Good guy Apple gives $2.5 million to Hurricane Sandy relief

After successfully raising "millions" of dollars toward the American Red Cross' Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees today that the company will donate $2.5 million of its own money to help the storm's victims recover.

Apple will donate $2.5 million to victims of Hurricane Sandy, according to an internal memo obtained by 9to5Mac. The charitable gift comes on top of untold millions raised by Apple customers for the American Red Cross through a special page on iTunes. 

Apple originally launched the Hurricane Sandy relief page in iTunes on November 1, just days after the storm decimated communities up the East Coast, including towns and cities in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. Apple iTunes customers can give amounts ranging from $5 to $200 through the page.

Sandy is said to be the second most-costly hurricane in U.S. history, after 2005′s Hurricane Katrina. Eleven days after Sandy made landfall, around 265,000 homes in New Jersey, and more than 168,000 in Long Island remain without electricity. An untold number of people are displaced or homeless because of the storm.

News of Apple’s donation follows a joint project between Silicon Valley vacation rental starup Airbnb and the New York City Mayor’s Office, which are urging Airbnb hosts (or anyone with a bit of extra room) to lend out their space to displaced Sandy victims for free. As of this writing, more than 530 hosts have signed up for the effort.

Apple’s charitable giving has increased under CEO Tim Cook. In February, Cook revealed that the company had given a total of about $150 million to charity, a large number, but a small fraction of the electronic giant’s approximately $117 billion in cash it had on hand, as of this summer.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

iPhone Photo of Hurricane Sandy Makes the Cover of Time

Image credit: Time Magazine

When superstorm Sandy was approaching, New York photojournalist Ben Lowy, 33, didn’t grab his high-end camera equipment. He grabbed his iPhone 4S,  put it in his pocket, and headed out on assignment for Time magazine.

Time sent out a handful of photographers with iPhones to capture the storm, but it was Lowy’s photo that made the cover of the Nov. 12 issue. “The photo was taken on Coney Island,” Lowy told ABC News. “I was watching the waves come in and I went into the surf about waist deep and waited for some crazy waves to come along.”

The photo was taken with just the iPhone 4S — no lens accessories. Lowy did use Hipstimatic, an application that lets you add effects to photos. Lowy actually created his own photojournalism lens pack in the app with the help of the company.

Apps like that and the great optics of the iPhone make him feel comfortable leaving his higher end camera equipment at home now, he said. “I used to not feel confident, but I definitely do feel that way now.” His one complaint about the iPhone is poor image quality in low light. Apple has tried to improve with the iPhone 5; Lowy hasn’t yet upgraded to one.

Lowy has been shooting with his iPhone since 2010.  He shot a series of photos in Libya for The New York Times Magazine and the political conventions for The New Yorker.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Airbnb and Mayor Bloomberg link up, open home renters’ doors to hurricane victims

Two weeks after Hurricane Sandy, a nor'easter heads toward New York City. Luckily, Airbnb and the Big Apple joined hands to offer free shelter to those displaced.

When Airbnb sent out an email two weeks ago encouraging renters to offer rooms at a discounted rate to help Hurricane Sandy victims, I applauded the startup’s efforts at giving back to the community. Today, as a nor’easter heads back to the tri-state area even though some victims are still without power or have been evacuated from their homes, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced a collaboration with Airbnb, helping the startup promote the word on free housing for those who need it the most.

Whether you’re an interested renter or in need of shelter, the shortcut URL of Airbnb.com/sandy can take you to the available homes in the NYC vicinity. Every listing under the section is entirely free of charge; Airbnb makes no profit off the listings, and home seekers still have full access to filter search results by neighborhood, amenities, and room type. Luckily, as the number of rooms available decrease after bookings, more renters are offering their homes to the site. When I began this post, 179 homes were available. Last I checked, there are 205.

There’s no word from Airbnb or the mayor’s office on how long this deal lasts, but if you’re seeking shelter or know someone who is, you can find everything from a free bedroom to airbeds and couches. Whatever humble abodes renters can offer, it will sure beat the snow that’s already descended upon New York City. 

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Verizon rolls out mobile device charging stations for Sandy victims

Definitely helpful for anyone impacted by Hurricane Sandy, Verizon is providing assistance to the public in the form of emergency communication centers.

With locations detailed on Verizon’s site, the wireless company has positioned large, trailer-sized charging stations at locations within Ohio, New Jersey and West Virginia as well as Staten Island. Not limiting outreach to Verizon customers, the company is welcoming anyone that was impacted negatively by Hurricane Sandy. The public can visit the mobile trailers to recharge their mobile devices like smartphones, tablets or laptops. In addition, anyone without a computer can get online at a computer workstation. Verizon is also offering Sandy victims access to mobile phones in order to make domestic calls to friends and families. 

Beyond the emergency communication centers, Verizon is opening retail locations up to the public for device charging and free domestic calls. Victims of Hurricane Sandy can also find prepaid phones as well as replacement chargers at Verizon stores if needed.

In order to reestablish wireless communication in areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy, Verizon technicians have been working around the clock to improve service. Regarding the progress of technicians, Verizon representatives stated the company has “seen continued improvement overnight with now more than 96 percent of our cell sites in service and serving our customers in the impacted area, including some of the hardest hit areas of the Northeast.” 

Similar to Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile stores are opening up retail locations to offer device charging. In addition, AT&T has rolled our mobile charging stations at relief areas across the Northeast. Regarding any payment issues, T-Mobile is giving customers a grace period up until November 8 and plans to waive all late fees as well. Basically, customers that haven’t paid their T-Mobile bill will continue to receive service to their mobile phone. AT&T is also planning on waiving all late fees and will extend payment windows for Hurricane Sandy victims. AT&T representatives did not specifically mention an end date on that grace period. 

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com