USCC will overlay Sprint spectrum. USCC is already set in that regard. Plus, reciprocal "unlimited" could be commercial suicide for USCC, siphoning off subs like Sprke over to Sprint. AJ

Bear in mind that any USCC LTE roaming likely still will be capped at the monthly quota, be that 100 MB or 300 MB. AJ

No, this is in and adjacent to the unlicensed ISM 2400 MHz band. AJ

Yes, but T-Mobile's Lower 700 MHz A block license is presently unusable across the northern half of New Jersey -- because of UHF channel 51 incumbency. And that is not likely to be resolved in the New York City metro for several years yet. So, that bird may seem in hand, but it is also still in the bush. AJ

I fixed your quote for you. AJ

Well, this is interesting news for all of those Sprint iPhone users in Vietnam and Honduras. AJ

No, the problem at her house would be stray signals from Russian wireless operators. AJ

Sounds like another S4GRU research trip is brewing. Now, we just need our membership to raise $2500 to cover the costs of me driving to/from Alaska. Maybe I can even chase some wild geese while there. I am looking forward to it. AJ

Thank you. But S4GRU staff has the latitude to determine what is topical discussion. AJ

Look in the mirror. A person who has been expelled from a place but continues to return exhibits obsession. Obsession for maximus. By Calvin Klein. AJ

...as does all of central Michigan, since you live in Muskegon, of course. AJ

Anywhere in the US within a small radius of Detroit -- except for Ann Arbor -- is Detroit. The presence of suburbs is due to Detroit. Those suburbs would not exist without Detroit. #CantonIsDetroit AJ

Dwindling tax base? That sounds vaguely familiar. #PeopleWhoLiveInDetroitShouldntThrowStones AJ

The best part is the second footnote, which cites one of Oakland's replies to the FCC about Sprint's "defunked" iDEN network. Yep, that is some fine Oakland urban intelligence on display. AJ

I hope VZW at least had the common decency to inform its next of Kin. AJ

Wow, that successful, that quickly? Impressive. Everyone, herald the launch of a tech media revolution. NickelTech -- available exclusively on the Microsoft Kin One. And it's gone... AJ

Damn! I was looking forward to the launch of NickelTech. Even better, 5.5.5.5 could have been your IP address. AJ

Negatory. We do not change longstanding thread titles willy nilly. And the title of this thread has already been changed once. If you want to talk MacBook, start a new thread. AJ

Wow, I did not know that the new Apple TV and MacBook products were also called Yosemite -- you know, per the title/topic of this thread. AJ

If you "used to look at [Gigaom] all the time," that could be the reason it is shutting down, Josh. If only you had continued to visit Gigaom regularly, maybe it could have lived. AJ

My emotions aside, I cannot say that I am surprised at the outcome after Om Malik let go of the reins. AnandTech is likely next on the chopping block. The demise of Gigaom will affect many talented people. But more than human collateral damage, I worry about information destruction. Hopefully, Gigaom created content will live on in some way, shape, or form for years to come. AJ