Latest news

Dr Mark Dean says variety of devices are starting to end the era of the PC.

Dean was one of the engineers of the first IBM PC, holding 3 patents related to the technology. The original IBM PC set several standards that were followed and built-on over the years in the market. Now, Dean says that the era of the PC is ending, being replaced by the socially-mediated innovation brought by the PC itself.

"When I helped design the PC, I didn't think I'd live long enough to witness its decline," wrote Dean. "It's becoming clear that innovation flourishes best not on devices but in the social spaces between them, where people and ideas meet and interact."

Dean, who says his primary computer is now a tablet, said that PCs will be used a lot in the future but are no longer the force for innovation that they were for a couple of decades. "It is there that computing can have the most powerful impact on economy, society and people's lives."

He made the comments while commemorating 30 years since the IBM personal computer. Microsoft also marked the occasion with a blog post, but instead said that the world is moving into a "PC-plus" era, pointing out that over 400 million PCs are projected to be sold this year.

Hulu, the on-demand video site owned by Disney (ABC), News Corp. (Fox), Comcast (NBCU) and private equity firm Providence went up for auction last week, and initial bids are expected by the end of next week.

The owners are currently looking to sell the site and its licenses for $1.5 billion, although some companies have offered to pay more if other conditions are met.

For example, Yahoo is willing to pay $2 billion if Hulu guarantees them 4-5 years of exclusive access to the media content. Hulu, on the other hand, seems to be only willing to give 2 years of exclusivity, albeit with 5 years guaranteed access to the content.

Additionally, News Corp. has said it would like to keep a stake in the company, which should reduce the auction price.

Amazon, Apple, Yahoo, Google and DirecTV have all been said to be potential suitors.

Mobile security experts criticize applications for Android OS.

The warnings have come from Riley Hassell, founder of Privateer Labs, and who along with Shane Macaulay, opted to cancel a scheduled appearance at the Black Hat conference last week. Their scheduled talk, "Hacking Androids for Profit," didn't go ahead, disappointing many who had waited for it.

Hassell explained that the decision was made not to publicly identify more than a dozen widely used Android applications with serious security problems. "App developers frequently fail to follow security guidelines and write applications properly," he said.

"Some apps expose themselves to outside contact. If these apps are vulnerable, then an attacker can remotely compromise that app and potentially the phone using something as simple as a text message."

He said that they alerted Google to the problems they had found with widely used applications. A Google spokesman said that Android security experts had discussed the issues with Hassell and found that the problems were not present in Android itself.

German magazine report drags Google into controversy over Patriot Act requests.

Back in June, Microsoft's Gordon Frazer sparked a debate when he was asked a question about the Patriot Act. According to ZDNet, he was asked if Microsoft could guarantee that information stored in EU-based data centers would be protected even against requests made under the Patriot Act.

Frazer responded that he could not provide such a guarantee, and that neither could any U.S. company. Indeed, the Patriot Act does mandate that firms based in the U.S. handover data stored by foreign subsidiaries when ordered to.

Originally intended as a response to global terrorism, the Patriot Act has been pushed way beyond those boundaries, according to some opponents. In this case, it forces U.S. companies into a conflict with EU data protection laws, which mandate that firms storing information on citizens protect it.

"As a law abiding company, we comply with valid legal process, and that - as for any US based company - means the data stored outside of the U.S. may be subject to lawful access by the U.S. government. That said, we are committed to protecting user privacy when faced with law enforcement requests," a Google statement read.

Earlier this week, Google confirmed the addition of games to the Google+ social network.

As an icon (next to Stream, Pictures, etc) is a new icon for Games.

The first games available are Angry Birds, Zynga Poker, Dragon Age: Legends and other casual classics like Bejeweled.

In total, Google says there are 16 launch titles.

Different than Facebook, which places all game accomplishments right the on the user's wall, all Games achievements are only shared with circles in the Games page, not clogging up your stream.

You can invite friends, share updates and send messages or gifts from the Games page.

In June, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled plans to build a new 3.1 million square foot "Spaceship" campus in Cupertino.

The Cupertino mayor said later that month that there was little to no chance that city officials would reject the plans, and they have not. The building will still be required to pass environmental checks and pass a public hearing, likely early next year.

Said Jobs, in his introduction in June:

Nintendo's stock is in the toilet and investors have begun to get more vocal on the company's inaction.

Trading as high as ¥71,100 in 2007 with blistering Wii and DS sales, the company's stock has fallen to ¥10,900, its price before the launch of the Wii.

In the last five months alone, following the weak sales of the 3DS handheld, the company's stock has fallen 55 percent.

Investors in the company have finally begun to speak up, and have been encouraging Nintendo President Satoru Iwata to start creating games for iOS and Android, lest they keep losing market share to the mobile platforms, and Facebook.

Iwata has long stated that Nintendo will not create products for platforms that aren't their own, and that strategy has not even slightly shifted. Last month, Pokemon Co., which was formerly owned by Nintendo, announced they were creating a mobile game for Android and iOS, and Nintendo's shares exploded on the possibility Nintendo would follow suit. The shares have since returned and gone even lower.

The company kills off its phone/tablet hybrid after just 14 months on the market.

Dell did say that the Streak 7 will still be available, at least for the near future.

Via the tablet's web page, the company put up a banner that reads "Goodbye, Streak 5. It's been a great ride." The page also shows that the tablet is no longer available from the computer giant.

The tablet launched in the UK last June, and was delayed in the U.S. until August. At 5-inches, the tablet lost most of the pros of a larger screen device, but was too large to comfortably place in a pocket or use in one hand.

Additionally, the device launched with an outdated version of Android, which helped lead to its eventual demise.

For the week ended August 7th.

Following Nintendo's decision to slash prices on their 3DS handheld, sales of the device have collapsed (rightfully so), and sales of the PSP have seen some growth.

3DS sales came in at 4,132 compared to 35,619 for the aging PSP. The PSPGo managed to sell 7 units, which is still somewhat surprising given its price and pointlessness.

That difference is expected to close in the coming weeks, however, as Nintendo just cut the price from $250 to $170 in the U.S. (and similarly in Japan, EU).

All current owners will be offered 20 free games from the newly launched Nintendo eShop. Additionally, users who take advantage of the eShop deal are also enrolled in the "3DS Ambassador program," which allows for 10 free NES Virutal Console downloads like Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong Jr. Finally, "Ambassadors" will also get 10 free Game Boy Advance Virtual Console games like Mario vs. Donkey Kong and Mario Kart: Super Circuit.

German court announces date to hear Samsung appeal.

Samsung is seeking to overturn a preliminary injunction that prohibits it from importing its Galaxy Tab 10.1 into the German (and most of the European) market, following a complaint made by Apple Inc. The iPad-maker has accused Samsung of slavishly cloning its products with its Android-packing smartphones and tablet PC.

Despite the injunction, German retailers have continued to sell the Galaxy Tab 10.1 as the injunction does not necessarily apply to them. Apple could go back to court to have the injunction to new "defendants" but is unlikely to do so, as the same retailers are big Apple customers.

Apple has targeted Samsung in the United States, Australia, Europe and South Korea. It has asked a court in The Hague to impose a similar ban for infringement of three patents. If the court agreed, it would stop the Samsung products from being imported to the EU via the Netherlands.

Samsung will get a chance to argue its case on August 25, and a decision will follow within weeks.

Hands more control to users to authorize apps installed by third-party software.

If you are a Firefox user, how many times have you installed software on your computer and noticed later that it installed its own add-on to Firefox (or even other web browsers?). Mozilla has decided to target this common practice, handing more control over to the user on what add-ons can and can't be active.

It found that many of these add-ons can result in reduced performance of Firefox, such as slow browser loading times and slower webpage loading. They also can hit user experience by cluttering the interface with toolbars, and they also can present a problem when they aren't supported by important browser updates.

Therefore, Firefox will changed so as to make the use of such add-on's strictly "opt in" for the user right from the beginning. If Firefox starts and finds that another program has installed an add-on, Firefox will disable the add-on until the user decides to authorize its use.

Warns Internet users about "you've won a cellphone" scam.

The trade group, which represents the wireless industry in the United States, said it was alerted to an e-mail that used the group's name and logo as part of a scam. Of course, this is nothing new, and they are almost always followed by such a warning.

The contents of this e-mail are what make it more interesting, since it is quite clearly a scam. It should win awards for the sheer lack of effort put in. For additional comic value, the scam e-mail even claims its from the Fraud Prevention Unit at CTIA.

From: C.T.I.A PROMO OFFICE
To:
Sent: Monday, August 8, 2011 6:12 PM
Subject: CTIA PHONE WINNING NOTIFICATION!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS ,
THANKS YOU FOR COMPLLYING WITH US FROM THE TEXT MESSAGE WE UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE NOT BEEN TOLD ABOUT YOU USING YOU MOBLIE PHONE AND QUALIFYING TO WIN. WELL I'LL TAKE THIS TIME TO EDUCATE YOU ON HOW WE CAME UP WITH THIS PROMO THIS YEAR SINCE 1984 WHEN THE ASSOCIATION STARTED WE HAVE NEVER HAD A GOOD OUT SALES BEFORE,SO IN OUR OWN WAY TO SAY THANK YOU TO MOBILE PHONE USERS WE HELD A PROMO DRAW, WE GOT YOUR NUMBER FROM THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK COMMAND BT TRACKING OUR CELL PHONE CHIPS. in order to to view your WINNINGS you are requested to follow the link below.

Sony DADC burned in fire impacted smaller independent labels in UK.

So far, more than £100,000 has been made available in interest-free loans to Indie labels in the UK affected by the arson attack on the distribution center in Enfield earlier this week.

"The BPI is founded on the principle that majors and indies should work together and that a vibrant independent sector benefits the recorded music business as a whole," said Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive of BPI.

"For that reason, I am delighted that independent and major members of BPI are showing their solidarity by creating a growing fund to assist indie labels that experience financial difficulties as a result of destruction of stock in the Sony DADC warehouse"

The fund is comprised of cash put up by individual BPI members, which includes scores of Independent labels as well as the usual suspects in the business, and also from BPI's own commercial revenues.

Board of Directors OKs repurchase of up to $100 million of its outstanding common shares over two years.

The share repurchase program will be funded through the company's existing cash, according to information provided for the press.

"We believe that the repurchase of our common stock represents one effective use of our capital and underscores our commitment to maximize value for our shareholders, given the significant recent market weakness and the cash on our current balance sheet as well as our NOL position," said Tom Rogers, TiVo President and CEO.

"We are confident in our future growth prospects and believe we have the right elements in place and resources available to drive long term value for our shareholders."

The program will be effective on August 29. The timing, manner, price and amount of any repurchases will be determined by the company in its discretion and will be subject to economic and market conditions, stock price, applicable legal requirements and other factors.

TiVo joins a list of companies that has recently boosting stock buybacks to reward their shareholders. The company has had some struggles in recent quarters, posting wider than expected losses attributed to higher operating costs and lower revenue.

Puts down prices to gain more market share.

Sony has dropped the price of Google TV flat-screen models in the United States. The company said that it is not dropping the prices in preparation for a new line of Google TV sets, instead it is attempting to grab more market share in the region.

Amazon lists the Google TV models in the United States, pricing a 24-inch Sony NSX-24GT1, 1080p 60 Hz LCD HDTV Featuring Google TV, at just $298. It also lists a 32-inch model, 40-inch model and 46-inch model but their prices are varied based on the source of the product, while Amazon does not list its own price (though all prices are cheaper than the models previously were marked at.)