The Open webOS project has officially hit version 1.0.
While HP has only released the operating system for use and testing on computers, an independent team of devs have ported the OS to an unlocked Galaxy Nexus.
The port is pretty much useless for the time being, with basic phone functions like calls and SMS being unsupported. However, the Wi-Fi does work, making it usable for Web browsing.
For now, the team is working on full hardware acceleration, which should make the OS actually usable.
Pioneer has introduced two new Blu-ray writers this week, each with XL support.
Blu-ray XL are 100GB discs, the largest available on the market today.
The new writers are the BDR-PR1M base model and the BDR-PR1MA, which includes additional "error-correction" levels.
Pioneer says the drive has max write speeds of 4X for Blu-ray discs, 6X for DVDs, and 16X for CDs. Single and double-layer Blu-ray discs are read at 8X, BDXLs at 4X, DVDs at 16X, and 40X for CDs.
The company had earlier said the phone would eventually be getting the update, but it appears the Atrix 4G, the Photon 4G and the Electrify will all remain on the outdated Android 2.3 Gingerbread.
Motorola's device was released in early 2011 but certainly has the hardware capability to be able to run Android 4.0.
Despite being owned by Google, Motorola has been infamous for Android fragmentation and slow updates. CEO Dennis Woodside recently said the company would focus on keeping fragmentation low, but this doesn't seem to be a strong start.
Canada confirmed that there were two attempts by hackers to target Canadian firms.
Reports suggested the attacks came from China, but the Canadian government has declined to comment on such suggestions.
The attacks come at a sensitive time as Canada's Conservative government decides on whether to approve the $15.1 billion takeover bid of Canadian oil producer Nexen by China's CNOOC.
Dell, who tracks hackers around the world, says the first attack, on an unnamed Canadian energy company, came from a Chinese service provider in Beijing. The second attack was at a domestic manufacturer of software, Telvent Canada.
Telvent let customers know security had been breached, and blamed Chinese hackers.
Kodak confirmed today that it will discontinue all sales of consumer inkjet printers, cutting 1200 jobs.
The bankrupt former giant had previously announced 1000 layoffs.
Kodak is working to restructure its business, ceasing losing operations on focusing on higher margin divisions.
Eventually, the company would like to emerge from bankruptcy focused on just commercial, packaging and functional printing solutions and enterprise services.
After declaring bankruptcy earlier this year the company hopes to emerge next year.
Five men have been sentenced for their roles as part of the once popular piracy release team CiNEFOX and a group known as Carnage.
CiNEFOX began releasing movies in 2005 but by 2007 they were on top of the hit list for the major studios as well as the anti-piracy group ALPA. In 2007, French authorities began an investigation into the group and later arrested the five in question.
Fast-forward until five years later and the men finally got their time in court. CiNEFOX was accused of releasing 504 films including very early releases of X-Men 3, Jumper, 10,000 BC and Mission Impossible 3. The two Carnage members were accused of releasing 2,014 films but that number was brought down to just 56 due to technical issues.
One of the Carnage members admitted (via TF) that he held an unlimited access theater pass and used this access to record films. He also used equipment for the hearing impaired to capture audio to create telesync copies: "We knew it was illegal but at that moment we did not think about the consequences, it was like a game to us."
Over a year after massive floods in Thailand disrupted a significant portion of the world's disk drive production, shipment levels have recovered to pre-flood levels.
According to IHS iSuppli, demand from the enterprise market has helped the industry recover, with shipment levels expected to break early 2011 levels, soon.
In total, shipments are expected to reach 524 million units this year, up 4.3 percent from last year. What will not be the same as last year, however, is prices, which are still artificially high as hard drive makers make up for years of vicious price wars.
Prices are still, on average, 28 percent higher than they were before the flood.
Another reason for the production boost is the upcoming Windows 8 operating system, Microsoft's first since 2009's Windows 7. Windows 8 will be the most used OS for ultrabooks, many of which use hybrid drives that include SSD for boot up and HDD for storage.
According to Sony, PlayStation Plus membership doubled during the week of E3 this year.
Additionally, Jack Buser, Senior Director of PlayStation digital platforms at SCEA says the PlayStation Network has seen its highest "transactional sales" quarter ever. PSN has been live for over 6 years.
If the wording was confusing, Buser was saying that more people purchased content right from PSN for the quarter ended June 30th than ever before.
At the same time, Sony unveiled the Instant Game Collection for PlayStation Plus users, which gives access to free games if you are a subscriber.
"At E3 we announced the Instant Game Collection," Buser added. "That's when we focused the value proposition of the membership on the notion that if you're a member, you have access to an instant library of games. That week of E3, we saw a 2-times lift of new membership sales. It just skyrocketed."
Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson has said he will not "certify" the popular game for the upcoming Windows 8 operating system.
Persson is not the only person to voice displeasure with the new OS, which is seen as being a closed platform similar to Xbox Live.
Major developers like id Software, Blizzard and Valve have all called the new OS's storefront a major step back for the industry.
Says 'Notch': "Got an email from Microsoft, wanting to help 'certify' Minecraft for Win 8. I told them to stop trying to ruin the PC as an open platform. I'd rather have Minecraft not run on Win 8 at all than to play along. Maybe we can convince a few people not to switch to win 8 that way."
Of course, the game will still be available on Windows 8, but Persson will not be doing anything to help the process.
According to a new report, the new Apple iPhone 5 costs just 41 cents per year to charge, assuming you charge it once per day.
Says Opower, the energy analytics co.: "iPhone 5: consumed 9.5 watt-hours to charge, taking 1 hour and 50 minutes. Maximum wattage was 6.3 watts, with an average of approximately 5.0 W. Multiplying 0.0095 kWh/day by 365 days = 3.47 kWh per year. Annual charging cost is projected to be $0.41/year."
That figure is a bit higher than the $0.38 it cost for the iPhone 4S, but much lower than the $1.36 for the third-generation iPad tablet.
While the numbers are insignificant across the board, the iPhone did manage to beat out its main rival, the Samsung Galaxy S III, which costs about 53 cents a year to charge thanks to having a larger battery.
"The paramount point here though is not the difference between the two phones, but rather their striking similarity: the energy consumption of a modern smartphone is minuscule," Opower's Barry Fischer noted.
Barnes & Noble has dropped the price of their Simple Touch with GlowLight to match up with the new ad-subsidized Amazon Kindle Paperwhite.
The popular e-reader will now cost $120, and the price has already been updated on most retailer's sites, including Target and Wal-Mart. Barnes & Noble itself has been slow to update their own site, however.
"GlowLight" means the e-reader has a front-lit display that allows for reading at night and in low-light situations. The device is also fully touch.
The new Paperwhite launches October 1st and will include ads on the lock screen just like other Kindle devices.
T-Mobile USA and Crown Castle have entered into a agreement in which Castle will acquire rights to 7200 T-Mobile towers in exchange for $2.4 billion in cash.
Castle can now lease and operate the towers for the next 28 years.
Additionally, Castle will be given the option to purchase the towers at the end of the lease "for aggregate option payments of approximately $2.4 billion, which payments, if exercised would be primarily between 2025 and 2048."
"We are pleased to reach this mutually beneficial agreement with Crown Castle and take another step closer to realizing the bold vision outlined in our Challenger strategy to solidify our competitiveness in the industry by investing in areas where we anticipate the strongest return for our customers," notes John Legere, Chief Executive Officer of T-Mobile USA. "T-Mobile USA is working aggressively to make our 4G network stronger, faster and more dependable for consumers, and this transaction will support our ongoing $4 billion network modernization initiative that is the cornerstone of this effort as we work tirelessly to continue to deliver our amazing 4G services nationwide."
Adds Crown Castle: "We are very pleased with our agreement with T-Mobile, which strengthens our position as the largest provider of shared wireless infrastructure in the US, which we believe is the largest, fastest growing and most profitable wireless market in the world. Consistent with our focus on the top 100 US markets, the T-Mobile towers are similarly well-located, with 83% of the towers in the top 100 markets and 72% located in the top 50 markets. The T-Mobile assets are expected to provide significant growth driven by the continued demand for wireless data services, particularly in the most densely populated areas in the US.Read more...
Valve has said it will allow 1000 Linux users to test out the popular Steam platform as a private beta starting next month.
Steam has been available to Mac and Windows users for years now, but Linux users have been left in the dark. Valve announced earlier this year that Linux users would be getting access and four months later fans have a beta.
Founder Gabe Newell became specifically involved in the process, expediting the process.
The beta will go live the first week of October, and will not include the recently added Big Picture Mode. The beta will also only include one Steam game and support Ubuntu 12.04 and newer.
It is unclear what the single title will be, although rumor has it it will be 'Left 4 Dead 2.'
BlueStacks has announced a new partnership with AMD to bring over 500,000 Android apps to Macs and Windows-based computers.
The apps will be available for Windows 7 and Windows 8 machines, with the BlueStacks technology being specifically optimized for AMD GPUs.
There is a chance that AMD could use the new deal to pre-load BlueStacks into new PCs and the startup adds that it has had discussions with the major OEMs although no deals have been completed.
AMD is a major investor in BlueStacks, alongside Qualcomm, Citrix and others.
If you use an AMD GPU, the AppZone will be available for free download and brings the full BlueStacks catalog over.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has apologized to customers today for the failed Apple iOS 6 maps software.
The exec even encouraged users to seek out better alternatives from Google and Bing.
Cook says the company is "extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers." The mapping software "fell short" of the company's normally high standards and he promised a quick improvement.
Added the CEO: "While we're improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like (Microsoft's) Bing, (AOL's (AOL) MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia (NOK) maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their Web app."
Apple removed Google Maps, the golden standard of the industry, with its own software during the launch of iOS 6 on September 19th.
The new Maps app has quickly become infamous, however, due to its incorrect directions, incorrect locations, and blurry or incomplete maps and points of interest.
Nokia has announced price cuts for its current Lumia devices, as it clears inventory in front of the upcoming Lumia 820 and 920 launches.
The Lumia 800 and Lumia 900 smartphones will see continued price cuts, and have already dropped in price by an average of 12.5 percent during the last month.
Mobile analyst firm CCS Insight says the cuts are not "a big surprise given the looming arrival of the next generation of Windows smartphones."
The Lumia 800 went on sale last November and has seen its price drop by a quarter while the newer Lumia 900 has seen prices fall by 20 percent since launch in January.
Nokia's new Windows Phone 8 devices are the new flagships for the company, as it fights to remain relevant in the smartphone market. In Germany and Italy, the price is 499 euros for the 820 and 649 for the 920. The devices will go on sale on November 12th, available in at least four color ways.
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a new bill that will prevent employers and universities from demanding your Twitter and Facebook login credentials.
Assembly Bill 1844 and Senate Bill 1349 both passed in the state Senate last month and will now be law.
AB–1844 will block employers from asking prospective workers (and current employees) for their social networking usernames and passwords as well as blocking them from asking employees to login in their presence. The law also protects employees from any sort of "retaliation" if they do not comply with a request for their credentials.
SB-1349 gives the same rights to students in colleges.
California's laws follow legislation recently passed in Maryland, Delaware and Illinois and proposed in at least 10 other states.
Ubisoft has announced the minimum requirements for its latest shooter, Far Cry 3, which thankfully removes Ubisoft's universally panned 'always-on' DRM.
The new revised Uplay DRM will only require a one-time activation, and will not need gamers to stay connected to the Internet whilst playing the single-player campaign.
Supposedly, large satellite cable company Dish Network is looking to offer channels a la carte, a move that would change the entire pay TV landscape.
The company is speaking with content providers like Viacom in an effort to offer the channels over the Internet.
Additionally, the satellite company has also spoken with Spanish-language giant Univision and Scripps, the owner of Food Network and HGTV.
SFGate says "the companies would offer an online product known as an over-the-top service, charging a lower price for a smaller bundle of channels viewable on a computer or tablet."
Currently, all cable providers offer a giant bundle of channels, usually 300 or more, whether they watch them or not, at a set price. The new service would also allow Dish to avoid having to pay ESPN the $5.13 it costs per subscriber, by far the largest price for any station. The average channel costs the subscriber $0.26.
According to multiple sources, Samsung is expected to launch their low-end Galaxy Music smartphone next month.
The device will feature a 3-inch QVGA (240x320-pixel) display, a single-core 850MHz processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage a 3MP camera and somehow run on Android 4.0.
Additionally, the phone will have front-facing stereo speakers and include built-in music-based features.
Given the horrendous specs, and the fact that the phone will be dual-SIM capable, there is zero chance the phone will make it to the U.S. and is likely aimed at Latin America, emerging markets and some European markets, as well.
According to a new report, the iPad accounts for 98 percent of all Web traffic originating from tablets.
Going even further, the tablet accounts for 54.5 percent of all traffic coming from mobile devices, in general.
Onswipe, a developer that helps websites create better "touch friendly" experiences without requiring downloadable apps, says the iPad accounted for 98.1 percent of the 29.5 million unique impressions it saw from over 1200 sites last week.
Samsung's Galaxy Tab line followed at 1.53 percent, with the Xoom, Kindle Fire and AsusTransformers accounting for a total of just 0.38 percent.
The figures make sense given Apple's majority share of the tablet hardware market itself, said to be around 68 percent as of the last quarter.
According to a new report, there are still 63 million Facebook users in China, despite a government ban on social networking services.
Twitter users jumped to 35.5 million, as well.
It appears Chinese citizens access the sites via certain proxy servers, alluding the so-called Great Firewall set up by the government in the nation to censor the Web.
Tom Smith, founder of GlobalWebIndex: "It only takes a little bit of desk research to discover that what is called the Great Firewall is actually much more porous than the Chinese government would like to admit."
Of course, native Chinese social networks are much more popular, with Tencent's Qzone reaching 286.3 million users and Sina's Weibo (Twitter equivalent) reaching 264.1 million users.
The developers behind the blockbuster franchise Angry Birds have come out with a new game that will give the pigs some revenge on those damn birds.
Rovio has launched "Bad Piggies" today for iOS, Android and Mac, launching the game in Taiwan: "We decided to choose Taipei as the place for the first global launch as it is one of the cities where 'Angry Birds' has been widely downloaded," said the company.
Angry Birds (and its multiple sequels) are the most downloaded mobile franchise of all-time, helping Rovio make a profit of 48 million euros on just 75 million euro revenue.
Reads the game's description:
Create the ultimate flying/crawling/rolling/spinning/crashing device and pilot the pigs safely to the eggs!
The Bad Piggies are after the eggs again -- but as usual, nothing is going according to plan! Can you create the ultimate flying machine and steer them safely to their destination? Those tricky pigs have a few objects they can use, but they need your help to turn these into the perfect transportation!
With more than 60 levels, and free updates coming up, you have hours and hours of pig-crashing, exploding, and flying fun! Get three stars on every level to unlock 30 more puzzles! HINT: Sometimes you need to play the level several times to achieve all the objectives -- try building a new device or steering in a different way to earn all the stars!
Nokia has announced the pricing and availability of the Lumia 820 and 920 in certain European nations.
The Windows Phone 8 devices are the new flagships for the company, as it fights to remain relevant in the smartphone market.
In Germany and Italy, the price is 499 euros for the 820 and 649 for the 920.
The devices will go on sale on November 12th, available in at least four color ways.
The 920 has a nice 4.5-inch TrueBlack display and a fast dual-core S4 Snapdragon processor. The phone also offers a curved glass display just like the Lumia 800 before it. A new addition to Windows Phone is a microSD slot. Always fans of nice cameras, Nokia brought the PureView software from its 808 phone, adding that the camera catches 10x more light than other smartphones, making it ideal for dark shots.
A new feature is 'City Lens,' an augmented reality piece of software that 'overlays details about nearby points of interest or businesses onto the phone's display - providing information including reviews, ratings and contact information for nearby shops or restaurants at a glance.'
According to the hit-or-miss Digitimes, Google and Asus are preparing a revamped model of the Nexus 7 for release in November that will cost just $99.
Additionally, there will be a $199 model of the device, matching the price of the current 8GB Nexus 7.
If accurate, the release date matches the expected date of the so-called iPad Mini, which could possibly be announced in October for release in early November. The iPad Mini is said to feature a 7.85-inch display, an A6 processor, no Retina Display and no LTE support.
More importantly, the device is expected to cost between $250 and $300, about half the price of a new iPad third generation but only $100 cheaper than an iPad 2.
If Google somehow figures out how to sell a Nexus 7 variant for $99, it would break a whole new barrier to consumer entry and certainly put the heat on rivals, including Apple.
Barnes & Noble has upped the ante today, announcing the launch of their own video streaming business to compete with Netflix and Amazon.
The service will include content from HBO, Sony Pictures, Disney, Starz, Viacom and Warner Bros. Additionally, the service supports UltraViolet, the cloud library for legal downloads.
It appears the new service was necessary for Barnes & Noble especially given Amazon's new deal with Epix to add thousands of new movies and TV episodes.
The video platform will be available on all Nook devices as well as through TVs and on iOS and Android through the Nook app.
"Our new NOOK Video service will give our customers another way to be entertained with a vast and growing digital video collection, as part of our expansive Nook Store," Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch added.
Nintendo promised 50 Wii U titles before the end of March next year, and it appears a good portion will be available at launch.
23 titles will be available on November 18th when the console launches in the U.S.
Here is the list:
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Skylanders Giants
Transformers Prime
Wipeout 3
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
FIFA Soccer 13
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 New Super Mario Bros. U
Ninja Gaiden: Razor's Edge
Nintendo Land
Sing Party
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Warrios Orochi 3 Hyper
Darksiders II Assassin's Creed III
ESPN Sports Connection
Just Dance 4
Rabbids Land
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
ZombiU
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Game Party Champions
Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition
Intel CEO Paul Otellini has told his staff that Windows 8 is simply 'not ready.'
The word comes via a private meeting Otellini had with employees in Taipei earlier this week, and the exec is said to have told them that the software needs improvement.
Despite the harsh words, Otellini also claims to be fully supportive of the new operating system, and that all of the improvements will be patched after the OS ships. The exec also said releasing the OS early is "the right thing to do."
Otellini is not the first major executive to bash Windows 8, with Valve's Gabe Newell calling it a 'catastrophe' in a public statement.
Regardless, Windows 8 is set for launch on October 26th.
According to reports, Samsung is looking into creating a Galaxy phone based on the Tizen operating system rather than its normal Android or Windows Phone.
Tizen is an open-source Linux-based mobile OS that mixes some aspects of MeeGo, Maemo and Bada.
There is no time frame for the phone except for "sometime in the future."
Most likely, the phone will not be released in the U.S., where there is very little chance of taking any market share in the market defined by Android and iOS. Tizen could, however, be successful elsewhere, given Samsung's popularity and marketing budget.
Toys R Us has been sued over its new Tabeo kids tablet.
Fuhu, the creator of the Nabi tablet sold exclusively in Toys R Us stores, has accused the retailer of stealing its design UI and online service features.
The tablet maker is looking to get an injunction before the Tabeo goes on sale this holiday season.
Over the past year, Fuhu has sold their tablet exclusively at Toys R Us although Fuhu says the retailer did little to market the product, instead using the time to steal trade secrets. Fuhu is suing for fraud, breach of contract, unfair competition and trade secret misappropriation.
Besides the actual software, Fuhu even says the case used to protect the Nabi (which is shaped like a butterfly) was stolen for the Tabeo.
Lenovo's first Windows 8 tablet, the ThinkPad Tablet 2, will sell for $799 with bundled keyboard dock, says the company.
The tablet has a 10-inch display with 1366x768 resolution and should last 10 hours per charge.
Along with the tablet and keyboard comes a full version of the Office 2013 productivity suite, and the tablet has a full USB port for additional productivity options.
Lenovo says the ThinkPad 2 is aimed at enterprise consumers, while Windows RT-based tablets will sell in the $300-$600 range.
Google has announced that the Google Play Store has reached 25 billion downloads just six months after Apple's older store reached the same milestone.
As a way to celebrate the milestone, Google will offer discounted apps and games for the next five days. Starting later today, apps from Gameloft, Electronic Arts, Rovio, runtastic, Full Fat and others will go on sale for $0.25 each.
Additionally, the company will put together collections such as "25-must-own-albums" and discount them, as well.
The Play Store reached 20 billion downloads in June, meaning growth is ever expanding.
Google recently announced there has been 500 million Android devices activated, with 1.3 million now being activated daily.
Nintendo has confirmed that the Wii U will be region-locked, meaning no imported games.
If you purchase a Wii U title in a particular region, you have to play it in that region. Imported titles, for example a Japanese game, will not be playable on your new American Wii U.
Nintendo has long region-locked their consoles, including the Wii and 3DS handheld.
The gaming company has priced the upcoming console cheaper for U.S. consumers than its home country of Japan. Set for release on November 18th, the base model will cost $300 while the deluxe edition will sell for $350 in the U.S.
The base model will include the Wii U console with 8GB memory and the Wii U GamePad in all white. The deluxe edition comes with 32GB and a GamePad charging cradle. Additionally, it will come bundled with the game NintendoLand.
For over a month now, there have been more and more rumors of a 5-inch HTC smartphone that will compete directly against the popular Galaxy Note (and its upcoming sequel).
According to a new report, the so-called HTC Droid Incredible X will actually be the Google Nexus 5, Google's next flagship smartphone.
The phone will be released with Android 4.1.2 (the upcoming Jelly Bean update) which should bring fixes, even zippier performance and other minor tweaks.
Supposedly, the device will have a 5-inch display with 1920 x 1080 resolution. Making that even more impressive is that the display is said to have a 480ppi display, a number that blows away even Apple's Retina Display.
RIM announced a surprise jump in subscriber numbers this week, giving investors a little bit of hope before next year's launch of the BlackBerry 10 operating system.
The company had a developer event yesterday to show off some new features of the operating system and proudly boasted that subscribers jumped to 80 million from the previously reported 78 million.
Although RIM has practically lost all of its market share in the U.S., they continue to be marginally successful in emerging markets with lower-end devices.
CEO Thorsten Heins said carriers and developers were giving overwhelmingly positive feedback for the new OS, which has been delayed for over 18 months: "We are making believers out of our partners. We are making believers out of those who had previously written BlackBerry off. BlackBerry 10 is our most important launch ever. And it is the most exciting launch I have ever led in my career."
The new OS will be faster and "smoother," featuring a better app platform for developers. Heins showed off a couple of features, called "Peek" and "Flow," which "enable users to access important features without leaving the current application or to move quickly to another function."
In 2010, Barnes & Noble created the 7-inch low-priced media tablet market by introducing the Nook Color for $250.
Today, the company has introduced the third-generation of the tablet, the Nook HD for $199.
Additionally, the company has introduced the 9-inch Nook HD+, which will compete against the new Kindle Fire HD LTE and the iPad.
"We did create the category. We are going to do reading better than anyone else -- with the weight of the product, the ergonomics, and the screen -- this display is unprecedented," added Barnes & Noble's CEO, William Lynch. "We are competing with better content consumption specs and adding content types."
The smaller tablet (HD) is the lightest of the 7-inch form factor market, weighing 315 grams compared to 340 grams for the Nexus 7 and 395 grams for the Kindle Fire HD. The device is also a half-inch narrower than the Fire, which the company says makes it easier to hold while reading.
Beating out its rivals, the HD also has a 1440x900 resolution screen, although it is unclear the PPI.
Sony VP of hardware marketing John Koller has let customers know this week that the company plans to support the PlayStation 3 through 2015, at the very least.
Says the exec: "A lot of great content is coming. And over the next 2-3 years, the PS3 has got an incredible lineup. We're going to continue supporting the PS3 for the next few years. Absolutely. And we're going to continue supporting it not only that long, but as long as there is a development spigot that's running hot."
Koller then compared the console to the best-selling console of all-time, the PS2, which even to this day sees some new games despite being released in 2000.
In 2006, Sony stated plans for a ten-year life cycle for the PS3, and it looks like the company will try to hold that original commitment.
Sony's PS4 is expected to launch next year before the holidays.
Compared to the previous version, the new Netflix experience on Android phones is much more immersive. You will see many more titles and galleries than we have ever shown before on a smartphone. It is much closer to the Netflix experience on tablets, which got a major upgrade late last year.
At the top of the new browse screen on Android phones is a row that lets you continue watching shows or movies that you previously started watching right where you left off, a very handy feature. The Instant Queue, available in some regions, is presented on the Home screen just below your Top 10 list. Lower down in the new experience are several personalized rows filled with movie and TV show recommendations.
Tapping the browse menu gives you access to an extensive list of genre galleries that show even more titles organized into categories. Parents--like me--will really appreciate the children and family gallery with many titles organized by age.
Read more...
Foxconn has confirmed it will resume production at its Taiyuan factory in China's Shanxi province after shutting it down last night following a worker riot.
The company says lost production will be minimal, despite the heavy media coverage.
"Overall it probably won't be significant because this factory mainly does a lot of components, auto electronics, consumer electronics and precision molding and not finished goods," said spokesman Louis Woo. "If we lose just one day, I don't expect it will impact any finished goods significantly and with overtime we could make up any shortfall."
Over 2000 workers began rioting and clashing with guards outside of their dormitory last night, causing the plant to be shut down. There were conflicting reports on what started the riot, with most believing it was due to working conditions requiring mandatory overtime.
Foxconn is best known for being the manufacturer behind assembling Apple iPhones.
Apple has announced that iPhone 5 sales reached 5 million over the weekend.
The phone, which launched on Friday, broke the record for most smartphone sales in 72 hours, beating out the iPhone 4S from last year.
Apple said demand was higher than current available inventory, leading to a small delay for some online orders.
Despite the record, many analysts believe Apple fell short of expectations, which were for up to 10 million by most accounts. This is attributed to the delays, as Apple does not count online sales until they have actually shipped.
Apple noted that online pre-orders had topped 2 million on September 17th.
Iran will block access to Google and Gmail in the nation, a strong reaction to YouTube's refusal to take down the anti-Islam film "Innocence of Muslims."
"Google and Gmail will be filtered throughout the country until further notice," says Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, a government official for the organization in charge of online censorship and computer crimes.
Iranian authorities have been pressing Google to filter the film, which they have refused to do. The government has sponsored protests in Tehran over the film, as well.
One Iranian blogger took to Twitter to show his displeasure: "By blocking Gmail/Google, #Iran government punishes its own people over anti-Islam movie. Most Iranians have not seen it/don't care."
Iran already has one of the most censored Internet.
Grant Paul, better known as @chpwn, has noted this weekend that the iPhone 5 is already jailbroken just hours after being released on Friday.
Paul posted screenshots of the Cydia app store running on the new iPhone 5, at the new resolution.
Jailbreaking allows iPhone owners to add apps to their device that may not necessarily have been allowed in the Apple App Store. Additionally, users can sideload apps with a jailbroken device.
Sharp is in talks to produce LCD panels for ultrabooks, a move that would help the struggling company with its current cash crunch.
The company has seen its fortunes turn as its TV business has slowed to a crawl. By moving to smaller displays, the company hopes for a revival.
Intel, the backer of the ultrabook standard, is said to be attracted to "Sharp's technology for small and midsize LCD panels."
More specifically, Intel is interested in "IGZO display," technology that is thin, consumes less power than traditional LCDs, can have very high resolutions and also requires less backlighting.
Intel may even be looking to buy a large share (over 5 percent) of Sharp, becoming its largest shareholder and tying its investment to the company's performance.
According to sources, Iranian hackers have been attacking major U.S. banks like JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America for over a year as part of a larger cyber campaign against major U.S. corporations.
The attacks have mostly been DDoS, hoping to disrupt bank's consumer websites or corporate networks.
Most recently, the consumer sites for Chase and Bank of America were down for over 24 hours thanks to such atatcks.
Supposedly, the attacks are "payback" for the banks enforcing sanctions against Iran.
Iran has openly noted it wants to create a "cyber army" that can hack Western nations. It is unclear whether the attacks on the banks came directly from the Iranian government or citizens.
All U.S. agencies declined to comment, as did the banks.
Apple is seeking more money from Samsung, along with a permanent U.S. sales ban on products that violated their patents.
The iPhone maker is seeking an additional $707 million in addition to the $1.05 billion verdict they won last month.
In the new motion, Apple is seeking a "$400 million damage award for design infringement by Samsung; $135 million for willful infringement of its utility patents; $121 million in supplemental damages based on Samsung's product sales not covered in the jury's deliberation; and $50 million of prejudgment interest on damages through December 31."
Apple wants its new permanent injunction to "cover any of the infringing products or any other product with a feature or features not more than colorably different from any of the infringing feature or features in any of the Infringing Products."
Samsung's response was to ask for a new trial. The companies are locked in a patent battle that spans 10 nations and over 20 products.
In July, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo let users know that the company was preparing to unveil a new tool to download all your old tweets.
Today, the exec says that tool will be ready for general release before the end of the year.
As any active Twitter user knows, it is currently almost impossible to find your old messages, even after a few days (or weeks). The exec told reporters over the summer that the microblogging giant will soon be adding the tool to allow users to download a file that includes all their tweets since joining the service: "We're working on a tool to let users export all of their tweets. You'll be able to download a file of them."
While users would be able to check through their own archives, Costolo says he does not anticipate the company letting its users have access to the archived tweets of other users. He added that search issues are a whole different monster and you "can't just put three engineers on it."
Many active users have long requested a download tool for their archived tweets, and it is even law in the EU. Users in the EU who have asked for the tweets have been sent a zip file containing your account details, tweets, favorites, direct messages, lists and saved searches. This alone means the company certainly has the capabilities to create such a tool.
Microsoft has confirmed they have updated Flash in Windows 8, patching a critical bug that was leaving Internet Explorer users open to attacks.
On September 11th, the company promised to patch the media player "shortly," doing an about-face from a previous statement in which they said it would be fixed in October.
Similar to Google, Microsoft built Flash into the new Internet Explorer 10, meaning they had to patch the bug, not Adobe. The software giant said this, months ago, of the move: "By updating Flash through Windows Update, like IE, we make security more convenient for customers."
There are a total of eight bugs that required a patch, one of which has been exploited by hackers for weeks now. One hacking group admitted to hijacking PCs with the flaw while Microsoft waited.
The update is for the Windows 8 Release Preview and Windows 8 RTM.
Admitting defeat in the nation, Google has shut down its China-only music download service.
Dubbed "Google Music Search," the service will go dark on October 19th.
Google confirmed the service had performed poorly: "The influence of this product turned out to be lower than we expected, and as a result we decided to transfer our resources to other products instead. The move is part of an ongoing effort across Google to bring greater focus to our portfolio of products."
The search giant had launched the service in 2009 and it offers free, licensed digital copies of music. Google had agreements with Warner Music and EMI and the labels and Google would share revenue from banner ads.
Apparently, Chinese users did not care for legal copies of music they can easily find on rival search engine Baidu, which controls 80 percent of the search market two years after Google decided to fight the Chinese government over censorship and move its servers to Hong Kong.
GSM-based owners of the Nexus have had the incredible update since June, or early July at the latest but Verizon has kept delaying its release, while keeping the phone on Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Verizon was the last holdout, as Sprint released the update to its customers at the beginning of the month.
If you own the device, head over to the settings app, then down to "About Phone" and finally "System Updates."
When the update is available to you, a notification will be displayed and customers will need to hop on a Wi-Fi network to take advantage.
According to Bloomberg, Microsoft has asked China to stop piracy in at least four of the country's state-run companies.
The software giant has filed complaints against China National Petroleum (CNPC), China Post Group, China Railway Construction, and TravelSky Technology, each of which are run by the government.
Supposedly, Microsoft believes that over 40 percent of Microsoft Office and Server software used by the companies are pirated. Reps for the offices each called the estimates "greatly exaggerated" or "inaccurate."
China has long been a haven of pirated software, with most estimated putting legitimate Windows operating system ownership at under 25 percent.
Earlier this year, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer met with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan with Wang later promising to help crack down on piracy.
The BSA (whose stats are normally laughable but always interesting) says (via Cnet) Chinese buyers spend just $8.89 per PC on legal software, less than a quarter of the amount spent in other BRIC nations including Russia and far, far below the U.S.
Apple's latest iOS 6 operating system finally gave iFans a native clock app, and most new users found the app to be "beautiful" or "gorgeous."
Fans were not the only ones to notice the style of the new app, however, with the Swiss Federal Railway Service (SBB) now accusing the company of stealing the design.
Apple's design is "identical" to their own, which was created in 1944 and trademarked, says a spokesperson, and they have a point (see below).
"We are proud that this icon of clock design is being used by a globally successful company. We've approached Apple and told them that the rights for this clock belong to us," said the spokesperson.
SBB is looking for an "amicable agreement," likely meaning licensing and royalties into the future.
While the new iPhone 5 has been an a major success so far, there has been one widely criticized aspect of the phone and its new OS, iOS 6, the Maps app.
Apple moved away from the gold standard of the Maps and Nav world, Google Maps, to start their own version. However, unlike most Apple features, the Maps app does not "just work."
The app is supposed to have photo-realistic and interactive 3D Maps, and for some places it does. For the most part, however, the maps lack details and have extremely awkward glitches that either "melt" areas of the map or flatten them. Additionally, there is a lack of transit, Street View, point of interest data and awful traffic view data.
Apple has taken the criticism to heart and is actively looking for devs to help work on the failed app. The listings (many of them) are for "software engineers who will handle development, real-time rendering and overall upgrades to the fledgling mapping service, among others."
Chinese search engine Baidu has apparently leaked the Nokia 510 low-end Windows Phone smartphone aimed at the Chinese market.
The device just received certification in the nation and will be one of the first devices to feature Windows Phone 7.8, the stopgap OS between the current WP 7.5 and the upcoming Windows Phone 8.
Lumia 510 specs:
120.7 x 64.9 x 11.51 (mm), 129 (g)
GSM-WCDMA-HSPA
800MHz MSM7227A processor
256MB RAM
Asus has announced it will launch the Padfone 2, a sequel to its tablet/smartphone hybrid.
The event is set for October 16th, just months after the launch of the original.
As of today, the hybrid has not been successful, with Asus selling the tablet/phone along with keyboard dock for $1099.
The phone itself has a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen and a 1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon processor. The tablet has a 10.1-inch display and needs to have the phone docked before it can be used. The dock adds 7 extra hours of battery life and a full keyboard for those that need better productivity.
Rumored specs for the new device include a quad-core Snapdragon processor, 2GB RAM, and Android 4.0.
The hybrid is expected to launch in the Q1 2013, but we will know for sure on October 16th.
Facebook has suspended the use of the photo tagging facial-recognition tool that users take advantage of when tagging new photos uploaded to the site.
The move is part of Facebook's ongoing effort to follow the changes recommended by the Data Protection Commissioner of Ireland, Billy Hawkes, last year. Hawkes said he was encouraged by the move, which will take place on October 15th.
If you are not a registered Facebook users but are looking to sign up, the tool is already unavailable to you.
Hawkes adds: "Facebook is sending a clear signal of its wish to demonstrate its commitment to best practice in data protection compliance."
Facebook added comment about the upcoming move: "The EU has looked at the issue of securing consent for this kind of technology and issued new guidance. Our intention is to reinstate the tag-suggest feature, but consistent with new guidelines. The service will need a different form of notice and consent."
RIM saw another major service disruption today, although this time it was contained to Europe and Africa.
Users with Vodafone as a carrier lost access to Internet and their e-mail for a number of hours before RIM resolved the issue. Importantly for them, North America,its largest market, was unaffected.
The phone maker last had a similar outage, coincidentally, when Apple launched the iPhone 4S last year. That outage lasted 72 hours in some areas.
New CEO Thorsten Heins apologized, noting that 6 percent of BlackBerry subscribers were affected, about 5 million users.
The company is conducting a "full technical analysis to determine the cause," added the exec.
RIM's stock fell another 6.5 percent, and is now down 97 percent since the launch of the iPhone in 2008.
Valve has confirmed that beta testing for its hardware division will begin in 2013.
Jeri Ellsworth, recently hired to the division, says multiple prototypes for their designs will be given out to gamers through "a selection process run through Steam."
Ellsworth says the main goal of the new team "is to make Steam games more fun to play in your living room."
More specifically, the team will deal "with control barriers found in much of Steam's library of titles," says Engadget.
For now, the team is only in very, very early stages for the much touted "wearable" computers, with a timetable that could reach as far as 2017 for consumer devices.
Universal Music Group has been approved to purchase the British record label EMI, with the EU competition regulator giving the "OK."
However, the company must sell off the works of some of its biggest acts, such as David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Kylie Minogue and Coldplay. EMI (and Universal) will be able to keep the Beatles catalog, as an exception.
Outside of the Parlophone label, which is home to the above acts, the company must also sell its classical music divisions, its French arm and additional labels that include catalogs from big acts like The Ramones and Depeche Mode.
The approval is the initial step for the acquisition, which will also need the US FTC to sign off on the nearly $2 billion purchase of EMI's recorded-music division. Earlier this year, Sony and others purchased EMI's music publishing arm for $2.2 billion.
Had the deal been approved without concessions, Universal would have controlled 40 percent of the U.S. market and been double the size of its largest competitor, Sony Music, in Europe.
Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, has announced it will no longer sell the Amazon Kindle e-readers or Kindle Fire tablets.
After the company exhausts its current supply of inventory and purchase commitments, Wal-Mart will not commit to any future purchases from Amazon.
In May, large retailer Target made a similar move, snubbing the Kindle line, as well.
Earlier this month, Amazon introduced a revamped line of Kindle devices, including an e-reader with a backlight for nighttime reading and three new Kindle Fire tablets with upgraded specs and features.
There was no word on why Wal-Mart decided to discontinue selling the devices.
Read our review of the new Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 here: Afterdawn Review
With the new release of Apple's iOS 6 mobile operating system, the company moved away from Google Maps to add their own Maps app.
The app is supposed to have photo-realistic and interactive 3D Maps, and for some places it does. For the most part, however, the maps lack details and have extremely awkward glitches that either "melt" areas of the map or flatten them.
Additionally, there is a lack of transit, Street View, point of interest data and awful traffic view data.
Theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/ has a fantastic collection of some of the more terrible failures, and I'll post some here, as well:
Dice Holdings, "a leading provider of specialized career websites for select professional communities" has purchased tech sites Slashdot, SourceForge and Freecode for $20 million in cash.
Says Dice: "The acquisition of these premier technology sites fits squarely into our strategy of providing content and services that are important to tech professionals in their everyday work lives. The SourceForge and Slashdot communities will enable our customers to reach millions of engaged tech professionals on a regular basis, and this significantly extends our company's reach into the global tech community."
The sites were acquired from Geeknet, who has been shopping them for months.
Last year, the three properties generated almost $20 million in revenue. SourceForge is the major property, attracting 40 million monthly uniques. The site offers open-source software and development tools.
Acer has announced their latest, the Iconia Tab A110, a 7-inch Android tablet.
The new tablet runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Acer says "it's a tablet that you can easily hold in one hand and still lets you enjoy web browsing, multimedia, or even work if you need to."
Under the hood, the A110 has a quad-core Tegra 3 processor at 1.2GHz, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, a microSD slot and a 2MP front-facing camera.
The 7-inch LCM display has 1024x600 resolution and the tablet has a 3,420 mAh battery.
Additional ports include an HDMI and a microUSB 2.0.
So far, UK availability has been announced, at £179.99. U.S. and EU availability has not been announced yet.
The hackers behind the attack, who call themselves "Afghanistan Hackers, leaked data via The Pirate Bay.
"From Civilized Afghan Society, of course we do have stupid Talibans also but we do have very well educated people living in beautiful Kabul City," reads the NFO with the leak. "RevTT is hacked by Afghanistan Hackers!!!"
The torrent tracker was founded 6 years ago and is one of the larger private trackers. Private trackers require registration for access, usually via invites from other established users.
Site staff as less than helpful after the leak, banning anyone who posted about it in the site's forums. As of now, the data seems to be somewhat old, (potentially a database backup), but users should change their passwords as soon as possible to avoid unwanted usage.
Motorola has unveiled their first Intel-powered Android phone this week, the RAZR i.
The phone is almost identical to their recently revealed RAZR M, except that it is running on a new powerful Intel chip instead of an ARM-based equivalent.
RAZR i phones will have a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen with Gorilla Glass 2, run on Android 4.0.4, and feature the same Kevlar trim of Motorola's new devices.
The Intel (single-core) Atom Z2480 has a clock speed of 2GHz although it is hard to compare performance to a new Snapdragon S4 or a Tegra 3, for example, without seeing benchmarks and real-life tests.
Motorola says the device will hit the U.K., France, Germany, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico in October with no release date (if any) for U.S. consumers.
Sony announced early this morning that a new model of the PS3 will hit stores this holiday season, along with a slightly cheaper price tag.
The two new versions will be lighter and smaller than current models.
A new 250GB model will sell for $269 and a 500GB model will sell for $300 starting September 25th. If you live in PAL nations like the EU, you will have a third option with 12GB flash memory instead of an HDD.
The cheaper HDD model will sell in limited edition bundle packaging and include Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception and a voucher worth $30 for DLC for the game Dust 514. The 500GB model will come with Assassin's Creed III. The larger HDD model will also be available in "Classic White" although the console has never been in white making the "classic" part a strange choice.
Sony says the new slim models are 25 percent slimmer than current models.
After weeks of rumors, LG has confirmed it will stay away from platforms that aren't Android.
While promoting the new quad-core Optimus G, LG Mobile Communications CEO Park Jong Seok says the company has "no specific plans for other mobile platforms."
LG was part of an initial group that released Windows Phone 7 devices, but it stayed away from Windows Phone 7.5 and there does not appear to be any active development since the Optimus 7.
Microsoft's upcoming Windows Phone 8 platform is set for launch at the end of October with phones using the operating system slated for early November releases.
A number of companies, including HTC and Samsung, have already announced devices for the mobile OS.
Intel has sent out press invites for their upcoming Windows 8 tablet event.
The event is scheduled for September 27th and it will be an exclusive event for upcoming Windows 8 tablets powered by Intel chips.
Many of the tablets were already revealed by their respective OEMs, and most have a release date for either much later this year or early next year.
Speakers from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung and ZTE are promised for the event and the chip maker is also expected to speak about the next-gen Clover Trail Intel Atom CPU.
Microsoft will unveil their ARM-based Surface tablets on October 26th.
HTC has used their press event in NYC today to unveil two new devices, including the Windows Phone 8X flagship.
The new smartphone comes in an array of colors, will be powered by Windows Phone 8 and cost $199.99 with contract.
HTC has added a rectangular shape just like Nokia's Lumia line, as well as a 4.3-inch 1280x720 Super LCD 2 display with Gorilla Glass 2.
Under the hood is a fast 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor with 1GB of RAM and 16GB internal storage. The 8MP rear camera has a backside illuminated sensor (BSI), LED flash, and HTC's own discrete imaging processor.
Additionally, HTC says "for the first time, we are introducing a 2.1MP, 88° ultra-wide angle front-facing camera that captures more people at once and also supports 1080pvideo capture." Beats Audio technology is built in, thanks to an exclusive agreement.
The Windows Phone 8X by HTC will be available beginning in November through more than 150 carriers in 50+ countries including AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile in the U.S.
Last week, we reported that an anonymous Samsung official claimed the company was preparing to launch the Galaxy S IV in March, after unveiling it at the MWC event in February.
Today, Samsung has officially denied the rumor, saying they just simply are not true.
Of course, this isn't the first time a company has denied a rumor to have it later turn out accurate.
Allegedly, the new device would have a 5-inch, flexible OLED display and the company's own Exynos processors and quad-core chips.
[알려드립니다] 일부 언론에서 보도한 '갤럭시 SⅢ 후속모델 출시 예정' 이라는 추측은 단순루머일 뿐 사실이 아닙니다. 정해진 게 아무것도 없는데 왜 이런 소문이 퍼질까요 ㅜㅜ
Record label Century Media has sued 7000 torrent users this week for allegedly downloading and sharing music from the metal groups Iced Earth and Lacuna Coil.
Century Media has used Jay R. McDaniels of New Jersey for the suit, and the attorney has already filed 16 other cases against alleged file sharers.
Making the case different than others is the fact that McDaniels is trying to have the U.S. District Court consider the file sharers as a "swarm," or a single legal entity.
So far, two judges have refused to grant Century Media that injunction.
Altogether, the attorney has sued 14,000 alleged pirates.
It appears that Asus has already decided to price itself out of the Windows 8 tablet market, in a move that makes little sense.
A leaked holiday roadmap shows the company has three Windows 8 tablets ready to go, starting at $599 and headed up to $1299 for a hybrid.
Check the impressive (but expensive) tablets here (via ZDnet):
Asus will likely have issues selling the devices, especially the more expensive ones, given that most Windows 8 notebooks, including ultrabooks, will cost $1000 or less.
It appears that Amazon may be moving away from Google's Google Maps service, just like Apple is doing with its new iOS 6 operating system.
Earlier this week, Amazon unveiled its own Amazon Maps API, giving developers a chance to build mapping tools into their applications that run on the Kindle Fire and all its variations.
While Amazon does not say its own service will be replacing Google Maps, or even if there will be a standalone app, there is certainly a chance.
Amazon would only go as far as to say that the API is a "simple migration path from Google Maps." You can use it to embed interactive maps into apps, as well as add satellite view, points of interest/business locations and other custom overlays.
The new Amazon Maps API is being powered by Nokia's Location Platform, just like Microsoft's Bing Maps.
According to one source, Adobe's current Photoshop CS6 will be the last version of the editing software to support Windows XP.
The post cites XP's limitations when compared to 11 years of advancements for Photoshop and general computing.
According to the post, "Adobe says that the advantages of more modern operating systems, graphics cards/GPUs, and graphics drivers make possible more improvements in 3D, Blur Gallery, and Lighting Effect features, all features that Windows XP is incapable of rendering."
Windows XP was only recently unseated as the world's most used OS, by the three year old Windows 7.
Microsoft will release the new Windows 8 next month.
Apple announced earlier today that iPhone 5 pre-orders topped 2 million units in just 24 hours.
At 2 million, the sales number is double that of the iPhone 4S from last year, making it by far the fastest-selling smartphone of all-time.
Says Apple: "iPhone 5 pre-orders have shattered the previous record held by iPhone 4S and the customer response to iPhone 5 has been phenomenal. iPhone 5 is the best iPhone yet, the most beautiful product we've ever made, and we hope customers love it as much as we do."
The phone was unveiled last Wednesday and will go on sale this week in stores and online.
Apple's latest adds a new A6 processor, LTE support, a Retina Display 4-inch screen, a thinner frame and a new smaller 'Lightning' dock.
Despite the general consensus that the social network was dead, it appears Google+ is actually thriving.
Vic Gundotra, the Senior Vice President of Engineering for Google has posted some new milestones for the network today:
This week we also hit an important milestone--over 400,000,000 people have upgraded to Google+. It was only a year ago that we opened public sign-up, and we couldn't have imagined that so many people would join in just 12 months. While Google+ is all about creating a better experience across Google, it's also a destination. And here too, I'm happy to report that we have just crossed 100,000,000 monthly active users on Google+ (plus.google.com and mobile app).
Additionally, the company announced the acquisition of Nik Software, the company behind the popular SnapSeed photography editing app for iOS devices.
Last week, Nintendo finally revealed the price of their upcoming Wii U console, with the base model selling for $299 and a Deluxe model selling for $349.
The console goes on sale in the U.S. on November 18th.
Despite mixed thoughts on the console, its price and its specs, demand does not seem to be suffering. GameStop, Best Buy and other large retailers have all sold out of their pre-order stock of the Deluxe Set, which comes with more internal storage and a charging cradle.
The less popular base model is still available from a few retailers, however, so fans shouldn't have too big of an issue getting a console if they really want it.
Besides Best Buy and GameStop; Toys R Us, Kmart, Target and Sears are all sold out of pre-order Deluxe stock.
While the company had a set release time table for Asia and Europe (October), all they would say for the U.S. is "later in 2012."
The latest rumor from multiple sources has AT&T getting the smartphone on October 21st, although the carrier has not confirmed.
Samsung's new device runs on Android 4.1, has a 5.5-inch screen and a new 16:9aspect ratio meaning 1280x720 resolution. Additionally, despite having a larger screen, the Note II is actually thinner than its predecessor, at 9.4mm. The new S Pen is longer, and also thicker than last year's, but with a more ergonomic grip.
The major Canadian carriers, Rogers, Bell, and Telus, have been sued by the Canadian Competition Bureau over misleading ads.
The Bureau is seeking $31 million in damages following a five-month investigation in which the carriers were found to use the ads to promote "premium-rate digital content" such as ringtone clips, horoscopes and more without ever revealing the price to customers.
"Our investigation revealed that consumers were under the false impression that certain texts and apps were free," added Commissioner of Competition Melanie Aitken
CCP is demanding $10 million in damages from each of the three carriers, along with customer refunds and an injunction on the ads.
The carriers in Canada are generally considered an oligarchy, and have used that power to keep rates artificially high and features artificially low.
Angered by the patent case that went against them in the U.S. against Apple, Samsung is said to be looking to make a strong statement by releasing the Galaxy S IV at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) event in February in Spain.
A Samsung official, which asked to remain anonymous said frankly "Samsung is ready to unveil the next Galaxy smartphone, the Galaxy S4, at early next year's mobile world congress (MWC) in the Spanish city of Barcelona."
The device is expected to hit consumer's hands by mid-March at the latest.
In the device, Samsung will use a 5-inch, flexible OLED display, the company's own Exynos processors and quad-core chips.
Additionally, "Samsung is asking Apple to pay more to use its mobile application processors produced at its plant in Austin, Texas. The release of the GS4 means more market share for Samsung as it is the only firm that can guarantee on-time delivery, output commitment and better pricing for mobile application processors," said the executive (via KoreaTimes).
According to a 'previously reliable source,' we have the specs of the upcoming HTC Droid Incredible X (DIx) phone and they are high-end, to say the least.
The device will allegedly have a 5-inch display with 1920 × 1080 resolution. Making that even more impressive is that the display is said to have a 480ppi display, a number that blows away even Apple's Retina Display.
Additionally, the smartphone will be powered by a quad-core Snapdragon S4, 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The phone will even have a second LED notification light on the back of the device.
Furthermore, the phone will have an active pen input, placing it in direct competition with the Samsung Galaxy Note II. Supposedly, the phone will use a new pen however, not the same one used by the failed Flyer tablet.
The launch of the mobile payment service 'Isis,' jointly announced by T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T, has been delayed.
As of today, the launch has been delayed without a time table and Isis is not really revealing why excpet to say: "We're working through a final punch list of things to ensure a great consumer experience and seamless partner integration. The list is short, but a few pieces require additional time."
MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express had all signed on to support the service, which had been planned for a Q3 2012 nationwide launch at popular retail outlets like Macy's and Foot Locker.
The company did add that the delay shouldn't be too long as they are "making sure when we launch we do it properly and do it right." Additionally "the delay is not a result of a change in strategy or a new business model," added a spokesperson.
Major rival Google Wallet has been up and running for months now, and there are a tiny amount (100,000) checkout scanners around the U.S. able to support payments through the system.
According to multiple sources, Microsoft has shipped the RTM version of Windows Phone 8, meaning it is now up to carriers and OEMs to test the OS with their upcoming phones before launch in late October.
The sources say Microsoft finalized and shipped the OS on September 14th and evidence supports the notion despite Microsoft giving no comment.
So far, the Windows Phone 8 SDK has not been available to anyone outside of employees and a few Connect testers, but will likely be released very soon if the news is accurate.
Additionally, the sources say the launch will be October 29th at a press event in San Francisco with the devices shipping very shortly after in early November.
Windows Phone 8 adds multi-core processor support, NFC support, microSD storage, HD screen resolutions and secure boot.
T-Mobile has confirmed it will begin stocking nano-SIM cards starting next month for unlocked iPhone 5 owners.
The carrier has made it a priority to bring in iPhone owners, even though the phone is not supported on its 3G or 4G networks, making it almost useless given 2G/EDGE's slow speeds.
In order to attract even more iPhone owners, T-Mobile has iPhone-supported 4G HSPA+ in major markets Seattle, Las Vegas, and New York City, with more cities gaining access in the near future.
Apple recently unveiled the iPhone 5, which features a 4-inch Retina Display, a new A6 processor, a new 'Lightning' dock connector, the nano-SIM slot, iOS 6, LTE support and a thinner frame.
Google has announced this weekend that it will be officially discontinuing support for Internet Explorer 8 for all of its web services starting on November 15th.
"As we announced last year, we support the latest version of Google Chrome (which automatically updates whenever it detects that a new version of the browser is available) as well as the current and prior major release of Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari on a rolling basis. Each time a new version of one of these browsers is released, we begin supporting the update and stop supporting the third-oldest version," added the search giant.
User with IE8 accessing Google apps, such as Gmail or Drive, will see messages stating they should upgrade if they want to keep full compatibility.
While it won't be an issue for most people to upgrade to the better IE9 (or another browser), anyone running a Windows XP PC will be out of luck given the fact that IE8 is the latest version of IE allowed to run on XP. Windows XP still accounts for about 29 percent global market share, thanks mainly to corporations slow to upgrade to Windows 7 and pirates in China. Windows 7 controls 51.4 percent market share, notes PCM.
Samsung has blatantly made fun of the new Apple iPhone 5 today with an ad that will start running in national newspapers beginning tomorrow.
The ad shows off the specs of the Galaxy S III against the new iPhone 5, although it really isn't a competition.
Furthermore, the ad starts with "It doesn't take a genius," a clear message that one phone is superior to the other, while also referencing Apple's "Genius" customer service employees.
Most comically, Samsung dismisses Apple's new 'Lightning' dock as "a totally different plug" instead of calling it by name.
HP's new CEO, Meg Whitman, has said today the company will 'ultimately have to offer a smartphone.'
In early 2010, the company purchased up what was left of Palm to take advantage of the webOS mobile operating system. 18 months later and one failed tablet later, HP decided to discontinue all development and make the OS open sourced.
Whitman says the company is now looking to get back in the business because smartphones are quickly replacing all "computer-like" devices, including actual PCs, in some countries.
It is unclear which OS the tech giant will use, as we can't imagine it would ever be a variant of webOS again.
The most reasonable choice is likely Windows Phone 8 (or later) given the company's strong ties to Microsoft.
Last week, Amazon unveiled its new line of Kindle Fire tablets, starting with the low-end Kindle Fire for $159 and moving up to its Kindle Fire HD 8.9 with LTE at $400.
Unfortunately, the 8.9 will not be available until late November, so Amazon has teased us with the 7-inch $200 version of the tablet which does not include a mobile data radio.
Unlike the first generation Kindle Fire, which frankly felt like a "beta" test, the new device and its parent company have strived for something more cohesive and with a plan in mind. The tablet is 100 percent Amazon, with very little remnants of Android left over; just the way Amazon wanted it.
In this review we will see if Amazon has succeeded in putting together more than just a portal to their content and actually built a contender.
Microsoft revealed more details about Office for Windows RT this week, letting consumers know that it will be pre-loaded on all Windows RT devices.
The suite will be optimized for the ARM processor of upcoming tablets and devices will come with "preview editions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. After the final edition of Office Home & Student 2013 RT is released in a customer's language, their Windows RT device will be automatically updated with the final edition for free via Windows Update."
In regards to a time table, the company says customers will get the final update beginning in early November through January, dependent on the language involved.
Outlook is notably missing from the software, and email features built into other parts of the suite have been removed, as well.
Additionally, macros, add-ins and the ability to create data models have been removed from Excel 2013 and ActiveX controls have gone missing, as well.
eBay has updated their logo, moving away from the the look they've had since inception.
The new design will "retain bits of the brand's history while reflecting its position as a modern, reliable marketplace that offers a variety of buying/selling experiences."
In the new logo, the letters are more streamlined while keeping the same rainbow design as its original logo.
Adds Ebay president Devin Wenig: The new logo reflects eBay's place as "a global online marketplace that offers a cleaner, more contemporary and consistent experience."
eBay's branding firm, Lippincott noted: "We wanted to reflect the right amount of change in Ebay's new logo. We leveraged the iconic color arrangement and approachable form to reflect Ebay's heritage, and evolved it with a brighter blue and darker yellow and a streamlined arrangement to create more visual harmony." Overall, "The design is inspired by today's vibrant marketplace and sleeker experiences."
Apple has confirmed that the iPhone 5 will be sold unlocked in the U.S., although those looking for a non-contract device will have to wait a little bit longer.
You will not be able to pre-order an unlocked device tomorrow when the phone is made available for release on the 21st. Additionally, the unlocked model will not be available online or in-store on the 21st, either.
Pricing was revealed, however, with the base model selling for $649 and going up to $849 for the 64GB model.
Apple says the unlocked phone will be available in "the next several weeks" but with no set date.
The company unveiled the phone yesterday with a thinner frame, a 4-inch screen, a new A6 processor and LTE support.
According to McAfee, actress Emma Watson is the most dangerous celebrity to search for online, if you hope to avoid malware.
Watson is best known for playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter franchise.
The actress is followed by Jessica Biel, Eva Mendes and Selena Gomez. Biel is no stranger to the list, having topped it in 2009.
McAfee adds that when users search for their favorite stars, whether it be pictures or news, they are not as active in monitoring what they click.
For Emma Watson, for example, there is a one-in-eight chance of reaching a malicious site. Adding extra terms like "Emma Watson nude pictures" highly increases the chances, adds the anti-virus company.
Despite pricing the console at $338 in Japan, Nintendo has priced the upcoming console cheaper for U.S. consumers.
Set for release on November 18th, the base model will cost $300 while the deluxe edition will sell for $350.
The base model will include the Wii U console with 8GB memory and the Wii U GamePad in all white. The deluxe edition comes with 32GB and a GamePad charging cradle. Additionally, it will come bundled with the game NintendoLand.
President Reggie Fils-Aime says neither version will come with regular Wii U controllers since the console is backwards compatible with all existing Wii controllers.
There was no word on how much additional GamePad controllers will cost, but in Japan, an additional touchscreen remote will cost you 13,000 yen ($167). That being said, we expect controllers in the U.S. to cost around $150.
Nintendo has revealed it will release the Wii U console on December 8th in Japan.
The company will sell two models of the system, starting at 26,250 yen ($337 USD) for a base model and 31,500 yen ($405) for a premium variety.
In the base model, the console will only have 8GB internal storage while the more expensive version will feature 32GB and additional stands for the tablet controller.
Those looking to buy an additional GamePad tablet controller will have to pay up, with the touchscreen remote costing 13,000 yen ($167).
The controller allows gamers to complete certain in-game tasks while the main action continues on the big screen. For example, gamers may be able to switch weapons, check maps, or change inventory items from the tablet while still fighting enemies on the TV.
Additionally, you can keep playing a game on the tablet when you have to leave the room with the TV in it.
Nintendo's president, Satoru Iwata, added that the console would launch with the New Super Mario Bros U.
Apple has confirmed it will be shutting down its failed Ping service on September 30th.
The company is no longer accepting new members, either.
Ping was a software-based, music-oriented social networking and discovery system service that worked in conjunction with iTunes.
Although it launched with over a million members in 23 countries in 2010, it never gained traction and Apple effectively put the final nail in the coffin earlier this year by adding Facebook and Twitter integration into iTunes.
In May, CEO Tim Cook admitted Ping's failure, stating, "I think the customer voted and said this isn't something I want to put a lot of energy into. Apple doesn't need to have a social network."
The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking $1 billion from Taiwanese display maker AU Optronics, which has been convicted of price fixing in the LCD market.
AUO, along with six other manufacturers, were found guilty in March of price-fixing in the market and being a "cartel."
So far, the other LCD makers have paid a combined $860 million in fines.
Additionally, the DOJ is demanding 10-year jail sentences for two executives of the company, Hsuan Bin Chen and Hui Hsiung, both of which have been found guilty of allowing the scheme.
Nintendo has confirmed it will reveal the price (for Japan) and final specs of the upcoming Wii U console at 3:00 am EST.
Later in the day, at 10am, the company will have a larger press event in NYC, where they are expected to reveal the price for the North American market.
The company is also expected to show off a few launch titles, including a number of 1st party titles like Mario or Zelda.
Nintendo's upcoming console is small at 1.8 inches high, 10.5 inches deep and 6.8 inches long and is powered by an IBM Power-based multi-core processor and an AMD Radeon-based High DefinitionGPU.
The biggest selling point is the Wii U GamePad controller, which is a 6.2-inch tablet with full gaming controls, a camera, NFC and more.
Despite a similar system being a complete failure in France, the United States is on the path to introducing a 'six strikes' program for alleged pirates.
Center for Copyright Information (CCI) boss Jill Lesser says the program is slated to be launched by the end of the year, following an almost 12 month delay. The CCI has worked with major ISPs and the media companies to come up with the system which progressively sends out warnings to alleged online pirates. Eventually the warnings will cease and will lead to penalties.
Lesser says the system will cover 75 percent of all American Internet users when deployed.
The exec also says the system will be more of an educational program: "It is not a six strikes program. This is an educational program; there are a series of educational alerts that will be sent out to subscribers."
Through this education, Lesser hopes pirates will be steered towards legal content, which is readily becoming easier to access.
Google has announced a new milestone for Android, 500 million installs.
Android Director of Product Development Hugo Barra made the announcement via his Google+ page, and also added that Android is seeing 1.3 million new activations every day.
The numbers are certainly unprecedented, and show why Android is the top mobile OS in the world.
Android is on 52 percent of all smartphones, globally, followed by Apple's iPhone at about 35 percent, depending on different data firms. RIM still has an 8 percent share, while Windows Phone quietly has moved to around 3 percent.
Alongside the introduction of the new iPhone 5 and the new iPod Touch, Apple also announced a redesign of the iTunes media player.
The new player offers better integration with iCloud and a "simplified" interface.
Apple says the new software, which will be available next month, will be "dramatically simpler and cleaner" and will move all your favorite iTunes content to the home page.
"We created iTunes because we love music and we're going back to our roots with an incredibly clean design that keeps your music at the forefront," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "The new iTunes works seamlessly with iCloud, always keeping your entire library at your fingertips, and we're adding great new features that make listening to your music more fun."
iCloud allows you to access your iTunes purchased content via any iOS or Mac device, as well as on a PC or through Apple TV via the cloud.
Outside of their major iPhone announcement, Apple did show off some other new products today, including a more colorful line of iPod Touch media players.
Just like its cellular-based brother, the new Touch has a 4-inch Retina Display, the new "Lightning" dock connector and iOS 6.
Additionally, the devices have added an A5 processor, a 5MP iSight camera, and a new thinner anodized aluminum design. The device will also come in 5 colors, moving away from the standard black.
"With over 350 million sold, iPod is the world's most popular and beloved music player," added Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Music lovers may have a difficult time deciding between the reinvented iPod nano, the thinnest iPod ever, and the all-new iPod touch with its stunning 4-inch Retina display, 5 megapixel iSight camera and ultra-thin design--both in beautiful new colors."
According to a Sony exec, the company is considering the Windows Phone platform for future smartphones.
Sony Mobile currently uses Android with Sony's own user interface overlay but has at least begun investigating into an alternative.
"Sony's strategy is one of openness. Microsoft is a Sony partner with the likes of our Vaio laptops and it is integrated onto our tablets. As far as Xperia smartphones go, Android remains the preferred partner, although Sony is not a single partner company. We are currently investigating with the likes of Microsoft the possibility of diversifying our product strategy," added Pierre Perron, managing director of Sony Mobile in the UK and Ireland.
Waiting until Windows Phone 8 could be a smart move for Sony, as Windows Phone 7 (and 7.5) have not been very successful, especially due to features that lagged behind established mobile operating systems like Android and iOS. Windows Phone 8 is expected to bridge the gap significantly and has created buzz before its launch in early November.
UltraViolet is a cloud-based library of your digitally-owned films, backed by the major movie studios.
RegH says "the move will see DDP added to UV's Common File Format (CFF) specification, and Dolby has a development kit available to allow content providers to add DDP audio into their UV assets."
A specific timetable has not been set, and using DDP will not be mandatory.
Already purchased UltraViolet titles will be upgraded once content providers update the actual movie files stored in the cloud.
Valve has announced the first set of titles first submitted through Steam Greenlight to be picked up for global distribution.
Each of the games will be released independently in the coming months depending on when the projects are completed.
Here is the list:
Black Mesa
Cry of Fear
Dream
Heroes & Generals
Kenshi
McPixel
No More Room in Hell
Project Zomboid
Routine
Towns
Many of these games should be familiar to those who follow Source and gaming in general as many have been in development for as long as 5 years.
"The Steam community rallied around these titles and made them the clear choice for the first set of titles to launch out of Greenlight," said Anna Sweet of Valve. "Since launch, hundreds of titles have been submitted, with more coming in every day. We expect to be announcing more titles coming to Steam via Greenlight soon."
Fox has announced it will begin selling HD digital copies of films weeks before their retail release on DVD and Blu-ray.
The first film to get such treatment will be 'Prometheus' which will be available as an UltraViolet title on September 18th, weeks before the title's October 11th retail date. Despite it being a UV title, you will not need a UV account.
Additionally, due to much smaller overhead, the company is offering the movie for $15 as a digital copy compared to $40 MSRP on Blu-ray and $30 MSRP on DVD. Of course, retailers have cheaper prices, with Wal-Mart and Amazon selling the DVD for $20 on pre-order and $28 on Blu-ray.
Prometheus is part of Fox's Digital HD initiative which will bring 600 films to new devices and new retailers including Amazon, CinemaNow, Sony's PS3, the Xbox 360, iTunes and Vudu.
Earlier this summer, Mozilla announced its first mobile operating system, dubbed Firefox OS.
The company is looking to have the OS installed on low-end smartphones in Brazil starting in the Q1 2013. The OS itself is based on HTML5, which has quickly become the new coding standard for web sites and applications.
Until this week, Mozilla has only released an alpha version of the software for devs and shown some screenshots for potential consumers. A new video shows a full demo, including the features of the OS.
There isn't anything mind blowing, and the OS does appear to still be laggy, but for cheap phones aimed at a single market there is a chance at success.
Adds Mozila: "Due to the optimization of the platform for entry-level smartphones and the removal of unnecessary middleware layers, mobile operators will have the ability to offer richer experiences at a range of price points including at the low end of the smartphone price range, helping to drive adoption across developing markets."
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has confirmed it will layoff more employees than originally planned, 29,000 compared to 27,000 first stated.
In a filing with the SEC, the world's largest computer maker says it will "eliminate approximately 29,000 positions in connection with the 2012 Plan through fiscal year 2014."
29,000 is about 9 percent of the company's global workforce. The company says the layoffs will help save roughly $3.3 billion, nearly all of which will be put into R&D. Current research and development is pegged at 3 percent of revenue, but that will go up.
As of the summer, the company has already laid off 3800 employees. Most of the layoffs so far have been from the data centers and consultants.
Despite a large year-over-year decline, the company remains the top PC maker although many expect Lenovo to surpass them in the coming quarter.
GoDaddy, hit by a day-long DNS outage that has affected thousands of customers, is now letting its rival VeriSign do the hosting.
This afternoon, GoDaddy transferred control of their DNS servers to VeriSign, signalling the site was unclear when they would be back up and running.
Websites and emails for small businesses were taken down, leading to distraught customers, and with good reason.
Earlier today, GoDaddy posted this statement: "We are experiencing intermittent outages. This is impacting our site and some customers' sites. The issue started shortly after 10am PDT." Additionally, CEO Scott Wagner added: "We are experiencing problems.nWe understand this is impacting some customers, and we take this situation very seriously. Everyone at GoDaddy.com is working to restore all sites affected by this outage as soon as possible."
GoDaddy hosts 5 million sites.
Anonymous hackers claimed credit for the outage, however it is an unverified claim as of yet. The company made enemies when it openly supported CISPA and SOPA, generally panned anti-piracy and spying measures introduced to Congress.
Following the marginal success of their Nabi tablet, retailer Toys R Us has launched a sequel, the Tabeo.
The tablet runs on Android 4.0, has a 7-inch display, 4GB internal storage and is powered by a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor with 1GB RAM.
Additionally, the device has a microSD slot, dual cameras, Wi-Fi and HDMI connectivity, and supposed battery life of 10 hours.
Making it aimed at kids (and parents) is built-in parental controls that blocks websites based on 27 categories, with parents being able to add or remove from that list from their PCs. The Tabeo also allows parents to limit how long a child can access the Internet or how long they play games.
The Tabeo comes pre-loaded with 20 games including premium versions of Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Cut the Rope, and Temple Run. There also additional apps aimed at education and activities such as photography and cooking. The Tabeo App Store is also pre-filtered, but does have a decent amount of apps.
Unveiled just last month, Sony has put the Xperia S tablet up for sale today.
Following the failed launches of their under-powered and expensive Tablet S and Tablet P models, the new Xperia S will actually be able to compete with other leaders in the space. Using the ergonomic wedge design and integrated IR remote from the Tablet S, Sony has added Android 4.0, a Tegra 3 quad-core processor at 1.3GHz, removed the proprietary charger, and dropped the price a bit.
The tablet has a 9.4-inch IPS screen with 1,280x800-pixelresolution and a Sony TruBlack panel, leading to more "vibrant colors, deeper blacks, and minimal screen reflections," says the company.
Additionally, the tablet has 1GB RAM, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth 3.0, a gyroscope, and an accelerometer. There is a full SD card slot and an HDMI input, as well as dual cameras 1/8MP.
9to5 has received some official blueprints of the upcoming Apple 'spaceship' campus.
The images show off some of the outside and interior designs of the campus, which was overseen by the late Steve Jobs.
Apple has dubbed the building "Campus 2," and it is almost one mile in circumference with 3.1 million square feet.
The location will house an Office, Research and Development Building, a 1,000 seat Corporate Auditorium, a Corporate Fitness Center, 300,000 feet of Research Facilities, a Central Plant, a 150-acre interior courtyard and be home to 12,000 employees.
According to a top U.S. cybersecurity official, other nations have been employing 'reckless' cyber attacks without 'any sense of restraint.'
Debora Plunkett of the secretive National Security Agency (NSA), says that such behaviors were not seen even during the height of the Cold War: "We're starting to see nation-state resources and expertise employed in what we would characterize as reckless and disruptive, destructive behaviors. Some of today's national cyber actors don't seem to be bound by any sense of restraint."
The official also predicted that Congress would pass a cybersecurity legislation within the next year, following failed attempts such as CISPA and SOPA.
Officials in the Obama administration have long accused China, Russia and others of hacking or attempting to hack U.S. computer networks for espionage, corporate secret stealing or other economic gain. On the other hand, the U.S. has been accused of helping Israel to launch cyber attacks on Iran in an effort to derail their nuclear program.
Amazon has confirmed that its new high-end Kindle Fire HD 8.9 with 4G has not yet been approved by the FCC.
The device is set for release on November 20th but pre-orders began earlier this week for the $500 tablet.
Amazon sent out confirmation emails to anyone who pre-ordered adding the following note: "We will send you an email asking you to confirm your pre-order of Kindle Fire when it is approved for sale by the Federal Communications Commission."
FCC approval is necessary for all devices that include wireless communications to ensure they operate safely. Of course, the device will be approved for its dual-band Wi-Fi and 4G radio, it is now just a matter of when and whether it will delay shipment.
Analysts say it is a strange move to unveil a high-profile item in such a fashion without already having approval. Amazon cannot ship the product until it has approval.
LG has announced the U.S. availability of their 84-inch 4K-resolution 3D LED TV.
The LG UD 84LM9600 will sell for $20,000 and be available in early October, says the company.
"Ultra-definition television will transform the giant-screen viewing experience in the years ahead, and LG is proud to bring this new technology to market so that discerning U.S. consumers can enjoy a fully immersive home theater experience," added Jay Vandenbree, LG USA's senior vice president of home entertainment.
The massive display has a 3840 x 2160 resolution, double that of a 1080p TV on both the vertical and horizontal scales.
Additionally, the TV has Wi-Fi, Cinema 3D and LG's Smart TV tech, with access to apps and premium subscription services.
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has confirmed the phone maker is looking "very closely" into building a Windows 8 tablet.
The CEO says there is a "real opportunity" in creating a Nokia tablet because tablets are "a natural companion to smartphones."
Additionally, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 will supposedly provide a strong unified user experience no matter device you are on, be it a phone, tablet, or PC, due to shared underlying code.
If accurate, the move would be only the second time Nokia has tried the tablet market. Back in 2005 the company offered a bulky Linux-based device which of course flopped due to being well before its time and lacking applications.
For now, there is no word on whether the company is actually developing a tablet, although there have been rumors throughout the year.
After being sued over alleged ebook price fixing earlier this year, three publishers instantly settled, avoiding a trial.
Those publishers; Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster, agreed on a payout of $69 million to American consumers two weeks ago, needing a final approval by the US DOJ.
This week, the DOJ has approved the settlement despite strong objections from Apple and other book publishers that Amazon would destroy the competition with discounts. The "agency model" of pricing had publishers set the price while retailers took a commission, usually 30 percent. This led to higher prices for consumers. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote says the settlement "appears reasonably calculated to restore retail price competition to the market."
With the settlement, the publishers will have to move away from the pricing system started in 2010 with Apple, in which the publishers charge a fixed price for new books and used books, not allowing retailers (mainly Amazon) to discount at will.
Apple and two publishers, Penguin and Macmillan, also argued it would be unfair to approve the settlement before they each go on trial next year to fight the charges. The Judge did not agree.
Asus has finally pulled the plug on their netbook pioneer line, the Eee PCs.
Announced in 2007 at the then unheard of price of $199, the Eee PC netbooks started a trend that lasted just three years until the introduction of the Apple iPad in 2010.
As with most netbooks, the Eee line featured a number of underpowered devices that often did not work as expected but were ultraportable and sufficed for secondary devices mainly used for web browsing.
Asus will now direct customers to their new Transformer tablets, which come with an optional dock that make them as productive as netbooks except with touch screens and more powerful internals.
Allegedly, Acer and MSI will also be discontinuing their netbook offerings this year.
Google has purchased the browser-based URL scanner VirusTotal for an undisclosed amount.
How VirusTotal works is simple; head over to the site and either select a file from your computer or paste a URL. The service will then tell you whether it is infected or not.
Currently, the company has a desktop app and browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and IE.
The company says it will continue to operate independently from Google whilst keeping all existing partnerships. Google can help "ensure that our tools are always ready, right when you need them," added the company.
It is unclear what Google intends to do with the service or any intellectual rights it may have acquired.
According to multiple sources, Spotify is preparing to launch a browser-based version of its popular service.
Additionally, the company will focus more discovery, "including following the listening habits and playlists of influencers in addition to your friends," says Crunch.
Spotify has been very successful since its launch in the U.S. last year, with 7.7 million daily users, 22 million monthly users and 4 million paying for premium subscriptions.
Subscriptions cost $5 a month for ad-free desktop service or $10 for mobile access and ad-free access.
There is little other info about the browser version, but it will likely be a full replacement to the current standalone app. Time will tell.
Earlier this week, Amazon revealed their complete new line of Kindle Fire devices to a strongly favorable response.
One feature that critics were less favorable of was the fact that all of the devices came with Amazon's Special Offers by default, shaving some money off the list price for all consumers but also placing ads on the lock screen.
While the ads are normally pretty unobtrusive, as far as ads go, not everyone wants to see them whenever their device goes to screensaver.
Today, Amazon has confirmed there is a way out.
Users can pay $15 to opt-out of the ads for as long as they own the device: "We know from our Kindle reader line that customers love our special offers and very few people choose to opt out. We're happy to offer customers the choice."
This new offer is cheaper than the $30 it cost to opt-out of the original Kindle reader with Special Offers.
According to Reuters, Apple has reduced its memory chip order from rival Samsung for the upcoming iPhone 5.
Samsung is Apple's core supplier, producing displays, processors and NAND and DRAM chips. Samsung's materials are found in all current iOS devices.
The source says the move has nothing to do with the company's ongoing war with Samsung over patents relating to popular devices, and is instead a move to diversify its supply line away from practically just one company.
Instead of Samsung, the company will use a mix of Toshiba, Elpida and SK Hynix DRAM and NAND chips.
"Samsung is still in the list of initial memory chip suppliers (for new iPhones). But Apple orders have been trending down and Samsung is making up for the reduced order from others, notably Samsung's own handset business," the source said.
HADOPI, the French anti-piracy agency in charge of sending out warning letters and eventually kicking pirates off the Internet for 'three strikes,' did very little of either during the last two years.
According to new data, rightsholders identified over 3 million IP addresses that should be sent 'first strike' warning letters while HADOPI narrowed that down to 1.1 million. 9 percent of those received a second warning while just 0.34 percent ever got to the "third strike" stage. Laughably, 0.0012 percent were referred to the courts.
Despite being a three strike system, the under 400 citizens who got to that point never lost their Internet. Apparently, if you do not get caught during the 12 months following your third strike, the file is not forwarded to prosecutors.
14 citizens were sent to prosecutors, but that was because they refused to respond to any warnings
Lady Gaga has noted this week that her next album, ARTPOP, will be released as a PC and mobile app.
The musician says ARTPOP will be a "multimedia experience" that will allow fans to "fully immerse" themselves in the project.
"I'm excited to tell you all that ARTPOP is going to be a multimedia experience that comes in different forms," she added. "The most major way to fully immerse yourself in ARTPOP is through the app."
The album will be released in the Spring of 2013.
Gaga says the extra content will include extra music, videos, chat options and even games: "You [the fans] inspired me to create something that communicated with images, because YOU do, YOU communicate with me and each other. I'm hoping you will all continue to grow together and stay connected through your creativity."
Of course, there were also be CDs and digital albums available.
Okay, so that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but NPD Group's latest figures certainly do not paint a pretty picture for the struggling industry.
Overall sales fell 20 percent in August (year-over-year), to $515.6 million, falling for the ninth straight month. Sales include hardware, software and accessories but do not include PC games, used titles, mobile titles or digital downloads.
"What we're seeing impact August results is the domino effect of the light release schedule from earlier in the year," NPD's video game analyst Anita Frazier said. "That lack of new releases has had a significant impact on subsequent month's sales."
In June, sales fell 29 percent YoY and then again 20 percent in July.
Console sales were the biggest laggards, down 39 percent, while software sales fell 11 percent: "The current hardware systems are showing their age, so it goes without saying that it would be great to have new systems breathe life into traditional retail industry sales," Frazier added. "I am anxious to learn more about the Wii U launch later this month. And with any luck we will hear news about other systems on the horizon."
According to the WSJ, Apple is preparing to launch a streaming radio service similar to that of market leader Pandora.
Allegedly, the company is in talks with the music labels to get licensing agreements for the service.
As with all new Apple products, the service would work on all Macs and iOS devices and will likely work via Windows desktops, as well. The report says Microsoft and Android will be left out in the mobile market, however.
Pandora's stock collapsed 17 percent on the report, taking its market value from around $2 billion to about $1.75 billion.
If Apple is serious about such a service, it could certainly afford to buy Pandora outright, as the company still have $117 billion in cash.
The codenamed HTC 'Accord' will hit retail with the final name HTC 8X, says a source close to the company.
If accurate, the insider says the device will ship with a 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD 2 HD display, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage and an 8MP camera with a nice f/2.0 lens.
As is standard, the camera will include autofocus, LED flash and 1080p recording. Supposedly, a 2.1MP front-facing camera will include an "ultra-wide angle" lens which will allow for 1080p recording and clearer video chatting.
Thanks to their partnership, the 8X will also come with built-in Beats Audio tech, and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, WiFi, GPS and NFC.
The device will use a microSIM and it is unclear if it will have a microSD slot.
The US DOJ has announced today that Arizona man Joshua Schichtel has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for selling access to botnets as well as using the nets to perform DDoS attacks on numerous businesses.
Schichtel was allegedly part of the hacking group 'DDOS Mafia,' a group that performed the attacks on behalf of a business owner against his rivals.
The hacker plead guilty last August to a single count of attempting to cause damage to multiple computers without authorization by the transmission of programs, codes or commands. The charge was a violation of the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Schichtel plead guilty to installing malware on 72,000 computers that then became part of the botnet.
For this job, the business owner paid Schichtel a measly $1500.
Samsung proudly announced this week that the new Galaxy S III has reached 20 million in sales.
Back in July, the company had confirmed 10 million, so it appears sales are still strong for the flagship smartphone.
In Europe, the phone has sold 6 million units, while selling 4.5 million in Asia, 4 million in North America and 2.5 million in Korea, where Samsung is based.
Altogether, it took just 100 days to reach the milestone, quicker than any other phone on the market by a long shot when excluding the iPhone.
The line has been a hit for Samsung, with 24 million Galaxy S being sold and 28 million Galaxy S II being sold over their course of their lifetimes.
Although it has of course remained unconfirmed by Nintendo, there is now some decently strong evidence that the upcoming Wii U will cost $249 at launch.
Wholesale media distribution company VPD has let it slip that the Wii U will make its American and Canadian debut on November 11th, starting with a base price of $249.99.
Additional SKUs will price at $300 and $350, although it is unclear what comes in each bundle.
VPD accidentally posted and then quickly removed the product pages with the information.
Nintendo will unveil more about the console, including release date, on September 13th during an event in NYC.
In fact, 20.9 percent of Android devices now have Android 4.0-4.04, up from 16 percent last month.
The latest, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, clocked in at 1.2 percent, which makes sense given there are only a handful of devices with an official update and a few smooth working ROMs out there.
Getting older by the second, Android 2.3 Gingerbread fell to 57.5 percent share, down 3 percentage points from last month.
Still shockingly, 18 percent of devices are running Android 1.5 through 2.2 Froyo.
As you may or may not be sick of hearing, Amazon revamped their entire Kindle Fire line today, updating the original tablet and adding three more with a bevy of new software features to go along with the updated hardware.
In this article we will go over the new software features that are available to upcoming Kindle Fire HD owners.
Whispersync for Voice Whispersync for Voice lets customers who own the ebook and (possibly) the audiobook of a title seamlessly switch between both. For example, Amazon says if you are reading a book and then need to drive, Whispersync will sync you right to where you left off in the book to the audiobook and let you listen from there. You will need the Audible app, and it is unclear whether you need to own the audiobook as well or whether there is a deal cut with Audible.
Whispersync for Games Similar to all other Whispersync features, For Games will allow you to save your place in the game when moving to a new device while also keeping all progress saved in the cloud.
X-Ray for Movies X-Ray, an Amazon exclusive, directly integrates IMDB into any movie. You can look up any actor in any scene, see what other films any actor has been in, as well as their photos and bios just with one click.
In a direct effort to take on the 7-inch Google Nexus 7, Amazon has introduced the Kindle Fire HD 7 with a price tag of $199.
The 7" Kindle Fire HD has many similar features to the 8.9, which will release in November. The device has an HD display with 1280x800 resolution along with Gorilla Glass.
Just like its brother, the HD 7 has Dolby audio and dual-driver stereo speakers, dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi, a powerful dual-core processor with Imagination PowerVR 3D graphics and all the new software featured in the rest of the line (more in depth article coming up).
Additionally, their is a new front-side camera for chatting with the pre-installed Skype app. You get free unlimited cloud storage through Amazon, as well.
Finally, the tablet promises 11 hours battery life, very strong for the price point.
For 16GB, the price is $199, compared to 8GB at the same price for the Nexus 7. 32GB is $249. Pre-orders began today and the item will ship on the 14th.
As part of their large press event today in which they unveiled the new flagship Kindle Fire HD 8.9, the company also unveiled an updated version of their popular 7-inch Kindle Fire which will sell for just $159, undercutting even Google's latest device by $40.
The new update has the same sized display as its predecessor but now with a "40 percent faster processor," double the RAM and 2 hours longer battery life.
Additionally, the Fire also gets Whispersync, X-Ray, Immersion, FreeTime and Whispersync Voice.
As with all the new devices, Amazon's "Special Offers" will show on the lock screen. This may anger some users but anyone who has used the Kindles with Special Offers know they are about as unobtrusive as ads can get.
The new Fire begins shipping September 14th, well before its more expensive cousin.
As expected, Amazon has used their press event today to unveil a larger Kindle Fire, one that should make it a stronger contender in the tablet market.
The new Kindle Fire HD has an 8.9-inch screen, 1920x1200 resolution and 254ppi display.
Powering the device is a 1.5GHz dual-core Texas Instruments OMAP 4470 processor which should outperform the quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 with less power drain. Amazon has also introduced an HD front-facing camera, HDMI output, Bluetooth connectivity, and "a laminated touch sensor for better visuals and 25 percent less glare."
Additionally, the HD also has stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus audio, improved dual-band Wi-Fi and two antennas using MIMO radio technology which should allow for 40 percent faster downloading than any tablet on the market. The base model has 16GB of internal storage.
Despite its larger size, the Fire HD is 20 ounces and just 8.8 mm thin.
Motorola Mobility, now part of Google, used today's press event in New York City to unveil three new additions to their Razr smartphone family.
The Droid Razr HD and the Droid Razr Maxx HD are the new flagships while the Razr M is more for those with a tighter budget.
Starting with the Maxx HD, the phone has a 4.7-inch, 1280-by-720 Super AMOLED HD display with 312 pixel-per-inch density and Motorola's own ColorBoost technology which makes for 'more vibrant color reproduction.'
The phone is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4, which should be as efficient and powerful as quad-core equivalents. Inside is 32GB internal storage and a massive 3300mAh battery. Dual cameras 8/1.3MP are standard as is a microSD slot, NFC, LTE and an HDMI port.
Today during their joint press conference, Nokia unveiled some interesting figures relating to their Lumia devices.
The company says it has sold 7 million so far, on a global basis, selling the phones in 54 markets and through 130 operators.
As it has been for a decade, the U.S. proved to be a difficult sell for the company, with Nokia only shipping 600,000 handsets there in the last quarter. By comparison, Apple sold over 25 million iPhones in the last quarter and Samsung sold over 45 million smartphones.
Growth was strong, however, with Nokia selling 4 million in the last quarter, up from about 1 million in the quarter before it.
Today, the company also launched its first Windows Phone 8 devices, the Lumia 820 and 920, which expect to sell well this year when Microsoft launches its new operating system.
Nokia has used their press event today to unveil two new flagships, the Lumia 820 and 920.
As rumored, the new devices will come with new features like wireless charging, and "true offline" navigation, as well as the new Windows Phone 8 operating system.
Jo Harlow, EVP at Nokia, introduced the phones today at the press event in NYC. Adds Harlow: "We've taken several steps in the last 18 months and today we're ready to take the next step. The Lumia 920 is a smartphone experience so immersive that you'll never want to put it down."
The 920 has a nice 4.5-inch TrueBlack display and a fast dual-core S4 Snapdragon processor. The phone also offers a curved glass display just like the Lumia 800 before it. A new addition to Windows Phone is a microSD slot. Always fans of nice cameras, Nokia brought the PureView software from its 808 phone, adding that the camera catches 10x more light than other smartphones, making it ideal for dark shots.
A new feature is 'City Lens,' an augmented reality piece of software that 'overlays details about nearby points of interest or businesses onto the phone's display - providing information including reviews, ratings and contact information for nearby shops or restaurants at a glance,' says ZD.
A judge has ruled that Oracle must pay $1 million to Google to reimburse them for trial costs.
The expensive trial, in which Oracle accused Google of patent violations related to Java in the Android mobile operating system, ended up with Google being the victor.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup approved Google's request to have costs recovered because they were the winning party.
Google had requested $3 million for the costs of experts and electronic searches but the full amount was rejected.
Facebook's stock continued its quick descent into new all-time lows, again.
The latest drop came thanks to Morgan Stanley, the bank which was the lead underwriter for the company's public offering months ago.
Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients that the giant social network continues to struggle in their efforts to target mobile users with ads. Users see thirty times the amount of ads when browsing on the desktop site.
Unfortunately for Facebook, more and more users are browsing the site via their phones and tablets, cutting into revenue.
Facebook's stock fell to $17.73 today, giving the company a market value of $38 billion. The company IPO'd at $38 and reached $45 at one point, giving it a value of $100 billion.
Apple has sent out invitations for an event on September 12th in San Francisco in which they are widely expected to unveil the latest iPhone.
The invite simply says "It's almost here" with a shadow number '5,' suggesting the new device will be called the iPhone 5.
Over the months, the device has seen all kinds of "leaks" and rumors, but only a few have stuck. The new phone is expected to have a larger 4-inch screen, a thinner frame, a quad-core processor, LTE support, and a new 8-pin dock connector.
The phone is expected to begin selling on the 21st.
Pay cable channel Epix has signed a new digital content deal with Amazon, breaking the current exclusive agreement the channel has with Netflix.
With the deal, movies from Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM will be made available via Amazon Prime alongside the existing 25,000 movies and TV episodes already in the catalog.
A few of the most notable films are recent hits like 'The Avengers,' 'Hunger Games,' the latest 'Transformers' and 'Super 8.'
Films that are immediately available are hits like 'Warrior,' 'Rango,' and 'Iron Man 2.' In total, 2,000 movies from EPIX will be coming to Prime Instant Video this year.
Amazon Prime costs $79 per year and gives Amazon users free two-day shipping on most items and discounted 1-day or overnight shipping, as well.
Because the exclusivity is now gone, analysts expect Netflix to pay as much as $200 million less annually than they currently do.
The hacking group AntiSec has released 1,000,001 Apple Unique Device Identifiers (UDIDs) they say were taken from a hacked FBI notebook.
Altogether, the group says they have over 12 million IDs along with the personal information of the owners of the devices.
Reads the statement released by the group:
During the second week of March 2012, a Dell Vostro notebook, used by Supervisor Special Agent Christopher K. Stangl from FBI Regional Cyber Action Team and New York FBI Office Evidence Response Team was breached using the AtomicReferenceArray vulnerability on Java, during the shell session some files were downloaded from his Desktop folder one of them with the name of "NCFTA_iOS_devices_intel.csv" turned to be a list of 12,367,232 Apple iOS devices including Unique Device Identifiers (UDID), user names, name of device, type of device, Apple Push Notification Service tokens, zipcodes, cellphone numbers, addresses, etc. the personal details fields referring to people appears many times empty leaving the whole list incompleted on many parts. no other file on the same folder makes mention about this list or its purpose.
Despite the failure of their Ovi Music Unlimited service, Nokia is trying again in the U.S., this time with a free streaming music service.
The service will include about 150 pre-created playlists of all genres and will also let users create their own. The playlists "are curated and kept up to date by an expert team of US based musicologists," says the company.
As expected, the service is being marketed to those with Windows Phones, especially Nokia devices.
Perhaps most notably, the service is ad-free and does not even require registration.
"The USA is the most vibrant and competitive digital music market in the world – by a wide margin. We have worked extra hard to ensure our service meets the expectations of the demanding, active and inspired music fans in the USA. I would like to challenge everyone to try Nokia Music and see just how easy and enjoyable the service is to use," adds Jyrki Rosenberg, VP of Entertainment at Nokia.
Over the weekend, the fugitive co-founder of The Pirate Bay, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, was arrested in Cambodia.
The arrest came on the request of Sweden, where Warg still needs to face a one-year prison term for copyright violations.
National police spokesman Kirth Chantharith added: "He is being detained in Cambodia and we are waiting to expel him."
In 2009, Warg and the three other founders of the site were convicted of assisting copyright infringement through their site. Each was sentenced to one year in prison and must also pay 30 million kronor ($3.6 million) in fines to the media companies.
After an appeal, the court reduced the jail time for the other founders to 4-10 months, but raised the fine to 46 million kronor. Warg never showed to court, choosing to stay in Cambodia.
The fourth member of the once popular IMAGiNE piracy release group has plead guilty to copyright infringement and now faces jail time.
Jeramiah Perkins of Portsmouth faces up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, just like his co-conspirators.
Last September, the P2P top group stopped distributing new CAM and TS releases, and the P2P world began speculating that maybe they had been caught. This proved true as rumor has it a rival P2P group sold them out to the MPAA which then turned to the authorities.
The group had released hundreds of films, many of which were recorded in movie theaters by members of the group.
As of today, Jeramiah Perkins, 39, of Portsmouth, Va., Gregory Cherwonik, 53, of New York, Willie Lambert, 57, of Pennsylvania, and Sean Lovelady, 27, of California have all plead guilty to at least a count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement.
Valve has posted an interesting job posting this week that claims the company is 'jumping in' to the PC hardware market.
The post, for an 'industrial designer,' shows the company's frustration with the lack of innovation in the market: "Valve is traditionally a software company. Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as they enable us and our partners to have a robust and direct relationship with customers."
"We're frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we're jumping in. Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven't really changed in any meaningful way over the years. There's a real void in the marketplace, and opportunities to create compelling user experiences are being overlooked."
Valve is not looking for a slouch either, with the requirements being "6+ years of professional experience shipping world-class, high-tech hardware products", along with "confidence with 2D and 3D design visualization tools".
The company previously denied rumors that it was building its own 'Steam Box,' a PC/console that would play PC and Steam games through your TV using a proprietary controller.
The websites of the Swedish government, their armed forces and the Swedish Institute were all temporarily knocked out today by large DDoS attacks.
Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange took credit for the attacks, although it has not been completely confirmed.
Swedish Armed Forces head of digital media Niklas Englund said it was unclear to them where the attacks came from, but that access had returned to the site.
Assange has been at the Ecuadorian embassy in Britain since June to avoid being extradited to Sweden where he faces questioning over alleged rape.
The WikiLeaks founder recently received asylum in Ecuador, free of extradition, if he can get there.
According to a new report, Google is planning on releasing a Nexus 7 tablet with 3G capabilities next month.
The "well placed insider" cited in the report says the device will include the wireless mobile radio, with no other changes to the hardware or software.
If accurate, the new tablet will strangely only be a "3G" version, with the sources unclear on whether there will be a 4G LTE version as well, or whether this upcoming model will include capabilities for both.
Supposedly, the new device is in mass production and will be ready by the second week of October.
Google will allegedly have some massive competition coming up, with the expected release of a new Kindle Fire and the release of a "mini" iPad in October.
According to noted Microsoft insider Mary Jo Foley, the company is looking to launch Windows Phone 8 within a week of the release of Windows 8, which is set for an October 26th launch date.
More specifically, Foley says Windows Phone 8 will be launching on the 29th, citing insider sources.
After the "consumer launch," the first devices will be available within a week or two, during the first weeks of November.
Microsoft is launching Windows Phone 8, Windows 8, its Surface tablets, an update for the Xbox 360 and new WP8 phones with its main partner, Nokia, all within a few weeks, leading to what should be Microsoft's most important quarter in a very long time.
A few OEMs have already announced Windows Phone 8 devices, including Samsung, Nokia and Asus.
A group of hackers known as the Null Crew have laid claim to eight Sony servers, citing the company's notoriously 'lax security.'
The group hacked Sony Mobile, leaving the following message:
"Sony, we are dearly dissapointed in your security. This is just one of eight sony servers that we hve control of. Maybe, just maybe considering IP addresses are available. Maybe, just maybe it's the fact that not even your customers can trust you. Or maybe, just maybe the fact that you can not do anything correct technologically."
Sony, over the last two years, has been hit multiple times by hackers, most infamously when over 100 million users of the PlayStation Network had their personal information, including credit card details, stolen.
According to the most recent data from NetApplications, it appears that Mac OS X has surpassed Windows Vista in terms of global web usage.
For August, Vista fell to 6.15 percent. On the other hand, Apple's latest, 10.8 Mountain Lion, quickly grew to 1.34 percent. OS X 10.7 Lion, remained steady at 2.29 percent, as Snow Leopard at 2.23 percent and Leopard at 0.65 percent.
Altogether, the share clocked in at 6.51 percent just beating out Vista, which has mostly been left for dead by Microsoft. The figure did not include the iPad or iPhone usage, which combine for 5.8 percent.
Windows 7 beat out its ancient cousin, Windows XP, for the first time ever, taking 38.54 percent. XP came in at 38.46 percent.
Windows 8, which has been released in a few betas, and also leaked in its retail version to P2P sites, came in at 0.21 percent. That number is expected to jump to 10 percent, at least, by the end of the year.
Back in January, following the takedown of Megaupload, other cyberlockers began to close up shop, including FileSonic, which at the time was one of the most popular available.
The service disabled the ability to share files, making the file-sharing service completely useless except for cloud storage of your own files. Additionally, many of the site's biggest uploaders were banned and had their files deleted, with Filesonic moving quickly to remove evidence of piracy.
As of this week, the site is now down for good, with the site itself being inaccessible.
While traffic and user numbers fell off a cliff, the site still commanded decent revenue. Freak suggests the site may have closed down of its own choosing, following a legal action from an adult video company, Flava Works.
As of now, there has been no word from admins of the site, but this looks like the end for the cloud service.
The Open webOS project has officially hit version 1.0.
Canada confirmed that there were two attempts by hackers to target Canadian firms.
Kodak confirmed today that it will discontinue all sales of consumer inkjet printers, cutting 1200 jobs.
Five men have been sentenced for their roles as part of the once popular piracy release team CiNEFOX and a group known as Carnage.
Over a year after massive floods in Thailand disrupted a significant portion of the world's disk drive production, shipment levels have recovered to pre-flood levels.
According to 
Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson has said he will not "certify" the popular game for the upcoming Windows 8 operating system.
According to a new report, the new 
Barnes & Noble has dropped the price of their Simple Touch with GlowLight to match up with the new ad-subsidized Amazon Kindle Paperwhite.
T-Mobile USA and Crown Castle have entered into a agreement in which Castle will acquire rights to 7200 T-Mobile towers in exchange for $2.4 billion in cash.
Valve has said it will allow 1000 
BlueStacks has announced a new partnership with 
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a new bill that will prevent employers and universities from demanding your Twitter and Facebook login credentials.
Ubisoft has announced the minimum requirements for its latest shooter, Far Cry 3, which thankfully removes Ubisoft's universally panned 'always-on' 
Supposedly, large satellite cable company Dish Network is looking to offer channels a la carte, a move that would change the entire pay 
According to multiple sources, 
According to a new report, the iPad accounts for 98 percent of all Web traffic originating from tablets.
According to a new 
The developers behind the blockbuster franchise Angry Birds have come out with a new game that will give the pigs some revenge on those damn birds.
According to the hit-or-miss Digitimes, Google and 
Barnes & Noble has upped the ante today, announcing the launch of their own video 
According to reports, 
Toys R Us has been sued over its new Tabeo kids tablet.
Lenovo's first Windows 8 tablet, the ThinkPad Tablet 2, will sell for $799 with bundled keyboard dock, says the company.
Google has announced that the Google Play Store has reached 25 billion downloads just six months after Apple's older store reached the same milestone.
For over a month now, there have been more and more rumors of a 5-inch 
RIM announced a surprise jump in subscriber numbers this week, giving investors a little bit of hope before next year's launch of the BlackBerry 10 operating system.
Amazon has said today that any new orders (as of this morning) of the new Kindle Paperwhite will be delayed.
Netflix has announced today a "new experience" for 
Foxconn has confirmed it will resume production at its Taiyuan factory in China's Shanxi province after shutting it down last night following a worker 
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Iran will block access to Google and Gmail in the nation, a strong reaction to YouTube's refusal to take down the anti-Islam film "Innocence of Muslims."
Grant Paul, better known as @chpwn, has noted this weekend that the 
In July, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo let users know that the company was preparing to unveil a new tool to download all your old tweets.
Admitting defeat in the nation, Google has shut down its China-only music download service.
After a ridiculously long delay, Verizon has 
Google, via their acquisition 
Apple's latest 
While the new 
Chinese search engine Baidu has apparently leaked the 
Facebook has suspended the use of the photo tagging facial-recognition tool that users take advantage of when tagging new photos uploaded to the site.
Valve has confirmed that beta testing for its hardware division will begin in 2013.
Universal Music Group has been approved to purchase the British record label EMI, with the EU competition regulator giving the "OK."
Verizon has confirmed they have rolled out 
Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, has announced it will no longer sell the Amazon Kindle e-readers or Kindle Fire tablets.
With the new release of Apple's 
Earlier this year, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch infamously called Google a "piracy leader."
Dice Holdings, "a leading provider of specialized career websites for select professional communities" has purchased tech sites Slashdot, SourceForge and Freecode for $20 million in cash.
Over 30,000 usernames and passwords 
After weeks of rumors, 
Last week, we reported that an anonymous 
Record label Century Media has sued 7000 
It appears that 
It appears that Amazon may be moving away from Google's Google Maps service, just like 
According to one 
Despite the general consensus that the social network was dead, it appears Google+ is actually thriving.
Last week, 
Last month, 
The major Canadian carriers, Rogers, Bell, and Telus, have been sued by the Canadian Competition Bureau over misleading ads.
According to a 'previously reliable source,' we have the specs of the upcoming 
The launch of the mobile payment service 'Isis,' jointly announced by T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T, has been delayed.
According to multiple sources, 
Google has announced this weekend that it will be officially discontinuing support for Internet Explorer 8 for all of its web services starting on November 15th.
HP's new CEO, Meg Whitman, has said today the company will 'ultimately have to offer a smartphone.'
Last week, Amazon unveiled its new line of Kindle Fire tablets, starting with the low-end Kindle Fire for $159 and moving up to its Kindle Fire 
eBay has updated their logo, moving away from the the look they've had since inception.
According to McAfee, actress Emma Watson is the most dangerous celebrity to search for online, if you hope to avoid malware.
Over the past weeks there have been leaked 
Despite pricing the console at $338 in Japan, 
The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking $1 billion from Taiwanese display maker AU Optronics, which has been convicted of price fixing in the LCD market.
Despite a similar system 
Google has announced a new milestone for 
Alongside the introduction of the new iPhone 5 and the new iPod Touch, 
Outside of their major iPhone announcement, 
According to a 
Valve has introduced a beta version of their 'Big Picture Mode,' allowing for Steam gamers to experience their libraries on the big screen.
According to an 
Valve has announced the first set of titles first submitted through Steam Greenlight to be picked up for global distribution.
Earlier this summer, 
GoDaddy, hit by a day-long DNS outage that has affected thousands of customers, is now letting its rival VeriSign do the hosting.
Following the marginal success of their Nabi tablet, retailer Toys R Us has launched a sequel, the Tabeo.
Unveiled just last month, 
According to a top U.S. cybersecurity official, other nations have been employing 'reckless' cyber attacks without 'any sense of restraint.'
Amazon has confirmed that its new high-end Kindle Fire 
After being sued over alleged ebook price fixing earlier this year, three publishers instantly settled, avoiding a trial.
Google has purchased the browser-based URL scanner VirusTotal for an undisclosed amount.
According to multiple 
HADOPI, the French anti-piracy agency in charge of sending out warning letters and eventually kicking pirates off the Internet for 'three strikes,' did very little of either during the last two years.
Lady Gaga has noted this week that her next album, ARTPOP, will be released as a PC and mobile app.
Okay, so that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but NPD Group's latest figures certainly do not paint a pretty picture for the struggling industry.
According to the 
The codenamed 
The US DOJ has announced today that Arizona man Joshua Schichtel has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for selling access to botnets as well as using the nets to perform 
As you may or may not be sick of hearing, Amazon revamped their entire Kindle Fire line today, updating the original tablet and adding three more with a bevy of new software features to go along with the updated hardware.
As part of their large press event today in which they unveiled the new flagship Kindle Fire 
Today during their joint press conference, 
A judge has ruled that Oracle must pay $1 million to Google to reimburse them for trial costs.
It appears the rumors were true.
Pay cable channel Epix has signed a new digital content deal with Amazon, breaking the current exclusive agreement the channel has with Netflix.
The hacking group AntiSec has released 1,000,001 
Over the weekend, the fugitive co-founder of The Pirate Bay, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, was arrested in Cambodia.
Valve has 
According to noted 
According to the most recent data from NetApplications, it appears that Mac OS X has surpassed Windows Vista in terms of global web usage.
Back in January, following the takedown of Megaupload, other cyberlockers began to close up shop, including FileSonic, which at the time was one of the most popular available.
