| Massive HP conference draws 10,000 attendees to ogle products, speakers, presentations Posted: 07 Dec 2012 12:03 PM PST  More than 10,000 customers, partners and attendees flocked to the Hewlett-Packard Discover conference in Frankfurt, Germany, this week to learn about HP's latest products, exchange ideas, swap business cards and basically examine whether HP can improve the way their companies are run.
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| Google's Gmail service suffers disruption Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:36 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Several Google Inc Web products, including the popular Gmail service, appeared to go dark for users on several continents on Monday. Google confirmed that "service disruptions" had affected Gmail and Google Drive, its online storage service. The two products are part of Google's Apps suite, a Microsoft Office rival that caters to both consumers and businesses. By 10:10 a.m. Pacific Time (1.10 p.m. EST), Google's Apps Dashboard monitoring service reported that Gmail and Drive service had resumed. ...
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| Twitter launches photo color filters to battle Instagram, Facebook Posted: 10 Dec 2012 04:59 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter on Monday introduced the ability to add color filters to user-uploaded photos, a step that sharpened its budding rivalry with Facebook Inc. Twitter's filters mimic the popular feature that has defined Instagram, the booming photo service acquired by Facebook this year for $715 million. Although the new filters represent a modest product announcement affecting a small slice of Twitter's overall user experience, the move carries symbolic weight in the escalating battle between Facebook and Twitter for dominance in the social media sector. ... |
| Analysis: In pixel wars, LCD has staying power, refuses to die Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:02 PM PST  SEOUL (Reuters) - Liquid-crystal display (LCD) screens were expected to slowly fade and die, giving way to lighter, thinner and tougher organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels in everything from smartphones to televisions. But LCD is refusing to go quietly as its picture quality keeps getting better. At the same time, the major backers of credit card-thin OLED panels - led by Samsung Electronics Co and LG Electronics Inc - are struggling to make the technology cheap enough to mass produce. ...
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| Making Sense of Social Media Posted: 06 Dec 2012 01:52 AM PST  Val Logan, VP of Strategy & Information Management for HP Enterprise Services, discusses how HP helps businesses makes sense of their customers' social footprints.
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| The 10 Best Indie Games for the Holiday Season Posted: 09 Dec 2012 05:14 PM PST  1. Torchlight 2
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| 10 Kickass Kickstarter Projects From 2012 Posted: 09 Dec 2012 04:13 PM PST  Amanda Palmer
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| Intel says on track to launch smaller mobile chips Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:31 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel presented new manufacturing technology that it said keeps it on track to launch a new generation of chips for smartphones and tablets as it rushes to catch up with Qualcomm and other rivals in the fast-growing mobile market. The world's largest chipmaker dominates the PC industry but has been slow to adapt its processors for mobile gadgets that depend on batteries and demand power efficiency. ... |
| Appeal of $7.2 billion card-fee settlement deferred Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:07 PM PST  (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court refused to hear an expedited appeal of the preliminary approval of a $7.2 billion settlement between Visa Inc, Mastercard Inc. and merchants over credit card fees. In a brief order, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York denied one objecting merchant, The Home Depot's, request for expedited arguments and a decision on its appeal. The court also said all other objecting parties' briefs on their appeals should not be filed until after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has issued final approval of the settlement. ...
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| Apple Australia map glitch: Snakes! In the desert! Posted: 10 Dec 2012 06:54 PM PST  CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian police have warned travelers off using Apple's troubled iPhone mapping software after several motorists became stuck in a snake-infested, desert corner of the country while using their phone for directions. Police in southeast Victoria state said they had been forced to rescue a number of motorists who had become stuck for up to 24 hours "without food or water" after being directed to the arid Murray Sunset National Park, instead of the tourist town of Mildura, 70 km (43 miles) away. ...
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| Be mobile and merry with these Christmas apps Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:48 PM PST While smartphones, tablets and an assortment of other mobile toys and contraptions figure to make their way under the tree this Christmas, the apps that you download to them will entertain and organize you throughout the holiday season. Whether you are looking for fun games and interactive storybooks for the family, want an easier way to send out holiday cards, or would like to use healthier ingredients in your eggnog, here are five apps you should unwrap right away. |
| How a sewer repair specialist is working to bring webOS back from the grave Posted: 10 Dec 2012 08:50 PM PST  webOS is a lot like Peter Pan's Tinkerbell: If enough people believe in it, it could really come back from the dead. Technology Review this week caught up with Matthew Zakutny, who "works as a project manager at a trenchless sewer repair company" during the day and who also recently founded Phoenix International Communications, a team of volunteers dedicated to fully reviving Palm's new-defunct mobile operating system. Phoenix first got on our radar last month when we learned it was working on an Android app that would port webOS over to Android devices. But according to Technology Review, the group's ambitions go much further. Apparently, Zakutny and his merry band of volunteers are looking to raise enough money through both their own
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| Apple TV to finally get apps and Bluetooth keyboard support Posted: 10 Dec 2012 08:15 PM PST  In light of CEO Tim Cook's newfound "intense interest" in fixing up today's backwards TV experience, Apple (AAPL) is reportedly preparing to update its second- and third-generation Apple TV boxes with Bluetooth support, according to 9to5Mac. The news comes from an analysis of the latest beta Apple TV beta software and suggests a wireless keyboard can be attached to make media controls and search much easier – a move that mirrors Google's (GOOG) Google TV. But, there's a catch – Bluetooth will reportedly be limited remote control input support and won't support accessories such as Bluetooth speakers. Matching the Bluetooth keyboard support report is a discovery by Mac OS Ken that suggests Apple could finally be adding apps to the black box too. But 9to5Mac says the "Apps
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| Google is selling off Motorola’s TV unit, deal likely to be announced by the end of the year Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:30 PM PST  It was reported in March that Google (GOOG) was looking to sell the set-top box business it stood to inherit from Motorola Mobility as part of its $12.5 billion acquisition. The company was reportedly looking to sell the division for between $2.5 billion and $4 billion, however no deal was ever announced. Now, new reports claim Google has received appealing offers from Arris Group and Pace Plc for Motorola's Home Business, according to Bloomberg, whose sources note that a deal has a 50% chance of being announced by the end of the year. A potential sale could be postponed due to a "complicated financing structure" which would see Google retain equity in the company and the unit's patents, though. Google CEO Larry Page previously
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| Police: Apple Maps has dangerous Australian error Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:21 PM PST  Australian police are warning the public that errors in Apple's much-maligned mapping application are leading drivers headed to the southern city of Mildura to take a potentially "life-threatening" wrong turn into the middle of a remote state park.
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| Facebook says some users briefly kept from site Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:01 PM PST Facebook says some users were briefly unable to access the site because of a technical glitch. |
| Science Wants More Dogs That Can Smell Low Blood Sugar in Diabetics Posted: 10 Dec 2012 06:52 PM PST  It was impressive when we recently learned that dogs could be trained to sniff out cancer and on-coming seizures. But did you know that dogs can also smell fluctuations in your blood sugar? This would be a cool party trick for a healthy dog owner, but for a diabetic, it could be the difference between life and death. ...
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| Instagram courts hardcore photography fans with new filter and improved editing features Posted: 10 Dec 2012 06:45 PM PST  Instagram updated its Android and iOS apps on Monday to version 3.2 with a set of tweaks that add more editing features and a new filter called "Willow." The new Instagram has a new in-app camera with a viewfinder that resembles a Kodak Brownie Starflash, grid-rulers for finding the perfect composition, improved tilt-shift blurring and enhanced Foursquare integration that redirects to the app to provide more location data. Photos that are saved are now stored in their own folder instead of to the camera roll's and profile pages now have infinite scrolling. The most important portion of the update is the new Willow filter that gives photos "a monochrome filter with subtle purple tones and a translucent glowing white border."
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| Motorola starts closing offices, prepares full exit from South Korea in 2013 Posted: 10 Dec 2012 06:00 PM PST  Motorola Mobility confirmed to The Next Web on Monday it has started to close most of its operations in South Korea in an attempt to "consolidate our global R&D efforts to foster collaboration, and to focus more attention on markets where we are best positioned to compete effectively." Motorola's shuttering of its South Korean offices is part of Google's (GOOG) plan to lay off 20% of its global workforce and will see about 10% of its existing workers relocated. The company joins HTC (2498), which closed its South Korean offices in July due to low demand for its smartphones as Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (005930) continue to dominate with their iPhone and Galaxy smartphone lineups. Motorola told TNW it will continue to provide technical support to customers in the area even after
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| Government investigating makers of cellphone apps Posted: 10 Dec 2012 05:09 PM PST  The government is investigating whether software companies that make cellphone apps violated the privacy rights of children by quietly collecting personal information from mobile devices and sharing it with advertisers and data brokers, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday. Such apps can capture a child's physical location, phone numbers of their friends and more.
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| Twitter takes a page from Instagram’s playbook, adds photo filters to iPhone and Android apps [video] Posted: 10 Dec 2012 05:05 PM PST ![Twitter takes a page from Instagram's playbook, adds photo filters to iPhone and Android apps [video]](http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/a9o2srkFDYgKO5yGiZmfIA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9ODU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/News/BGR_News/twitter-photo-filters.jpgw608h456crop1 "Twitter takes a page from Instagram's playbook, adds photo filters to iPhone and Android apps [video]") Twitter on Monday rolled out an update to its iPhone and Android applications that adds filters, photo frames and an auto-enhance capability to its image sharing feature. Available immediately for the iOS and Android-powered handsets, the new feature is basically pulls all of the features that made Instagram a billion-dollar company and shamelessly repackages them. Twitter's new photo editing capabilities are powered by Aviary, according to a post on the company's blog, and the video below showcases the highlights.
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| Trolls are behind more than half of all patent lawsuits in the U.S. Posted: 10 Dec 2012 04:05 PM PST  According to research from a law professor at Santa Clara University, individuals and companies that do not create technology themselves but instead acquire patents to target other companies were behind a majority of the patent infringement lawsuits in the United States in 2012 for the first time ever, Reuters reported. These companies, more commonly known as patent trolls, have accounted for 61% of all patent lawsuits filed through December 1st, compared to 45% in 2011 and 23% in 2007. Professor Colleen Chien revealed that "more suits are being brought by entities that don't make anything than those that do," adding that more than ever lawsuits are being filed against startups. Roughly 35% of startups that have raised $50 million to
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| The Twitter-Instagram Filter Wars Have Arrived Posted: 10 Dec 2012 03:56 PM PST  On the the same afternoon that Instagram updated its mobile apps with a new filter called Willow, Twitter debuted long rumored photo filters of its own Monday. And so the social-media filter wars begin. This whole thing heated up last week when Instagram pulled its Twitter Cards, meaning that full images from the photo-sharing app would no longer show up in your Twitter stream (or at least not for long). ...
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| Apple Australia map glitch: Snakes! In the desert! Posted: 10 Dec 2012 03:25 PM PST  CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian police have warned travellers off using Apple's troubled iPhone mapping software after several motorists became stuck in a snake-infested, desert corner of the country while using their phone for directions. Police in southeast Victoria state said they had been forced to rescue a number of motorists who had become stuck for up to 24 hours "without food or water" after being directed to the arid Murray Sunset National Park, instead of the tourist town of Mildura, 70 km (43 miles) away. ...
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| How Beer Can Make Children Healthy Posted: 10 Dec 2012 03:20 PM PST  Discovered: Hops help prevent severe forms of pneumonia and bronchitis in children; video of an elusive Malaysia cat; what bat autopsies can teach us about AIDS; genetic mutations are common.
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| U.S. says will not give battery maker A123 rest of grant Posted: 10 Dec 2012 03:14 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department will not give A123 Systems Inc. the balance of a $249 million grant, a department official said on Monday, a day after the bankrupt battery maker was bought by a Chinese company. The official, who asked not to be identified because the proceedings are ongoing, said the end of the grant payouts was made clear to all parties who participated in last week's auction for the company. A123 will be sold to Wanxiang Group, pending court and regulatory approval, after the Chinese company outbid Johnson Controls Inc of Milwaukee. ... |
| The Wii U uses less than half the power of the Xbox 360 and the PS3 Posted: 10 Dec 2012 03:06 PM PST  Nintendo's (NTDOY) Wii prided itself for being a super energy-efficient console that ran nearly silent and sipped very little electricity. And although Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox 360 was originally a loud monster with a penchant for Red-Ring-of-Death-ing itself, the amount of power it consumed was never as much as Sony's (SNE) launch PlayStation 3, which used more power than a refrigerator. Eurogamer took it upon itself to pit the Wii U against the Xbox 360 S and new super slim PS3 and concluded that Nintendo's new console "draws so little power in comparison to its rivals that its tiny casing still feels cool to the touch during intense gaming." Most impressive is that the Wii U maintains its low-wattage while fitting in a chassis that's smaller than both
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| Google Now may soon be headed to PCs Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:07 PM PST  As we've noted before, Google's (GOOG) new voice-enabled personal assistant Google Now is one of the coolest new features on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and it's received a lot of acclaim from around the tech world. And now, per Engadget, it looks like anyone with a desktop computer will soon be able to enjoy Google's Siri killer right from within the Chrome web browser. Some software developers have started a new Chromium project dedicated to showing "Google Now notifications in Chrome" and "creating a skeleton for Google Now for Chrome implementation." While we have no idea how far along this project is right now, it's certainly a very welcome development since Jelly Bean is still available on less than 10% of
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| Verizon moves pension obligations to Prudential Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:35 PM PST Phone company Verizon Communications Inc. on Monday said it has transferred $7.5 billion in pension obligations to Prudential Insurance after a retiree association failed to convince a court to stop the move. |
| BlackBerry Messenger 7 adds free Wi-Fi voice calling, split-screen multitasking and more Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:32 PM PST  Research in Motion (RIMM) updated its BlackBerry Messenger to version 7 on Monday, adding a new key feature called "BBM Voice" that "will allow customers to make free voice calls to their BBM contacts around the world over a Wi-Fi connection." BBM 7 also introduces multitasking with split-screen, which allows users to BBM, check email, or use other apps while on a BBM Voice call; new compatibility with Bluetooth headsets and accessories, 16 new emoticons; direct BBM Update Notification that provides in-app alerts when new versions of an app are available and an easier way to synchronize BBM profiles; Groups; and Contacts with BBIDs for simpler backup and restores. BBM 7 is available as a free update for all BlackBerry smartphones
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| Patent lawsuits now dominated by "trolls": study Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:19 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - For the first time, individuals and companies that do not themselves make anything - commonly known as "patent trolls" - are bringing the majority of U.S. patent lawsuits, according to a study by a California law professor. The sharp increase in this type of lawsuit serves as a milestone likely to exacerbate the tension over patent issues and increase calls for patent reform and scrutiny of the system. ... |
| Here Comes the John McAfee Movie Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:11 PM PST  In a move that will surprise absolutely no one, John McAfee, the media hungry anti-virus tycoon running from the Belizean police, has sold his life story to Future Media. The deal will "exploit his life story across a range of media, including film, print and TV," reports The Hollywood Reporter's Etan Vlessing. ...
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| New leaks suggest Microsoft Office for iOS could launch soon Posted: 10 Dec 2012 12:51 PM PST  The rumors about Microsoft (MSFT) developing an Office Mobile application for the iPhone and the iPad are starting to bear fruit. Via MacRumors, French blog Mac4Ever has posted some leaked documents from Microsoft's French support site that include references to "Excel for iPad," "PowerPoint for iPad," and "Office Mobile for iPhone." The Verge reported last month that Microsoft was working on an Office Mobile application for both iOS and Android that would launch in early 2013. There's some added urgency for Microsoft to make its Office suite available on more mobile platforms since Google (GOOG) has recently started moving into its enterprise territory with its Google Apps productivity software.
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| Regulators start probe into children's online privacy Posted: 10 Dec 2012 12:22 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators are investigating a number of companies in the mobile app marketplace for failing to protect children's privacy or not disclosing what information is collected from users, the Federal Trade Commission said on Monday. The agency made the disclosure in releasing a report that found the makers of mobile apps designed for children had frequently failed to adequately inform parents about what information was collected about their children. The information collected could include a child's location or mobile device number. ... |
| Russia backs down on proposals to regulate the Internet Posted: 10 Dec 2012 12:18 PM PST  DUBAI (Reuters) - A Russia-led coalition on Monday withdrew a proposal to give governments new powers over the Internet, a plan opposed by Western countries in talks on a new global telecom treaty. Negotiations on the treaty mark the most sustained effort so far by governments from around the world to agree on how - or whether - to regulate cyberspace. The United States, Europe, Canada and other advocates of a hands-off approach to Internet regulation want to limit the new treaty's scope to telecom companies. ...
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| Android 4.2′s built-in antivirus software only detects 15% of malware Posted: 10 Dec 2012 12:17 PM PST  The latest version of the Android operating system has been called one of the most bug-ridden releases since Honeycomb, although it has also been recognized as the safest version yet. With Android 4.2, Google (GOOG) integrated a unique and high-powered security feature into the platform that scans for malicious or potentially harmful codes in apps that are loaded onto a user's device. According to a study conducted by researchers at NC State University, however, the company's malware protector was found to be less than satisfactory. Google's app verification service was found to identify malicious apps only 15.32% of the time, compared to various anti-virus programs that varied from 51% to 100% accuracy. The experiment used 1,260 samples of malware, to which the built-in feature
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