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AfterDawn: News

'Express' makes entire catalog available through Facebook

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 May 2011 1:10

'Express' makes entire catalog available through Facebook Popular retailer Express has begun selling its entire catalog via Facebook today.

Users to the Shop Express tab of the company's Facebook Page can browse and purchase all the merchandise, just as if they were on the official site.

Adding to its normal features, users can also "like" clothing, and recommend items via posts on friend's walls.

Your account, along with real-time inventory and pricing, is synced across all of Express' sites and mobile apps, allowing for seamless shopping, says the company.

Says the company (via Mash):

We continue to look for ways that the customer can interact with the brand on their own schedule and at their convenience, so that we bring down as many barriers as possible.




AfterDawn: News

iMacs go quad-core and add Thunderbolt

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 May 2011 12:12

iMacs go quad-core and add Thunderbolt Apple has introduced the refreshed line of iMacs this week, running on quad-core processors, adding a built-in HD webcam for FaceTime and Intel's new Thunderbolt interface.

The new computers will be available as 21.5-inch (1920x1080 resolution) or 27-inch (2560x1440), and each are LED-backlit.

Starting at $1199, the 21.5-inch has a 2.5GHz Intel quad-core Core i5 with 6MB on-chip shared L3 cache, 4GB RAM, a small 500GB HDD and a 512MB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD6750M video card.

The more expensive model starts at $1499 and has a 2.7GHz i5, a 1TB HDD and an AMD Radeon HD 6770M. It can also be upgraded (very expensively) to a 2.8Ghz i7 processor, a 2TB HDD and a 256GB SSD as a secondary (or primary) drive.

Moving up to the 27-inch models, starting at $1699 you can get a configuration with a 2.7GHz i5, a 1TB HDD and an AMD Radeon HD 6770M.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Warner Bros. buys up Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 May 2011 11:09

Warner Bros. buys up Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes Warner Bros. has announced the acquisition of the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes and its parent, the "social" movie site Flixster.

As part of the deal, Flixster will still run independently but will expand beyond its current movie discovery niche.

It is unclear how much the studio paid, but WSJ reports the value of the sites at $60-90 million.

Says Warner:

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group will utilize the powerful Flixster brand and technical expertise to launch a number of initiatives designed to grow digital content ownership, including the recently announced consumer application “Digital Everywhere.” This studio-agnostic application will be the ultimate destination for consumers to organize and access their entire digital library from anywhere on the device of their choice, as well as to share recommendations and discover new content. The Flixster acquisition and “Digital Everywhere,” combined with the Studio’s support of the UltraViolet format are all part of an overall strategy to give consumers even more freedom, utility and value for their digital purchases.

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AfterDawn: News

U.S. household TV ownership drops

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 May 2011 11:57

U.S. household TV ownership drops Nielsen has announced today that for the first time since 1992, the amount of U.S. households with a TV set has fallen.

The 2012 Advance/Preliminary TV Household Universe Estimate (UE) fell to 114.7 million, from 115.9 a year ago.

Furthermore, Nielsen says U.S. homes with a TV set is now at 96.7 percent, down from its peak of 98.9 percent.

The company claims the 2012 UE drop can be attributed to:


Digital Transition: The summer of 2009 marked a significant milestone with a shift from analog to digital broadcasting. Following the transition, consumers were only able to view digital broadcasts via a set with a built-in digital tuner (i.e., a newer TV set) or an analog TV set connected to a digital-to-analog converter box, cable or satellite. TV penetration first dipped after this transition; the permanence of this trend was acknowledged in 2010 after the number of TV households did not rebound over time.

Economics: As with previous periods of belt-tightening, the cost of owning a TV is a factor in this UE decline; TV penetration first saw sustained decreases in second quarter 2009. Lower-income, rural homes were particularly affected.

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AfterDawn: News

Twitter finally acquires TweetDeck

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 May 2011 9:54

Twitter finally acquires TweetDeck After being in advanced talks for a few weeks now, it appears Twitter will acquire the popular TweetDeck client, for somewhere around $50 million.

The claims come via Crunch who says the announcement should be made this week.

As arguably the best Twitter client around (and accounting for 13 percent of all tweets sent on a daily basis), TweetDeck is a hot commodity for the microblogging platform and remains the top app for "power users," those who tweet many times per day from many different devices.

TweetDeck also allows users to connect their LinkedIn and Facebook platforms to one app.

TweetDeck had been previously linked to UberMedia, who was looking to purchase the client for $30 million and had an exclusive negotiating window that ran out. Uber has the top Twitter app for BlackBerry (UberSocial) and the "highest rated" Twitter app for Android, Twidroyd and has been allegedly cooking up a plan for a "Twitter killing" service so on Twitter's end, the new purchase makes perfect sense.




AfterDawn: News

"Catastrophic" used to describe Windows Phone 7 sales numbers

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 May 2011 5:02

"Catastrophic" used to describe Windows Phone 7 sales numbers Eldar Murtazin, the well-connected Russian analyst and tech writer has said today that Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 sales are "catastrophic."

Earlier this year, the software company reported it had shipped 1.5 million phones, well above estimates.

Murtzain says, however, that only 674,000 of those have actually been purchased by consumers, while the rest sit on carrier's shelves.

Additionally, the writer says that Nokia CEO Stephen Elop will retire at the end of 2012, after he completes the transition of Windows Phone.

Windows Phone 7, alongside mixed critical reviews, has been plagued by botched firmware updates, some of which even left users with bricked devices.




AfterDawn: News

Windows revenue market share topped 78 percent in 2010

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 May 2011 3:41

Windows revenue market share topped 78 percent in 2010 Gartner has posted the latest worldwide OS market share figures, and it seems that as the economy recovered, so did OS sales.

For 2010, revenue jumped to $30.4 billion from $28.1 in 2009.

Microsoft gained share for Windows, but Mac OSX remained the fastest growing segment of the market.

The server market grew 5.7 percent, as well.

Of course, the Mac OSX numbers are a bit skewed because it still represents a minuscule portion of the market, says the research firm.

IBM AIX and HP-UX saw single-digit growth year-over-year. Oracle got the biggest bump, after purchasing Sun Microsystems and getting Solaris with it.

Chart:




AfterDawn: News

RIM BlackBerry PlayBook getting video chat and Facebook apps

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 02 May 2011 4:27

RIM BlackBerry PlayBook getting video chat and Facebook apps The RIM BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will be getting Facebook and video chat apps in the next month, giving owners two of their most wanted demands.

RIM says the FB app was built specifically for the PlayBook's larger screen, working off the BlackBerry's popular smartphone app.

As is standard, the app will allow for watching videos and viewing photos, using FB chat, commenting/liking, and viewing other friend's profiles.

Says RIM's social networking boss:

There are over 30 million users of our Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones app who are staying in touch with their social network while on the go. Now with Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook we can also offer customers highly engaging social experiences optimized for the PlayBook, including the ability to share FaceBook pictures and videos with friends and family on an HDTV.


Giving users a native video chat app (like FaceTime for iOS), PlayBook owners can use Wi-Fi and the built-in 5MP front-side camera to video or voice chat with other PlayBook owners.

Adds the company:

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Sony admits up to 10 million credit card numbers may have been compromised

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 02 May 2011 3:06

Sony admits up to 10 million credit card numbers may have been compromised Speaking over the weekend, PlayStation head Kaz Hirai admitted that up to 10 million user's credit card info were possibly stolen.

Apologizing, Hirai says: "We deeply apologize for the inconvenience we have caused."

The company does say that it does not believe any credit card info was actually stolen, but it is the first admission that comes complete with a figure.

When the PSN relaunches this week, everyone will need to download a system update and change their passwords.

As a small form of compensation, Sony will start a "Welcome Back" program, offering up some "entertainment content" for free and a free 30-day subscription to the premium PlayStation Plus.




AfterDawn: News

Ubisoft launches their own movie studio

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 02 May 2011 2:15

Ubisoft launches their own movie studio Variety says that videogame publisher Ubisoft has launched their own movie studio, Ubisoft Motion Pictures, in an effort to adapt their own game franchises for the big screen.

The company says the film division will be headed by Jean-Julien Baronnet, the former CEO of Luc Besson's EuropaCorp.

Producer Didier Lupfer will lead production and development and Jean de Rivieres, an ex-distribution boss at Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures France will be in charge of marketing and international sales.

Ubisoft has a number of properties that could easily be adapted for the big screen, including "Assassin's Creed" and "Splinter Cell." Their "Prince of Persia" franchise was made into a movie last year and grossed $335 million despite mediocre reviews.




AfterDawn: News

Sony takes down its Facebook and MMO games

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 02 May 2011 1:58

Sony takes down its Facebook and MMO games Following the ongoing saga of the hacked PSN, Sony has now taken down their MMO and Facebook games.

Reads the official statement:

Dear Valued SOE (Sony Online Entertainment) Customers,
We have had to take the SOE service down temporarily. In the course of our investigation into the intrusion into our systems we have discovered an issue that warrants enough concern for us to take the service down effective immediately. We will provide an update later today (Monday).

We apologize for any inconvenience and greatly appreciate your patience.


Last week Sony said that SOE had not been affected by the massive PSN hack, but it seems there may now be worries related to the "external intrusion."




AfterDawn: News

AT&T starts data caps for U-Verse and DSL

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 02 May 2011 1:18

AT&T starts data caps for U-Verse and DSL AT&T has started its DSL and U-Verse bandwidth caps today, two months after announcing the move.

DSL users will have a 150GB cap while U-Verse subscribers will have a 250GB cap.

Anyone who exceeds the limit three times will be charged $10 for every extra 50GB of data consumed.

The new policy goes into effect today for new and existing customers.

AT&T says it will send notifications when you reach 65 percent of the cap, 90 percent and finally when you hit the full cap. The company will also give all subscribers software to help them track their usage.

The caps will affect under 2 percent of users, says the ISP, subscribers who use "a disproportionate" amount of data and slow down networks for others.

AT&T notes that the average subscriber uses 18GB of bandwidth per month.




AfterDawn: News

Sony to bring back PSN this week, already running in Japan?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 02 May 2011 1:20

Sony to bring back PSN this week, already running in Japan? Sony announced earlier today that they will slowly be bringing back the PlayStation Network and Qriocity over the next week, and some unconfirmed reports already have the service up-and-running in Japan.

The company will also be ramping up security on the network in response to the largest security breach in the company's history, with personal info (and possibly but not likely credit card info) stolen from 77 million accounts.

Finally, Sony says they will be setting up a new customer appreciation program to thank everyone for waiting almost two weeks for PSN to come back up.

Sony says:

Third-party experts have conducted extensive tests to verify the security strength of the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. With these measures in place, SCE and SNEI plan to start a phased rollout by region of the services shortly.


The new security features include:

-Added automated software monitoring and configuration management to help defend against new attacks

-Enhanced levels of data protection and encryption

-Enhanced ability to detect software intrusions within the network, unauthorized access and unusual activity patterns

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

$3 billion Warner Music buyout could be completed this week

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 02 May 2011 12:09

$3 billion Warner Music buyout could be completed this week Warner Music Group could be sold at the end of the week for $3 billion, say sources, as all final buyout bids for the Big 4 record label are due tomorrow.

So far, the two competing bids are coming from Len Blavatnik's Access Industry and a joint bid by Tom and Alec Gores' Platinum Equity and Gores Group.

Warner says two major labels (BMG and Sony) were bidding, as well, but "fell short of what Warner's board was looking for from strategic buyers." It appears that Warner wants a premium from labels as the transaction will take much longer to complete, given anti-trust review.

With all that being said, insiders are still skeptical that an actual deal will be completed.

Warner put itself up for sale in January, following years of declining music sales.

"The key issues for Warner Music's board are price and simplicity of the transaction process," say the sources.

Warner has $1.9 billion in debt, and is only expected to make $333 million in income before interest, depreciation and amortization, for the fiscal 2012.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Some users still can't update their Windows Phone 7 devices

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 Apr 2011 3:56

Some users still can't update their Windows Phone 7 devices Microsoft has acknowledged today that some Windows Phone 7 users are still having issues updating the firmware of their phones, adding to issues WP7 users have had since February trying to update their software.

Earlier in the year, some owners even had their brand new devices turned to bricks when trying to update their firmware.

As of this week, the problem lies with Samsung Focus owners in the U.S.

Focus owners are just not getting any notifications that their updates are available, and therefore cannot download and install them.

Those affected are running REV 1.4 (which is outdated), while those that are receiving the notifications are running REV 1.3 (even more outdated).

Furthermore, European Omnia 7 owners will not be receiving updates for the time being, either.

Says Microsoft (via CW):

Read more...



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