Long a spot for promoting artists and their tours, MySpace is getting into the act with its first official tour this fall. The tour kicks off in Seattle on October 16th featuring co-headliners Hellogoodbye and Say Anything. Other bands, including MySpace Records’ own Polysics, are also expected to join in on the 30-city nationwide tour.

MySpace users will be able to start getting priority tickets tomorrow and will also have access to special content like tour blogs and photo galleries.

The move into the tour realm seems like a no-brainer for the social networking site.

"MySpace has served as a platform for countless bands and musicians around the world to showcase and promote their music to millions of fans online," said Tom Anderson, president and co-founder of MySpace. "With the new MySpace Music Tour concert series we are able to bring people face-to-face with the bands and artists they've come to know and love on the site."

[Via PR Newswire]

Chicago is the latest city to run into troubles with municipal broadband. Its ambitious plan for a citywide Wi-Fi network was scrapped yesterday due to cost and concerns that it wouldn’t be used by enough residents. The plan would have made Chicago one of the largest cities to implement blanket Wi-Fi coverage.

Covering 220 square miles, the system would have cost as much as $50 million to build and another $150 million to keep it going for six years, according to industry sources. There were also concerns that technology has been getting better since these plans were initially made and the cost of broadband has been going down, making it more attractive for residents to seek broadband from commercial sources.

According to The Chicago Tribune:

"There's a serious dose of reality, much needed, that has come into play after all the hype last year about free, ad-driven Wi-Fi," said Craig Settles, a wireless business strategist and consultant based in Oakland.

Outside Chicago, there’s been trouble on the Wi-Fi front, as well. Work in San Francisco on a citywide plan has stopped as officials continue to discuss plans. In Houston, work still hasn't started even though the city came to an agreement with Earthlink on providing the service. And in Lompoc, California, the city has been unable to sign up more than 500 of its 40,000 residents for its services.

It was bound to happen at some point. A teenager in New Jersey spent his summer vacation figuring out how to unlock the iPhone from AT&T’s wireless network. By unlocking the much-hyped iPhone, 17-year-old George Hotz was able to use it on the T-Mobile network, which is the only other U.S. network compatible with the phone’s technology.

More importantly, his efforts mean the phone, which is currently only sold in the U.S., could be used in other countries.

Hotz used his blog to post instructions on how to unlock the iPhone, a process which should take about two hours. It’s still complicated but Hotz says he has no intention of starting an unlocking service.

His unlocked iPhone is up for auction on eBay.

According to The Record of Bergen County, it took Hotz about 500 hours and the help of a few people to develop the unlocking process.

Drivers with a lead foot, take note. Nissan is equipping its vehicles with a gauge that lets drivers know how their driving impacts fuel economy.

Known as a fuel-efficiency meter, the device is already being used on the 2007 Nissan Altima, and the 2008 Titan, Armada, Infiniti G35 and QX56. The automaker is also planning to make the gauge a standard feature on all future models.

Nissan says drivers using the gauge can reduce their fuel usage by as much as 10 percent.

According to USA Today:

"You will become a little less lead-footed if you can see what putting your foot to the pedal does to your fuel economy," suggests Nissan spokesman Tony Pearson.

Similar gauges are found on some models by other automakers, especially hybrid and luxury vehicles. But Nissan's move to put them on every model demonstrates how automakers are racing to be fuel conscious as high gasoline prices weigh more heavily on consumers.

As part of an effort to drum up more business, Amtrak is taking a unique step: offering free booze. Passengers who travel on certain overnight rail trips can get a $100 credit for alcohol, redeemable between November and January.

The offer applies to trips on GrandLuxe, a luxury railroad that recently partnered with Amtrak. Trips go between Chicago and San Francisco; Chicago and Los Angeles; and Washington D.C. and Miami or Orlando.

According to the Associated Press:

Christina Messa, vice president of marketing for GrandLuxe, said the drinks promotion is part of an effort to revive some of the luxury of old-fashioned, cross-country train trips.