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Apple iTunes Store no longer censoring word 'jailbreak'

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 May 2012 9:39

Apple iTunes Store no longer censoring word 'jailbreak' Earlier today, Apple began censoring the word "jailbreak" in any content seen in the iTunes Store.

For example, the Thin Lizzy song "Jailbreak" was censored to read "J*******k," which is complete nonsense. Other artists got the same treatment, as well.

The issue has since been rectified.

Jailbreaking of course also references that processing of rooting an iOS device to allow custom software and the Cydia store of apps. The store rivals the official iOS App Store, and includes free and paid apps, themes and more.

The process of jailbreaking is not illegal, but doing so will void your Apple warranty.

Pic via AI:




AfterDawn: News

T-Mobile selling new off-contract data plans

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 May 2012 8:46

T-Mobile selling new off-contract data plans T-Mobile USA has begun selling new off-contract mobile broadband plans for users who only occasionally need data.

For $15, you can get a 1-week pass and 300MB of data. For $25 you get 1.5GB and a 1-month pass. Jumping up to $35, you get one month and 3.5GB while $50 will buy you 5GB.

You get access to T-Mobile's 3G and 4G HSPA+ networks.

Starting May 20th, users can purchase the new plans anywhere, although the 3.5GB and 5GB plans are exclusively at Wal-Mart until July 20th.




AfterDawn: News

HP to let 25,000 people go

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 May 2012 8:17

HP to let 25,000 people go HP is considering eliminating 25,000 jobs, say sources.

The company is looking to slash costs, and 25,000 would be a full 7 percent of its workforce.

Up to 15,000 of the job cuts will come from the enterprise services group, the group that sells information technology services.

The job cuts will not be straight firings, however, and instead will come as an early-retirement package. By reducing 25,000 jobs, the company could save $2 billion per year.

HP has seen its earnings fall as consumers move away from PCs and move to mobile devices like tablets. The company recently went through a management change, making Meg Whitman CEO and removing Leo Apotheker who tried his best to ruin the company.




AfterDawn: News

Spotify valued at $4 billion

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 May 2012 7:53

Spotify valued at $4 billion Spotify, the popular social music service, has just been valued at $4 billion.

The company is starting to raise money this week in a new "mega funding" round, say multiple sources, although Spotify itself would not comment.

Goldman Sachs will participate in the new funding round, and account for the first $100 million. Other firms are in discussions and the total funding could reach $220 million.

The news comes on the heels of Facebook's $16 billion IPO today, which values the company at $104 billion. The social networking giant's shares will sell to the public tomorrow, and could end much higher than the current value.

Spotify currently has 10 million registered users around the globe, 30 percent of which are paying subscribers, a significant figure.




AfterDawn: News

Wikipedia: If you see ads, you're infected!

Written by James Delahunty @ 17 May 2012 6:52

Wikipedia: If you see ads, you're infected! Wikipedia does not display ads at all.

The Wikimedia Foundation is warning users that if they see ads on the mega-popular encyclopedia, then the ads are likely being provided by malicious software. Wikipedia is funded by over one million donors, most of whom give $30 or less a year, and it does not show advertisements, ever.

It was responding to growing numbers of reports that ads have been showing up on pages throughout Wikipedia. It named one culprit as a Google Chrome extension called "I want this". You can easily remove the extension in Chrome through Settings.

It has suggested the use of HTTPS Everywhere to ensure that all connections to Wikipedia are made through HTTPS, which will kill off some of the advertisements that users are seeing. Still, simply using HTTPS Everywhere will not fix the underlying problem, and so Wikimedia is suggesting that users install anti-malware solutions on their systems.

In some cases, ads might not be malicious, but might be placed on all pages if you are using public Wi-Fi or are at an Internet cafe that subsidizes its earnings through the use of ads that show up on all websites.




AfterDawn: News

UK police to extract, retain suspects' mobile data

Written by James Delahunty @ 17 May 2012 6:42

UK police to extract, retain suspects' mobile data Police will retain data, even if suspect is released without charge.

The new system involves the use of terminals at police stations in 16 London boroughs. Police just need to connect a mobile device to the system and it can extract all the data. It will print out some information from the phone, and then store the total data digitally.

The BBC is reporting that police will retain this digital information even if a suspect is not charged with a crime. Predictably, this revelation has unnerved Privacy groups, who say it could infringe on the human rights of suspects.

"We are looking at a possible breach of human rights law," Privacy International spokeswoman Emma Draper said. "It is illegal to indefinitely retain the DNA profiles of individuals after they are acquitted or released without charge, and the communications, photos and location data contained in most people's smartphones is at least as valuable and as personal as DNA."

Police say that the data extraction will only be carried out if there is significant suspicion that the mobile phone may contain data related to a crime. "Mobile phones and other devices are increasingly being used in all levels of criminal activity," said Stephen Kavanagh, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Comcast to charge for over-limit downloading

Written by James Delahunty @ 17 May 2012 6:35

Comcast to charge for over-limit downloading Comcast will charge excessive downloaders.

It is to begin rolling out a system where those who download more than their monthly allowance will have to pay a fee. Comcast raised its download limit to 300GB after previously setting it at 250GB. Those who download 50GB more than their limit will automatically be charged an extra $10 on top of their monthly bill.

Previously, those who downloaded more than 250GB were sent a warning, threatening them with service suspension if they persisted in breaking their download limit.

Research from Sandvine Corp. shows that only 1.5 percent of the U.S. Internet users download more than 250GB per month, and only 1 percent download more than 300GB.

ISPs say they need to find a way to deter heavy downloaders since they can degrade service for other users on the network.

Comcast's Xfinity TV app for Xbox 360 has brought up some questions however, as the video streaming app does not count toward the monthly limit. Rival Netflix, however, is subject to the monthly download limit, but Comcast rejects claims that it is favoring its own product over Netflix, since Xfinity TV content is not provided through the Internet but from Comcast's own equipment.

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AfterDawn: News

Saverin responds to tax dodging allegations

Written by James Delahunty @ 17 May 2012 6:12

Saverin responds to tax dodging allegations Saverin says he is continuing to pay tax to the U.S. Government.

It was reported last week that Facebook co-founder, Eduardo Saverin, had renounced his United States citizenship, which meant that he could possibly avoid a heft capital gains tax bill from the enormous Facebook IPO.

While Saverin did not appear on the list of Facebook investors who own 5 percent or more the company, his share is still considered substantial, and is expected to profit greatly from Facebook going public. The news of his decision to drop his U.S. citizenship sparked a debate about so called "expatriate tax avoidance."

Saverin has fired back at critics, saying he decided to renounce U.S. citizenship in order to continue working and living in Singapore, where he has been living since 2009.

"I have paid and will continue to pay any taxes due on everything I earned while a U.S. citizen. It is unfortunate that my personal choice has led to a public debate, based not on the facts, but entirely on speculation and misinformation," Saverin said through a spokesman.

"As a native of Brazil who immigrated to the United States, I am very grateful to the U.S. for everything it has given me ... I will continue to invest in U.S. businesses and start-ups, and believe and hope that those investments will create many new jobs in the U.S. and globally."

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AfterDawn: News

Toshiba halts LCD production in Japan

Written by James Delahunty @ 17 May 2012 5:57

Toshiba halts LCD production in Japan Toshiba aims to double operating profit.

It has decided to halt its domestic production of LCD televisions, aiming to download its operating profit by 2014-2015. Its television business lost 50 billion Yen ($620 million) last year. The strong Yen has caused problems for Japanese manufacturing, with Hitachi making a similar move as Toshiba recently.

"We have shut down our domestic TV production. We are looking at all areas (of the TV business), number of models, numbers of panels, in order to re-strengthen this division," said Toshiba president and chief executive Norio Sasaki speaking to reporters.

It will cut the number of TV models it sells by 60 percent in 2013.

Toshiba's goal is to double its operating profit in three years to $5.6 billion. It is looking to boost sales of electronics devices and to expand its social infrastructure business.

Strong sales of Apple's iPhone models, which use Toshiba flash chips, has boosted the company.




AfterDawn: News

Apple ordering larger screens for iPhone

Written by James Delahunty @ 17 May 2012 5:44

Apple ordering larger screens for iPhone Apple placing orders for 4-inch screens.

Rival Samsung has put an emphasis on larger screens with some of its smartphones, highlighting the difference in some of its Apple-targeted commercials for Galaxy devices.

Reuters is citing sources familiar with the situation in reporting that Apple has made the new orders from suppliers in South Korea and Japan. If Apple keeps the same dimensions for the next iPhone, the screen size change will provide 30 percent more viewing area.

LG Display Co Ltd, Sharp Corp and Japan Display Inc have already started production of the new screens for Apple, according to the reports.

The new iPhone may go into production as early as August.




AfterDawn: News

Blizzard: We didn't prepare well enough for Diablo III

Written by James Delahunty @ 17 May 2012 5:35

Blizzard: We didn't prepare well enough for Diablo III Developer admits it didn't prepare adequately for Diablo III launch.

The launch of the hotly anticipated title was marred somewhat by widespread problems with the game. Since it requires a constant-on Internet connection as an anti-piracy measure, servers became overloaded quickly and many users were given an error message (Error 37) when they tried to login.

"Despite very aggressive projections, our preparations for the launch of the game did not go far enough," the developer admitted.

"We're continuing to monitor performance globally and will be taking further measures as needed to ensure a positive experience for everyone. This includes some maintenance to implement additional improvements for each region."

The developer has also decided to delay the launch of Diablo III's real money auction house beyond its original estimated date of May 22.




AfterDawn: News

HBO GO available for some Xbox LIVE users

Written by James Delahunty @ 17 May 2012 5:27

HBO GO available for some Xbox LIVE users HBO content available to some users.

Time Warner Cable and Bright House customers who have Xbox LIVE Gold membership will be able to view some HBO content on their Xbox 360 consoles, starting from today.

HBO GO on Xbox 360 includes the entire HBO catalogue of live and on demand original content ? that means every episode of every show, from the latest hits like "Game of Thrones," to older favorites like "The Sopranos."

With Kinect, you can voice search the entire HBO catalogue.




AfterDawn: News

Facebook bags $16 billion in successful IPO

Written by James Delahunty @ 17 May 2012 5:19

Facebook bags $16 billion in successful IPO Facebook in third largest public offering in U.S. history.

Only General Motors and Visa could beat Facebook's initial public offering, which valued the social networking giant at an enormous $104 billion. The service raised $16 billion today as investors rushed to get shares after waiting years for Facebook to finally make the leap.

It's market value is now higher than that of McDonald's, Citigroup and Amazon.com, with investors paying $38 per share. "Facebook is here to stay," said Navin Chaddha, a managing director of the Mayfield Fund, a venture capital firm.

"It's a virtual economy where people are spending more time than any other Internet property."

Facebook insiders and early investors are set to cash in quickly. Last year, Goldman Sachs took a stake in Facebook, and is now set to sell off a third of that stake. Peter Thiel, the VC who backed Facebook in its early days, will sell 16.8 million shares.

Mark Zuckerberg is set to ring the opening bell for the Nasdaq from Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Friday. Facebook shares will sell to the public later in the day, under the ticker FB.




AfterDawn: News

Report: 48 percent of EU computer users pirate software

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 May 2012 1:59

Report: 48 percent of EU computer users pirate software According to the latest Business Software Alliance (BSA) report, almost half of the EU uses some pirated software.

The study found that most of the pirates are male, and aged between 25 and 44.

22 percent of those who admitted to piracy said they did it "occasionally" while 26 percent said "rarely."

Says the BSA's report: "The sheer volume of software piracy remains alarming, considering the security risks posed by illegal software and the importance of the industry to the digital economy in the single market."

"The software industry is a major contributor to growth and competitiveness in Europe and reducing piracy would deliver benefits for the European Economy, industry and consumers alike."


Of course, the BSA had some figures to throw in as well, claiming that 33 percent of all software installed last year was unlicensed, with a commercial value of 10.4 billion euro.




AfterDawn: News

There are 3997 unique Android devices out there

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 May 2012 12:44

There are 3997 unique Android devices out there The founders of OpenSignalMaps have collected data from 681,900 devices and come up with some interesting Android news.

The group saw 3997 unique devices, a number that is inflated due to the usage of custom ROMs. Custom ROMs, which are installed after a user roots his phone or tablet, overwrites the android.build.MODEL variable.

In total, 1363 devices appear only once, meaning those users were running custom ROMs, each of which were tweaked even more than the standard downloads from groups like CyanogenMod.

Samsung was the most popular Android brand, followed by HTC. Gingerbread 2.3 remained the most used version of the OS, with the new 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich taking just 8.5 percent share.

Says the report: "We've collected signal data from 195 countries - the variety of Android devices and manufacturers has been crucial in allowing the OS to reach so many markets. For example the 5 countries where OSM gets most use are: US, Brazil, China, Russia, Mexico. From what we're seeing the developing world is no longer developing but leading Europe."

Read more...



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