ExtraBITS for 14 October 2013
In ExtraBITS this week: T-Mobile cuts international roaming charges, lost Doctor Who episodes come to iTunes, and CloudPaint resurrects MacPaint for the Web.
T-Mobile Eliminates International Roaming Charges — Terrified by what your cellular bill might look like if you travel internationally? It doesn’t have to be that way, as David Pogue writes at the New York Times, thanks to a new policy by T-Mobile. Starting in November 2013, international data and texts will be free for T-Mobile customers (with an optional paid Speed Boost package for faster data), and calls cost 20 cents per minute nearly anywhere in the world. Alas, T-Mobile’s coverage isn’t sufficient for many people, but if the coverage is good where you live,
it would be refreshing to work with a carrier that isn’t hell-bent on gouging customers.
Regenerated Doctor Who Episodes Exclusive to iTunes — Doctor Who, the legendary British sci-fi series, turns 50 this year, but the BBC never expected it to last so long, and foolishly destroyed or recorded over many early episodes. Fortunately, two lost stories, “The Enemy of the World” and “The Web of Fear,” were found in Nigeria, remastered, and have been released exclusively on iTunes — to be seen for the first time in over 40 years. The two stories are available for $9.99 apiece and feature Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor and
feature Nicholas Courtney’s first appearance as the beloved Colonel (later Brigadier) Lethbridge-Stewart. Unfortunately, episode 3 of “Web of Fear” is still missing, though the serial features a reconstructed episode with audio and still images. There are still 27 Doctor Who stories that are partially or entirely missing.
CloudPaint Brings MacPaint to the Web — MacPaint shipped with the Macintosh in 1984 and is the mother of all modern graphics programs. If you miss those days, or never got a chance to experience MacPaint for yourself, developer Martin Braun has adapted it for the Web. CloudPaint replicates both the features and interface of the original, which was developed by Bill Atkinson and Susan Kare and open-sourced in 2010.