Build me some apps to distract from the fact I've missed the train, again. (Photo: flickr.com/anniemole)

Your smartphone is useful for more than Bejeweled now that there's Wifi in many stations, and the MTA is trying to use that connectivity to make your commute better. (Just don't ask when your train is getting a countdown clock.)

This weekend, techies gathered in Brooklyn at NYU Poly's MetroTech Center campus for the first official, MTA-approved transit hackathon. Participants threw together a total of 17 submissions judged by authorities like Rachel Haot, General Assembly cofounder Matt Brimer and AT&T New York president Marissa Shorenstein.

The winner, taking home a not-too-shabby $5,000 (fronted by AT&T): SubCulture.FM, which would make it easier for you to find singles from your favorite subway buskers. Musicians who sign up for the program get QR codes that'll direct fans to a downloadable link.

Unfortunately, that woman who plays the Love Story theme on a recorder on the N train probably hasn't released a single, and as yet, there's no app for IRL muting your least favorite musicians.

Taking second place was MTA Sheriff, an app which would allow you to report subway problems like that one perpetually broken-down escalator, and third went to Accessway, which helps wheelchair-bound and visually-impaired folks get around the system.

This hackathon was actually just a kick-off. The winners are also now in the running for the App Quest competition, a virtual challenge that'll run until late August, also sponsored by NYU Poly, AT&T and the MTA. Anyone who's willing to work with an MTA data set or API can compete for an additional $40,000 in prize money.

Word to the wise: Anyone who hacked a way to block the urine smell would be idolized citywide as a hero.

Photo: Fast Company

HopStop, Now With Complaints On Monday, transit app HopStop released its new social app HopStop Live!, which lets users update each other in real time on transit issues and changes. (Because the only thing more fun than dealing with transit issues is hearing other people complain about transit issues.) The app is also designed to create communities around specific subway and bus lines, which could help cities identify which lines need improvements or additions. Although this is great for HopStop users, we still prefer the simplistic istheltrainfucked.com.

The MTA Wants Next Generation Apps And in other transit news, the MTA is partnering with AT&T  for a hackathon and AppQuest challenge with NYU Poly and Challenge Post in order to develop the next-generation of public transportation apps. Some of the goals of the challenge include developing tech solutions to navigating time tables and alerts, helping travelers navigate inside stations, integrating with other apps, and developing user generated data. The hackathon will take place May 4 and 5 at NYU Poly in Downtown Brooklyn, with winners sharing $10,000 in prize money. They'll also be automatically entered in the AppQuest challenge, which is scheduled to conclude in early September. Hopefully the developers of istheltrainfucked will enter with an expanded site, "isthemtafucked.com."

Foursquare Version 6.0 Makes Stalking Your Friends Even Easier Today saw the release of Foursquare's newest update, version 6.0, which streamlines the geolocation service to more easily access the app’s core features. Now when you open Foursquare, the search function is at the top, while a map with your friends' most recent locations and personalized recommendations (based on a newly developed search algorithm) displays along with the signature check-in button at the bottom.

Jason Rapp Joins Science Inc. Digital business developer and technology studio (and owner of the most unoriginal company name ever) Science Inc. announced Monday the hiring of Jason Rapp as the company's Managing Director. Mr. Rapp previous experience includes time as president and member of the board of directors at educational app and video compnay Mahalo.com, senior executive in Barry Diller’s IAC corporation, where he served as CEO of Gifts.com, and as an executive at The New York Times Company. The Santa Monica-based company has more than 13 investments with companies such as DollarShaveClub, DogVacay, Ellie, Uncovet and others. Maybe the first thing Mr. Rapp should do at Science Inc. is work on a new company name.

People Like Reading Tech on Their Tech Mobile publishing developer OnSwipe released their most recent user data, and it looks like people can't get enough of reading about their technology. With 16 million unique iOS users per month, technology was the most popular topic on the OnSwipe platform both in terms of page views and average time spent on its apps. Other popular topics included men’s and women’s fashion and general news and politics. My, OnSwipe's users are a versatile bunch.

Barkbox, The Birchbox For Dogs (Really?) You know the monthly delivery craze is reaching its zenith when Barkbox, a Birchbox-style doggy treat and toy delivery service, not only has 35,000 subscribers, but just received $5 million in investments from venture firm RRE Ventures. The new funding is on top of the $1.7 million the startup recieved last year from a similar group of investors.Barkbox plans to expand its efforts after rebranding the company to Bark & Co., with BarkPost, a website which CEO Matt Meeker describes as “a dog-specific version of BuzzFeed’s 'animals' site,” according to allthingsd.com, and BarkCare, a $200 annual vet consultation service that  gives dog owners 24/7 access to vets by phone. Pet startups: the new tech bubble!

AppNexus Is All-In Today the adtech platform AppNexus announced an "all-in" commitment to mobile advertising by extending its technology to mobile platforms. “We built the technology foundation that unlocked unprecedented innovation and spend in display. Now we’re taking the same approach to mobile, allowing our customers to do business ‘full spectrum’ seamlessly across display and mobile,” said CEO Brian O' Kelly. The announcement comes after AppNexus raised $75 million in January in Series D round investments, led by Technology Crossover Ventures.

(Screenshot: AT&T)

Employing obscenity in passwords--either for the personal amusement or just to feel alive for once in your sorry life--is a longstanding tradition hearkening back to the AOL dialup days of yore when "b00b!es" was your password of choice. But cellular overlord AT&T has no use for either your filthy mind or adorable nostalgia: as Twitter security engineer Randy Janinda recently noticed, the company has banned passwords that contain "obscene language."

Cellular News notes that setting up the expectation that all passwords are "polite" could actually pose a security threat, letting hackers know that a huge chunk of possible passwords aren't allowed on AT&T. Plus, passwords are supposed to be encrypted both ways: how would AT&T even know your password has bad language in it?

Perhaps the company simply got sick of everyone making their passwords "Fu*ky0U@t&T!"

(Photo: Crimint.com)

Andrew Auernheimer, better known by his pseudonym "weev," was sentenced today to 41 months in prison for exploiting an AT&T security flaw that allowed him to collect and publish the email addresses of 114,000 AT&T iPad owners. He alerted AT&T to the flaw before sending the dataset to Gawker, which published it, leading to an FBI investigation.

Mr. Auernheimer is part of the grey hat hacker collective Goatse Security, a division of the Gay Nigger Association of America, recently responsible for trolling the Daily Mail and unleashing a torrent of malicious spam on Tumblr. Back in November, Mr. Auernheimer was found guilty of "one count of identity fraud and one count of conspiracy to access a computer without authorization" for his participation in Goatse Security's AT&T hack.

The case is a controversial one, as Goatse Security didn't technically have to hack anything to obtain the information--they simply were exploiting a security flaw with AT&T. Still, Mr. Auernheimer must serve approximately 3.5 years in jail with three years of supervised release and a $73,000 fine to be paid to AT&T for damages (because AT&T is the real victim here).

Mr. Auernheimer's legal defense team attempted to argue that he did not deserve hard time, and instead just six months probation for the offense, but that plea failed.

According to Gawker's Adrian Chen, prosecutors cited a Reddit AMA Mr. Auernheimer did last night as proof that he would reoffend following his release. In the AMA, Mr. Auernheimer stated that he would run for Congress once released, and because of "congressional immunity" this would allow him to "drop hacks on the floor of Congress and be completely immune for doing so."

For his part, Mr. Aeurnheimer seemed to show little remorse towards AT&T. "My regret is being nice enough to give AT&T a chance to patch before dropping the dataset to Gawker," he wrote. "I won't nearly be as nice next time."

https://twitter.com/AdrianChen/status/313649642057371649

(Photo: Getty)

Perhaps it's time for a burner phone? The New York Times reports that the NYPD has begun quietly and methodically accumulating heaps of call logs and putting them into a searchable database called the Enterprise Case Management System.

It works like this: When someone has their cell phone stolen, the NYPD frequently subpoenas the call logs for that phone, hoping that if the thief used the phone, the recordings will provide evidence that can help track him or her down. But instead of deleting the logs after closing the case, they continue to exist in the NYPD's database, and could "conceivably be used for any investigative purpose."

Worse, because the subpoenas typically cover all calls made on the day the phone was stolen, calls made by the actual victim can be included in the database. This means that the NYPD call log database not only includes information about criminals, but also about innocent victims.

Of course, subpoenas only work if the cell phone provider is willing to give up the data, and companies like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile appear all too eager to submit to the NYPD's requests.

"With these carriers, the police do not generally seek the victims’ consent," writes the Times. "In fact, the subpoenas are executed without the victims’ knowledge."

Hey, wantrepreneurs: looks like someone needs to disrupt the telecom industry, stat.

Not one of the hacked iPads, we guess.

Goatse Security hacker Andrew Auernheimer, age 26, has been found guilty on federal charges related to downloading the data of over 100,000 iPad owners from AT&T's website. Wired reports that the jury that heard Mr. Auernheimer's trial in a New Jersey federal court only took hours to reach a verdict, finding him guilty of identity fraud and conspiring to access a computer without authorization.

Mr. Auernheimer, using the Twitter handle @rabite, tweeted that he knew "there would be a guilty here" and he will appeal.

Mr. Auernheimer and an accomplice, Daniel Spitler, allegedly discovered a hole in AT&T's website that allowed them to find the email addresses and unique identifying codes for SIM cards that identified users' iPads on AT&T's network. Wired reports that's when they started writing code:

Auernheimer and Spitler discovered that the site would leak email addresses to anyone who provided it with a ICC-ID. So the two wrote a script – which they dubbed the “iPad 3G Account Slurper” — to mimic the behavior of numerous iPads contacting the web site in order to harvest the email addresses of iPad users.

The hackers were able to snag identifying information for some pretty famous iPad users, including Diane Sawyer and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

While Mr. Auernheimer and Mr. Spitler reported the security problem to Gawker and appeared to present themselves as concerned citizens, criminal complaints contained transcripts that seemed to indicate they were really trying to promote themselves and make AT&T look bad by leaking the data. At one point they apparently even discussed the legal risks, with Mr. Auernheimer writing to Mr. Spitler that "you absolutely could get sued to fuck."

In 2011, Daniel Spitler pleaded guilty for his part in the hack and was released on bail.

(Photo: Josh Hallett)

Maybe your AT&T service hasn't always been everything you'd hoped it would be. But take heart New Yorkers, the lessons the telecommunications giant learned here are being applied all over the world.

The city's vertical density and concentration of high-volume data users has made New York "a living laboratory for telecom engineers," AT&T chief executive officer Randall Stephenson said today at a breakfast sponsored by the Association for a Better New York.

"This is a very unique place to try to engineer and design wireless networks," Mr. Stephenson said. "We kept investing, we kept innovating, we kept learning. What we've done in New York is developed lessons that are being applied around the globe."

One challenge Mr. Stephenson had in mind: How to keep cell towers online during events such as Superstorm Sandy, which wiped out service for thousands of New Yorkers.

"I don't think many of you, or many of your landlords would be too enthusiastic about having 200 gallons of fuel sitting on top of your buildings to fire up backup generators," he said.

Meanwhile, AT&T announced last week that it would spend $14 billion to expand broadband networks over the next three year as it seeks to expand its 4G LTE network to 300 million people.

That investment, Mr. Stephenson said today, would allow the company to install 50,000 new cell antennas nationwide, a vast increase from the 4,500 new cell sites deployed in the previous three years. Much of the new investment will center on New York, which Mr. Stephenson called the "very core" of the rapid development in mobile data usage.

If that proves out,  perhaps New Yorkers won't only have been guinea pigs for the rest of the world, but test cases for their own future selves.

(Photo: Twitter/swissmiss)

Anyone in the New York/New Jersey region knows how hard it was to make a call or send a text message in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy's devastation. Simply dialing up your parents to let them know you were okay resulted in many a frustrating dropped call, "mobile network not available" message or weird busy signal. Not to mention that those who lost power were left without a way to charge their typically omnipresent communication devices.

Many of the big networks like AT&T and Verizon were severely impacted by the storm--this reporter still hasn't been able to get reliable 3G service in Brooklyn since Sandy (don't even ask about 4G). Now, Verizon wants to give back to Sandy's victims by waiving all domestic voice and text charges for those impacted by the hurricane from Oct. 29 to Nov. 16.

According to a FAQ page on Verizon Wireless's website, customers in counties across New York and New Jersey will be automatically eligible for the program, and they can expect to see no Verizon charges on their bill for voice and text during these dates (monthly rates still apply).

You can check if your county is eligible here.

Lights went out below much of 30th. (@aarmita, via Instagram)

As New York awakens to the structural devastation wrought by the wrath of Hurricane Sandy, many--especially in lower Manhattan--are waking to power and Internet outages. Some cell phone carriers also appear to be experiencing issues, making it difficult to place phone calls or send text messages.

After seeing many complaints of Sprint outages on Twitter, Quartz journalist Christopher Mims confirmed with Sprint that there are widespread outages across New York City. "As of now NYC is down; engineers are working on this as we type," a Sprint rep told him.

Twitter users are also reporting that AT&T cell towers are experiencing service interruptions. We've reached out to AT&T to confirm and will update when we hear back.

UPDATE: This Betabeat reporter (DUMBO-based) is having trouble with her Verizon service. Here's a screenshot:

Out of luck.

A fellow Observer reporter and Verizon customer has experienced similar problems in Gowanus, Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO, and we're getting another report from Twitter.

The resident T-Mobile subscriber still has service, though it's hard to say whether that's thanks to her carrier or to the fact she lives in Astoria.

I can has affordable wireless bill? (Photo: flickr.com/joshsemans)

What's a girl got to do to get some affordable data service around here? Americans are putting more money than ever towards their smartphone bills, and carriers don't seem inclined to cut their rates any time soon. But the Wall Street Journal says one company wants to break the stalemate, with dramatically less expensive 4G offerings. The question is whether they can pull it off.

FreedomPop, which launched today, will offer users five gigabytes of data for $35, and one gig for $10. Compare that to the $80 or so six gigs will run you at Verizon, and suddenly you've got a lot more money for steak dinners.

There are, however, a couple of bumps in the road to adoption.

Besides the clunky $99 case you're required to buy and the currently limited availability, there's a major sticking point in the fact that the service is data only. That means no phone calls and no text messages, unless you cobble together a solution with Skype or something similar. (Indeed, the cofounder of Skype was an early funder. We see what you did there, Mr. Zennstrom.)

That might deter many of you from wholly cutting ties with your current carrier. Others, however, will likely be delighted to have a semi-plausible excuse for never answering another phone call.

FreedomPop's biggest challenge, however, might be sheer American laziness. One analyst compared smartphone service to one's choice of bank:

 "The guy next to me might be offering a lower-cost checking account, but am I really going to switch the whole banking relationship where my whole family is? The unwinding of that process is not easy."

Apparently we love convenience more than we love dinners out, which is saying something.