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AfterDawn: News

Is Microsoft's Edge browser storing your private browsing data?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Jan 2016 6:16

Is Microsoft's Edge browser storing your private browsing data? Microsoft Edge, the company's evolution for Internet Explorer, may be storing data it should not be.

The browser, which launched last year with Windows 10, has an 'incognito' browsing mode called InPrivate which is supposed to ensure that your browsing history and habits are not tracked nor stored. According to researcher Ashish Singh, InPrivate is not protecting you as it should.

Singh says that any site visited while InPrivate can be recovered by examining the app's WebCache file. The sites are stored in a "Container_m" table just like your regular browsing history is.

"The not-so-private browsing featured by Edge makes its very purpose seem to fail," Singh wrote.

Microsoft has confirmed it is investigating the reports: "We recently became aware of a report that claims InPrivate tabs are not working as designed," a Microsoft spokesperson added, "and we are committed to resolving this as quickly as possible."

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AfterDawn: News

The hated Java plugin has finally been given its last rites

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Jan 2016 4:47

The hated Java plugin has finally been given its last rites Oracle has announced this week that the horrible Java browser plugin will be extinct soon.

After the upcoming Java Development Kit 9 is released, the plugin will be removed from future releases. Oracle says the move is necessary as browser makers are moving away from plugins.

"With modern browser vendors working to restrict and reduce plugin support in their products, developers of applications that rely on the Java browser plugin need to consider alternative options such as migrating from Java Applets (which rely on a browser plugin) to the plugin-free Java Web Start technology," the company said.

Throughout its life, Java has been exploited numerous times, with users being left vulnerable to malware and worse. Additionally, the plugin has harrased users to update almost daily for years, as well.

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AfterDawn: News

Strategy Analytics: 1.4 billion smartphones shipped in 2015

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Jan 2016 4:22

Strategy Analytics: 1.4 billion smartphones shipped in 2015 According to research firm Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments jumped 12 percent to 1.4 billion in 2015.

For the Q4 2015, growth was only six percent year-over-year, a number that Strategy Analytics says is the slowest holiday period growth rate of all-time for smartphones.

The numbers seem to suggest that the smartphone market is nearing saturation in the coming years unless emerging markets begin to move from mobile phones to smartphones sooner than expected.

Samsung, Apple and Huawei led the way in shipments and were the only companies to ship nine-digit units. Samsung shipped nearly 320 million phones for 2015 followed by Apple at 231.5 million and Huawei at 107.1 million.

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AfterDawn: News

Report: Amazon is preparing a 'Spotify-killer'

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Jan 2016 3:50

Report: Amazon is preparing a 'Spotify-killer' According to the New York Post, Amazon is preparing a 'Spotify-killer' although the plan is still in its early stages.

The sources claim Amazon has been negotiating with the major record labels to secure licensing rights for a subscription music service that can take on Spotify and Apple Music.

Amazon currently offers a free (small) music streaming catalog to its $99-per-year Prime subscribers but this new service will allegedly have its own $9.99 per month fee. The current Prime offering is about 1 million songs, compared to 10+ million for rivals.

The e-commerce giant is the second-largest seller of digital music and the largest seller of physical music but digital downloads peaked two years ago and physical music peaked in the early 2000s.

It is unclear what will separate Amazon's streaming service from rivals, but there was an interesting note towards the end of the report which claims that Amazon could drop the price of the subscription if you purchase an Echo, the company's surprise hit voice-controlled 'personal assistant.'

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AfterDawn: News

Microsoft now owns Surfacephone.com

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Jan 2016 10:56

Microsoft now owns Surfacephone.com It appears that Microsoft has been buying up Surface related domains in the last few months, ahead of the expected launch of the Surface Phone.

The software giant now owns surfacephone.com although the domain currently redirects to the main Surface website.

Of course, the moves don't mean Microsoft is actually building a Surface-branded phone, but there is little doubt at this point especially as Microsoft phases out the Nokia and Lumia brands.

In addition to surfacephone.com, Microsoft now owns surfacecar.com and surfacelaptop.com, which are interesting, but likely useless.

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AfterDawn: News

The first Angry Birds theatrical trailer is here

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Jan 2016 10:38

The first Angry Birds theatrical trailer is here Rovio has released the first theatrical trailer for the upcoming Angry Birds Movie, set for release in May.

Reads the statement: "The movie takes us to an island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds – or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red (Jason Sudeikis, We're the Millers, Horrible Bosses), a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck (Josh Gad in his first animated role since Frozen), and the volatile Bomb (Danny McBride, This is the End, Eastbound and Down) have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it's up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.

Featuring a hilarious, all-star voice cast that includes Bill Hader (Trainwreck, Inside Out), Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids, Sisters), and Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), as well as Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters), Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), Tony Hale (Veep, Arrested Development), Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors, Sisters), Hannibal Buress (Daddy's Home, Broad City), Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street), Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black), Latin music sensation Romeo Santos, YouTube stars Smosh (Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla), and country music superstar Blake Shelton, who writes and performs the original song "Friends," the Columbia Pictures/Rovio Entertainment film is directed by Fergal Reilly and Clay Kaytis and produced by John Cohen and Catherine Winder. The screenplay is by Jon Vitti, and the film is executive produced by Mikael Hed and David Maisel."

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AfterDawn: News

Japan Display to begin mass production of OLED panels in 2018

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Jan 2016 10:39

Japan Display to begin mass production of OLED panels in 2018 Japan Display has confirmed it will begin mass production of OLED panels in 2018, hoping to have such displays used for upcoming Apple iPhones that are rumored to use OLED.

"We will take advantage of our advanced thin-film transistor technology in developing OLED screens," Akio Takimoto, chief of Japan Display's research center.

JD already supplies screens to Apple, but has been facing increased competition from companies like Samsung and LG.

Japan Display, which is majority owned by the government-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), could soon be merging with Sharp, if the company accepts INCJ's recent bid.

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AfterDawn: News

Sony merges PlayStation businesses into new company

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Jan 2016 10:15

Sony merges PlayStation businesses into new company Sony has confirmed a new business structure for their existing PlayStation businesses, with the new company called Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Starting on April 1st, Andrew House will become SIE President and CEO. SIE merges Sony PlayStation Network Services, Sony Network International and Sony Computer Entertainment into one company based in the U.S. Local subsidiaries will also be set up home in Tokyo and in London.

"By integrating the strengths of PlayStation's hardware, software, content and network operations, SIE will become an even stronger entity, with a clear objective to further accelerate the growth of the PlayStation business," says House in a statement. "Along with our business partners, SIE will develop pioneering services and products that will continue to inspire consumers' imaginations and lead the market. We will work hard to maximize corporate value by coordinating global business operations across San Mateo, Tokyo, and London by leveraging local expertise."


Sony added: "It has become important for both SCE and SNEI to unify their business strengths under one entity with a single focus," and that the two former companies will "combine resources across their hardware, software, content and fast-growing network businesses, positioning [SIE] for enhanced competitiveness, continued expansion and market leadership in all areas."

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AfterDawn: News

Samsung to open VR studio in New York

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Jan 2016 10:01

Samsung  to open VR studio in New York Samsung has announced that they will be opening a New York-based studio dedicated to producing "new, immersive experiences" for Samsung VR headsets.

There was not much else revealed about the studio except that Samsung already inhabits the space and the exsiting marketing team there would not be moving.

Marc Mathieu, chief marketing officer of Samsung USA, would add: "At Samsung we love stories. And we love to help people tell stories."

Samsung has recently showed off its Gear VR headset and premiered their first virtual-reality sketch comedy series as the company tries to offer more and more content for VR early adopters.

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AfterDawn: News

Spotify video streaming service launching this week

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Jan 2016 11:34

Spotify video streaming service launching this week As rumored, Spotify is launching a video streaming service to compliment its popular music streaming, and the product is ready to launch this week.

Reportedly, the service will have a 'heavy' mobile presence, launching for Android first and then on iOS next week. Spotify has been private beta testing the service in the US, UK, Germany, and Sweden for a few months.

Subscribers will be able to stream video from popular partners including Comedy Central, ESPN, MTV, BBC and Maker News.

At this point, however, it is still unclear what type of video content will be available and whether it will be exclusive. We should certainly have a better idea soon if the service really is launching this week.

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AfterDawn: News

Twitter executives flee en masse, Dorsey forced to tweet

Written by Matti Robinson @ 25 Jan 2016 1:41

Twitter executives flee en masse, Dorsey forced to tweet Twitter's stock has been in steep decline for majority of the past year. The plunge didn't stop – quite the opposite – when co-founder Jack Dorsey was appointed as CEO in October.

Now the company is facing another huge problem as executives are leaving the company in an unprecedented pace. When the going gets rough and the times are tough it's very normal to see an exec or even two leaving the company. However, Twitter is having to deal with four high profile executives leaving the company in a very short timespan.

CEO Dorsey has been forced to give an official statement &ndash via Twitter of course. He goes on to dismiss "inaccurate press rumors", whatever they might be, but acknowledges that Alex Roetter, Skip Schipper, Katie Stanton, and Kevil Weil are leaving the company. According to Dorsey the CTO Adam Messinger is taking a responsibility of most of the work left undone and the COO Adam Bain will be taking additional responsibilities as well.

In addition the Twitter owned Vine GM Jason Toff is leaving to develop VR headsets, BGR reports.

Tweets by the public show many kinds of reactions. Some blame Twitter for not taking a strong enough stance against harassment and "violence", some have in the recent past even blamed the company for being partly responsible for ISIS attacks for not actively blocking them. Some think Twitter's downfall is not protecting the freedom of speech and advocating certain type of speech over another that was highlighted by hashtag campaign #JeSuisMilo.

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AfterDawn: News

Toshiba likely to sell some chip assets

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Jan 2016 9:41

Toshiba likely to sell some chip assets Japan's struggling electronics maker Toshiba is likely to sell part of its chip business as the company hopes to rebound from years of falling revenues and a $1.3 billion accounting scandal that threatened to bankrupt the company.

The company has begun accepting bids and already has some early interest.

Any sale would exclude Toshiba's NAND flash memory division but will include businesses related to LSI and discrete chips. Those chips are used in industrial machinery, cars and home appliances. Together, sales for those businesses were $2.78 billion for the fiscal year ended March 2015.

Toshiba will use any funds to focus on its flash memory production capacity and its storage business.

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AfterDawn: News

Alphabet to pay UK £130 million in back taxes

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Jan 2016 4:47

Alphabet to pay UK £130 million in back taxes Just like every corporation, ever, Google has been accused of skirting taxes in different countries but this time, the search giant has decided to pay some back.

Google parent Alphabet has settled in the UK and will pay £130 million in back taxes for the last decade.

From 2006 to 2011, Google made $18 billion in revenue in the UK but paid just $16 million in corporate taxes, using legal loopholes and subsidiaries to avoid higher tax rates.

Moving forward, the taxes paid will be more reflective of the company's actual revenue and profits. "We have agreed with HMRC a new approach for our U.K. taxes and will pay 130 million pounds, covering taxes since 2005," Google said. "We will now pay tax based on revenue from U.K.-based advertisers, which reflects the size and scope of our U.K. business."

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AfterDawn: News

Consumer Reports: Fitbit heart rate data is accurate

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Jan 2016 4:32

Consumer Reports: Fitbit heart rate data is accurate Despite the fact that there is a lawsuit out there over the accuracy of Fitbit's heart rate monitors, at least one reputable publication has found the data to be accurate.

Consumer Reports tested the Charge HR and Surge through high-impact workouts and found it to be as accurate as chest-based heart rate monitors. The publication did note that the tracker's accuracy fell off when using the Charge HR in specific intense workouts, but that was fixed by moving the band up the arm from the wrist to the forearm.

The lawsuit should certainly be interesting because there are real concerns if the accuracy is wrong. It is not safe if the Fitbit is conveying a lower heart rate than what is really occurring. It is also unclear how comprehensive a test must be done to truly prove the accuracy of the popular fitness trackers.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple's electric car project just lost its top exec

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Jan 2016 3:53

Apple's electric car project just lost its top exec According to sources, 16-year Apple executive Steve Zadesky is leaving the company, leaving a vacancy at the head of the company's electric car project.

Zadesky had been overseeing the project since 2014.

The sources say the departure was for personal reasons and did not specify when he will actually be leaving the company. For the time being, he remains with Apple.

Apple's car project, codenamed Titan, has a ship date of 2019 although there are very, very few details available at this time.

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