Monday, December 31, 2012

Ban on demanding Facebook passwords among new 2013 state laws

Ban on demanding Facebook passwords among new 2013 state laws

Ban on demanding Facebook passwords among new 2013 state laws

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 08:11 AM PST

The Facebook logo is shown at Facebook headquarters in Palo AltoCHICAGO (Reuters) - Employers in California and Illinois will be prohibited from demanding access to workers' password-protected social networking accounts and teachers in Oregon will be required to report suspected student bullies thanks to new laws taking effect in 2013. In all, more than 400 measures were enacted at the state level during 2012 and will become law in the new year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Some of the statutes, which deal with everything from consumer protection to gun control and healthcare, take effect at the stroke of midnight. ...

Angry Birds, YouTube among top apps of 2012

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 07:57 AM PST

A visitor is seen at the You Tube stand during the annual MIPCOM television programme market in CannesTORONTO (Reuters) - Angry Birds, Instagram and Facebook continued to be among the most downloaded apps of the year but rising stars also earned coveted spots on smartphones and tablets. This year consumers spent on average two hours each day using mobile applications, an increase of 35 percent over last year, according to analytics firm Flurry. The number is expected to continue growing in 2013. ...

Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 06:39 AM PST

Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week1. D'awww

Top 5 Kids Apps: Best Games

Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:55 AM PST

Top 5 Kids Apps: Best Games1. Bugs and Bubbles

Drones Accelerate Archaeological Site Mapping

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 03:37 PM PST

A drone aircraft can acquire data for a 3-D map of an archaeological site in minutes that would take humans years. Cynthia Graber reports.

Tribune exits bankruptcy with new TV-focused board

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 03:23 PM PST

FILE - This Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007, file photo, shows the Chicago Tribune building,i n Chicago. Tribune Co. emerged from a Chapter 11 restructuring Monday, Dec. 31, 2012, more than four years after the media company sought bankruptcy protection. The reorganized company is starting with a new board of directors and new ownership that includes senior creditors Oaktree Capital Management, Angelo, Gordon and Co., and JPMorgan Chase and Co. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)CHICAGO (AP) — More than four years after crushing debt and plunging advertising sales forced it to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Tribune Co. has emerged with a new television-focused board and over $1 billion in new financing.

Fed up with a market full of failed Google TVs, Intel eyes own set-top box and cable service

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 03:00 PM PST

Intel (INTC) looks primed to give the cable industry some much-needed competition. Unnamed sources have told TechCrunch that Intel is "preparing to launch its rumored virtual cable TV service and set-top box… on a city-by-city basis so Intel has more flexibility in negotiating licensing with reluctant content providers." TechCrunch's sources say the reason Intel is getting into the set-top box is simple: the company has failed to convince manufacturers to put its chips in their "smart" television sets and the company wants to show the industry how it's done. Or as one source puts it, Intel is annoyed that "everyone [is] doing a half-assed Google TV so it's going to do it themselves and do it right."

What Science Can Tell Us About 2013

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:39 PM PST

What Science Can Tell Us About 2013Discovered: Science hazards its best guesses about what we'll experience in the new year, showing us previews of rising sea levels, soaring temperatures, and a close encounter with a supercomet. 

Galaxy Note II sales hit 1 million in South Korea

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:05 PM PST

Despite initial complaints that Samsung's (005930) original Galaxy Note smartphone was too big and too clunky to ever see success, the handset sold through the roof and sparked the phablet phenomenon. When the company released the Galaxy Note II in September, we called the device better than its predecessor in almost every way, a statement that has held true when looking at sales figures. The company on Monday announced that more than 1 million Galaxy Note II units have been sold domestically in South Korea, according to MK News. Worldwide sales of the smartphone have seen even greater success, surpassing 5 million units in two months. A Samsung executive previously projected sales could even top 20 million units, double that of the original Galaxy Note.

Why Does Netflix Always Stop Working Right in Time for the Holidays?

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:02 PM PST

Why Does Netflix Always Stop Working Right in Time for the Holidays?Breaking: This might be the year people with no New Year's Eve plans talked to other people after all. A week after the Great Netflix Outage of Christmas 2012, some but not all users complained that Netflix was down once again on New Year's Eve day, and nobody's entirely sure why this keeps happening at the most inopportune time.

LG rumored to debut smartphone with edge-to-edge display, full-HD phablet and 7-inch tablet at CES

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:00 PM PST

LG's (066570) first attempt at a large screen Galaxy Note competitor never really took off, however the company is said to be ready to try again. According to a report from GSMArena, LG is looking to make a splash at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in January with a number of high-resolution displays. The company is said to be planning to debut a high-end Android smartphone with a 5.5-inch full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution display and a pixel density of 403 pixels-per-inch. The handset, which could come to market as the Optimus G2, is expected to compete with the DROID DNA by HTC (2498), Samsung's (005930) Galaxy Note and Sony's upcoming Xperia Z smartphone. LG is also rumored to

Zynga carries out planned games shutdown, including "Petville"

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:08 PM PST

The corporate logo of Zynga Inc, the social network game development company, is shown at its headquarters in San FranciscoSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Social games publisher Zynga Inc confirmed on Monday that it has carried out 11 of the planned shutdowns of 13 game titles, with "Petville" being the latest game on which it pulled the plug. Zynga in October said it would shut down 13 underperforming titles after warning that its revenues were slowing as gamers fled from its once-popular titles published on the Facebook platform in large numbers and sharply revised its full-year outlook. The San Francisco-based company announced the "Petville" shutdown two weeks ago on its Facebook page. ...

Samsung teases TV with ‘true innovation’ and ‘unprecedented new TV shape’ for CES debut

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:05 PM PST

The Consumer Electronics Show sees dozens of new television models debut each year, but we're in for something special this time around. So says Samsung (005930), which has posted a peculiar teaser on its Korean blog. "A true innovation of TV design is coming up with an unprecedented new TV shape and timeless design," the company wrote in a post that was accompanied by the odd image seen above. No other details were given, but the company's press conference starts at 5:00 p.m. PST next Monday so we don't have long to wait for the full reveal.

What Does the Future Hold for YouTube in 2013?

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 11:59 AM PST

What Does the Future Hold for YouTube in 2013?They never caught Kony. PSY is giving up on "Gangnam Style." The Innocence of Muslims has countries banning YouTube at this very moment. Google's big-money play to create content channels kind of flopped. And yet after another year of big ups, a few downs, and the same old viral hits, YouTube is still the undisputed king of Internet video. Now, with Hulu and Netflix bouncing back — and Apple rumored to be entering the streaming content game like never before — can Google keep you surfing long enough to transform YouTube without breaking it?

BlackBerry Z10 with AT&T-compatible LTE uncovered ahead of January unveiling

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 11:10 AM PST

Hang in there, American BlackBerry fans — your wait for a new device is nearly over. Engadget reports that the Federal Communications Commission has granted approval to what looks like RIM's (RIMM) BlackBerry Z10 smartphone for use on AT&T's (T) LTE and HSPA networks. The Z10, which will be the first device released with the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, is rumored to include a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 1.5GHz dual core processor, a 4.2-inch display with a resolution of 1,280 x 768 pixels, 2GB of RAM, up to 32GB expandable of storage and an 8-megapixel camera. RIM plans to unveil the BlackBerry Z10 along with the finished version of the BlackBerry 10 OS on January 30th.

Windows 8 has problems, but it doesn’t deserve the dreaded Vista comparison

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 10:15 AM PST

OK, so we all know that Windows 8 is a flawed operating system. In particular, the OS has rather awkward and counterintuitive controls for switching between its tiles and its standard desktop interface, and finding key features such as the control panel can be difficult at first. At the same time Microsoft's (MSFT) newest operating system, for all its warts, does a lot of things right and is a bold and innovative attempt to remake personal computers for the post-PC era. The key thing you have to understand about Windows 8 is that it will not work well for you unless you buy a PC with touchscreen capabilities. In other words, if you have a classic PC that only has

Survey: Library websites get more mobile visits

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 09:54 AM PST

NEW YORK (AP) — A new Pew study reports that around 13 percent of Americans aged 16 and older used a mobile device to visit a library website during the past year.

Sony No Longer Shipping PlayStation 2 in Japan

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 09:31 AM PST

You may have grown up with it. Your children may have, too.

Ancient apps crush newbies on iPhone – 8 out of top-10 franchises are more than a year old

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 09:00 AM PST

Many people still think the iPhone app market is a chaotic melee where hits are created and then vanish in an unpredictable way. In some ways, the opposite is true: the iPhone paid download chart is extraordinarily conservative, effectively frozen in time. The entertainment industry tends to be dominated by fresh product. On December 28th, seven out of the top-10 movies in America were released within 10 days. The oldest was released 50 days earlier. Seven out of the top-10 songs on the Billboard 100 were released within the past 91 days. The NPD Group's chart of the top-10 console games in November was ruled by brand new titles. But the mobile app market is the mesmerizing exception. Year after year, people expect

Acer president defends Windows 8, says consumers just need time to get used to it

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 08:05 AM PST

Windows 8 has taken potshots from MIT professors and drunk people alike, but at least one Microsoft (MSFT) OEM thinks such criticism is largely overblown. In an interview with Digitimes, Acer (2353) president Jim Wong said that Windows 8 is actually a very good operating system that consumers will adapt to it given enough time. "Windows 8 is a major milestone for 2012, but it is also a new system that consumers must learn and the learning process will prevent the operating system from taking off quickly," Wong told Digitimes. "However, many of the concerns and criticisms concerning Windows 8 have been rather unfair." In particular, Wong praised Microsoft for taking risks and being boldly innovative with its new operating system, which he said

Colleges help students scrub online footprints

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 07:08 AM PST

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Samantha Grossman wasn't always thrilled with the impression that emerged when people Googled her name.

Review: Making Facebook a warmer, smaller space

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 07:07 AM PST

FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011, file photo, a Facebook User Operations Safety Team worker looks at reviews at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. Curating your facebook news feed, and other practices that can help personalize a user's facebook activity can be burdensome process, but the result: Less tabloid magazine, more personal messages and cute pictures from people who are actually your friends. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)NEW YORK (AP) — A woman I haven't spoken to in six years is pregnant with her second son. Another college acquaintance reads the Bible a lot. A high school classmate likes to rant about politics. A college dormmate thinks he works too much.

Telepresence robots let employees 'beam' into work

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 07:06 AM PST

Bo Preising, Suitable Technologies' vice president of engineering, at left, talks with fellow engineers, Josh Faust, center on screen, and Josh Tyler, on screen at right, both using a Beam remote presence system in Palo Alto, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012. More employees are working from home, but there's still no substitute for actually being at the office. Enter the Beam. It's a roving computer screen _ with video cameras, microphones and speakers _ that stands five feet and rides on motorized wheels. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Engineer Dallas Goecker attends meetings, jokes with colleagues and roams the office building just like other employees at his company in Silicon Valley.

Can Samsung survive without Android?

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 07:00 AM PST

Samsung (005930) is the world's top Android smartphone vendor by a staggering margin. Aside from LG (066570), which managed a small $20 million profit from its mobile division last quarter, no other global Android vendor can figure out how to make money selling Android phones. Meanwhile, Samsung posted a $6 billion profit on $47.6 billion in sales in the third quarter, thanks largely to record smartphone shipments and a massive marketing budget. Even as industry watchers turn sour on Apple, Samsung is seen steamrolling into 2013 and its stock is up nearly 50% on the year while Apple (AAPL) shares continue to fall from a record high hit in September. As unstoppable as Samsung appears right now, one key question remains: Is Samsung driving

Tribune leaves bankruptcy after 4 years

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 06:43 AM PST

CHICAGO (AP) — Tribune Co. emerged from a Chapter 11 restructuring Monday, more than four years after the media company sought bankruptcy protection.

Unreleased ‘BlackBerry X10′ QWERTY phone appears again in new photos

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 06:00 AM PST

As Research In Motion's (RIMM) January 30th BlackBerry 10 unveiling draws closer, nearly every last detail surrounding RIM's first two BlackBerry 10-powered smartphones will likely soon emerge. The vendor has a long history of leaks leading up to its new device announcements, and this time around RIM reps toured the world showing the phones to every carrier that would meet with them. Pictured once again over the weekend by N4BB is RIM's first new QWERTY phone, which is code-named "N-Seriers" and expected to bear the name "BlackBerry X10" at launch. No fresh details accompany the newly leaked photos, but rumored specs from earlier reports include  a 720 x 720-pixel display with a pixel density of 330 ppi and integrated NFC. Additional images

'The Hobbit' stays atop box office for third week

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 05:19 AM PST

FILE - This publicity file photo released by Warner Bros., shows the character Gollum voiced by Andy Serkis in a scene from the fantasy adventure "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." (AP Photo/Warner Bros., File)LOS ANGELES (AP) — "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" continues to rule them all at the box office, staying on top for a third-straight week and capping a record-setting $10.8 billion year in moviegoing.

Christmas SMS volume growth shocks industry watchers

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 05:05 AM PST

Despite the massive popularity of Facebook (FB), WhatsApp and other alternative messaging methods, preliminary global SMS volume figures for Christmas show surprising vigor in 2012. In Belgium, KPN customers delivered a 15% increase in Christmas text-messaging volume. This is particularly interesting since nearby Netherlands is practically ground zero for steep SMS volume decline. Mobistar also reported 5% SMS growth in Belgium. Proximus had the same volume as in 2011. In the Czech Republic, Telefonica reported a 4% increase in SMS volume and Vodafone saw a 1% uptick. T-Mobile delivered a -4% decline. SMS trends are diverging in a fascinating manner in Europe. Even though Spain had a 25% decline in total SMS volume over the summer and the Netherlands has
Posted by Harshad at 9:25 PM

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