| Facebook voting begins on Instagram data-sharing, email privacy Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:14 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc opened the polls on Monday for its roughly 1 billion users to vote on a variety of changes to the social network's policies, including a proposal to scrap the user voting system that Facebook introduced in 2009. Facebook also said it had "clarified" some of the proposed changes, specifying that a new policy allowing it to share user data with recently acquired photo-application Instagram will be carried out in compliance with applicable laws and that Facebook will seek user consent when necessary. ...
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| Nokia Siemens services unit faces closure: paper Posted: 03 Dec 2012 04:03 PM PST  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A service unit of Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) in Germany faces closure after losing a contract with its biggest customer, German daily newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported. The newspaper cited company sources as saying workers at NSN Services would be told in a meeting on Wednesday that Deutsche Telekom has cancelled its contract with the Nuremberg-based company effective at the end of the month. The newspaper said talks for a new contract have failed. ...
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| Qualcomm may become Sharp's biggest shareholder: sources Posted: 03 Dec 2012 06:44 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc may become Sharp Corp's biggest shareholder, a move that would give the struggling Japanese TV maker the backing of a big chipmaker and help reassure investors about its viability, two sources familiar with matter said. The two technology firms are in talks for Qualcomm to invest as much as 10 billion yen ($121.5 million) in Sharp, and to jointly develop a new generation of power-saving IGZO displays, the sources said on the condition they were not identified. At yesterday's closing price that would give Qualcomm a 5 percent stake after dilution. ...
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| 'Look at This Instagram' Puts Modern Twist on Nickelback Song Posted: 03 Dec 2012 06:35 AM PST  Nickelback's 2005 hit song "Photograph" won't go away. The song re-emerged in an Rickroll-style Internet prank in June, and then it inspired the creation of a funny interactive website in October.
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| How Nintendo Shaped 30 Years of U.S. Gaming Posted: 03 Dec 2012 06:01 AM PST  1. The Crash
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| On the run, software guru McAfee says left Belize, won't surrender Posted: 03 Dec 2012 05:22 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. anti-virus software guru John McAfee said on Monday he has left the Caribbean country of Belize where police want to question him in connection with a neighbor's murder, and will not turn himself in. "I am not in Belize. That is all I will say," McAfee told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. "Every bordering country around Belize, for political, financial, legal reasons, is pretty much like Belize and our plan is ... to arrive in a safe country. ...
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| India sets up seaside "village" to nurture software start-ups Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:16 PM PST  KOCHI, India (Reuters) - Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Indian information technology giant Infosys, stares out from a wall-to-wall poster in a modern office building near Kochi, in the southern state of Kerala. A caption reads: "We started Infosys in a room about this size; it's your turn now." His message is directed at aspiring entrepreneurs at Startup Village, a state-of-the-art glass and steel edifice tucked in a green corner of the port city, who dream of creating the next billion-dollar tech giant. ...
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| These match-three games reimagine the role-playing genre Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:48 PM PST The match-three genre is a staple of casual gaming. Made super-popular by Popcap's Bejeweled titles, there's now a whole genre of imitators – games that have players moving colored objects around a grid in order to make groups of three or more. Making a group clears those objects, scores points, and progresses the game forward. Running out of moves or time usually causes players to lose. |
| Father of 9-year-old girl accused of piracy compares copyright holders to the mafia Posted: 03 Dec 2012 08:46 PM PST  Thankfully, police in Finland have agreed to end their criminal investigation of a nine-year-old girl over piracy allegations. But that doesn't mean her family will get away scot-free because TorrentFreak is reporting that her father Aki Nylund has had to fork over €300 to get the Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre (CIAPC) to drop the case. And Nylund wasn't at all happy about having to pay the fine either — per TorrentFreak, he said that having CIAPC hound him was like having "people from the mafia demanding money at the door." The good news, however, is that his daughter will soon get her confiscated "Winnie the Pooh" laptop returned to her just in time for Christmas.
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| $120 tablet that runs both Android and Linux to launch in early 2013 Posted: 03 Dec 2012 07:50 PM PST  For anyone who has ever used his or her Android tablet and wished that it could double as a desktop-style device, PengPod has a product just for you. Ars Technica reports that the new PengPod tablet, which runs both Android and Linux, has met its crowd-sourced fundraising goals and will so on sale in January for $120 a 7-inch model and $185 for a 10-inch model. According to Ars, the tablet will be able to "dual-boot Android 4.0 and a version of Linux with the touch-friendly KDE Plasma Active interface." Overall, the tablet received funding of nearly $73,000, or around 49% more than the $49,000 that the company had been seeking.
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| Steam’s Big Picture mode now available for silver screen gamers Posted: 03 Dec 2012 06:57 PM PST  Valve on Monday announced the public release of the company's Big Picture mode for its Steam software delivery platform. The new mode supports a traditional gamepad, along with a keyboard and mouse to give gamers access to their favorite titles and content right on their television sets. The Big Picture interface can be enabled on any TV by connecting a PC or Mac with an HDMI cable. To celebrate the launch, Valve is discounting over thirty controller-friendly games that will be on sale from now until December 10th. Big Picture mode is fully supported on 41 titles including Portal 2 and Left For Dead 2, and an additional 386 games are listed to include partial controller support, which will still
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| The 3D-Printed Gun For the Masses Doesn't Actually Work Very Well Posted: 03 Dec 2012 06:55 PM PST  Just a couple of months after everybody freaked out at the idea some guys in Texas inventing a 3D-printed gun for the masses, those crazy guys finally produced a working prototype. "Working" might be an overstatement. In the weapon's first test at a shooting range, it managed to fire just six bullets before literally falling apart. No big deal. They expected this to happen, Cody Wilson, the founder of the Wiki Weapon project, told Wired. "We knew it would break, probably," said Brown. "But I don't think we thought it'd break within six [rounds]. ...
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| Ericsson seeks import ban against Samsung devices in the U.S. Posted: 03 Dec 2012 06:07 PM PST  Ericsson (ERIC) on Monday filed a request with the U.S. International Trade Commission in an effort to ban Samsung's (005930) smartphones and tablets from the market. The Swedish company claims that Samsung's products infringe upon its patents, Reuters reported. The two companies attempted to settle their disagreements, however they failed to reach a licensing agreement. Samsung said the company had asked for "prohibitively higher royalty rates to renew the same patent portfolio" and that it will defend itself against a lawsuit. Ericsson claims that an import ban is not the company's goal, although it is part of the process of getting the South Korean manufacturer to sign a new licensing agreement.
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| Chrome’s mobile market share gains on Android, stays flat on iOS Posted: 03 Dec 2012 05:12 PM PST  Since being introduced in 2008, Google's (GOOG) Chrome Web browser has continued to gain market share and even surpassed Internet Explorer in global usage earlier this year. Now, the Mountain View-based company is making an impact in the mobile browser market. Chrome for Android was released in February of this year and according to the latest numbers from Net Applications, the mobile browser now controls a 4.03% of the market. The number is even more impressive when you take into account the fact that Chrome is only available for devices running Android 4.0 or higher, a software version found on less than 30% of all Android smartphones and tablets. Unfortunately Google hasn't seen the same success with Chrome for iOS. While the
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| News Corp shutting down iPad newspaper ‘The Daily’ on December 15th Posted: 03 Dec 2012 04:20 PM PST  News Corp's iPad newspaper "The Daily" is officially dead. Launched in February 2011, The Daily was a " bold experiment in digital publishing and an amazing vehicle for innovation," but like so many pioneering ideas, it "could not find a large enough audience quickly enough" to keep the publication going, according to Rupert Murdoch, the Chairman of News Corporation and Chairman and CEO of Fox Group. The Daily will officially cease publishing on December 15th and will see Jesse Angelo, its Editor-in-Chief and Executive Editor of The New York Post move into the role of Publisher for the latter. The Daily was supposed to signal a new era of app-based interactive newspapers, but alas, in a world of Flipboard, Instapaper and social media, finding a new channel to distribute and aggregate
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| 'The Daily' doomed by dull content and isolation Posted: 03 Dec 2012 03:48 PM PST  It was too expensive. It lacked editorial focus. And for a digital publication, it was strangely cut off from the Internet. That's the obituary being written in real time through posts, tweets and online chats about The Daily, the first-of-its-kind iPad newspaper that is being shut down this month.
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| Study shows growth in second screen users Posted: 03 Dec 2012 03:38 PM PST Television viewers were once called couch potatoes. Many are becoming more active while watching now, judging by the findings in a new report that illustrates the explosive growth in people who watch TV while connected to social media on smartphones and tablets. |
| Google employee hints at Key Lime Pie as the future of Android Posted: 03 Dec 2012 03:36 PM PST  In case you haven't caught on yet, the different versions of the Android operating system are named in alphabetical order after desserts. So far there has been Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean. It has been previously rumored that Google (GOOG) is planning on calling its next software version Key Lime Pie, however there had been no evidence to back this claim. Manu Cornet, a cartoonist and Google software engineer, on Monday shared an image on his Google+ page that demonstrates the evolution of the Android operating system. The clever image highlights various stages in Android's life cycle, from its rocky beginnings to the force it has become today. The most recent stage in the platform's evolution shows
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| Yahoo sees several flaws in $2.7 billion Mexico ruling: source Posted: 03 Dec 2012 03:33 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc believes it has "numerous" grounds to appeal a Mexico City civil court's $2.7 billion preliminary judgment against the company, including both errors in procedure and in application of law, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The ruling in the case, which involves allegations of breach of contract related to an online yellow pages listings service, was made by the 49th Civil Court of the Federal District of Mexico City, Yahoo announced on Friday. The lawsuit was brought by Worldwide Directories S.A. de C.V. and Ideas Interactivas S.A. ...
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| Microsoft says Windows Phone app downloads have more than doubled since WP8 launch Posted: 03 Dec 2012 03:09 PM PST  Good news for Microsoft (MSFT): Launching Windows Phone 8 seems to be helping the company create a real mobile app ecosystem. Todd Brix, the senior director of Microsoft's Windows Phone Apps Team, announced on Twitter over the weekend that his company had seen a "100%+ increase in WP developer app revenues & downloads since WP8 launch in November." Needless to say, this claim doesn't mean too much without actual numbers to go with it since Windows Phone had such a low adoption rate before Microsoft's grand Windows Phone 8 launch this fall. All the same, Microsoft must be happy that its efforts are leading to an increase in revenues for its developers, which could certainly lead to increased interest in developing for
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| Worms Learn Better Drunk; NASA's Organic Mars Mystery Posted: 03 Dec 2012 03:01 PM PST  Discovered: Inebriated maggots learn just as well as sober ones; one theory as to why boxers and soldiers tend to get CTE; city spiders getting fatter; Curiosity found organic material on Mars.
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| Facebook letting users vote on whether to keep their voting privileges for website changes Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:34 PM PST  Don't worry, Facebook (FB) users: The company may take away your power to vote down proposed changes to its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and Data Use Policy, but it will only be because you told them it was OK. The Next Web reports that Facebook has caved to user anger at proposed changes to its site governance documents that would, among other things, take away users' ability to vote on future document changes. Or as The Next Web puts it, "you're effectively voting on whether to keep voting." The voting process will be open for the next seven days. At the time of this writing, Facebook users are choosing to strike down the website's proposed changes by a count of
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| Pope joins tweeting masses with Pontifex handle Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:18 PM PST  Benedict XVI, the pope known for his hefty volumes of theology and lengthy encyclicals, is now trying brevity — spreading the faith through his own Twitter account.
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| Oracle sends shareholders cash as tax uncertainty looms Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:15 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Oracle Corp said it would give over $800 million back to shareholders, joining a growing number of companies accelerating dividend payments or declaring special dividends because of uncertainty surrounding the U.S. government's fiscal plans. About $600 billion of automatic tax increases and spending cuts are scheduled to come into effect in the United States early next year, which could include higher rates for dividends. Congress and the White House are negotiating alternative ways to reduce the federal budget deficit but no agreement is in sight. ...
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| Vice Accidentally Reveals John McAfee's Secret Whereabouts from on the Lam Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:01 PM PST  Who are the suckers now? While bragging about hanging out with tech guru turned murder suspect John McAfee, Vice accidentally revealed his location today by leaving the meta-data on a photo taken with him. Looks like McAfee is indeed out of Belize, as he claimed this morning. The GPS data, discovered by hacker @SimpleNomad, puts him just over the border, in Guatemala, as you can see below. (Cleverly in the exact opposite direction as the Belize-Mexico border, where his double was captured.)
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| LG is designing its own mobile chips to fend off Apple and Samsung Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:59 PM PST  The race to control all aspects of a mobile ecosystem from its hardware design to its software integration is heating up. According to The Korea Times, LG (06657011) will announce its own in-house designed mobile processors at CES 2013. The newspaper reports the Korean electronics giant has a team of 900 chip designers working on its own mobile processors, which will be produced by TSMC and will sport a 28-nanometer process based off of ARM's Cortex A15 architecture. LG will join Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (005930) in exerting more control over chip design, with the latter proving its capable of designing and manufacturing its own processors. By choosing to design its own mobile chips, LG can fine-tune its devices to vastly increase software and hardware performance, much
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| News Summary: News Corp. splitting into News, Fox Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:42 PM PST  SPLITTING UP: News Corp. said Monday that its new publishing company will keep the News Corp. name, while its separate media and entertainment company will be renamed Fox Group.
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| New power-efficient Intel PC chips could boost battery life for Windows 8 tablets Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:33 PM PST  Intel (INTC) is reportedly planning to make significant changes to its Ivy Bridge processors that could see a new wave of powerful and battery-efficient Windows 8 tablets launch in the near future, according to a report from CNET. By lowering power consumption, PC makers could build tablets or even PC/tablet hybrids that will have batteries that last all-day as opposed to just a few hours. CNET's report says it's not clear when Intel plans to push out the more efficient Ivy Bridge processors and that they won't be available this year. Intel has been criticized in the last several years for its failure to make Medfield-powered smartphones that compete with ARM's mobile processors. It's believed Intel's inability to build capable chips for the mobile market is one
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| Who's in charge: Executives after News Corp. split Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:32 PM PST News Corp. has announced plans to split into two companies. News Corp. will be the name of its publishing business, while the media and entertainment business will go to a company to be called Fox Group. |
| Details on how News Corp. split will work Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:28 PM PST News Corp. is planning to split into two companies. One company will operate as a newspaper and book publisher and will retain the name News Corp. The other will be an entertainment company, called Fox Group. |
| A look at how News Corp. will divide its assets Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:24 PM PST News Corp. has announced that it plans to split into two separate, publicly traded companies, one for its publishing business and the other for its entertainment operations. |
| Windows 8 speeds to fourth-most used OS among PC gamers according to Steam survey Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:08 PM PST  So much for the resistance from PC gamers. Steam's latest hardware survey reveals Microsoft's (MSFT) radically redesigned Windows 8 is now the fastest growing operating system among Steam users. The survey shows 4.69% of Steam users have jumped onboard Windows 8 making it the platform's fourth-most used OS, behind Windows 7, XP and Vista. Although Steam usage on Windows 7 saw a 0.85% drop, it still reigns supreme with 72.56%. Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL) Mac users who game with Steam still lag behind at 3.26%, and that's with OS X 10.6, 10.7, 10.8 combined. Valve CEO Gabe Newell said in July that Windows 8 would be "a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space." Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson also voiced out his
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| News Corp.'s new media co. to be named Fox Group Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:03 PM PST News Corp. said Monday that its new publishing company will keep the News Corp. name, while its separate media and entertainment company will be renamed Fox Group. |
| Apple shifts some iMac assembly to U.S. Posted: 03 Dec 2012 12:28 PM PST  Apple's (AAPL) sleek new All-in-One iMac computers began shipping last week and they are expected to be in short supply through at least the end of the year. The shortages were said to be the result of manufacturing difficulties, but another factor may also be at play. As revealed by the labels on a number of new iMacs delivered over the past few days, Apple has at least partially moved the assembly of its All-in-One computers to the United States. Labels on these iMacs clearly read "Computer Assembled In USA," and the phrase "Assembled in USA" is etched directly onto the iMacs' aluminum enclosure. The U.S. facility Apple is using for final iMac assembly is not responsible for all new
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| Google unleashes new Android Gmail app update with pinch-to-zoom capabilities Posted: 03 Dec 2012 11:52 AM PST  The wait is over for Android users who want pinch-to-zoom capabilities for their mobile Gmail apps. Android Police reports that Google (GOOG) has released its new Gmail 4.2 app that will be available for all devices with Android 4.0 or higher. The new version of Gmail, which we first learned about in October, lets users zoom in on their emails with a simple pinch gesture and also gives users the option of deleting or archiving their emails with a simple swipe gesture. Android Police says that other additions to the app include "in-app video and photo attachment capability, and larger photo previews, along with a brand-new gallery view for emails with multiple image attachments."
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| Happy 20th B-Day, Text Message Posted: 03 Dec 2012 11:40 AM PST  Texting Turns 20 as Usage Declines
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| HTC Titan III slated as the next flagship Windows Phone 8 device Posted: 03 Dec 2012 11:14 AM PST  This month's Xbox Live Rewards survey may have leaked HTC's (2498) upcoming flagship Windows Phone 8 device, the HTC Titan III. Every month Xbox conducts a survey where participants can earn points that can be redeemed for variety of services and products. The latest survey asked users to gauge their level of excitement for the iPhone 5, DROID RAZR Maxx HD, Nokia (NOK) Lumia 920, Samsung (005930) Galaxy S III and the HTC Titan III, a device that has not yet been announced. The Titan, also known as the Zenith, has been rumored to be HTC's third and perhaps most exciting Windows Phone handset. The smartphone is believed to come with a 4.7-inch Super LCD 2 display, and feature a
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